For the entire month of September, I’ll be participating in the SNAP Challenge and attempting to eat on $4.50 per day. Read more here.
**UPDATE: Well, I overlooked the fact that you can’t buy rotisserie chicken with SNAP benefits! You can, however, buy a fresh chicken and roast a home if you have time. There are links throughout the post on how to roast your own chicken, if needed.**
I’m back! I’ve completed the move to my new house, my internet is hooked up, and I can finally update week four of the SNAP Challenge. I was worried about not having time to cook before packing up my apartment, but I made it work. I was able to whip up these enchiladas in just a short amount of time and they helped keep me fed all week through the tough move.
For these enchiladas I utilized the convenience of a grocery store rotisserie chicken. Roasting a chicken at home is actually quite easy, but you have to have a little time on your hands. If you’re short on time or too intimidated to do it yourself just yet (promise me you’ll try it eventually), grocery store rotisserie chickens can be a good option. Sometimes they’re the same price or even slightly less expensive than fresh chickens and all the work is done for you. Just make sure to price compare. My chicken was $6.99 and I used half of the meat (about two cup, loosely packed) to make the enchiladas. I’ll explain how I used the rest of the chicken, including the carcass, in the week summary. ;)
I made a quick and easy creamy red sauce similar to the sauce used for this Creamy Tomato and Spinach Pasta, except I used canned tomatoes with green chiles for a southwest flavor. I then added my usual can of black beans and a cup of frozen corn (I just love that combo) to fill out the enchiladas and stretch the meat a bit further. I quickly made a batch of my favorite red enchilada sauce to pour over top (seriously, only takes about ten minutes) and then they were ready to go in the oven. Pretty easy!
Creamy Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas
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SNAP Challenge: Creamy Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas
Servings 8 enchiladasIngredients
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.02)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 15oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles ($0.73)
- 4 oz. cream cheese ($0.75)
- 2 cups shredded chicken (about 1/2 of a rotisserie chicken) ($3.50)
- 1 15oz. can black beans ($0.89)
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels ($0.60)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin ($0.05)
- 8 soft taco sized 8 inch tortillas ($1.12)
- 1 batch homemade red enchilada sauce (about 2 cups) ($0.80)
Instructions
- Mince the garlic and sauté it in a large skillet with cooking oil over medium heat for one to two minutes, or until slightly softened. Add the can of diced tomatoes with green chiles and let simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the tomato liquid has reduced by about half and become slightly thick.
- Cut the cream cheese into chunks and stir it into the tomato mixture. The sauce will become smooth and creamy as the cheese melts in.
- Rinse and drain the can of black beans, then add them to the skillet along with the frozen corn kernels, shredded chicken, and cumin. Stir to combine. Taste the filling and add salt if needed.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Scoop about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the creamy chicken mixture into each tortilla and roll it up like a cigar. Place the filled and rolled tortillas into a 9×13 inch casserole dish, seam side down.
- While the oven is preheating, make a batch of homemade red enchilada sauce (or use canned), then pour it over the enchiladas in the casserole dish (you may or may not use all the sauce, it’s up to you). Bake the dish in the preheated oven for 40 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the edges of the tortillas are slightly brown and crispy.
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Notes
Nutrition
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Step by Step Photos
I used about half of the meat from one grocery store rotisserie chicken for this recipe. I was able to pull about four loosely packed cups of meat from one chicken. I find the meat easier to pick when it’s chilled, so I just popped it into the refrigerator when I got home from the grocery store. If you want to roast your own chicken instead, you can find great instructions at thekitchn.com.
I divided the chicken in two, about two loosely packed cups each. I froze half for use in a second recipe later.
To begin the enchiladas, mince two cloves of garlic then sauté them in one tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium heat for one to two minutes, or until the garlic is softened and slightly fragrant.
Next, add one can of diced tomatoes with green chiles. This is the generic version of Rotel. If you can’t find Rotel or a generic version at your local grocery store, you can sub one 15-oz. can of regular diced tomatoes and one 4-oz. can of diced green chiles (usually found in the ethnic food aisle). Add the can of tomatoes to the skillet and let it simmer for about five minutes, or until some of the liquid has evaporated and it’s a little thicker.
