Celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month with an Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole

I recently learned that National Hispanic Heritage Month is observed in the United States each year from September 15th to October 15th to recognize the histories, cultures and contributions of Latino and Hispanic Americans to the United States. This group’s heritage and culture has enhanced our country and shaped our national character with their ethnic traditions, especially their food!

Celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month with fun recipes from Hormel

Hormel Foods is made up of many different Hispanic and Latino inspired ethnic brands including CHI-CHI’s® salsa, Herdez®, La Victoria®, Wholly Guacamole®, Don Miguel® Mexican Foods and more.

Appetizers:

• Black Bean Soup: This soup is a tantalizing combination of CHI-CHI’S® Picante Sauce and Hormel® Black Label® bacon. Serve to guests to whet their appetite or create larger portions for the main course!

• HERDEZ® Creamy Tomatillo Avocado Salsa: Simply combine HERDEZ® Tomatillo Verde Mexican Cooking Sauce, a ripe avocado, non-fat Greek yogurt and cilantro leaves to create a delicious twist on traditional tomatillo salsa. Perfect as an appetizer or as a topping to grilled fish tacos.

Main Courses:

• Shredded Beef Enchiladas: Create homemade enchiladas that will impress your guests by topping them with a combination of beef and LA VICTORIA® Red Enchilada Sauce. You’ll look like a professional when these come out of the oven!

• Chicken with Tomato Mango Relish: This dish is an irresistible mix of sweet fruit and spicy salsa together in one amazing recipe. Use CHI-CHI’S® Thick & Chunky Salsa to marinate your chicken. Substitute for a spicier sauce if desired.

Desserts:

• HERDEZ®  Ellen’s  Chocolate  Chipot le Ice Cream  : This chocolate chipotle ice cream is dairy free! You’ll need an ice cream maker for this delectable dish that incorporates HERDEZ® Traditional Chipotle Mexican Cooking Sauce into the mix.

• Avocado Chocolate Chip Cookies: Put an interesting twist on your traditional chocolate chip cookies by adding Wholly™ Chunky Avocado to your cookie batter.

Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole – Slow Cooker Meal!

I decided to try my hand at my own dish and use some ingredients we had on hand, as well as some ingredients provided to me by Hormel. I found a great recipe at parents.com and adapted it to fit my needs (and the ingredients I had available). What makes this meal so great is that it is easy….slow cooker easy!

Ingredients:

Here are most of the ingredients used in this dish. You simply need corn, chicken, onions, salsa, shredded cheese, enchilada sauce, and tortillas.

I didn’t have any fresh chicken breast at the time so I used canned and the recipe still turned out great. I also didn’t have any green onions so I just used what I had (white). The original recipe did call for salsa verde, but since I didn’t have any the Herdez Salsa provided by Hormel seemed like a great substitution. Taco sauce was my substitution for the enchilada sauce, and flour tortillas were used in place of corn tortillas.

You simply combine all the ingredients in a bowl (except for the tortillas and taco sauce) and mix.

Spoon a few tablespoons of the taco sauce on the bottom of your crock, then start layering starting with the tortillas, the mixture, tortillas, etc.

End with the chicken mixture and pour the remaining sauce over everything. I also added some extra shredded cheese on the top since I like things cheesy.

Cover and cook on high for about 2 hours. When finished you should end up with some cheesy enchilada goodness like this! (add extra cheese as desired)

The only thing I will caution about this recipe is that it does pack some heat. I didn’t realize how spicy it was going to be since the taco sauce says it is mild, and the salsa doesn’t really say. I had made this meal to be ready when I got home from work, but it was a little too hot for the kids to eat so I ended up giving them something else. My 6yr old was pretty brave though and tried to eat as much as he could. The taste is definitely good…just hot!