Trader José's Chicken Enchiladas

Many thanks to a loyal blog reader (Fiery red dragon, I'm looking at you!) for this recommendation. I finally got around to trying it for myself. Definitely not something I would pick out during a routine shopping trip. I mean look - it's anti-Costco. Only 2 enchiladas in one package! But it was only $1.99, and considering I did not intend to eat 50 enchiladas by myself I went for it.




The picture doesn't show it too well, but this package contains TWO servings. Which means one enchilada is one serving. I wonder how many enchiladas it is customary to consume in one sitting. Is it one? Two? Three? I have no idea.  And there's carageenan, which is probably evil or something. In fact, my mother was like WHAT IS THIS PROCESSED FOOD DOING IN MY HOUSE?* 

(*not her actual words. It was stated more passive aggressively a la Constance Wu vs her sister in this episode)


Here it is frozen right out of the box. Rather unimpressive. 


The tortillas fall apart after baking in the chili sauce, so it's hard for it not to look like a hot mess. But never judge food solely on looks! Messes taste good, sometimes. I was actually impressed by the flavor and amount of chicken packed into these enchiladas. Mind you, I can't remember the last time I had enchiladas before this, so I don't have anything recent to reference for comparison. There was just enough sauce but not too much such that the enchiladas were swimming. The spice level was just right for my liking - a nice kick but not enough to bring out the fire hose. The cheese was a bit of an afterthought in my opinion - it all but disappeared into the abyss but that could easily be corrected by sprinkling additional cheese on top (cuz what is life without cheese?). The chicken was flavorful and actually visible throughout the dish. I was ravenous enough at the time to finish both enchiladas myself, and I was stuffed. But do note that if you're the burly dude who gets extra meat at Chipotle, this may not be enough. 


I paired it with some sliced avocado, which is a game changer y'all. The creamy smooth neutral avocado complements the saucy, spicy enchiladas quite nicely. The key here is to serve the enchiladas while still hot with the cool avocado on the side. Yum. 



TL;DR: Trader José's Chicken Enchiladas. Olé! 6.5 out of 10. 


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