Chicken Enchiladas

Growing up this was my very favorite dinner. Any time I was given a choice or asked for suggestions for dinner I generally answered "Chicken Enchiladas". Now my older two beg for it fairly regularly. It's become a favorite for them too, which admittedly gives me a lot of satisfaction and pride to pass that on.

John made this for dinner for us last Tuesday, which was extra remarkable given that it was his birthday. When he called my mom to find out how long to put it in the oven, her response was "But, but, but, it's your birthday!" So my defense is this, given that his birthday fell on a Tuesday, I informed him I was gonna make him an extra special dinner on Sunday, because Tuesday is a terrible day when it comes to eating as a family as the entire family is not home at the same time until after 8:30, which also happens to be bedtime. We totally eat in shifts, and I've pretty much declared that day my day off when it comes to cooking. If I'm really on the ball, I would have made extra whatever on Monday to have leftovers on Tuesday. (I'm not always on the ball sadly)

So there's not so much a recipe as general instructions

Chicken Enchiladas

baked chicken, shredded or chopped
green onions, finely chopped
black olives, drained and chopped
green chilies, diced
shredded cheddar cheese
Soft Taco sized Flour Tortillas
Red enchilada sauce

Mix up the first 5 ingredients in a bowl until the proportions look right to you.

My mom is known to be super nice and accommodating and make up several variations depending on who is eating. She will add or subtract ingredients like the green chilies or olives depending on people's particular likes or dislikes. Then she will "mark" the individual enchiladas with tooth picks. I'm not that nice. You get what you get and you don't throw a fit. John has even learned to tolerate the black olives over the years.

After mixing the first five ingredients, spoon the mixture into the center of a tortilla, then roll and place in baking dish. Repeat until baking dish is full. Pour enough enchilada sauce over the top, being careful to get it in all the nooks and crannies. (The point is to cover in sauce, not drown)

Cover with tin foil and bake for like 40 minutes at 350 degrees F. (I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm not sure on the time. I always call my mom. After all these years, this is the first time I've written down the directions, cause there's no specific quantities, just "what looks good". ) I'd call her but she's working now. So um, bake for like 30-50 minutes, (could I get more vague?) then take the tinfoil off, sprinkle with desired amount of cheese, and return to oven for 10 more minutes.

Pictures like these only reinforce certain things like I am a lousy food photographer, I just snapped a quick picture to have some kind of visual aid to go with the recipe.

Don't let the picture fool you, my kids are actually pretty happy about eating this. Of course what the picture doesn't show you is that Christopher has no intention of eating that dinner himself, he's getting a forkful to feed me. (or more accurately dump it down the front of my clothes in his attempt to feed me)

Zach even ate as much as I did, and said he liked it. (Which is a first) However, he was practically starving by the time dinner rolled around, he had to eat it all before he could have any birthday cake, and the fact that he never asked for seconds and preferred a PB&J the next night to the leftovers the rest of us ate, tells me he didn't love it that much. I'll take what I can get from that kid. Also sorry about the red-eye, I hate the flash on my camera, I use it as little as possible, but some days I just don't have a choice.