Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas

Let me start this post off by telling you about my friend Austin (or Aussie-Bites, as he is known in our family). Austin is a wonderful cook (employed full-time in a great job and single, ladies!) and loves Trader Joe's. And I do mean loves. We're always enjoying something he made and going, "wow Austin, this is great. What did you make it with?" To which he replies, "Well I found such and such at Trader Joe's and this sauce was also from Trader Joe's and Trader Joe's is awesome and I think I would marry Trader Joe's because I love it so much..." Ok he's not that bad. But seriously, everything in his pantry is from his "friend," Joe.

But yay for that because they really do have some awesome stuff. Like enchilada sauce! Austin has this killer chicken enchilada recipe that he was so kind to share with me and now I'm sharing it with you. You don't have to worry about spiciness with this sauce. It may have the tiniest bit of a kick but it's so small that even Tyler loved it. And you can always spice it up a bit more by adding salsa or some chopped jalapenos. I'm thinking next time I make them I might add some chopped onions. We'll see. Anyway, here's the recipe:

• 4 frozen chicken breasts (probably a little over a pound)
• 1 bottle Trader Joe's enchilada sauce
• 6 whole wheat tortillas (or plain flour, whichever you like)
• 8-12oz shredded cheese (Mexican blend is fine)

Spray inside of crock pot with cooking spray and put frozen chicken in on low for 3 hours. This should have the meat relatively cooked. Drain out any juices. Shred the chicken up a little and add 1/3 of the sauce and mix.

Over the next hour or so, keep adding sauce and gradually shredding the chicken while it's still in the warm crock pot (use about another 1/3 of the sauce). Turn off the crock pot and let the chicken cool (about another hour), but keep it covered so it stays juicy.

Coat each tortilla top and bottom with sauce, fill with chicken and cheese (it takes more cheese than you think) and roll up. Once all the enchiladas are wrapped, place in baking pan (I use glass 13x9), pour extra sauce on top and cover the top with cheese. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake at 325 for 30-40 minutes.

NOTE: This is another meal you can make ahead of time. Just do everything except the baking part until you are ready to eat them. And they reheat really well, if you have leftovers.

Serves: 6
Prep Time: 20 min
Total Time: 6 hr

Recipe from Austin "Aussie-Bites" Oakes