Authentic Chicken Enchiladas

Season thawed chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Add a little olive oil to a frying pan, add chicken, and cook through. Remove chicken from the pan, then add diced onions to the pan. Turn heat to medium and let onions saute until soft.

Meanwhile, finely chop or shred the cooked chicken. When the onions are soft and translucent, add chicken back to the pan. Season the onions and chicken with garlic powder, cumin, and chili powder. Finely chop the pickled jalapeno and add it along with the diced green chilis to the chicken mixture. Stir in the Mexican cheese blend. The chicken mixture is now ready for assembly.

Heat olive oil in a small frying pan. Briefly warm each corn tortilla for about 20 seconds, flipping if needed to ensure oil coats both sides. This softens the tortillas for rolling. Drain warmed tortillas on paper towels.

Prepare 2 cookie sheets by spraying them with cooking spray. Lay out a tortilla and add about 2 tablespoons of chicken mixture to the middle. Roll up the tortilla. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, arranging them closely in two rows on each cookie sheet.

Optional storage: If freezing, place one pan of assembled enchiladas in the freezer. Once frozen, remove the enchiladas from the pan and stack them in a double-lined ziploc freezer bag. To cook from frozen, arrange on a greased cookie sheet, thaw for about an hour at room temperature, then bake as instructed in the next step.

Bake the enchiladas in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and spoon about 2 tablespoons of enchilada sauce over the top of each enchilada. Sprinkle the tops with additional Mexican cheese blend. Return to the oven for about 7 minutes. Serve hot.