Everybody chill: Enchiladas freeze easily for an easy dinner

Cook the enchiladas until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling.
Cook the enchiladas until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling.

Sometimes I feel a little guilty. Because I work from home, I can have nachos for dinner every night if I want, while I send my husband off to work with something a little more sensible and microwaveable. (Note: This doesn’t happen.) We save our nacho fests for nights when we’re together (preferably also in the company of some good beers and a good baseball game). For regular weeknight meals any time of year, Dan gets his Tex-Mex fix with these chicken enchiladas.

This recipe is a standby in our house and exemplifies everything great about freezable big-batch cooking. It’s great for assembly-line-style prep, it’s versatile and adaptable (leftover ground beef instead of rotisserie chicken? Awesome!), and I won’t even make you make your own enchilada sauce. The Hatch brand is just as tasty as what I used to make from scratch, and it’s one less thing I need to worry about when my week is hectic. But use your favorite brand if you already have one.

Chicken Chile Enchiladas

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 15-ounce can Hatch red enchilada sauce (or a favorite brand)

1 8-count package taco-size soft tortillas

1 pound cooked shredded chicken (from a rotisserie chicken, or 2 to 3 cooked chicken breasts)

1 small to medium red bell pepper, finely chopped

1 4-ounce can diced green chiles

2 1/2 cups (12 ounces) shredded cheese — Mexican blend, Monterey Jack and/or cheddar

Sour cream, to serve (optional)

Directions:

If you’d like to bake your enchiladas to serve right away, heat the oven to 375 degrees. If freezing, line 2 small (8-by-8-inch) pans or 1 large (9-by-13-inch) pan with parchment. This allows you to lift the enchiladas out of the dish and store them as a solid block in your freezer.

Ladle enough enchilada sauce into your dish to cover the bottom in a thin layer of sauce — about 1/4 to 1/3 cup for smaller rectangular dishes that hold 2 to 3 tortillas, and about 1/2 to 2/3 cup for a 9-by-13-inch pan that holds 6 to 8 tortillas.

Line up as many tortillas on your work surface as will comfortably fit in the dish, using the side “flaps” of each tortilla to prop them open against each other.

Scoop about 1/2 cup chicken into each tortilla. Divide the bell pepper and green chiles evenly between the tortillas, sprinkling the pieces on top of the chicken. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons shredded cheese into each tortilla; then drizzle about 2 tablespoons enchilada sauce over the filling.

Roll the tortillas up, folding them over as you roll so the seamed side of each tortilla is face-down in the pan, and the sauce-covered “bottom” is now on top.

Sprinkle the tortillas evenly with the remaining cheese; then drizzle the remaining enchilada sauce on top. At this point, the enchiladas can be baked immediately and served for dinner; baked and then frozen, once cooled;

or frozen and baked later.

If baking right away: Bake the freshly assembled enchiladas for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling. Serve immediately.

To freeze unbaked enchiladas: Let the enchiladas cool completely; then cover the casserole dish with a lid, or wrap tightly with foil. Freeze directly in the dish for up to three months. Once the enchiladas are frozen solid, lift the block out of the pan and wrap tightly in foil to freeze. Don’t forget to write reheating instructions on the package.

To reheat frozen enchiladas: For not-yet-cooked enchiladas, heat the oven to 375 degrees. Remove the foil from the frozen block of enchiladas, and transfer to a casserole dish (you can leave the parchment on or remove it). Cover the casserole dish with foil, and bake for 30 minutes; then uncover, and bake for 15 minutes more.

For precooked enchiladas, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the foil from the frozen block of enchiladas and transfer to a casserole dish (you can leave the parchment on or remove it). Cover the casserole dish with foil, and bake for 10 minutes; then uncover and bake for 10 to 20 minutes more. Timing depends on the size of the pan: A large 9-by-13-inch casserole will take longer to heat through than a small casserole dish with only 2 enchiladas in it.

Frozen individual servings of precooked enchiladas can be zapped in microwave-safe dishes for 3 to 5 minutes.

Serve the enchiladas with sour cream, if desired.

Recipe notes: Before assembling your enchiladas, make sure the dish you’re making them in is freezer-to-oven safe (and potentially microwave-safe, too, if that’s how you’ll be reheating them). I prefer using sturdy oven-to-table glassware such as a Pyrex container, but there are similar brands and sizes on the market. Just check the manufacturer’s instructions before heating or freezing.

Casey Barber is a writer for TheKitchn.com, a nationally known blog for people who love food and home cooking. Submit comments or questions to editorial@thekitchn.com.

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