Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas

I found a recipe off of Pinterest for Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas with homemade enchilada sauce.  While I would love to have spinach in my enchiladas, I knew that it would be a struggle to get my kids (and probably my husband!) to eat them.  Still, chicken enchiladas sounded so good. . . And, the thought of making my own enchilada sauce made me feel accomplished in the kitchen!

So, I started to think of what else I could put in with the chicken.  I love Chipotle's burritos with black beans in them, so I decided to add black beans instead of the spinach.

I cooked five four-ounce chicken breasts with some olive oil brushed on the top in my George Foreman Grill while I started making the enchilada sauce.  Find the recipe for the sauce here.

Drain and rinse a fifteen-ounce can of black beans.  Place in a large bowl and mash up a bit with a potato masher.

After chicken is cooked, shred it.  I am so glad for this tip I found on the internet--shred chicken in your kitchenaid mixer!

Add chicken to black bean mixture along with about a cup of enchilada sauce and 3/4 cup of shredded cheese.

Place mixture in tortillas and roll up.  Place seam-side down in greased 9 by 13 inch pan.

Pour enchilada sauce over the top and sprinkle with shredded cheese--about 3/4 cup again.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, and this is what you get.
I really liked the flavor of the enchilada sauce.  There are a few things I would have done differently.  I was in a rush to get supper on the table, so instead of cooling the sauce and putting it in the blender as directed, I tried using my immersion blender directly in the pan I made the sauce in.  Big mistake!  I ended up with a mess on the stove!  Next time I will give myself time to put the mixture in the blender.  Also, I tried thickening the sauce with about a teaspoon of cornstarch in a small amount of cold water.  The sauce didn't get very thick.  I used it anyway because I was in too much of a hurry to try to thicken it more.  I think I will start out with a tablespoon of cornstarch next time.  Also, I might be tempted to open a can of enchilada sauce in a time crunch!

My family liked it, so I will definitely be making it again.

Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas

Homemade enchilada sauce, link above or 1 large can red enchilada sauce
20 ounces chicken, cooked and shredded
15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese, divided
tortillas

Make sauce.  Mash beans slightly; mix with chicken, 3/4 cup cheese, and 1 cup enchilada sauce.  Fill tortillas.  Roll up and place seam side down in greased 9 by 13 inch pan.  Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the top and sprinkle with 3/4 cup cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees 20 minutes.

Enjoy!