Super Cheesy Chicken Fajita Enchiladas
My favorite kind of enchiladas are clearly, first and forever, the chicken variety. These super cheesy chicken fajita enchiladas top the charts with the incredible cheese sauce both inside and out. Simple ingredients blended with a zesty blend of spices makes this a regular menu item for Taco Tuesday.
Let’s Get Cooking!
I may enjoy the art of cooking everything from scratch but some things are just too good to pass up. One of those things is the prepackaged boneless fajita meat. It generally comes in 1-5 pound packages in chicken, beef or pork. The seasonings are phenomenal and I truly enjoy the flavor and convenience.
Today we are working with the fajita chicken thighs. Lay about 2 pounds of the thighs in a Pyrex baking dish. There is no need to spray it first. It won’t stick and will wash easily. Also, we will be using the same dish to cook the enchiladas in. Rough chop a medium sized onion and lay over the chicken. Bake for 25-30 minutes in a 375F (190 Celsius) degree oven.
Take the chicken out of the dish and put it and about a third to a half of the baked onion in a mixing bowl. Shred the chicken and set aside.
Put the rest of the baked onion in a sauce pan with the seasonings and about a pound of cubed processed cheese like Velveeta. My daughter, Terri, didn’t have any of that kind of cheese so she stacked about 7 slices of sliced sandwich cheese and cut it into cubes. Add the salsa and milk.
Stir over a medium heat until its all melted and blended.
Roll’em on Up
Take about half a cup of the sauce (only enough to coat the chicken) and mix it in with the shredded chicken.
Here is where the sliced cheese comes in. Cut the slices in half and center each half on a flour tortilla.
Note: You can also use shredded cheese for this.
Spoon about half a cup of the chicken mixture on top of the sliced cheese. It’s good to be generous with the amount but remember you have to be able to roll it closed. (Fat enchiladas are yum!)
Roll the tortillas around the mixture and put as many enchiladas that will fit in the pan.
Pour the rest of the cheese sauce over the enchiladas and bake for another 10 minutes.
Serve a big plate of this with refried beans and Spanish rice. You can find my recipe for an amazing copy-cat version of Rice-a-Roni Spanish Rice here.
These are great to make ahead of time for a handy freezer meal. Be sure to cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and label with instructions. To reheat, thaw completely and bake for 25 minutes in a 375 degree oven.
Super Cheesy Chicken Fajita Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 2 lbs pre-seasoned chicken fajita meat
- 1 onion rough chopped
- 3 tsps chili powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 3 Tbsp salsa
- 1 cup milk
- 1 lb Velveeta processed cheese approx. ½ block, cubed
- 1 dozen flour tortillas
- 12 oz sliced cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. (190°C)
- Lay the pre-seasoned chicken fajita meat in a baking dish. Top with rough chopped onion.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the baking dish and separate ⅓-½ of the onion and set it aside in a sauce pan.
- Shred the chicken in a bowl and set aside.
- Cube 1 lb of Velveeta processed cheese (½ block) and put it in the sauce pan with the baked onion.
- Add the chili, black pepper, paprika, salsa and milk to the pan and heat on medium until the sauce is blended and melted completely. Set aside.
- Take ½ a cup of the sauce and add it to the shredded chicken and gently stir just until the chicken is coated.
- Place ½ a slice of cheese at the center of each flour tortilla and spoon ⅓ cup of the chicken mixture on top.
- Roll the tortilla around the meat and repeat the process until the baking dish is full of enchiladas.
- Spoon the remaining sauce over the enchiladas and bake for 10 minutes at 375°F.
Notes
