Chicken and cheese enchiladas

I love Mexican food. Love it, love it, love it. You'd think I'd be able to find decent Mexican food in my area (being in California and all...) but no. Sadly, all the good ones have shut down in the recession. Damn you, economy!

Regardless, I've drowned my sorrows in homemade enchiladas. Actually, I'm not really sad the restaurants are gone. My enchiladas are delicious. They just take a while (warning!), and they're definitely comfort food (code for "not healthy"). If you're imagining the wimpy enchiladas in the restaurants (you know, the ones that you can easily scarf down 3 or 4 of... don't lie, I'm watching you) then you are WRONG! The family calls these mini-burritos. I concur. I can normally take 1.5-2 each meal. :)

Side note: I just realized that my recipes- especially recent ones- usually serve 8-10. As you can tell, I usually make enough for dinner plus seconds (leftovers). Meh. The more the better.

Chicken and Chees

e Enchiladas (serves 8-10)

• • 4-5 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, sliced (or if you're lazy like me, I buy pre-cooked, sliced chicken breasts from Costco that are ready to eat!)
• 1 chopped onion
• 1/2 cup non-fat sour cream
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 TB dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
• 1 TB chili powder
• 1 chopped bell pepper, green (or any color of your choice)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 10 flour tortillas
• 3/4 c shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 small jar enchilada sauce (notice I didn't add salt earlier. I get enough from the sauce, honestly)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Cook chicken in a skillet thoroughly (until meat is no longer pink and juices are clear) with 2

TB oil if using a non-stick pan. Drain the excess fat and liquid from the meat. Or if you're lazy,

like me, and used pre-cooked chicken slices, saute for a bit to warm them up. Return to heat and

add onions, sour cream, cheese, parsley, oregano, black pepper. Stir and heat until cheese melts

and the sauce combines.

3. Stir in tomato sauce, chili powder, green pepper, and garlic. Heat for a few minutes.

4. Prepare your 9x13 baking dish. For easy clean up, I line the dish with aluminum foil. From experience, the tortillas usually stick to the pan, so spray the dish with non-stick spray (or you can use some of the enchilada sauce and spread it out on the bottom before adding enchiladas).

5. Add even amounts of the mixture into the tortillas (typically 3/4 - 1cup??) and roll up tightly. Arrange them carefully in the dish. Pour enchilada sauce over the top and the cheese.

6. Bake uncovered in the oven for 20 minutes. Serve. Yum!