Cooking for a Large Family: Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas with Corn

We love having Mexican Dinner Night! Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas with Corn is one of our family favorites. A full 9x13 inch pan will serve our large young family with leftovers for lunch. This is one of the quickest and easiest dishes to make, and when the kids get older it will be no trouble to make this a double batch.

You Will Need:

1 Bag of Burrito Sized Tortilla Shells (8pack)
2 Cans Enchilada Sauce
5 Chicken Breasts
1-12 Oz. Bag of Corn
1-8 Oz. Bag of Fiesta Blend Shredded Cheese
9x13 inch Glass Baking Pan

Preheat the Oven to 375 degrees.

Slice the chicken breasts lengthwise down the middle to make two thinner breasts. Then cut each breast into long strips. You can cube them if you would like, but I like to cut them into strips, toss them in the skillet and then cut them with a bamboo or plastic spatula as they cook. This cuts down on the preparation time a lot and is so much easier. Cook the chicken in a large flat skillet on medium high heat.

While the chicken is cooking, heat up the corn. Adding the corn while it is hot cuts down on baking time in the oven. I like to use the microwave steamer bags, they are so easy, with no clean up and when I get them on sale, they are so cheap.

When the chicken is done cooking, pour one of the cans of Enchilada Sauce over the chicken. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes to let the sauce soak into the chicken.

Add the corn to the chicken and enchilada sauce and mix well.

Add about 3/4 of the bag of Fiesta Blend shredded cheese to the enchilada filling and mix well until the cheese is melted.

The 9x13 glass baking dish will need to be greased slightly to keep the burrito shells from sticking.

In order to get 8 equal sized portions of filling, and to make sure that I don't run out or have too much left over at the end, I like to divide the portions out in the skillet. I divide the filling in half, then into quarters and then each quarter is divided in half to create 8 equal portions of filling.

Spoon each portion of filling into the center of a large burrito sized tortilla shell and spread lengthwise across the center of the shell. Leave about 2-3 inches on the top and bottom edges of the shell, and about 1 inch on either side. Fold each side in over the filling, grab the bottom edge, and fold over the filling and the sides. Finish off the enchilada by rolling the entire shell from the center to the top edge. Then place the enchilada in the lightly greased baking dish with the edge of the shell facing down.

Once all 8 tortilla shells are filled and in the baking dish, pour the second can of enchilada sauce over the enchiladas, covering them completely.

Top off with the last quarter of the bag of fiesta blend cheese.

Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese on top is melted.

Let cool for 10 minutes and serve. Top with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, more cheese...or eat as is and enjoy!

A Few Substitutions and Variations:

~ You can substitute rice or black beans for the corn.
~ You can add a little bit of rice and black beans to the filling, using less corn.