Seeking Enchilada Recipe/family Gathering Ideas

Updated on December 22, 2008
K.A. asks from Dallas, TX
15 answers

Okay, so this is the first Christmas my husband and I are having both sides of the family to our house on Christmas Eve for dinner. We're cooking Mexican food- maybe enchiladas, tostadas, queso, etc. Any kick-booty recipes?? I've found some in cookbooks, but would love to cook someone someone knows is great. I am also interested in any ideas that would make the Eve special- ways to decorate, cool ways to serve, place settings, etc. Thanks, everyone!

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S.S.

answers from Dallas on

There is a great & easy recipe for chicken enchiladas on the label of Old ElPaso green enchilada sauce. We make them all the time & they are a big hit. Plus you can feed a lot of people on a small budget!

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S.R.

answers from Dallas on

i LOVE this sour cream-chicken enchilada recipe. we make it all the time at our house. i've made it for several gatherings, and everyone always raves about them!

here's the link for the recipe so you can see the pictures and stuff! : )

http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/creamy-chicken-enchi...

also, they're very easy to make ahead. i usually put them together the night before or the morning of, then cover and put them in the refrigerator. and then i bake them the evening of our dinner.

2-1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream, divided
1 pkg. (8 oz.) KRAFT Shredded Colby & Monterey Jack Cheese, divided
1/4 cup chopped cilantro, divided
12 flour tortillas (8 inch)
1-1/2 cups TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Thick 'N Chunky Salsa
Make It

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Mix chicken, soup, 1/2 cup of the sour cream, 1 cup of the cheese and 3 Tbsp. of the cilantro until well blended.

SPOON about 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture down center of each tortilla; roll up. Place, seam sides down, in greased 13x9-inch baking dish. Top with the salsa and remaining cheese.

BAKE 25 min. Sprinkle with remaining 1 Tbsp. cilantro; top with the remaining 1/2 cup sour cream.

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P.B.

answers from Dallas on

Here's my favorite & it makes 2 13x9 full pans - great for a crowd. I just made them again Sat night and everyone loved them... Happy Cooking!

Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1½ pounds skinless boneless chicken breast (about 3 large breasts)
Salt and pepper
2 teaspoons cumin powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon Mexican Spice Blend
(onion salt, chili powder, oregano, cayenne, paprika…)
1 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 large can chopped green chiles
1 med can minced chipotle chiles (I make w/out these)
1 (28-ounce) can stewed tomatoes or chopped tomatoes
½ teaspoon all-purpose flour
16 corn tortillas
1 ½ cups enchilada sauce (my favorite recipe below)
1 cup shredded Cheddar and Jack cheeses
Garnish: cilantro leaves, chopped scallions, sour cream, chopped tomatoes

Directions:

• Coat large sauté pan with oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken over medium heat, allow 7 minutes each side or until no longer pink. Sprinkle chicken with cumin, garlic powder and Mexican spices before turning. Remove chicken to a platter, allow to cool.

• Sauté onion and garlic in chicken drippings until tender. Add corn and chiles. Stir well to combine. Add canned tomatoes, sauté 1 minute.
Pull chicken breasts apart by hand into shredded strips. Add shredded chicken to sauté pan, combine with vegetables. Dust the mixture with flour to help set.
• Microwave tortillas on high for 30 seconds. This softens them and makes them more pliable. Coat the bottom of 2 (13 by 9-inch) pans with a ladle of enchilada sauce. Using a large shallow bowl, dip each tortilla in enchilada sauce to lightly coat. Spoon 1/4 cup chicken mixture in each tortilla. Fold over filling, place 8 enchiladas in each pan with seam side down. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese.
• Bake for 15 minutes in a preheated 350 degree F oven until cheese melts. Garnish with cilantro, scallion, sour cream and chopped tomatoes before serving. Serve with Spanish rice and beans.

Mexican Enchilada Sauce

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons chili powder
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon oregano
3 cups water
1 8-oz can tomato sauce

Directions:

• Combine all dry ingredients in a small bowl.
• Stirring constantly, slowly add enough water to make
• a thin paste. Pour into pan and add rest of water.
• Cook over medium heat (stirring constantly) until thickens.
• Stir in tomato sauce.

3 moms found this helpful

C.M.

answers from Dallas on

Here is what I make, I have learned the traditional way after 10 years of being around my husband's family.

