Let me admit first thing that I know slow cooker recipes aren’t that difficult.
That is a main part of their appeal.
You pop the ingredients in the slow cooker, set the temperature and time, and then forget about it for a few hours – or at least until it starts cooking and the smell becomes super appetizing.
HOWEVER, as it has been a long time (like 10 months or so) since I’ve done a Pinterest:Impossible recipe, I wanted to start with something relatively easy.
Tasty of course, but also easy.
So I specifically went the slow cooker route. I logged into Pinterest, typed in some very simple search terms (basically ‘slow cooker recipes’) and then scrolled through until something caught my fancy. And Chicken Enchilada Casserole caught my fancy pretty dang quick. Right off it had several of my favorite food elements: cheese, chicken, more cheese.
It’s so hard to go wrong with Mexican food. Why tempt fate and try something else?
The ingredients list for the casserole was pretty short – chicken breast, red enchilada sauce, shredded cheese, tortillas, sliced black olives, sour cream. I used mild enchilada sauce, Mexican blend cheese, and flour tortillas, as there was wiggle room on types for those. I also added in kernel corn, black beans, and onion, as I thought it could use some texture – and a few veggies.
It really was an easy recipe to make. I added the chicken and enchilada sauce to the slow cooker first and cooked for about three hours. The instructions said four BUT my slow cooker tends to cook things faster than normal, so I checked at three hours and the chicken was cooked pretty well through. Then I shredded it, mixed it up with the sauce again, and added in the corn, beans, and onion. Then I put in cheese and black olives, added in sliced strips of tortilla, and mixed it all up once more. After that I topped it with more cheese and olives. The whole mess cooked for another hour.
I made seasoned rice as a side (with a bit of cheese mixed in because CHEESE). Once the casserole was finished I served it up topped with sour cream and plated with some rice. It didn’t look very pretty but it smelled good and with the first bite it was obvious that it was pretty tasty. The onion, beans, and corn were good additions, giving extra flavor and texture to the dish. I wish I had used medium enchilada sauce, and maybe seasoned the chicken breast, as altogether it was kind of bland. I also wasn’t super impressed with the tortilla pieces. They were super soft and kinda doughy feeling. If I make this recipe again, I will probably use corn tortillas, or skip the tortillas altogether and top the finished casserole with tortilla chips or tortilla chip strips.
Little issues aside, I’m definitely calling this dish a WIN. It was tasty and easy to make and something I would probably make again. I’ll just have to tweak it a bit to get it perfect next time.
SOURCE – Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Casserole
