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
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!
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.