mexican food: the amateur photographer's worst enemy

I'm pretty sure I've never taken a good picture of a Mexican dish. Sure, you can add some herbs for a pleasant touch of color, but it ultimately looks like greenery on top of a sloppy mess of what might or might not be edible food.

It's too bad, too, because Mexican foods (and our Americanized versions of their dishes) are DELICIOUS, and it's probably my favorite ethnic cuisine. We eat it a lot in our house, and I often want to blog about the things I make but can't bear the embarrassment of posting the terrible, no good, very bad pictures I've taken.

This is a meal that I was determined to feature, regardless of the quality of the pictures. It's extremely easy and extremely tasty. My slow cooker came out to play again, but only for the first part of this endeavor. I cooked my chicken in it, along with some peppers, onions, black beans, and tomatoes with chiles, as well as a handful of spices. I took the resulting mixture, which was literally dripping with deliciousness, and wrapped it in sauce-soaked tortillas. The last step is to smother the rolled tortillas with more enchilada sauce and plenty of cheese, and then pop the dish into the oven for a quick jaunt to melt the cheese and just meld everything together.

While I do believe it's true that we eat first with our eyes, I think we need to just ignore what our eyes behold when regarding most Mexican food. The looks, they are deceiving.

Enchiladas with Slowly Cooked Chicken and Black Beans
Culled from OH-so-many recipes
Serves 6-8
Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 pepper, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (10-ounce) can tomatoes with chiles, not drained
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 (10 ounce) can green enchilada sauce
• 5-10 flour tortillas
• 1 cup shredded jack cheese
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

Directions:
First, spray your slow cooker and put in your chicken breasts.
Add chopped pepper, onion, black beans, tomatoes with chiles, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
Pour in the chicken broth and mix.
Set the slow cooker to low and cook for 6-8 hours.
Return and preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix the lime juice into your chicken mixture.
Spray a large casserole dish or 7x11-inch pan and spoon some enchilada sauce into the bottom.
Pour some more of the sauce into a shallow dish, then dip a tortilla into the sauce and lay it on a baking sheet or plate. Add a healthy portion of the chicken, then roll it up tightly and place it seam-side down in the casserole dish.
Repeat with the rest of the tortillas, or until you run out of chicken.
Pour the rest of the sauce over the enchiladas, then sprinkle on the cheese.
Bake until hot and bubbly, 30 minutes. Let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes before sprinkling with cilantro and serving.