School + Junk-in-the-Trunk Enchiladas

Gorgeous sunrise but
I'd rather be sleeping.

Well, it’s that time of the year. The time that is even crazier than Christmas.....back to school time. After a relaxing summer, the drill begins - getting up before 8 am (way before), figuring out bus routes, buying stationery, enrolling in after school activities, finding after school care, school information nights, setting homework and bedtime rules, etc. My girls are very happy to be back at school. I, on the other hand, feel frazzled and hope this new routine settles in soon.

One of the things I like about schools in Australia is that most public and private schools have uniforms. This makes life so much easier! There is no drama over what to wear each day, less clothes to buy and the girls aren’t as status conscious since everyone is wearing the same thing. The photos above are of my daughters on their first day of school. They crack me up. Lauren just started high school (yrs 7-12 here). She is now going to a conservative all girls school. I don’t know from her uniform if she is a tour guide or going on a fancy safari. Caroline  has a new hat style - the “Boy George” look. She claims her hat has to sit high and back so that her ponytail does not get crushed.

Back to school time also starts Derek’s overseas business travel. The only thing good about his travel, besides being the only Sheriff in town, is that I get to cook dinners with dairy products again. He is lactose intolerant which eradicates me from cooking with any dairy products. One of my favorite dishes to make is Enchiladas. I developed this easy recipe from trial and error over the past years and have fondly named them: Junk-in-the-Trunk Enchiladas. They are unhealthy, rich and so delicious. They are very easy to make and this is a meal that kids can help prepare. Because they are rich, you don't need a big serving and usually have leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day. My daughters love this recipe and I like to serve it at dinner parties with chips/salsa and Sangria as an appetizer and then the enchiladas with rice, beans and salad - easy and very filling.

Note to food snobs - this is delicious! These ingredients melt together in the oven and create an awesome synergy.

Junk-in-the-Trunk Enchiladas

1- 1.5 kg (3+lb) roasted chicken from store

1 packet of taco seasoning

1 jar of salsa

1 container of sour cream

3+ cups of shredded cheese

1 bottle of Mexican enchilada sauce

8 smaller tortillas

Cooking spray
Large Rectangular pan, lasagna sized pan is perfect

Steps:
1) Preheat oven to 180 C or 350 F.

2) Take roasted chicken and shredded into pieces with a knife or your hands. Place in your large bowl.

3) Add 1 packet of taco seasoning, sour cream, 1.5 cups of cheese, and whole jar of salsa. Stir to coat chicken.

4) Take 1 tortilla and put a heaping scoop of the chicken mixture on one end and gently roll.
Heavily spray pan with cooking spray. If you don’t spray well, the enchiladas will stick, break and will be hard to get out of the pan.

5) Continue until you’ve filled the pan. You should have 8 enchiladas and will have used either most or all of the chicken mixture.

6) Pour whole jar of enchilada sauce over tortilla rolls. Make sure to cover ends with sauce otherwise they get dried out in the oven and burn more easily.

7) Sprinkle 1.5 cups of shredded cheese on top.

8) Cook for 20-25 minutes. Cheese should be all melted and tortilla rolls will be bubbly.

9) Serving options - rice, beans, salad. sliced avocados

My Comments:

- You can make this recipe ahead of time. Just stop at #6 and put the enchilada sauce and cheese on just before cooking.

- This recipe is adjustable so add more or less cheese, sour cream, mild or hot salsa to suit your own taste. You can also make this recipe lighter by using low fat - sour cream, cream cheese. However, I suggest you splurge as everyone needs a little junk-in-the-trunk........