Mexican Rice (easily doubled/tripled, serves 4):

1 cup white rice (not instant!)
2 cups chicken broth
8oz tomato sauce
1 tbls Olive Oil
*celery, a stalk or two, cut in half (for flavor)
*onion, to your taste, I chop up a 1/2 of one
*garlic, I use one minced tbls
*cilantro, to taste, I like alot so I grab about half the bunch and cut off the ends. Its for flavor, some people like to chop it all up.
Cumin - I just eyeball it, I would guess 2 tsp
Pepper - I eyeball it, maybe 1 tsp
McCormick Season All - 1 tsp (can be skipped if not on hand)

Heat a deep skillet with Olive Oil over medium-high heat. Add rice and brown a little. Once it looks a little toasty, it takes quite a few minutes usually (not too dark!) add chicken broth and tomato sauce. Stir and then add all veggies and spices in.

Cover and turn on low-medium for 20 minutes. Do not open and do NOT stir again until the 20 minutes is up!

Once the 20 minutes is up it should be done and ready to serve.

Note: open and check to see if the rice is soft. sometimes depending on the cookware it will need more time and sometimes you might need to add a bit more water too. Just an FYI so if you get to this point you dont think it is ruined. Just needs a bit more time/water :)

Mexican Charro Beans:

Pretty much mimmicks above and this makes alot.

1 pound dried pinto beans
2 quarts chicken broth
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
3 tbls minced garlic
1/2 tbls pepper
cilantro - same as above
Cumin - same as above, about 3 tsp
All Season - maybe 2 tsp

Wash beans and soak in a large pot of water overnight. Drain beans and refill the pot with chicken broth and enough water to cover the beans and go over them two inches. Add pepper.

Cover and bring to a boil. Turn to medium-low and cook for an hour 1/2. Uncover, add all other ingredients. Cook at medium-low for another hour or until beans are tender.

During entire cooking process check and stir and make sure beans dont stick to bottom of the pot. You can mash them a bit at end if you like the liquid thicker.

*You will see that I do not use salt in my recipes. I find that the chicken broth is salty enough and adding salt without tasting it can be dangerous, my MIL has added way too much salt many times. I suggest adding it at the end after you taste, I never need it on the rice and little on the beans.*

Hope this helps!

3 moms found this helpful
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K.T.

answers from Dallas on

This is a great recipe. Very yummy and they come out looking very pretty too with all the garnish.

Chili Chicken Enchiladas

¼ cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided (I used the Mexi-blend)
½ cup sour cream
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
4 flour tortillas (8 inches)
Sliced black olives, chopped tomatoes and green onions, optional

In a small saucepan, sauté onion and garlic in butter until tender. Combine flour and broth until smooth; gradually add to pan. Stir in the chilies and pepper. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Remove from heat; stir in ½ cup cheese and sour cream until cheese is melted. Combine chicken and ¾ cup sauce. Place about ½ cup chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in a greased pyrex dish. Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Garnish with olives, tomatoes, and green onions, if desired.

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K.B.

answers from Dallas on

Hi K., I grew up in LA and it is a Mexican tradition to serve tamales on Christmas Eve. I buy them in 5 different flavors from Aparicios in down town McKinney. I also make an Enchilada casserole that is easy and gets rave reviews. It is basically a layering thing (like lasagna) with corn tortillas, refried beans, salsa, bell peppers, corn, grilled chicken (I buy the precooked kind in the frozen section), anything else you like and then pour a large can of Hatch green enchilada sauce on top and bake 350 for 25 minutes. Good luck and Merry Christmas!

2 moms found this helpful
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H.H.

answers from Dallas on

This is a really easy recipe that turns out great. I serve it in bowls and have a little "topping bar" of sour cream, cheese, green onions, salsa, etc. The recipe for Mexican Hash is here: http://burbmom.net/?p=629

Good luck!

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B.M.

answers from Dallas on

These are a little milder, but still very tasty.

Cheese and Chicken Enchiladas

1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 can green enchilada sauce
4 tbls chopped scallions
1/2 lb monterey jack cheese
1/2 lb cheddar cheese
1 10 oz can of chicken (I usually just use leftover chicken, you can certainly cook some up fresh and it is still good)
flour tortillas

Heat oven to 375.
Combine soup, sour cream and onions to make a sauce. In each tortilla place 2 spoonfuls of sauce, about a spoonful of chicken and a sprinkling of cheese. Roll up and place in greased 9x13 pan. Spread remaining sauce on top. Cover with green enchilada sauce. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake until cheese on top is melted and sauce is bubbly. About 20 minutes.

