CHICKEN ENCHILADAS FOR A HUNGRY SUMMER CROWD

A friend asked for my chicken enchilada recipe, and I decided to post it on here. It’s a terrific crowd-feeder and freezes beautifully when you need to prepare something ahead. I love to take it to new mommies or to people recuperating. Everyone loves it and it can be tailored to suit all thermo-likings from mild to nuclear.

This recipe fills a 21 X 14 pan and feeds about 12-16 people. Halve it and place it in a 9 x 12, or make the whole batch and fill a hot of small tins and freeze them for later.

INGREDIENTS

8 cups cubed chicken (or 8 cups combo of chicken and rice boiled in chicken broth)
2 can cream of chicken soup
2 cans Golden Mushroom soup, or Cream of Celery,
1 lb. sour cream
4 cans chopped green chiles
2 cups milk
1-2 lbs. shredded cheddar or Mexican Blend cheese
18 flour tortillas

Place the chicken or chicken mix in a large bowl. Stir in three cans of chiles. In a smaller bowl, combine the soups, sour cream, remaining chiles, and 1 cup of the milk. Add three cups of this mixture to the chicken.

OPTIONS (If you use the chicken/rice combo which may absorb the milk, or if you find that that the chicken is still very dry, add a bit more milk. You can continue on with the recipe, but I’ve started adding a pound of the shredded cheese to the chicken mix and it makes every bite even more delicious.)

Add the last cup of milk to the remaining soup mix and set aside. Grease the bottom of your pan, and spread a thin layer of the soup/milk mixture along the bottom.

Now begin filling the tortillas with the chicken mix. Lay about a cup of mix along the center line, fold the flap over and roll them up like a cigar. Place them, seam side up, in the pan and repeat until you reach the other side. You may have to squish to fit them. Spread the remaining soup mixture over the top, taking care to coat all the edges. Top with shredded cheese. Cover with foil and either freeze or bake at 350 degrees until center is bubbly—about 40 minutes. (If the pan is so high that the foil touches the enchiladas the cheese will stick to the foil, so suspend the foil above with toothpicks inserted into the food.) Remove the foil during the last few minutes taking care not to let the cheese brown.

Serve with additional hot sauce, picante sauce, chopped scallions, onions, salsa, etc. Add a salad and dinner is on! These also freeze very well after baking and can be reheated in the microwave.

I'm not including any nutritional info. As you might guess, that would just ruin it. LOL!