Next you’ll need 4 ounces (half a block) of cream cheese. Cut the cream cheese into pieces so that it melts into the sauce easier.
Stir the cream cheese into the tomatoes until it melts in. It will look a little chunky to begin with, but as it melts it will become smooth…
Like this!
Rinse and drain one 15-oz. can of black beans, then add them to the skillet with two cups of shredded chicken. one cup of frozen corn kernels.and 1/2 tsp of cumin.
Mix it all up and now you’ve got a creamy and delicious chicken enchilada filling. (taste the sauce and add salt if needed. I didn’t add any to mine, but that’s personal preference.)
Fill your tortillas with the chicken mixture, then roll them up like cigars. The amount of filling and number of enchiladas you get will depend on what size tortillas you buy. I prefer smaller tortillas for enchiladas, but these particular tortillas were buy one get one free this week, so I hopped on that. There is a lot of filling, so I was able to make eight large enchiladas.
Place the filled and rolled enchiladas into a large (9×13 inch) casserole dish, seam side down.
Start preheating the oven to 350 and whip up a batch of red enchilada sauce while you wait (or use canned, but this homemade sauce is FAR superior). That recipe makes about two cups of sauce and you may or may not use all of it on the enchiladas, just depending on how saucy you like them.
Pour the sauce over the enchiladas and pop them in the oven for about 40 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the edges of the tortillas are a little brown and crispy.
I poured the remainder of my sauce over top when they came out of the oven and I happened to have some cilantro in the fridge, so I threw that on there for the photo’s sake. As I mentioned, these were fairly large so I ate one per sitting along with a big helping of some cilantro lime rice.
I never get sick of enchiladas!
I would give this 3.5 stars. I should have left out the cayenne in the enchilada sauce–I halved the amount and we all thought it was still too spicy. These were just ok the first day, but did taste better the next day. I split the bean/tomato mix in half, mixed chicken in with half of it, and a can of corn in with the other half to satisfy both vegetarians and meat-eaters., and sprinkled cheese on top. Might add onions and cheese in the enchiladas if I make again.
I’ve been making this for a good number of years now, and this is quite literally my husband’s favourite dinner. Thanks!
(Intended 5 stars, site isn’t working on my phone)
doubled the recipe so my household would have leftover for tomorrow. They DEVOURED it in a single evening! I live with the pickiest eaters under the sun sometimes and they absolutely loved this and want me to make it again. Absolute winner. I added cheese on top at the end of baking for that smothered enchiladas look.
The enchilada sauce, THANK YOU! I absolutely abhor the sauce from a can. It tastes bitter and stale. I can finally make enchiladas.
I made this with toasted corn tortillas and a half recipe of the mole enchilada sauce from your Avocado & Black Bean Enchilada recipe. Learn from my mistake— don’t halve the enchilada sauce! Make a full batch and put a bunch in the bottom of the pan, otherwise the tortillas get really tough and hard to eat. Also, I should have only baked for 25-30 min. 40 min was too long for corn tortillas. Will attempt again soon.
This one is amazing. I’ve made it a handful of times and it’s always perfect
Great recipe.
As a vegetarian, I doubled the beans and corn while removing the chicken. This was a simple to fix, and some thing new to add to the recipe list for the month, as I try to not be eating the same thing ten or more times a month.
