Its yet another snow day in the Boston area! I am not complaining, I actually LOVE a snow day as much as my three happy kids! Its like an unexpected and unplanned holiday but with the added bonus that everyone is home ALL day. No requests for rides or trips to the store or drop offs here there and everywhere. Staying home all day with my whole family, hanging out in our pj’s, and fitting in some movies and maybe even a nap is a little slice of luxury. The fact that we all get to sleep in past 6 am is also a MAJOR bonus! To just set the stage, here’s the view outside my front door right now for those of you not from the Boston area: (we have had about 4 feet of snow in the last week!)
Its also a day I love to be in the kitchen cooking those comfort food type dinners. I try to take advantage of the time to get a few dinners out of the way for the rest of the week, which is a big help on busy weeknights as we manage multiple hockey practices, show rehearsals, and homework. Today I did one of our favorite make ahead dinners: Easy Chicken Enchilada Bake. This week we used products from our local Whole Foods Market (Bedford, MA) to make the recipe. I love Whole Foods and I often will use the 365 Everyday Value line of products they offer not only because they use healthy and wholesome ingredients (they offer many options including organic) but also are great on the budget! So many of these products are in the same price point as your mainstream brands.
This speaks to something we talk about ALL the time at The Dinner Daily: shop with a plan, shop the specials, and know your prices. We do this every week for our members and we know it works in helping our member community eat healthy and save money at the same time! Now, on to the recipe:
Ingredients:
1.5 lbs boneless chicken breast, cut into large pieces
1 tbsp. olive oil
15 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained
24 oz of pasta sauce, tomato
1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup salsa (we used mild)
1 package of tortillas (whole wheat or flour)
sour cream, to serve (optional)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350. Cut chicken into large pieces. Season w/ salt & pepper. Heat oil in large skillet & cook chicken until browned on all sides -about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in beans, 1/2 cup pasta sauce, & 1/2 cup of cheese. Remove from heat. Combine remaining pasta sauce & salsa in separate bowl & spread 1 cup across a 13 x 9 baking dish. Place three tortillas on sauce (overlapping) & then spread half of chicken mix on top of tortillas.
Top w/ remaining tortillas (2 to 3) and the remaining chicken, cheese, & sauce. Here is a photo of it all ready to go into oven:
Then, just cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes until hot and chicken is cooked through. Serve w/ a bit of sour cream, if desired. Add a simple side veggie (we used green beans) or a salad and you have an easy quick meal for dinner!