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T.R.

answers from Dallas on

Mexican Lasagna

2 lbs. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 oz. can sliced black olives
4 oz. can diced green chili peppers
1 can Rotel
16 oz. salsa
2 – 16 oz cans refried beans
12 – 8” flour tortillas
9 oz. Colby cheese, grated

In a large skillet over medium heat sauté the beef for 5 minutes. Add onions & garlic and sauté 5 more minutes. Drain fat. Mix in olives, peppers, Rotel, salsa, and beans. Stir mixture thoroughly, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes.

In a 4-quart casserole dish spread a thin layer of meat mixture. Cover with a layer of tortillas followed by more meat mixture, then a cheese layer. Repeat pattern until all the tortillas are used, topping off with a layer of meat and cheese.

Bake 30 minutes at 350o until cheese is slightly browed and bubbly.
(Large recipe, easy to half!)

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K.S.

answers from Dallas on

Hello K.! We do Mexican food at my in laws so I have a couple ideas for you. My Mother-N-Law makes a "Mexican Lasagna". It goes with pretty much any mexican food. It is taco meat, lasgna noodles, velveeta cheese, black olives, pimento, green onions(I think that is all). It would go great with enchaladas. You may also have someone bring a catalina salad(fritos, lettuce, chz, olives, catalina drsng). The easiest way we serve is buffet style bc my husband has a big family. Anyways,if you are interested in the actual recipe let me know!
Good Luck!
K.
PS.I dont know if you have any Eve traditions, but in my family we play Gestures and Yatzee...it is for the young and the old! We have a great time!

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T.W.

answers from Dallas on

Another mom had the enchilada question a few days ago...scroll down and find her for tons of great recipes. I make the green chile enchilada's on the back of the Old El Paso can and my family LOVES LOVES LOVES them. I suggested that she sprinkle them with sauteed green and red bel peppers to give them a Christmas theme and serve them with green and red salsas. Guacamole already has red and green and would be great too. Rachel Ray has a fabulous and easy recipe at Foodnetwork.com. I know stores have red and white tortilla chips right now too. You could serve the salsas in hollowed red and green bell peppers.
Merry Christmas.
T.

D.T.

answers from Dallas on

We have a tamale dinner on Christmas Eve with beans and rice, salsas, guacamole dip, and chips. I have several sweets set out like turtles, rum cake, and cookies. We like to have a small cake for our 5 yr old granddaughter to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. She then opens her new pj's and goes to bed around 10. Have a great Christmas and remember to have fun!

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C.M.

answers from Dallas on

We always do Mexican food too. I buy tamales from these 2 150 year old Mexican grandmothers... so that's taken care of.

I cook Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas. It's sort of a 2 person process, so my mom or sister usually helps as an assembly line. I'll dig out my recipie and update this here. But you could google it. Make sure you use green chilis in the recipie - that makes a ton of difference!!

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A.C.

answers from Lubbock on

Hi K.. Here is a simple chicken enchilata recipe that is a great hit. Cook the chicken breasts (boneless and skinless) in chicken broth until chicken is cooked through. I use 1 can of broth per package of 4 chicken breasts. Then after chicken cools, shred chicken with fingers. Then put 1/2 box of velveeta (if using 1 pkg. of chicken breasts) along with 1 can of rotel in pot over double boiler (or can use regular pot on stove - just make sure cheese doesn't scorch). After cheese is melted, add the chicken. Mix and enjoy with tortillas. Simple and great!

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J.P.

answers from Wichita Falls on

We have always made green enchiladas. They are really good and super easy to make. We use flour tortillas, cheddar cheese, onion, ground beef, cream of mushroom soup, and green chilis. Bround your ground beef (about a pound), drain the grease, and add the onions (however many you like)and let them soften. Then add your green chilis (the small can is usually enough) and large can of soup mix. Get a larger pan like a 9x13 and spray the bottom. You can put some of the meat mixture on the bottom. Take your tortillas and fill them with the mixture and add some cheese. Roll it up and put it in the dish, keep doing this until your dish is full. Spread remaining mixture over the top of the tortillas and add cheese on top. Pop in a 350 degree oven and let the cheese melt. Simple. I know it is a sort of mexican food, but it tastes soooooooo good with some sweetened up pork and beans or baked beans.
I hope that you have a wonderful gathering! God bless.
J.
http://J..yoursmh.com

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