I was making this recipe and the craziest/funniest thing happened (true and funny story). A friend dropped by and at the last minute, needed me to babysit 2 of her kids. I knew I needed to make this meal stretch double plus in a hurry for several additional guests. So I doubled the cream cheese from 4oz to the full 8oz block. I used 1 pound of ground pork (that I lightly seasoned) that I had on hand already defrosted instead of 2 cups of chicken. I added 2 cans of beans and 2 cans of corn and 2 cans of diced tomatoes (without the green chilies) instead of 1 can of beans, corn, and tomatoes to make it stretch. I made 2 pans instead of 1 pan of enchiladas. I made your homemade enchilada sauce and put that on the bottom of both pans. I used corn tortillas instead of flour. I only had 1 pack of corn tortillas. So instead of wrapping each enchilada with the corn, bean, cheese mixture, I laid 6 tortillas spaced out on the bottom of each pan. Then I put the corn, cheese, and bean mixture (drained) on top of the spread out corn tortillas. Then I put another 6 corn tortillas spaced out on top of the corn, cheese, and bean mixture. Then I put remaining enchilada sauce on top. Since I was babysitting, I sprinkled cheese on top of the enchilada to make it fun and the kid thought I was a cooking genius (hahaha!!!). We were all able to eat and it didn’t break the ‘budget’ thanks to Budget Bytes. Thanks again for another wonderful recipe Beth.
Great job innovating in a pinch!! :)
Made these for the second time last night and they’re just as delicious as before. I had a random sweet potato that I needed to get rid of and have enjoyed the sweet potato/black bean combo from your other recipes, so I added that in there too – with that, I ended up with 11 enchiladas! I couldn’t fit the last two in the pan and ate them as tacos instead while I had the pan of enchiladas in the oven :-D. Yum!
Quick question though – I realized after I stuck these in the oven that there’s no way I’ll be able to eat them all before I have to head out of town. Do these freeze well? With the cream cheese, I wasn’t sure how that would go, but I don’t want them to go to waste. Thanks!
Sorry – just saw that you already answered this question. Please ignore me! Thanks!
This has become my GO-TO recipe for meal trains. It’s so easy to make at my house (in a disposable pan) then transport to a friend’s house for them to bake when they are ready for dinner. Always gets great compliments! I LOVE the sauce too – excellent flavor and just the right amount of ‘kick.’
We loved this enchiladas! very easy to make and very tasty. I will be making this enchiladas again.
IT IS REALLY GOOOOOOOOD!
SNAP information that might help – you CAN get a rotisserie chicken! You just have to get a cold one – not a hot one!
I love your recipes – keep them coming!
SOOOO good!!
I omitted the black beans but I’ll be making this again and again!
Every time I make this, I always have extra filling. What could I do with it? Would it keep good as a taco filling for quick lunch?
Yep! Or even just folded over in a tortilla and crisped up in a skillet as a quesadilla.
Have you frozen these? If so, how well did they freeze? I made these tonight and had a lot of leftovers. (I added some onion, extra tomatoes by accident, and extra chicken. I got 12 out of it and decided to freeze the rest of the filling by itself.)
I feel like these would freeze well.
Thinking of making this for my momma, who does not do spicy at all. Will the green chiles add heat? Thanks!
I depends. Some canned chiles are completely mild, while others do have some heat. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, they’ll label them “mild”.
Great work! Love your blog. So glad someone is doing this!
Do you think this would work with green enchilada sauce instead of red?
Probably, yes. :)
This looks very good and balanced one, is using olive oil instead of vegetable gonna change the taste a lot? I am just looking for a healthier tweak but as a whole this looks great!
Nope, that should be an unnoticeable swap. I only used vegetable because it’s cheaper. :)
Does no one else have a problem with their tortillas turning into glue from the oven? I’ve tried enchiladas with every tortilla imaginable, they always fall apart from cooking in the oven. I just refuse to make them anymore.
Warm the tortillas up first
Holy moly these are good!! Just finished leftovers of these from last nights dinner. This is by far my FAVORITE enchilada recipe I have ever used! I did everything the same as you, except I made my own taco seasoning and used that in place of the cumin. Amazing! I think leftovers were even tastier then it was fresh last night. Thanks for this recipe!! 😃
Made these tonight and they were so delicious! My husband demanded that I add shredded cheese on top at the end, but we still had the crisp of the tortilla. I’m so glad I made the homemade sauce too. We have enjoyed many of your recipes for dinner, so thank you!
We’ve made this at least a dozen times since you first posted the recipe and we LOVE it! We follow the recipe exactly, and it is perfection every time. I think it has a lot to do with that sauce. I compared it to a canned sauce and like you said, the homemade stuff is definitely far superior. The best enchiladas I’ve ever had.
