Chicken Enchiladas

Since my family is originally from Texas, I have always loved Tex Mex.  Every time I eat a dish with an extra kick to it, I think of my Dad—who loved it too—mopping his brow after a really spicy bite and saying, “it hurts so good!”  Tex Mex is a great choice for the budget, it is easy to prepare and everyone seems to like it.

In the grocery store’s ethnic food aisle, you can buy everything you need to make enchiladas using prepared products and that’s fine and quick.  But I really prefer to make things from scratch to avoid extra salt and preservatives with long scary names.  This recipe is easy.  You can make the sauce ahead and then whenever you want enchiladas, you can make just as many as you want—which is the way to do it because these taste really great fresh—good leftover—but really good freshly made.  For variety,  you can also change the filling, using ground beef or cheese instead of chicken, and you can also use your imagination with garnishes—black olives, avocado, chopped tomatoes, chopped red onion would all be good to look at and good to eat.

Chicken Enchiladas

For the Sauce

Ingredients:

2 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes in juice, drained
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup heavy whipping cream

Preparation:

In the food processor, place the tomatoes and the jalapeno peppers and puree.  In a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat the vegetable oil and then sauté the onion until it is golden brown.  Add the tomato puree to the onion and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes until the mixture is thick (like applesauce).  Add the chicken broth and continue to simmer for about 15 minutes.  It will be a little soupier now, and that’s the way you want it.
Taste and add the salt (using less if necessary) and the heavy whipping cream.  Keep warm.

For the Enchiladas

3 cups shredded chicken (I use either leftover roasted chicken or a rotisserie chicken)
1 ½ cups Monterey Jack cheese, grated
12 corn tortillas
½ cup sour cream
½ cup green onion, sliced
Fresh cilantro, chopped
Cooking Spray

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  On a baking sheet, place 4 tortillas at a time and spray both sides lightly with the cooking spray (I use olive oil spray).  Place in the oven and warm for 3 minutes.  In a medium bowl stir about a cup of the enchilada sauce into the chicken and set nearby.  In the bottom of a 9 x 13 rectangular ceramic or glass baking dish, spoon about 1 cup of the enchilada sauce. Remove the tortillas from the oven, and working quickly, prepare the enchiladas by placing a portion of the chicken on the tortilla, rolling it up, and placing it seam side down into the sauce.  Continue heating the tortillas and rolling them until completed.  Spoon additional sauce over to cover, and sprinkle the Monterey Jack cheese evenly over all.  Heat in the oven for about 15 minutes, until hot and bubbly and the cheese is nicely melted.  Garnish with the green onion and fresh cilantro and serve, passing the sour cream separately.