Chicken Enchilada Salad

Remember the enchilada sauce from Wednesday? I told you I would be bringing you a unique meal idea to use the sauce with and this is it! I have been eating a lot of salads this summer and this recipe was at the top of my list to try. I changed up the ingredients a bit to suit our taste and add even more variety and texture throughout the salad. I totally have a thing for black beans and corn together so I had to add those to the lineup.

This salad has creaminess from the avocado and black beans, crunch from the tortilla strips and corn and spice from the enchilada sauce. The chicken (which you could replace with ground beef if you prefer) completes the salad and keeps you full for much longer.

As you can see, I had my little sous chef helping. He also loves corn and black beans so he kept sneaking those cute little hands in the bowls.

Chicken Enchilada Salad
recipe adapted from Fresh Express

1 head iceburg lettuce, washed and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cucumber, cut into small cubes
1 avocado, diced
1 basket cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 cup corn
1/2 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup mixed yellow and white cheese, grated
2 green onions, sliced thinly
2 chicken breasts, cooked and hand-shredded
1/2 cup enchilada sauce
Tortilla strips, cripsy onions or crispy jalapenos, to taste
Your favorite creamy Ranch or Buttermilk dressing

1. In separate bowl, toss chicken with enchilada sauce. Set aside for 10 minutes.

2. Place lettuce into large salad bowl. Add in tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, green onions and toss together.

3. Place mixed salad onto 4 individual plates.

4. Top the salad with the enchilada chicken and sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese on top of each salad.

5. Drizzle on your favorite creamy dressing.

Enchilada Sauce

I have always loved cooking but after starting this blog, a new fire was lit within and it has become a true passion for me. Because of this, I aim to make as much as I can homemade. This meant that the previous canned enchilada sauce that would grace my pantry was no more. And I have found that many of these canned convenience ingredients are so simple to make homemade, leaving me wondering what took me so long to give them a try.

This recipe is incredibly simple and takes very little time to whip up. It yields a very flavorful and rich sauce that tastes a lot like that of a favorite Mexican restuarant of ours. I know the addition of cocoa powder may seem odd but that is what gives the sauce a depth of flavor. Just trust me!

Another thing that I love about this recipe is that it freezes really well and the sauce recipe makes quite a bit so I divide the leftovers into freezer bags once cooled and store them for later use. Make sure to stay tuned for a summer supper using this delicious sauce!

Enchilada Sauce
recipe from Food.com

3 tablespoons chili powder
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon oregano
3 cups water
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

1. Combine all dry ingredients in a small bowl.

2. Stirring constantly, slowly add enough of the water to make a thin paste.

3. Pour into pan and add rest of water.

4. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens.

5. Stir in tomato sauce.

6. Use in your favorite enchilada recipe. The amounts on the ingredients are very flexible. For instance, if you are feeding kids who do not like”spicy”, halve the chili powder and double the tomato sauce. Experiment to suit your taste, but don’t leave out the cocoa.