chicken enchiladas: dinner & more dinner

Last week before we got our new air conditioner, my darling friend, Karen, made and brought dinner to us. After all, she said, it's virtually impossible to cook when it's so hot. What a gem. When I asked for her recipe, she was really vague about how she did it, saying "enchiladas are so easy!" So I purchased some ingredients and discovered that she was right, the enchiladas were easy and my kids liked 'em.

Chicken Enchiladas

20 6" corn tortillas
1 packet enchilada mix (I purchased the store brand)
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 cup water
2 chicken breasts, grilled and shredded
1 cup cheese, grated

The enchilada mix instructions tell you to mix 1 packet of enchilada mix with 1 cup of water and 1 6 oz can of tomato paste, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat and add 1 cup of cheese. Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Reserve about 1/3 cup of sauce and cheese mixture. Add shredded chicken to the other 2/3 sauce and cheese mixture.

Warm corn tortillas in the microwave (otherwise they split). Spread 1-2 tablespoons mixture onto warm tortillas, roll and place in pan, seam down. You can overlap the tortillas and squeeze them together to make them all fit. Spread reserved mixture over the top of the enchiladas, sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350* for 20 minutes.

Serve with shredded lettuce, olives, sour cream, and ranch dressing.

Fabulous friend, Karen, brought Spanish rice, but I didn't have time to experiment so I served the enchiladas with a green salad and tortilla chips.

I doubled the recipe. We had one batch for dinner and I put the other batch, covered in heavy duty aluminum foil, in the freezer for another night.