Red Chile Sauce Chicken Enchiladas

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/red-chile-sauce-chicken-enchiladas/

I was pleasantly surprised on this one.  I didn't think I was going to like this one much when the sauce was cooking but they really were good!  I loved that they were really saucy.  Lucy loved them too.   She asked for seconds which is unusual with her lately.  We topped them with lime juice, cilantro, and sour cream.

 I don't like eating just chicken and cheese for the filling so I added a little corn and rinsed black beans from a can mixed in with two chicken breasts instead of three.  I also didn't want to take the time to strain the sauce like it says in the instructions.  Instead I just put a little sauce in the bottom of the pan, put a little sauce in each tortilla with the chicken/corn/bean/cheese mixture and then poured it all over the top at the end.  I also only used cheddar cheese. We had a anaheim chile pepper growing in our garden so I substituted that for the jalepeno.  I just noticed she says you can freeze these so I am going to try to remember that.

Red Chile Sauce Chicken Enchiladas

YIELD: MAKES 12 ENCHILADAS

INGREDIENTS

• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped fine
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 3 medium cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3 teaspoons sugar
• 2 (8-oz) cans tomato sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 3 large chicken breasts)
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
• 1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
• 12 (6-inch) soft corn or flour tortillas (fajita-size for flour tortillas)
• cooking spray
• salt and ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large saucepan, combine the onion, jalapeno, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and oil. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the onions and peppers have softened, 8-10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and sugar, and cook until fragrant, less than 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato sauce and water. Bring to a simmer.
2. Nestle the chicken into the sauce. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until chicken is cooked through, about 12-20 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of the chicken breasts you are using. Transfer the chicken to a plate, and set aside to cool. Continue to simmer the sauce over medium heat until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
3. Strain the sauce through a strainer into a medium bowl, pressing the onion mixture to extract as much liquid as possible. Season sauce with additional salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the leftover onion mixture from the strainer to a large bowl and set aside.
4. Shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add to the onion mixture in the large bowl. Also stir in 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce, 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese and the cilantro. Toss to combine.
5. Stack the tortillas on a plate and cover with plastic wrap; Microwave on high until warm and pliable, 40-60 seconds. Spread the tortillas on a clean work surface, and spoon 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture evenly down the center of each. Tightly roll each tortilla and lay seam-side down in a greased 9×13 inch baking dish.
6. Heat oven to 400 F. Pour the enchilada sauce evenly over the top of the enchiladas. Top with the remaining cheese. Cover dish with foil and bake 20 minutes, or until heated through.
7. Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes, until cheese browns. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.
8. Serve with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, additional cilantro, if desired.

NOTES

Make Ahead Instructions: Follow the recipe, letting the sauce, onions and chicken come to room temperature before assembling the enchiladas. Finish following the recipe instructions and instead of baking, cover the pan with a layer of tin foil and refrigerate for up to 12 hours. Bake covered for 20 minutes, uncover and bake an additional 5-10 minutes. Alternately, the assembled enchiladas can be covered with a double layer of tin foil and put inside a jumbo-size ziploc bag (if you don’t have a jumbo-sized bag, make sure the edges of the pan are sealed well with tin foil). Freeze for up to 2-3 months. Bake from frozen, baking for 1 1/2 hours covered at 350 degrees F. Uncover and bake an additional hour until hot and bubbly.