viva el cinco!

the kids wanted a little fiesta for cinco de mayo. they really wanted to go out for nachos and stuff, but it being amateur hour (and way too much alcohol involved, and a saturday), i chose to stay in and make chicken enchiladas. hey, i get the kids to eat rice and beans, so it can't be all bad. doens't hurt to soften the blow with frozen virgin strawberry margaritas and chips and THE dip. of course, i could just pour some margaritas and a bowl of chip-n-dip and i'll be set. it's happened before. once.

enchiladas
mission soft taco flour tortillas 10pk
(8) manor house frozen chicken tenders or equivalent (it's what i had to work with), about 1 lb,
thawed, or leftover chicken chunked or shredded
lipton spanish rice mix, prepared as per package directions
1 c. frozen corn (safeway)
1/2 can black beans, rinsed (s&w 50% sodium)
1/4 lb. sharp cheese (lucern chunk) shredded
1 jar enchilada sause (sw mild)
olive oil
garlic powder
sour cream (lucern lite)

fry up the chicken in a fry pan (i love my caphelon) with a tablespoon of oil on decent heat. shake on some garlic powder if so desidered. i chopped it up with the spatula as it cooked. when no longer pink, take off heat.
oven 350-375F
in a decent size bowl (pampered chef's 8c is my fave), mix the chicken, rice, corn and beans.
prepare a 13x9 baking pan with a good spritz of oil to keep things from sticking. roll up an enchilada using a tortilla and as much 'stuff' as you want, place in the pan. make up the rest until you have your portions--will make up to 10, depending on how stuffed they are-and squeeze them into the pan (may need another or a 9x9).
pour the contents of the jar sauce over the top and finish with the cheese over that.
bake 20-25 minutes.
serve with sour cream and today it was chip and dip, too. OLE!

the definitive dip recipe
a favorite all the way around. more than a few of us have had it and chips for dinner. period. once.
8oz. tub soft lite cream cheese
about 1/2 c safeway chipotle salsa
tabasco chipotle (not regular) sauce

in a microwaveable container, melt the cheese. shouldn't take more than a minute to soften. add as much salsa as you like, stir, mixing in a few good splashes of tabasco for good measure. serve with chips. can be made ahead and chilled, but it gets stiff. there will be broken chips in the dip.

today i served it up with safeway 'O' blue organic tortilla chips. yum.