Om nom Chicken Enchiladas!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!

In honor of Cinco de Mayo I bring you some of the best chicken enchiladas I’ve ever had! If you know my husband and me personally you know how much we LOVE Mexican food!! So with this holiday I took full-advantage of this enchilada recipe I’ve been holding onto for a couple of months now. And ya’ll, these enchiladas really do taste authentic. The home-made sauce is so simple you won’t believe it. I do have to say this is a time-consuming dish so I wouldn’t decide to make this dish at the last moment. I recommend making these with the fiesta rice recipe that is to follow.

My resident taste tester said he'd keep me around a little while longer if I continue to cook like this. I dare you to NOT make these tonight!!

Chicken Enchiladas
Adapted from Annie’s Eats

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped fine
2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped fine

2 teaspoon vegetable oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons mexican chili powder (or you can use plain chili powder – this will cut down on the heat level)

2 teaspoons cumin

1 ½ tablespoon sugar

1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce

1 cup water

1 tomato, seeded and chopped

Salt (and pepper if not using mexican chili powder)

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup shredded sharp white cheddar cheese, divided

1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese, divided

½ cup minced fresh parsley (or cilantro)

12 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas

Cooking spray

Instructions for cooking:

Add oil to large saucepan and heat to medium. Add the onion and jalapeno to the heated oil. Cook, stirring often, until the onions and peppers are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin and sugar, and cook just until fragrant, less than 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato sauce, water, and chopped tomato. Bring the sauce to a simmer, lower the heat 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 completely cooked through to 160 degrees, about 15-20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside to cool.

Strain the sauce through a large mesh strainer into a medium bowl, pressing down on the onions and tomatoes to extract as much liquid as possible. Transfer the reserved solids to a large bowl and set aside. Season the sauce with additional salt (and pepper if you aren’t using mexican chili powder) to taste.

Shred the chicken into bite size pieces and add to the bowl with the onion mixture. Add in ¼ cup of the enchilada sauce, ½ cup of each of the shredded cheeses, and the parsley. Stir to combine.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Oil a 13 x 9″ baking dish with cooking spray. Stack the tortillas on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave for 40-60 seconds, until warm and pliable. Spoon 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture evenly down the center of a tortilla. Roll up the tortilla around the filling tightly, and place in the prepared baking dish, seam-side down. Repeat with the remaining filling and tortillas.

Lightly spray the tops of the enchiladas with cooking spray. Place in the oven, uncovered, for 7 minutes (with mine I didn't feel like this was long enough so I'll add more spray and brown for 10 minutes) or until the tortillas start to brown slightly. (This is a big step...make sure they are browned so that they hold up to the suace.)

Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Remove the enchiladas from the oven and pour the sauce (reserving 1 tablespoon of the sauce for the fiesta rice!) over the top. Sprinkle with the remaining shredded cheese. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove the foil and bake for 5 more minutes, until the cheese is browned. Remove from the oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Stay tuned for Fiesta rice!!