"Benchiladas"

(Post edited on Sept. 7, 2009 to add a new photo.)

Wow, it has been a long time since my last blog update! What can I say? I’ve been a busy girl, and have been making pretty un-blogworthy food lately. This dinner, however, had to be added. This meal is one of the first things I learned to make on my own when I was teaching myself to cook. My dad got it out of our local newspaper and made it while I was growing up. Then when I moved out I started making it on my own, and made a few changes to make it even better.

This meal is Ben’s absolute favorite. No matter how good I get at cooking or whatever else I learn to make, we both know nothing will replace these enchiladas as his number one. Whenever I make a new menu for the coming weeks and I ask him what he would like, he always starts with, “Enchiladas!” Any special occasion coming up – I ask him what he wants, and it is, “Enchiladas!” He doesn’t care that these are probably the least authentic enchiladas ever, he LOVES them. I enjoy them too, although I don’t understand the obsession. When I made them this past weekend, he said I just had to add them to the blog, and not only that, I should call them “Benchiladas”. It gave me a pretty good laugh and I think now it may just stick 🙂

This recipe really makes a varying amount of enchiladas depending on how big the chicken breasts are that I use and how much meat I put in each one. I don’t have exact measurements for most of the ingredients because it is really just to taste. This makes a lot of food and is enough to feed several people or to feed two for multiple meals. I recommend reheating leftovers in the oven at 350° until heated through (about 10-12 minutes).

Cheesy Chicken “Benchiladas”
Ingredients:
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8 oz. reduced fat sour cream
8 oz. Ranch salad dressing
flour tortillas (10-15) – we like Azteca, packs of 10
jar of salsa
shredded mexican cheese (I usually use close to 4 cups, I love cheese!)

Directions:
Cook chicken breasts by preferred cooking method until cooked through. Set aside to cool a bit.

While chicken is cooling, mix up the sauce. In a large mixing bowl, combine half of the sour cream and half of the Ranch dressing. In a small bowl, combine the rest of the sour cream and Ranch dressing. Stir both until well combined. Shred or chop the cooked chicken and add to the large mixing bowl. Mix well with sauce.

Preheat the oven to 375°. Grease a 9 x 13″ pan (and possibly another, smaller pan if needed). Take one tortilla and top with a little less than 1 tbsp. of the sauce from the small bowl. Spread over the tortilla in an even layer. Add some of the chicken mixture to the center of the tortilla. Top with salsa to taste. Sprinkle with shredded cheese, to taste. Roll up tortilla and place, seam side down, in the prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining ingredients (usually makes 10-15 enchiladas).

Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes (30 for a crispier tortilla). Allow to cool a few minutes before serving.