Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

My family enjoyed a little Mexican feast for dinner.  It was yummy!!! Did any of you celebrate this holiday with Mexican food?  Did you cook a meal for your family or go out to your favorite Mexican restaurant? 

Well, yours truly,  just so happens to be Latino and cooked up some fabulous chicken enchiladas. 
My family absolutely loves my chicken enchiladas and guess what! I am going to tell you all my secrets!

Like most mothers out there, I don't have the time to spend hours in the kitchen.  Besides, as much as I love Mexican food, I am not a fan of corn tortillas smothered in grease!  I am also not a fan of spending hours at the stove.  Now I wouldn't go claiming these enchiladas to be "healthy" but I think given the traditional recipe - they would be a healthier alternative.

If you make similar enchiladas - I would love to hear what you do different. 

Chicken Enchiladas

Normally I would top these with lettuce and then the black olives but I wanted a good picture so I left it off and we added it to our plates.

Black Beans, Guacamole, Pico de gallo, Spanish Style Rice

Chicken Enchiladas

1 rotisserie chicken

1/2 can of low fat cream of chicken soup

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 can of green chilies (small can)

1 tbsp of taco seasoning

1 package of flour tortillas

1 can of red enchilada sauce

2 cups of shredded mexican blend cheese divided

1 can of white queso cheese

1 small can of black olives

1 cup of shredded lettuce

cut, chop or shred all of the meat of the rotisserie chicken in a bowl

add half a can of the cream of chicken or however much to desired thickness

add onion, taco seasoning, green chilies and half the package of cheese and mix together

spoon mixture into each tortilla and roll up leaving both ends open and line up in desired baking dish

then pour the entire can of enchilada sauce over drenching all of the tortillas

then spoon the white queso cheese straight down the center of all the enchiladas and top with the remaining shredded cheese

bake at 350 for 20 mins or until the cheese is nice and bubbly

top baked enchilada with lettuce and black olives and serve

YUMMY!

Spanish Style Rice

(the fast and easy version)

2 cups of fat free chicken broth  (equal to 1 can)

2 cups of minute rice

3/4 cups of chunky picante style sauce (at desired spiciness)

salt and pepper to taste

bring chicken broth to a boil

add picante sauce and bring back to boil

add rice, stir, take off burner and cover for 5 minutes

fluff and serve!

The chicken broth gives the rice great flavor.  For a much healthier version, I sometimes use brown rice and measure the broth according to the package directions.

Guacamole

2 avocados pitted

1 lime squeezed

1 roma tomato chopped

1/2 small onion chopped

1 clove of garlic pressed

2 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro

salt to taste

mash avocados, add juice of lime, roma tomato, onion, garlic, cilantro and salt

refrigerate for 30 minutes or serve immediately

Tip: to keep your guac from turning brown - stick the avocado pit in with it while in the fridge!

Pico de Gallo

5 roma tomatoes chopped

1/2 onion chopped

1 clove of garlic minced or pressed

1 jalapeno seeded, rinsed and chopped (if desired)

1/4 cup of cilantro

1 lime squeezed for juice

1 pinch of chili powder

1 pinch of garlic powder

salt to taste

mix all ingredients and refrigerate for 30 minutes for best taste

Black Beans

Look, I like to do things easy - I just rinse a can of black beans, add a few tablespoons of chopped onion and cilantro. Add in some picante sauce  and salt to taste

So there you have it! The easiest mexican meal ever....and it's straight from a Mexican so you can even pretend it's authentic! LOL

HAPPY EATING!