These enchiladas can be made with your choice of meat and as spicy or mild as you please.
Basic Enchiladas are quick to make and taste delicious. Beginning cooks can whip thsee up in no time while advanced chefs can make their own enchilada sauce to spice thigns up. Anyone can tweak the recipe easily to choose his or her favorite meat or go meatless. It's also simple to make the enchiladas more or less spicy. Let's start with a basic recipe and discuss ingredient options at the end.
Basic Enchiladas
Ingredients:
- 1/2 package (4 ounces) of cream cheese
- 1 cup of salsa
- 2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
- 1 (14 ounce) can of black beans, drained and rinsed
- 6 flour tortillas
- 2 cups of Mexican-style shredded cheese
- Taco sauce
Procedure:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a 9x13 inch baking dish, sprinkle taco sauce to cover the bottom. In a pot on the stovetop, add the cream cheese and salsa. Cook and stir until the two ingredients are well blended.
- Next, stir in the cooked chicken and black beans. Heat and mix well.
- Spoon the mixture onto tortillas, roll them and place onto the baking dish.
- Sprinkle taco sauce over top. Spread shredded cheese over top of enchiladas. Cover the baking pan with aluminum foil. Put in the over and bake for 30 minutes. Serve.
Variations on the Basic Enchilada Recipe
There are many variations you can make to create the perfect enchilada for you. Your choice of salsa can make the dish more spicy or mild or chunky or smooth. To make the basic recipe less spicy, omit the taco (or enchilada) sauce altogether. Instead, use cooking spray on the bottom of your baking dish to keep the enchiladas from sticking. Omit pouring taco sauce on top and just use the cheese.
Cooked chicken is just one choice of meats. Ground turkey, shredded beef, or tofu are just a few of your other options. In addition, the black beans could be subsituted with other types of beans, such as pinto beans.
Additional ingredients could be added in to the filling, such as sliced green onions or black olives.
Side Dishes to Accompany the Basic Enchiladas
Basic Enchiladas go very well with Spanish rice, refried beans, and shredded lettuce on the side. These dishes can easily be made from a box, can, and by simply chopping iceburg lettuce with a butcher knife.
For a sampler meal of Mexican-style foods, pair an enchilada with a crispy taco, tortilla soup, and loaded nachos.
For traditional drinks, serve iced tea or Corona beer.
If you're feeling ambitious, try making your own enchilada sauce. Choose from Enchilada Salsa Roja, Enchilada Salsa Verde, and Enchilada Salsa Blanca.
