Growing up I remember always loving enchiladas. There was something about the time and love that went into making them, that made them that much more special for me. We didn't have them all the time because it really does take a bit of time for them to be made. Even as a kid I recall it being a "family process". My stepmother would do the process of boiling the chicken, then shredding it down while we were at school. When we got home it was "all hands-on deck" to help prepare the rest of the filling and roll the enchiladas. My favorite part of helping was eating some of the filling mix while "helping" in the kitchen. I mean let's be honest, one of the best parts of cooking is taste testing. I think I loved when we had this for dinner so much because it was a family affair to make it, it didn't "magically" appear on the dinner table at night for us to eat. My siblings and I used to see who would get more of the crispy cheese from the side of the pan with our serving. If there were leftovers from dinner, you could usually find my father having a serving with rice & beans for breakfast the next day. That shows you just how much we love enchiladas.
Now a days, most people don't make them at home because they realize how time consuming it is to make them. They usually get ordered when eating out at a restaurant (which usually means that they taste "ok"). Once you decide to invest the time (and hopefully help from the family) to make them from scratch, you will see how the flavor is way better with homemade. When I make them at home, I end up having to make them three different ways due to our varying food allergies. I make a smaller pan for the "Normies" with all their melted cheesy goodness, a pan on non-cheesy ones with corn tortillas for Adam & Brody, and then a small pan for me with non-corn tortillas for me. Mine looks more like an enchilada pie since my tortillas I can have don't tend to roll up well, but it's still delicious! I make a batch of vegan cheese sauce for Adam & myself to top off our plates. I even used to go fully homemade and make my enchilada sauce from scratch. I'm talking boiling the chilis, blending the spices, and pureeing the sauce. While the flavor and consistency of the of the sauce is much better in my opinion, now that I more to do during the day with our kids' schedules, I find canned sauce with some extra spices does the trick just fine.
Another great thing about making enchiladas, is that they freeze very well! Make a double batch, prepare one of them in a take n' toss pan, cover with plastic wrap then foil and freeze. Take it out to defrost the morning you want it for dinner, then pop in the oven till the cheese is nice and melted. This is also a great way to share a meal with someone who might not be able to cook for their family at that moment (like they just had a baby, or surgery). It's a great freezer meal for young adults to (you know, so they can take a break from having take-out all the time).
With this recipe, maybe you will be starting a new family tradition, or possibly carrying on with one, either way it's a delicious journey!
Kim