Day 23: Easy Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

This Campbells' recipe has been taunting me in every magazine I read(Woman's Day, Family Circle, People, US Weekly, and Parents) for the last two months, so I finally decided to give it a whirl. It sounded really good and again the picture was very appealing.

Thanks to Dianna, I have discovered my new favorite thing in the whole world...Ziploc Steam Bags. Where have these been all my life? More importantly, why wasn't I told about them sooner? And Helloooo, 10 bags for $2.59 at the Super Target!!! Cheap and Easy...two of my favorite words(in regards to food, of course).

For the most part, my whole meal was made by these bags today. Two chicken breasts in the steam bag were cooked perfectly in 5 minutes and 30 seconds. I even reused the same bag for chicken breast #3 which only took 3 and 1/2 minutes to cook. I also steamed a full bag of broccoli in three minutes. I seriously cannot even begin to tell you how life changing this new found way of cooking is for me. I have no excuse now not to feed my family fresh veggies every night. You can even add seasoning to the bag. It came with four recipes. I will be trying one for next week's menu.

So basically, it didn't matter to me whether the actual meal tasted good or not. In my mind, everything about tonight was a VICTORY!!! Easy Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas will always have a special place in my heart because they introduced me to the new(kitchen) love of my life!

Easy Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

1 can Campbell's Cream Of Chicken Soup(Reg. Low fat, Fat free)
1 cup Pace Picante Sauce(Mild or Medium)
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1/2 cup sour cream
2 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar Jack cheese
6-8 6 inch flour tortillas (warmed)
tomato
green onion

Step 1: Cook and cut chicken. STEAM BAGS ARE WHERE IT'S AT!!!!

Step 2: Mix soup, sour cream, picante sauce and chili powder. Seperate into two bowls.

Step 3: In one bowl, add the chicken and cheese. Mix well.

Step 4: Fill tortillas with chicken mixture and put in 9X13 glass dish seam side up.

Step 6: Top with remaining sauce(in other bowl). The sauce will help keep the tortillas closed.

Step 7: Bake COVERED at 350 degrees for 40 minutes

Step 8: Top with fresh chopped tomato and green onion.

Kitchen Play by Play: I've already told you the best part...STEAM BAGS!!! This meal was in the oven in 12 minutes when it would have taken me almost double that if I had to precook the chicken in the oven or in boiling water. I love cheese; so I didn't measure it. I just put a few handfuls in with the chicken mixture. Some cheese may have also found it's way to the top of the enchiladas. I used low fat cheese, soup, and sour cream. I filled 6 tortillas, but could have fit eight in the baking pan. I covered it with foil and stuck it in the oven. I also made broccoli in the steam bags and washed some delicious, crisp red grapes for the meal as well.

The Finished Product

I know it doesn't necessarily look pretty, but it does look cheesy and delicious, doesn't it?

The Verdict:

Nicole: This was like velvetta and salsa dip on a tortilla with chicken, so of course it gets a huge HELL YEAH!!! It was sooo tasty. I used medium Picante sauce, so it had a kick which made it even more delicious. I was worried that my pack of 20 tortillas would be thrown away, but now I know I'll end up using them this weekend to make this again for lunch. One enchilada was plenty for me, and I used low fat ingredients so I'm guessing that this recipe isn't too bad for me calorie wise either. This is definitley being copied for the recipe box. I give it a 4.5.

Paul-gives it a 5. "Cheesy, spicy chicken=A+"

Austin- Ate ALL of his enchilada even though it was a little spicy. At one point, he said, "too spicy," but I instructed him to eat some broccoli to help his mouth feel better. He replied, with a mouth full of broccoli, "it's not working. I need some grapes." He ate a lot tonight. Easily 25 grapes, a ton of broccoli and his enchilada. I would guess that Austin would give this meal a 5.