Hi Beth, love your blog. I just found it this past week when I searched for sriracha ideas. Anyhow, I made your “Fire roasted salsa” and “Honey Spice Chicken Thighs” last night which were great BTW. ( I used whole chicken breasts instead of thighs). Being the leftover re-engineer chef that I am, I shortened this by taking the leftover salsa and chicken and then added the cream cheese, corn, black beans and then whipped up your red enchilada sauce and this turned out perfectly simple. Thanks!
These are awesome!! I have made this recipe 5 or 6 times and it always turns out great! Super easy and very filling. I brought them to a pot luck and everyone loved them! I haven’t frozen them, but they are great as left overs.
To make things easy (I hate having left over ingredients), I just use the whole chicken, 20 oz total of the tomatoes and green chiles (I can only find 10 oz cans so I just use 2 cans) and a whole can of corn (a little more than what the recipe asks for). I double the cumin and garlic and add a little cayenne. With the extra ingredients, it usually ends up making about 14 enchiladas… I use one 9×13 casserole dish and one 8×8 casserole dish, although I did manage to pack them all into a 9×13 once :)
To update your SNAP information. Most larger stores now sell cold rotisserie chickens that can be purchased with SNAP. Enjoying your recipes.
My local grocery store is having some awesome Cinco de Mayo sales so I got a lot of BOGO ingredients with this recipe in mind. I left out the chicken to keep it vegetarian and to make it a bit more low-fat (but making it less budget-friendly) used low-fat Laughing Cow spreadable Swiss wedges instead of the cream cheese. Also used your homemade enchilada sauce (with my frozen tomato paste from last month which I never would have thought of prior to your website!) and everything has turned out fabulous. I also added gob of shredded cheddar, because, well, cheese. Next time, though, I’ll use one of the suggestions in the comments and add some onion to the mix. Great idea!
Another home run Beth. Thank you.
I made these and they were great! I had a question about it though. We made en extra pan of it to freeze and take out for a day no one felt like making anything for dinner. We added the sauce like you’re supposed to do right before you put them in the oven, but didn’t bake it before putting it into the freezer. Any suggestions or thoughts on how to heat it up since we didn’t bake it before?
I think I’d try lowering the heat a bit and maybe even cover it for half the baking time. It will take longer to bake since it’s frozen/cold, so generally you want to go a little slower and at a lower heat so the outer edges don’t over cook before the center is heated. Covering it will help prevent it from drying out as it reheats.
Okay. Thank you!
Beth, I am hosting a July 4th party for about 60 and this would be a great and easy entre’ for it (with beer and chips). How to ramp this recipe up for 130 enchiladas and sauce? I assume I would have to make it early and freeze them until the actual day. Would this work? Thanks.
Yikes, honestly I’ve never cooked for so many, or tried freezing this one before cooking. I don’t think I could give good recommendations without having tried it myself.
Just wanted to say, I made these for my husband and I last night and they were great! We’ve been wanting to mix up our daily dinners and this site has provided dinner ideas for us for the foreseeable. Thank you!!
These were, by far, the best enchiladas I’ve made. The enchilada sauce was terrific. Made them with the cilantro rice and even the pickiest eaters in the family devoured them!!
I freeze enchiladas all the time and they do very well to freeze after baking. Just put them in a freezer container, I usually freeze two together, seal, label and date. I prefer to remove them from plastic containers and put them on glass or china to heat in the microwave oven.
I can’t wait ti make this tomorrow. Just confused, What is SNAP?
It stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and is commonly known as food stamps. You can learn more about SNAP and the challenge here. :)
This is why I loved canned chicken. Shelf stable shredded and cooked. Can totally buy it with our food stamps too! Perfect for enchiladas and tacos.
These are awesome!! I made up a batch to have for lunch all week (along with the cilantro lime rice). I am the envy of the lunchroom!
