Solving Dinnertime Dilemmas with Old El Paso!

Last updated on April 14th, 2021 at 01:50 pm

Who doesn’t love a good taco?

The near-globally recognised dish of Mexican origins—due in no small part to a fast food chain that I shan’t mention here—is renowned not only for how delicious it is but also for how easy it is to prepare! I enjoy stuffing them to my face, but now and then, a brand challenges me to do more than just consume, and that’s precisely why Old El Paso’s invited me on as a Brand Ambassador for the next year!

It’s time for me to mow down on something that’s part tortilla, part flavourful filling, and 100% something that belongs in your belly immediately.

Let’s Taco ‘Bout It—How Old El Paso Solves the Dinnertime Dilemma!

For me, this couldn’t be more timely. I spent the year’s first half preparing for a family trip to Mexico City, but though Montezuma’s Revenge briefly got its hooks in me, I noshed on authentic Mexican cuisine, and it’ll be fun to experiment with some of those dishes in the comfort of my kitchen!

And easy meals are exactly what we’re looking for at this stage in the game.

I’ve heard it said that “no one with children 4 or younger is having any fun.” They’re energetic. They’re irrational. They don’t even know what they want. It takes a lot to raise kids, and cooking for them’s no different!

Little’s more maddening than those times where you slave over the kidlets’ dinner, only to hear they don’t want to eat it, or they’ve got other priorities in mind! You want the best for them, but they haven’t a clue what that means, and sometimes parents just need someone to do them a solid so they can survive!

Which makes convenient foods like the options offered by Old El Paso so important—not only can you whip tasty dinners together in minutes, it also opens the door to appetizing options for other meals. Can you say peanut butter tortillas with jam? Dessert tacos? Or maybe even itty bitty quesadillas we’ll call “Caseydillas” just because we can?

Skinny Chicken Enchiladas—Putting Old El Paso Products to DELICIOUS Use!

To get things going, Old El Paso sent Casa de Palmer a welcome package filled with deliciousness just waiting to happen, like their:

• Tortilla Bowls
• Hard & Soft Taco Dinner Kit
• Taco Seasoning Mix
• Restaurante Picante Mild Salsa
• Refried Beans
• Sliced Jalapeño Peppers, and
• Restaurante Steak Carne Asada Kit!

So with the pantry well-stocked with the tools of the trade, we put our culinary skills to the test to see just how good these taco things could taste!

The dish du jour? Skinnytaste’s Skinny Chicken Enchiladas, a tasty way to use that Old El Paso Taco Seasoning Mix and the Old El Paso Restaurante Picante Mild Salsa! And if you really want to mix it up, you could always substitute the Old El Paso Hard & Soft Taco Dinner Kit for the tortillas, but we weren’t about to chance it with a toddler’s motor skills at play, so we just stuck to what worked!

You can check the recipe out below!

SKINNY CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

194 calories

TOTAL TIME: 45 minutes

If you’re an enchilada lover like me, you will love these!! Enchiladas are always my dish of choice when I go out for Mexican and this recipe is as good as any recipe you’ll find in a restaurant (if not better) without all the fat!

INGREDIENTS:

For the enchilada sauce:

• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1-2 tbsp chipotle chilis in adobo sauce
• 1-1/2 cups tomato sauce
• 1/2 tsp Old El Paso Taco Seasoning Mix
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 3/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
• kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste

For the chicken:

• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 8.5 oz (2 breast halves) cooked shredded chicken breast
• 1 cup diced onion
• 2 large clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• kosher salt
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp Old El Paso Taco Seasoning Mix
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce

For the enchilada:

• 8 (7-inch) low-carb whole wheat flour tortillas (la tortilla factory )
• 1 cup shredded low-fat Mexican cheese
• non-stick cooking spray
• 2 tbsp chopped scallions or cilantro for topping

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a medium saucepan, spray oil and sauté garlic. Add chipotle chiles , chili powder, cumin, chicken broth, tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté onions and garlic on low until soft, about 2 minutes. Add chicken, salt, cilantro, cumin, oregano, chili powder, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and cook 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
4. Spray a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with non-stick spray. Put 1/3 cup chicken mixture into each tortilla and roll it.
5. Place on baking dish seam side down, top with sauce.
6. Then top with cheese.
7. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes. Top with low-fat sour cream, Old El Paso Restaurante Picante Mild Salsa or scallions if you wish. (Extra points) Makes 8 enchiladas.

NUTRITION INFORMATION

Yield: 8 servings, Serving Size: 1 enchilada

Amount Per Serving:

Calories: 194
Total Fat: 8g
Saturated Fat: g
Cholesterol: 27mg
Sodium: 640mg
Carbohydrates: 21g
Fiber: 9.5g
Sugar: 5g
Protein: 18g

Don’t Just Taco ‘Bout It: BE About It.

There’s no reason to keep singing the same old song with the family meals, and that’s precisely what I hope to show you in the year ahead! With all sorts of recipes, gourmet giveaways, and the blatant use of my kids as guinea pigs (because they have absolutely no say in the matter), this will be a partnership where we can all benefit!

So I hope you’re looking forward to this as much as I am because let’s face it—there’re only so many hours in the day; let’s use less of that time working to raise our families, and more enjoying the fruits of that labour!

Until the next,

Disclaimer: I wrote this as part of a year-long campaign with Old El Paso, weaving their line of Mexican cuisine-inspired products into my life’s stories and putting them on the blog for everyone to see. I’ve been compensated with food and funds.