Mar 9, 2018

Freezer Meal Recipe: Enchiladas

This recipe is part of our Freezer Meals series, in which I'm sharing how freezer cooking has helped me save time, money, and sanity.

One of the easiest and fastest freezer meals I know how to make is enchiladas. It's a fabulous way to use up leftover taco meat, a roast, or rotisserie chicken. Quantities listed are not precise - that's one of the beauties of this meal. You can use what you have on hand. If you don't have Mexican blend cheese, use shredded cheddar or mozzarella. No refried beans? Mash up some pinto or black beans, or skip them altogether. Just a little bit of meat? Use more beans.

Freezer Meal Recipe: Enchiladas

As you can see, I made two smaller pans of enchiladas, but you could make one large pan instead. (I can sense that day coming here, as my older son now frequently eats more than his father at dinner.)
Here's my workspace:
Making enchiladas
Start by spreading the beans on a tortilla (I work on a cutting board because I can be messy):
Making enchiladas
Top with meat and cheese:
Making enchiladas

Roll up, put in the pan seam side down, and top with enchilada sauce and more cheese - I made one with red sauce and one with green sauce:

Making enchiladas
Making enchiladas
Cover with plastic wrap and foil, label, and freeze!
Freezer Meal Recipe: Enchiladas

To eat the enchiladas, defrost overnight in the fridge, then bake at 350 degrees until bubbling at the edges - about 45 minutes to an hour. You can cover with foil while baking to speed the cooking process up, and remove it for the last 15 minutes to melt the cheese on top.

Freezer-Friendly Enchiladas

Makes two 4-serving pans.

Nonstick cooking spray
8 8-10 inch tortillas
1 cup of refried beans
1-2 cups of cooked ground or shredded meat
3-4 cups of shredded Mexican blend cheese
2 cups of enchilada sauce (we love Frontera brand)

1. Spray two 8x8 and/or 11x7 baking dishes with nonstick cooking spray. Spread 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce on the bottom of each dish.

2. On each tortilla, spread 2 tablespoons of refried beans. Top with 2-4 tablespoons of meat and 2-4 tablespoons of cheese. Roll each tortilla up and place seam-side down in baking dishes.

3. Spread remaining enchilada sauce over the tortillas (about 3/4 cup per dish; use more if you like your enchiladas on the saucy/soupy side). Top with remaining cheese (about 1/2 cup per dish).

4. Cover each dish with plastic wrap, then again with aluminum foil. Label and date the dish (I write directly on the foil with a Sharpie). Freeze for up to 3 months.

5. To cook, defrost the pan in the fridge overnight. Leave out for an hour so pan is not too cold when you put it in the preheated oven. Remove foil and plastic wrap. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes, or until bubbling. Serve with guacamole and sour cream, if desired.

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2 comments:

Dianna said...

I love having freezer meals on hand. Great idea to make enchiladas. I need to restock my fridge.

Chief Family Officer said...

I usually have everything on hand but I just ran out of tortillas, argh!