I made this last night. OMG it was so delicious!! I didnt use all of the filling and let me just say, the filling can be a meal itself. lol. It was sooooo good and flavorful. Also, side note, my husband said it was one of the best enchiladas he’s ever eaten! Yaaay. Thank you, Beth!!
Just a side note to the issue of buying the rotisserie with SNAP, once the chickens have met the timeline for having them in the hot case they are moved to the cold case. Once any Deli items has moved from the hot Deli section to the cold case section it can be purchased with SNAP. :)
Holy tastebuds! These were awesome! My husband said that they were the best enchiladas he’s ever tasted, and he’s tasted quite a few. The sauce was delicious, also! A definite keeper! Thank you!
I loved this dish!! it went a long way. I had 4 chicken breasts that where $6 and yield 1.5lbs. I placed them in pot with water about an inch above the meat. I boiled them on high for 15 mins until their temp was just right and no pink resided. I was really surprised on how water had so much flavor! I realized that I forgot to buy broth for the cilantro lime rice :( so I used the water left over from the shredded chicken.. it was perfect!! and a great use of resources.
also… had alot of shredded chicken to put into the remaining wraps for lunches
Hi, just wondering if you have tried to freeze these and if they freeze well? Would you recommend freezing them without the red sauce on them first? Thanks
I didn’t actually freeze these, but I think they would freeze okay (after baking with the sauce).
Could I just double the veggies to make these vegetarian?
Yep, that should work well. :)
Husband here- yup, I cook- just like your husband should too. Tell him that- he’ll get mad, but then realize how much it improves the relationship (read- SEX). That’s what *real* dads do.
I’m about to take this one out of the oven, but would have added cheese….probably cheddar…inside and on top. It’s just not enchiladay enough with out a boat load of cheese. Just my honest opinion.
Loved this! We didn’t find rotisserie chicken at the store so I just cooked up some stir fry chicken tenders and that worked perfectly. Yum! What a great recipe, thanks! :)
I just made these for my family and they were a huge hit. My husband has already asked for these again. I followed the recipe, which was quick and easy. Thank you for a fabulous dinner.
These are amazing! Eating my leftovers right now. Definitely adding these enchiladas to the dinner rotation. I added a little extra meat and topped with shredded cheese. I also made the homemade enchilada sauce and it tasted great. Absolutely delish!
Delish delish delish!! I made the rice and the homemade sauce too. I’m officially never using the canned sauce again!
I have these in the oven right now! Everything tasted so yummy before putting them together so I know they are going to turn out delish.
With the other half of the chicken I made a tortilla soup, used parts of your Chicken and Lime recipe and doctored it up a bit with stuff I had in the house (Mixed beans, since my black beans were used up)….I have to say I’m stuffed after a bowl of soup that was supposed to be an appetizer. Looks like we’ll be eating this stuff all week.
while it’s true that you can not buy the fresh cooked that day rotisserie chickens on SNAP, you can buy the ones from the day before. Which works well if all you are going to do it shred them ;)
Delicious! I’m eating these right now. Super easy to make, and super cheap. I had a coupon for rotisserie chicken and had it for dinner last night – used some to make this today, have the frame going in the crock pot for stock, and have enough left over chicken for chicken soup or something else later.
I added shredded cheese as soon as it came out of the oven, and topped it with sour cream once it hit my plate (I love dairy…).
Amazing! I used chèvre instead of cream cheese, and it was an amazing substitution.
Oooh, I love chèvre!
My boyfriend and I loved these! We followed the recipe exactly and it was wonderful.
Outstanding! Made it exactly to recipe.. Added shredded Mexican cheese in the last 5 mins. Next time I’m trying a verde enchilada sauce instead of the red sauce. More of a cali-mex style. Will make this again and again.
Like this sauce..
Chi-Chi’s Mexi-sauce:
Saute 1/2 cup chopped onion and 2 chopped garlic cloves in a skillet with vegetable oil. Add a pinch each of chili powder, cumin, sugar and salt; cook 30 seconds. Stir in two 4-ounce cans chopped green chiles (drained and rinsed); cook 2 minutes. Add 1 cup chicken broth and simmer until thickened, then puree. Stir in 1/4 cup chopped cilantro.
