We have a standing joke around our house about dinner parties and enchiladas. As we have posted before, coming up with a dinner plan is not my Mom’s favorite chore. But coming up with a dinner plan for a dinner party is even harder! So when Mom made her enchilada recipe for company and realized how perfect it was for entertaining, they became the choice for ALL dinner parties for years after. Now the only stress is remembering whether or not she has served these dinner party enchiladas to our guests at least three times in a row.
Why Kids Should Make Dinner Party Enchiladas:
So what makes them so great for dinner parties?
1: You can make them earlier in the day so that there is no stress right before your guests arrive. Then you just put them in the oven about 25 minutes before you plan to eat.
2: All of the dishes and mess can be taken care of beforehand, leaving only a pan for cleaning after dinner.
3: Kids can make these enchiladas for guests! There is something very satisfying about being able to cook a grown-up meal for company.
Preparing the Filling for Enchiladas:
The first step is to cook the salsa with cilantro and your spices. Since we are kids, we only used one tablespoon of chili powder, but if you prefer things spicy, feel free to add more. We brought this to a boil and let it simmer for five minutes.
While that cooked, we drained our beans and added them to a large bowl along with the re-fried beans, French fried onions, and grilled chicken. Once the sauce was ready, we added a cup and a half to the mixture.
Wrapping the Enchiladas:
Next, we sprayed our baking dish and started placing about a half cup of filling on our tortillas. (Although we were tempted to use our homemade flour tortillas, we still have not found a way to get them thin enough for this recipe.)
We then lined them seam-side down in our baking dish. The last step was to spread the rest of the salsa mixture on top.
Preparing for our Dinner Party:
After they were ready, we set them aside and did all of our cleanup. We only had about an hour before our guests were arriving, so we left them on the counter. But if you have longer than that, we suggest putting them into the refrigerator and taking them out about an hour before cooking to let them come to room temperature. This gave us time to set the table and make things look extra fancy.
After baking them for 20 minutes, we added some shredded cheese and the rest of our French-fried onions. Make sure to serve them with some sour cream and our cheater guacamole!
Dinner Party Enchiladas For Kids to Make
Dinner Party Enchiladas are perfect for kids to make for company! They are easy to prepare ahead of time so you can enjoy your guests.
Ingredients
- 32 Ounce Thick Salsa
- 1/4 Cup Fresh Cilantro
- 1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Cumin
- 1 Pound Cooked (Or Grilled) Chicken (Shredded or Finely Chopped)
- 1 15 Ounce Can of Black Beans, Drained and Rinsed
- 1 16 Ounce Can Re-fried Beans
- 1 and 1/2 Cup Fried Onions, Divided
- I Package Flour Tortillas, Fajita Size
- 1/2 Cup Shredded Cheese
Instructions
- Cook or Grill Chicken and shred, or cut into small pieces.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 11x17 baking pan
- Combine salsa, cilantro, chili powder, and cumin in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Combine 1½ cups sauce mixture, chicken, beans, re-fried beans, and ⅔ cup French fried onions in a large bowl.
- Spoon ½ cup filling over bottom of each tortilla. Roll up tortilla enclosing filling and arrange, seam side down, in a single layer in the bottom of the prepared baking pan.
- Spoon remaining sauce evenly over tortillas.
- Bake, uncovered for 20 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining ⅔ cup French fried onions and cheese. Bake 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Notes
As we are kids, we did not make this too spicy. If you would like more heat, add another tablespoon of chili powder to the sauce, or use a medium salsa instead of mild.