Enchilada Cha Cha

I love Mexican food. Really love it. Maybe not as much as Italian food, but it's a close second. As a result of a disappointing search for a good go-to spot for casual Mexican food here in Worcester, I'm searching for at-home options.

First off, frozen Trader Joe's enchiladas turned out to be a no-go. Not even doctoring them with massive amounts of shredded cheese could give redemption to that meal. That may rank with the Tuna Helper newlywed dinner my mom made that has lived on in infamy in my father's mind.

Next I turned to my Texan friend Kelli to get a recipe to make a TexMex dish from scratch. And I'm happy to report that I have redeemed myself with a tasty dish of enchiladas where there was actually a request for a second helping.

It's easy, really flavorful and makes a TON of food. So much so that Hunt asked if I had gotten the recipe from Pioneer Woman since in his opinion it was "enough to feed an entire Pioneer family."

The best part is that the chicken is cooked on low in salsa for several hours in Crockpot and then shredded. The meat just falls apart and has great flavor. The options are endless with the type of salsa you use and could potentially make the meal different every time.

Without further ado...Crockpot Chicked Enchiladas from Kelli Briley:

Crockpot Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breast
• 1 bag of frozen corn
• 1 can of black beans
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1 jar of salsa
• 1 can of enchilada sauce
• 10 whole wheat tortillas
• 1 bag of colby jack cheese
  

Directions:

Cook chicken breasts with the salsa in the crockpot on low for several hours.

Preheat oven to 350°

Grease a 9x11 dish (can use an 8x8 in addition if you have too many)

In a separate bowl, mix the corn, black beans, and diced tomatoes. Scoop out about a 2 cups to use for the topping and set aside.

Shred the chicken and add it to the corn mixture with some of the shredded cheese. Fill the tortillas and place them in the dish with the seam down.

Pour enchilada sauce over each tortilla, then spoon the reserve corn mixture over the top. Finally cover the enchiladas in colby jack cheese.

Cook enchiladas for 25-30 minutes until the cheese and enchilada sauce is bubbling.

**Notes: I used restaurant style salsa since it was thinner and covered the chicken completely. I used two forks and shredded the chicken while it was still in the crockpot so that it could soak up any remaining salsa. I would probably add more cheese inside the enchilada next time. I covered the dish in foil for the first 25 minutes to avoid drying out and then had it uncovered for the last 5 minutes. I would use a big can of the enchilada sauce next time since one small can was barely enough to cover that many enchiladas.