I love this recipe! It was a hit with my husband…before he even finished the first bite he said “Can you make this again?!”
I mucked up the recipe just a bit — only used 2 oz of cream cheese (was still nice and creamy) and realized I was out of tortillas too late, so I used naan. Even still, I’ll be making this regularly!
Hi Beth, I came across your website while looking for your basic chili mix recipe and ended up finding much much more..I thought to myself “finally…here is a person that is frugal, as well as having diverse tastes like my own!” Growing up with a southern mom and a South American father, we were exposed to
Many tastes. Thanks so much for the wonderful recipes and keep up the great job!!
Our local Walmart refrigerates some of their cooked chickens then place a EBT sticker on them. SNAP eligible!
As usual I have only good things to say about your site. I admire that you are working on a SNAP budget. (You’ve made me appreciate the challenges of so many Americans!) I am a teacher and know that many of my student’s’ families face economic challenges. Tomorrow is my day with no planning periods, a meeting at lunch, and a two-hour class after school. I pre-made the sauce and filling for this recipe when I got home today and am looking forward to assembling an easy and affordable dinner tomorrow night. Thank you!
Congratulations on moving into your new house, and I am SO happy that you are settled. I want to thank you for doing the SNAP challenge, because it’s important to bring awareness for those who are trying to get food on the table, but are unable to do that-due to their finances. I’ve read some of the comments about SNAP, and unfortunately, some people can extremely judgemental and ignorant, so what do they know about NOT doing without-especially a meal for a few days!! Again, thank you for bringing awareness to this issue.
I recently ran across this site looking for a slow cooker recipe for white bean soup. I have it cooking in the slow cooker now. What a great place to find recipes to stretch your food budget (money is s bit tight right now). I saw the comment on not being able to get rotisserie chicken with SNAP. You can if you wait until the end of the day when they put some in the deli department. You can buy them cold and just reheat. I am not on SNAP but I have been in the past and bought rotisserie chicken.
Fantastic recipes.
Congratulations on being settled in the house! Looks like a great dinner for our house! Especially something to do with leftover roast chicken from a Sunday!
Yum–I couldn’t resist adding some sauteed diced onion, and green chile (a lingering item from the very cheap Hatch chile specials at my grocery store from a couple of weeks ago–it was almost jalapeno hot–these things do vary–and cost about $.30)
Just so you know, if no one else has said it, you CAN buy a COLD rotisserie chicken on SNAP! Most stores will pop unsold ones in the fridge section for the late-night eaters, and those can be bought with a benefit card and thus re-validates your recipe.
I just tried making these today. They were really delicious. I went all the way and even made the enchilada sauce. I paired it with your cilantro lime rice. Soooo good! I love your site and will continue trying your recipes. Thanks a lot! :3
There is a grocery store here that refrigerates some of the rotisserie chickens which makes them SNAP eligible.
Congratulation! I’m so happy to hear that you are settled. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. I’m definitely pinning it, as we eat a lot of Mexican food. Beans, rice, and tortillas are both frugal and filling. Thanks, again, for bringing awareness to this important issue.
Typo, just made
When I’m in a hurry I’ll assemble the dish layered lasagna style..just kade a veggie version with steamed butternut squash in place of the chicken. Yum!
My local grocery store has a section where you can buy rotisserie chicken on snap. The only difference is it’s cold .
Yes, same here. Plus, the cold ones are usually a dollar cheaper anyway.
Beth, these enchiladas were just stupendous. They served two heartily with enough left over for another eagerly-anticipated dinner. Kudos to you for managing to share your delicious recipes with us in the midst of a move.
*rotel
To tell only comes in 10 oz (at least in my grocery store). Is this enough? Or does it come in a larger size?
It would probably still work just fine with a 10oz. can, or you can use two for more chile flavor. I don’t know why the generic comes in a 15oz. can instead. :P
Made this for dinner tonight and it was great! I have always disliked enchilada sauce, but the recipe for making your own was really tasty. I’ve rarely made them, but now that I know that the sauce can be good, I anticipate making more!
