Make ahead Dinners Ideas: Easy Chicken Enchilada Recipe

I like finding a make-ahead dinner recipe, but when you can do all the work once and make an extra casserole for another night, I am in love. This make ahead dinner recipe for Easy Chicken Enchiladas is really not that time-consuming and well worth the effort of rolling another pan of enchiladas. My kids loved these and I am eating leftovers, well 2 enchiladas for lunch while I am typing this.

My husband cooked 2 chickens on his rotiserre this weekend so we had a great start for this recipe. However, you can buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, make your own shredded chicken in the oven or crock pot. Our store sells yesterday’s rotisserie chicken for a discount. The hardest part of this recipe was shredding the chicken. This is a great recipe to feed a crowd, as it will feed 10 people with a single recipe.

Now don’t let your blood pressure go high just looking at the ingredient list. This is an easy Chicken enchilada recipe, I did not say healthy. I used low-fat  and low sodium ingredients when I could find them. I buy the healthy select condensed soups, but the cheddar I could not find that variety. I used skim milk, low-fat sour cream and cheeses. I also used spring mix lettuces instead of iceberg.

Once you have the chicken shredded, you can have 2 pans of chicken enchiladas, 21 to be exact in just minutes. I made the first pan, put it in the oven and then made the extra pan for the freezer to save time.

I also used corn tortillas as I thought that was more authentic. They were a little smaller than the 8 inches recommended in the regular recipe so I uses less filling in each.

Be sure to label your extra tray of easy chicken enchiladas so you remember how to make them.. This recipe requires a defrost, wondering if you could just bake them longer frozen??? Any one have thoughts on that?

Should have used Pan lining Paper like my video from Reynolds.. I just soaked the pan overnight.

What a yummy recipe I might even try adding a can of rinsed black beans next time. Oh wait I have a pan waiting for me in the freezer.

Easy Chicken Enchilada Recipe

Yield: 8

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Make dinner ahead for tonight and another day with these simple chicken Enchilada recipe

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Ingredients

• 1 rotisserie chicken or 6 cups of chicken shredded
• 2 cans diced tomatoes with green chilis
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup condensed, undiluted low sodium
• 1 can cheddar cheese soup undiluted
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 8 oz low fat cream cheese , room temp
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tsps garlic powder
• 2 tsps oregano
• 20 tortillas, 8 inch
• 4 cups mexican blended cheese

Instructions

1. Remove meat from bones; discard bones. Shred chicken with two forksand set aside. In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, soups, milk and seasonings. Transfer 3-1/2 cups to another bowl; add chicken and cream cheese.
2. Spread 1/4 cup soup mixture into each of two greased 13-in. x 9-in baking dishes. Place 1/3 cup (1/4 for corn tortillas) chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in baking dishes. Pour remaining soup mixture over tops; sprinkle with cheese.
3. Bake one casserole, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted. Cover and freeze remaining casserole for up to 3 months. Be sure to label the casserole with the date and cooking instructions
4. To use frozen casserole: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Cover and bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until heated through and cheese is melted. Yield: 2 casseroles (5 servings each).

Nutrition Information:

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 852 Saturated Fat: 19g Cholesterol: 158mg Sodium: 1719mg Carbohydrates: 54g Fiber: 3g Sugar: 7g Protein: 52g

What is your favorite Double Duty Dinner recipe?