As I write this post we are about halfway through Lent, a Christian church season that prepares for the death of Jesus and his rising from the dead. According Wikipedia:
The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer through prayer, penance, repentance of sins, alms giving, atonement and self-denial. . . During Lent, many Christians commit to fasting or giving up certain types of luxuries as a form of penitence. Many Christians also add a Lenten spiritual discipline, such as reading a daily devotional, to draw themselves near to God.
As an Episcopalian (now attending a Congregational Church) I believe in observing Lent. You can’t really say “celebrating” as it’s not that kind of holiday. Annually I give something up for Lent–this year I have again chosen to give up all sweets for the 40 days from Ash Wednesday to Easter.
In many churches it is traditional to give up meat on Fridays for Lent. You can either go meatless or eat fish. In honor of that Walmart asked me to share a recipe with you for Lent, so I decided it was time to share my Seafood Enchiladas.
I originally found this recipe years ago on the internet where it was touted as a “Chi-Chi’s” restaurant taste-a-like. Never having had theirs I can’t comment on the likeness–and anyway I’ve spiced things up a bit by using Louisiana Hot Sauce, changed the cheese to cheddar, and gone with real crab and shrimp (both healthy low fat, high protein foods) instead of what that initial recipe called for. I feel comfortable calling this recipe my own.
This is a very rich recipe–Buddy, Yankee Bill and I like it, but Princess finds it too much for her taste (although she loved the shrimp/crab ravioli in Alfredo sauce the week before I made this recipe to photograph–she said it was a better ratio of “rich” to pasta). Although the tiny shrimp and crab meat aren’t bargain barrel cheap, they are fairly inexpensive and with the cheese and soup the flavor goes a long way. I would also consider substituting canned salmon or even tuna fish in this recipe. I happen to love the taste of fresh nutmeg (that’s those brown things in the photo!) but of course you can use jarred. Also, if I have time, sometimes I’ll make my own homemade white sauce instead of using Cream of Mushroom.
If you are planning on this recipe for a busy weekday (or a Lenten Friday) the entire thing could be put together and then stored, covered, in the refrigerator. Then you simply preheat the oven and
Seafood Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
- 1/2 C Chopped Onion
- 1 can crab drained
- 1 can shrimp drained
- 1 1/2 C Cheddar Cheese shredded
- Flour Tortillas
- 1 C milk
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- dash Tabasco
Instructions
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Combine soup, onion, nutmeg, pepper and Tabasco. Split evenly into two bowls.
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To one half of soup mixture add crab, shrimp, and 1/2 C cheddar.
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To the other half of soup mixture add milk.
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Warm tortillas in the microwave for 30-45 sec (wrapped in paper towel).
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Place 1/3 C seafood mixture on each tortilla, roll and place seam side down on an oiled 9X13 pan.
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Pour soup/milk mixture over the enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
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Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until hot.
****This is a sponsored post****
Disclosure: As a participant in the Walmart Moms Program, I’ve received product samples and compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I will have to give your recipe a try. My husband used to love Chichi’s version. But they closed a long time ago around here.
I can’t confirm that these taste like Chi-Chi’s, so you’ll have to let me know what you think once you’ve had them!