ingredients:-6-10 soft tortilla shells, depending on size*
-~1lb chix (this is my abbrev for chicken...get over it)**
-1-2 packets of cream cheese***
-large (32 oz.) can of Enchilada sauce****-Zatarains brand cajun seasoning
-shredded cheese-colby jack, taco blend, cheddar, take your pick--they all turn out lovely
-baking pan with sides about two inches high
*HEALTH KICK: whole wheat shells
**HEALTH KICK: antibiotic and hormone-free, 100% natural, free-range chicken breast. Second tip--if you are really short on time, you can get pre-cooked, canned chicken...still yummy.
***neufchatel cheese is essentially the same as cream cheese--you may substitute
****HEALTH KICK: look for low-sodium, and, as always, all natrual ingredients list including no preservatives--note: if an ingredient is labeled "added to preserve freshness," you've just entered preservative-city!
Unfortunately for you, I am not a fan of exact measurements in cooking. Making food is messy...and it should be. It is a fine art, and each meal is as individual as the cook preparing it. Therefore, I have not saved the precise measurements from this recipe, which I learned many years back. Nor have I rewritten any of the measurements during any of the numerous times I have recreated this dish. Therefore, I can give you guidelines, but as with anything in life, you'll have to do some experimenting along the way to figure out what is just right for you :)
If you're using canned chicken breast, you can obviously skip this first step. If you're not, you need to boil your chicken breast. until it is cooked all the way through (ie, NO pink remaining). Now for the fun part. Put your cooked chicken in a bowl, and pull out all the ucky parts that are far from appetizing, such as fat, tendons, and generally gross, hard and/or slimy components that you'd rather not experience chomping on. Grab two forks (or just your fingers, if you'd prefer) and start shredding the shit out of the chicken. You can shred it as fine or as chunky as you like, but I have found that the finer it is shredded, the more melt-in-your-mouth (ie delicious) the outcome of your enchiladas.
Once you are thoroughly satisfied with your shredding job (It probably took awhile. Yeah i know it sucks.), you are ready to add the cream cheese! Now depending on how close to a pound of chicken you used, you may use anywhere from one to one and a half, maaaybe two packages of cream cheese. There should be enough cream cheese to coat all of the chicken, but not a ton extra. You want your enchiladas to be moist, for sure, so make sure to cover thoroughly and mix it through well with your hands, but don't go overboard.
Next, add the Zatarains. The seasoning has salt in it, so you're going to want to taste as you add to be sure you have just the right amount. Add it little by little. At first, you can add about enough to cover the whole mixture pretty well--dont be afraid. After this though, taste as you add more so you don't put too much.
You're almost done! Now just put a hunk of chicken mixture in the center of a shell, how ever much you want (eyeball it, keeping in mind how filling you want each individual enchilada to turn out) while leaving at least an inch, inch and a half or so of uncovered tortilla on all four sides. Now fold over one side, then its opposite, then the same with the remaing two sides. Your tortilla will most likely not stay folded, so that's why you need to turn it over so that the weight of the enchilada keeps everything in place. Repeat for each shell, and fill a glass pyrex dish, aluminum dish, or whatever baking dish you have that has sides at about two inches high or so. Place the enchiladas in the dish in only one layer. Their sides may touch.
Now, pour on the enchilada sauce, being CERTAIN to get the sauce UNDERNEATH each enchilada so they do not stick to the pan, and also in between them all, particularly if their sides are touching. Do not completely cover them--you are not making soup. Rub the sauce over the tops to coat, but only fill up the pan about halfway. Now cover your pan with foil and put in the oven on 350F for about 40 minutes, until hot and bubbly. At this point, you will remove the foil and sprinkle cheese liberally on the tops of the enchiladas. Leave the foil off and return the pan to the oven for about ten more minutes, or long enough to melt the cheese. Be careful, those babies will be hot...hot and AMAZING! ENJOY :D
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