This looks so yummy! :)
I actually work some with the SNAP program, and I’m glad you made this “mistake,” as I think it highlights how rules that have been in place for years just don’t make sense in the modern era and need to be changed.
As someone pointed out above, frozen or take-and-bake pizza is a-okay on SNAP, but a hot rotisserie chicken or salad bar items are off-limits. To me, that is insane. Here, you could have made this recipe and then put it in the freezer for later in the month, then used the other half of the chicken to make chicken tacos. I do this all the time, and because I’m only cooking for one or two, I get toppings from the salad bar instead of buying a ton of veggies I might waste. Things like shredded cabbage, precut green, white or red onions, diced tomatoes, angel hair lettuce, sliced radishes, etc. all are mostly lightweight, so the cost isn’t that high, it saves a ton of time (and makes it more likely you choose the veggies rather than the frozen pizza!), and the greater variety keeps you from getting bored with your good choices. Everyone wins.
This looks great!
The chicken filler is similar to the crock pot chicken tacos I make- chicken breasts, cup of salsa, taco seasoning, can of corn and can of black beans then cooks all day on low! An hour before I serve it I add a block of cream cheese to make it all creamy! It makes so much I usually will use it for quesadillas and enchiladas that week. I’m looking forward to using your red sauce recipe instead of can this time!
looks like another keeper! do you ever cook your own black beans(or any beans?)it’s so much cheaper. i buy in bulk and they are organic. soak over night in brine,then into the pressure cooker they go. I couldn’t afford your book at present(even though it is very affordable). so printed off at least 20 recipes to start a cookbook folder for my college sophomore.Thank you!!!
Yep, I sure do make my own black beans! I love making a batch and then keeping them in the freezer – just as convenient as canned. I even did a tutorial on how to cook them in the slow cooker. :) I just haven’t had time to do it with the packing and moving to my new place.
Would this work with pork? I have a ton of cooked pork in my freezer from a $.97/lb. boneless pork loin sale. I just cooked it in the crock pot and shredded it. Now I need to put it to good use!
I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. :) Go for it!
Hi Beth! Congratulations on becoming a homeowner! I’m sure a lot of anxiety has been relieved and I’m sure you’re having a lot of fun arranging your new space. I hope you’ll let us in on your progress! Now on to my question about your recipe: how did you store or use the remaining half of your cream cheese? Thank you!
I just wrapped it up in that foil wrapper and popped it back in the fridge. I find that it’s good for at least a week or so that way. Now that the challenge is over, I’ll probably eat it on bagels. :)
I say this still qualifies. You cant but hot food with SNAP but you can buy cold. You heat this recipe up in the oven so the chicken doesn’t need to be hot. How do we know you didn’t buy it cold?!
Having a hot and cold option is nice and often over looked. I swear by the cold chicken wings when we go out on the boat because they are going in the cooler. No sense in spending a buck more when they will be cold by the time we eat them any ways!
Interesting twist! I went and read the rules for SNAP, and basically hot foods are not allowed, but prepared foods are. So frozen pizza, yes, slice of hot pizza, no. How byzantine! And highlights the difficulty of navigating something where someone else who has probably never had to use SNAP is making the rules. It’s an unfortunate loss of control on your life that just sounds exhausting.
Interesting! I thought it was all prepared foods, not just hot. I’m learning so much. :)
I’m a cashier at a major Eat coast grocery store and here in Virginia, you can buy rotisserie chicken with food stamps. You just have to make sure the cashier rings it to go and not eat in. Same with sushi. Trust me, I do it all day and it’s legal.
East coast, not eat.
Interesting!
Around here (S Tx) you can buy a cooked and cooled rotisserie chicken with SNAP.
This looks great! Any recommendations for making it vegetarian? Would another can of black beans and maybe a bit more corn make up the difference of not including the chicken?
Yep, that’s exactly what I’d do. Or add a second type of bean, like pinto.
Diced potatoes or sweet potatoes go great in enchiladas! I roast or steam them before making the enchiladas.
