Shredded Chicken Enchiladas

I had one of those days where I just did not want to cook, but I really could not get away with eating cereal for dinner...again.

Luckily, I went grocery shopping a couple weeks ago, so I actually had some things to work with.

After taking (an incredibly quick) inventory of my fridge and "pantry", I decided that I'd make enchiladas.  They turned out pretty dang tasty too, if I say so myself (and I do).

Shredded Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can enchilada sauce
salt
ground black pepper
8 boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins
2 cups Mexican Blend cheese, divided
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp. fresh cilantro, roughly chopped, divided (optional)
6 6-inch corn tortillas
cooking spray

Directions:

Add the minced garlic to the enchilada sauce in the crock pot.  Salt & pepper the chicken and add to the crock pot.  Cook on high for 3-4 hours, or until chicken is tender and would shred easily. Remove the chicken from the sauce, set aside and let both the chicken and the sauce cool. (If you're not able to do the crock pot option, you can do this on the stove, cooking the chicken in a large skillet in the enchilada sauce for 20-25 minutes).

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Using two forks, shred the chicken and then transfer the shredded chicken to a large bowl. Add half the enchilada sauce, 1 cup of the cheese and the 1/2 cup of cilantro to the shredded chicken. Stir to combine.

Spray a 9x9 baking dish with cooking spray. Spoon about 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture along the center of the tortilla. Gently, but firmly, roll the tortilla around the filling and place into the baking dish, seam-side down. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

Lightly spray the tortillas with cooking spray. This will help the tortillas turn golden in the oven and will also help keep them from cracking. Place baking dish in the oven, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes or until the tortillas begin to turn golden.

Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Remove the baking dish from the oven. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle remaining cheese over the sauce. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp. fresh cilantro. Lightly cover baking dish with aluminum foil and place into the oven for 20 minutes. Carefully remove foil after 20 minutes and bake, uncovered, for an additional 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is golden.

Remove form the oven and let stand 5-10 minutes prior to serving.

You should give these bad boys a try.  I promise they're tasty!

Enjoy!