WFD: No-Run, Sort-Of Skinny, Chicken Enchiladas

Today during nap-time, I went trolling for "skinny enchilada" recipes. There are tons of them out there, and they are all basically the same, give or take a few ingredients. I kept seeing common complaints though; too cheesy, too soupy, runs faster than this guy. Since all of these issues appeared to me to be an easy fix, I decided to try my own hand at it.

It came out really well, but I warn you that this is not an exact science type of recipe. There was a lot of eye-balling going on as I figured out what my desired chicken-to-sauce ratio should be. It will greatly depend on how much chicken you use, and how finely you shred it.

I usually cook in small portions - enough to feed my husband while my daughter and I typically split a portion. Since we're not crazy about left-overs here (because that would be too easy), I'm usually always working with 2 small breasts. And there's a sentence that brings laughter to my twelve year old self. Enjoy! (The recipe.)

And no, I still don't have a fancy camera to aid in my horrid picture taking. You'll have to click on my ads about 27 billion more times to make that a reality, and until then you're getting free clip art. You have my thanks in advance.

No-Run, *Sort-of Skinny, Chicken Enchiladas

 

Ingredients 

• 2 chicken breasts
• 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 small onion, diced
• 1-2 tblspn diced green chilies, undrained
• 1/4 cup cream of chicken soup
• 1/2-1 tblspn chicken stock (broth)
• 1-2 tblspn sour cream
• 1/4 cup Mexican Blend cheese (or your weapon of choice in cheeses)
• 1-2 tsp taco seasoning (recipe below)
• 4-6 low carb tortilla shells (I use whole wheat Mission shells)
• Red Enchilada Sauce to taste, extra cheese for topping

Directions

1. Season chicken with a pinch or two of taco seasoning.
2. Broil chicken 5 minutes on each side, or until reaching internal temp of 165.
3. Let chicken cool chicken 5-10 minutes.
4. While the chicken is cooking/cooling; mix soup, chicken stock, sour cream, onion, bell pepper, diced green chilies, cheese, and a pinch or two more of taco seasoning.
5. Once chicken is cooled, shred and add to the filling mixture.
6. Make sure the chicken is well coated, and if not add more soup, stock, and/or sour cream to get desired texture.
7. Spoon mixture off-center into tortillas, roll and place into lightly oiled or greased cooking dish, seam side down. 
8. Cook covered for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
9. Remove cover, add shredded cheese & enchilada sauce to taste and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

*The husband has recently joined me in my calorie counting obsession quest, and so we did our best to tally up this recipe. We came to a guestimate of about 340 calories a serving (1 enchilada). Too bad we ate two, with brown rice. Oh well, we'll control ourselves better next time.

Now, one of the ways we've been able to cut out some processed foods in our house is by mixing our own seasonings. I use this very basic recipe from All Recipes with only one addition: a half tsp of cayenne pepper. Because, well, it wouldn't be a chaotic recipe if I didn't. I usually make this in double quantity and it will last about a month.

Taco Seasoning

 

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions

1. In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients. Store in an airtight container.