I’ve slowly started to come around to Mexican
food. It’s not that I don’t like it,
because I do (I mean, who doesn’t love a culture of food that makes it
acceptable to devour a big bowl of melted cheese!?), however I’ve always stuck
with plain tacos. Though, when getting
ready to have my sweet baby boy I wanted to prepare a few meals the last few
months that I could freeze for when I knew I’d be too busy cuddling to cook. I
did make up some precooked Taco meat, but I also knew I wanted some more
substantial foods as well. With Cinco de
Mayo around the corner last year I decided to “be adventurous” and step outside
of my Mexican comfort realm.
While looking through some of my favorite blogs,
and poking around on FoodGawker, I
found these delicious looking chicken enchiladas. What I loved about the recipe is that they seemed
like an easy way to recreate a Mexican restaurant staple. Easy, yes – quick, no! I am glad I didn’t try making them for the
first time AFTER Tyler was born, because I made them in them in the middle of
the week not paying attention to time! They
are time consuming, but oh so well worth it!
I have made them since he’s been born, but I now know that they’re best
made on a weekend; at least for my schedule with a demanding 9-month old! I’ve also since that first time made with
precooked chicken, and it’s come out just as delicious!
As I mentioned, yes, these are time consuming but
totally worth it. Make them some weekend
and thank me shortly thereafter!
Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chile Sauce
Ingredients:
Ingredients:
1 medium onion , chopped fine
1 tsp. vegetable oil
3 medium cloves garlic , minced
3 tbsp. chili powder
3 tsp. ground cumin
2 teaspoons sugar
2 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large breasts)
8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
3 tbsp. pickled jalapenos, chopped
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
12 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas
Vegetable cooking spray
Salt
Ground black pepper
1 tsp. vegetable oil
3 medium cloves garlic , minced
3 tbsp. chili powder
3 tsp. ground cumin
2 teaspoons sugar
2 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large breasts)
8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
3 tbsp. pickled jalapenos, chopped
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
12 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas
Vegetable cooking spray
Salt
Ground black pepper
Directions:
Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 425 degrees.
Combine the onion, oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large saucepan. Cover and
cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the onions have softened, 8 to
10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and sugar, and cook until
fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato sauce and water, bring to a
simmer, and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
Nestle the chicken into the sauce.
Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the chicken is no longer pink in
the center, and the thickest part registers 160 degrees on an instant-read
thermometer, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate; set aside to
cool. Strain the sauce through a medium-mesh strainer into a medium bowl,
pressing on the onions to extract as much liquid as possible. Place onion
mixture in a large bowl and set aside. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to
taste.
Once the chicken is cool enough to
handle, shred into bite-sized pieces. Add to the bowl along with the onion
mixture. Add in 1/4 cup enchilada sauce, 1 cup cheddar cheese, the chopped
jalapeños, and the cilantro. Toss to combine.
Stack the tortillas on a
microwave-safe plate, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave on high until warm
and pliable, 40 to 60 seconds. Spread the warm tortillas out over a clean work
surface. Place 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture evenly down the center of each
tortilla. Tightly roll each tortilla around the filling and lay them seam-side
down in a 13 by 9-inch baking dish.
Lightly spray the tops of the
enchiladas with vegetable oil spray. Place in the oven, uncovered, for about 7
minutes until the tortillas are starting to slightly brown on the top. (If you
dont’ like a bit of crunch in your enchiladas, just skip this step completely)
Reduce oven temperature to 400.
Remove enchiladas from oven and pour remaining sauce over to coat them
thoroughly. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup cheddar down the center of the
enchiladas. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake until the enchiladas are
heated through, 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove the foil and continue to bake
until the cheese browns, about 5 minutes longer. Remove from oven and let stand
for 10 minutes before serving.

Source:
Numerous blogs, and I went with the Tide and Thyme version
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