Here’s a twist of chicken enchiladas wrapped with pasta. It threw my husband for a loop with the red sauce. He thought he was having chicken with spaghetti and pasta sauce. However, when his taste buds got a hold of the enchilada sauce his eyes lightened up. The difference is the shredded chicken, cheese and flavorful enchilada sauce. It all comes together in a snap with freezer items.
Whenever I make homemade enchilada sauce I double and freeze an extra quart bag. I also have shredded chicken stowed in the freezer from the grill, crock pot or stove top (shredded chicken and freezing tutorial here).I also freeze extra bags of pasta to have on hand. In this particular recipe, I made a hot batch of whole wheat thin spaghetti and added the thawed chicken and enchilada sauce. In goes the the Mexican cheese to further bind the ingredients and give it a ole’ twist.
Enjoy the ultra quick version with your frozen ingredients on hand or make a fresh batch from start to finish. Either way, you won’t be sorry.
Ingredients
- 16 oz. thin spaghetti, cooked (reserve 1/2 cup of cooked pasta water)
- 2 cups enchilada sauce
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 2 cup Mexican or sharp cheddar cheese, divided
- salt and pepper to taste
- chopped cilantro, chopped avocado or sour cream, optional
Instructions
- Combine pasta, sauce, chicken and 1 1/2 cups cheese, salt and pepper. Add 1/2 cup pasta water to loosen consistency if needed. Water may not be needed if store-bought sauce is used.
- Mix lightly with tongs.
- Serve with additional cheese and garnish if desired
Have you ever mixed traditional pasta with Mexican?
