Chicken Enchiladas

I am so glad I finally got to post these. I didn't think I would ever find (or make) an enchilada that looked or tasted so good. You see me and enchiladas, we don't get along-uhh we didn't until now. Years ago, when I first got married, I searched and searched for a good enchilada recipe and tried a few different ones out. They never ended up any good. I usually didn't like the sauce and they always fell apart on me! After much searching, I came upon these Chicken Enchiladas that had a green sauce and used flour tortillas. I actually really liked them and made them quite a bit for a while. However, there was still something in the back of my head that wanted to find that perfect traditional enchilada recipe.

Well folks, I think I have found it! When I saw this recipe on Annie's Eats a while ago, I bookmarked it because I knew it would be good. Her recipes are always spot on! When I got around to trying it the first time I was blown away by how good they were, especially the sauce. They tasted even better than a traditional enchilada and looked pretty good too. My only complaint the first few times I made these was that the tortillas always broke when I tried to roll them up. Very frustrating; no fault of Annie's though, I just needed to learn how to do it.

I was almost ready to bag the whole roll-it-up way and make it lasagna-style like my other enchiladas when I happened to randomly pick up some freshly made tortillas from a Mexican bakery. Score!

Let me tell you! It made such a difference using the fresh tortillas. They were much more pliable with rolling and filling them up and they didn't break all over the place.

Now, I'm sure I won't be able to get fresh tortillas ALL the time, so I may have to learn a trick or two when using regular store-bough tortillas so they won't break. Or I might just stack instead of roll. Either way this is a keeper! You will want to try these.

Chicken Enchiladas
for the sauce:
1 medium onion, chopped fine
2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped fine
1 tsp. canola oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. cumin
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
Salt and pepper

3-4 cups cooked and shredded chicken
1 cup shredded sharp white cheddar cheese, divided (Feel free to substitute mozzarella cheese here, farmers cheese or a soft Mexican cheese such as cojita.)
1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese, divided
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
12 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas
Cooking spray


Combine the onion, jalapeno and oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until the onions and peppers have softened, 8-10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin and sugar, and cook just until fragrant, less than 30 seconds. Mix 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.

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 to taste. Add shredded chicken to onion mixture, as well as 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce, 1/2 cup of each of the shredded cheese and the cilantro. Stir to combine.

Preheat the oven to 425˚ F. Oil a 9 x 13″ baking dish with cooking spray. Stack half of 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 or until the tortillas start to brown slightly.

Reduce the oven temperature to 400˚ F. Remove the enchiladas from the oven and pour the sauce oven 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.

SOURCE:Lightly adapted from Annie's Eats, originally from America's Test Kitchen