Instructions

Shredding Chicken for Enchiladas

Preheat oven to 375 Degrees.

On the stove, over high heat add your chicken breasts to a pot of water.  If you only want to make shredded chicken for this recipe just be sure to cover the chicken with water and then add about 2 tablespoons of kosher salt.  Boil until chicken is just about cooked.  Takes about a 1/2 hour depending on how big your chicken is.  I like to turn my water into chicken broth so I also add a few ingredients to the water I am boiling my chicken in.  I add a few stalks of chopped celery, 1 large or 4 small chopped carrots, 2 bay leaves, 10 peppercorns, 1/2 white onion quartered, fresh rosemary, thyme (leave herbs whole), a few mushrooms sliced and any other root veggies you may have on hand.  It is so great to have some homemade broth to use at a later time & the chicken gets nicely flavored too.  You can even put your leftover broth in the freezer.  Once Chicken is done, remove from the water and set aside to cool.  Remove all the veggies/herbs and save your broth for future recipes.

Hint: I use a little of my broth in my homemade taco sauce!

Topping Tortillas w/chicken & cheese

Start building a station to make your Enchiladas.

While the chicken is cooling, shred your cheese.  I like to buy blocks of cheese and grate them myself.  That way I know I am getting cheese with nothing else added to it.  I use my cow bell to grate the cheese.  If you do not have a cow bell you can also use your food processor.  You can store any leftover cheese in your fridge for later use.  After grating the cheese, set aside.

Once chicken is cooled, shred it on a cutting board.  I take 2 forks and just start pulling on the chicken back and forth.  The chicken is so tender which makes it very easy to shred.  You could even use your hands.  Place chicken in a bowl, set aside.

Avocado:  I dice my avocado and add diced tomato, cilantro, S&P and just a small drizzle of olive oil and the juice of 1 lime.  Lightly stir and set aside. If you make this ahead just cover really well and place in fridge until you are ready.

Taco Sauce: you can use store bought if you like.  Homemade taco sauce is so easy to make and really delicious.  It is really fresh tasting and also has such a great earthy taste to it.  You can even make your taco sauce in advance, even the day before or longer.  Just keep in a sealed container in the fridge.  Check out the link below to get my Taco Sauce recipe.

Start Building:  spray a baking dish with cooking spray.  Then add a layer of your taco sauce to the bottom of the pan.  On the counter, lay out your tortilla wraps.  Add a layer of your cheese to the center of the tortilla.  Then add a layer of your chicken and anything else you may want to add to your enchilada.   I drizzled some of my taco sauce over the chicken and cheese to keep them from drying out.  You could even toss your chicken, cheese and sauce together to combine before placing on tortillas but it really didn’t need that.  Just don’t over-stuff them!  I kept mine somewhat simple in this recipe since it was my kids first time trying them.  Once they are all filled, start on one of the long ends and fold the tortilla to the center and then fold the other side to the center to form a rolled up tortilla.  You do not need to close the shorter ends; this will help to let some of your yummy taco sauce get in there.  Place in baking dish with folded sides down in the pan so they stay closed. Continue and place the tortillas all next to each other until you have filled the pan.  I made a batch using flour tortillas for my kids and then I made some with brown rice tortilla wraps for me!  I love the brown rice wraps; they have so much flavor and they are also gluten free.  

Emma helping to top Enchiladas w/cheese

I then sprinkled some more of my shredded chicken to the top of the enchiladas, then poured my taco sauce all over the top and then the shredded cheese.  I added about a 1 tablespoon of my cilantro on top.

Bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes or until nice and bubbly hot. Remove from oven and let sit for a couple of minutes.

Then just cut and serve.  Garnish with some of your leftover Cilantro.

Mangia! Enjoy!