I subbed out the chicken for an extra half cup of corn and a can of refried beans. Turned out great!
Hi, I just wanted to correct you on something about SNAP- as long as you buy a cold Rotisserie Chicken, which you can at most places that sell them, SNAP will cover it. I’m currently on SNAP and I buy rotisserie chickens regularly because in some cases its cheaper than buying frozen and cooking it myself.
I want to try these now! I actually really like that you made the rotisserie chicken mistake. I think it really highlights the challenges associated with having to budget with SNAP and not having the resources (time and money-saving though it may be) that we’re so used to relying on. Well-done!
This does sound good. You cannot purchase a hot cooked rotisserie chicken with SNAP, but you can purchase one that has been cooked and chilled if your supermarket sells them. Here where we live Win-Co sells them.
i was going to mention the chilled chickens. The groceries around here often sell cold rotisserie chickens in the deli area for up to $1 less than the hot ones.
Maybe it varies, but here you can buy a rotisserie chicken if it’s cold, but not if it’s freshly cooked and hot (makes so much sense right? ).
These sound great! I’ve tried a few of your enchilada recipes and they are always fantastic. Next time I have rotisserie chicken on hand, I’ll give these a go.
Sarah
Midwest Darling
Fyi, you can’t purchase a rotisserie chicken on snap. But I still love you! :)
Oh no!! Hahah… I had no idea, but now that makes sense. It’s a “prepared food product”. Grr.
At least in some states (since I know some of the rules on things like that vary from state to state), you can buy rotisserie chickens, but only if they’re cold. That makes it not a “prepared food product” because it’s not technically a ready-to-eat meal anymore. (Yes, that’s amazingly arbitrary, I know.)
The supermarket where I used to work would actually mark those chickens down a little (IIRC, they were the previous day’s unsold rotisserie chickens that they chilled overnight and then put out again in the refrigerator case)–but even if they didn’t, they slapped a new price sticker on them so they’d scan as something you could buy on SNAP.
Not to worry, just take your EBT card over to the local pot dispensary, withdrawal some cash at their conveniently located ATM and head back across the street to buy the chicken…
You can’t withdraw cash with an EBT card.
Beth, I love that you’ve been doing the SNAP challenge all month! Unless something has changed though, people using SNAP benefits aren’t able to purchase rotisserie chicken with their benefit money. It’s a “prepared food” and therefore ineligible. I’ve done some reading on SNAP and it’s one of my biggest peeves about the program, because rotisserie chickens are so useful and such a huge timesaver, not to mention cost effective. I do see hat you’ve included a link for instructions on how to roast your own chicken, which is great!
Gah! I had no idea! :P
Sometimes, when I have the luxury to plan ahead, I will buy a whole chicken and cook it in my crockpot overnight. I will season it with S,P, and onion and garlic powders. I put it on low and turn it on about an hour before bed, and in he morning put the liner in the fridge after I have let the pot cool. When I get home from work, the chicken is cool and ready to be shredded. Generally I can buy a fresh chicken less expensive than rotisserie. As an aside, the drippings make good gravy or broth base. And you can always make soup by boiling the carcass. I like to keep the spices simple, so it is versatile in a variety of dishes. I have been known to cook two at once like this, and freeze the shredded chicken in recipe-ready sized portions.
Thanks so much for this tip to go along with this delicious-looking recipe! Do you add any liquids to the crock pot or just the chicken and seasonings? Thanks for your help!!
I’m glad you mentioned this! If I’m cooking a chicken just to have the meat cooked for leftovers in other recipes, I’ll cook a chicken in the slow cooker on low for 8 hours all day, and then make broth with veggie scraps, and the leftover bones overnight.
If I’m cooking chicken for dinner, I’ll roast it, but the slow cooker is so much easier just to get cooked chicken for pastas, salads and tacos, etc.
Beth, I was moving last week, too – but I moved OUT of the city house. I really can’t imagine cooking with all the packing. These enchiladas look quite yummy. I’ll try the recipe – thanks.