Sunday, April 15, 2012

Chicken Enchiladas with a homemade Red Sauce

Fiestaaaaaa!

The alternate title for this post was "things that look gross, but taste awesome." I was not sure you all would read it if I gave it that title...



In case you are unaware, I am losing my mind. I have a rather large paper due one week from today, and finals start in two weeks, yet, I was so stressed on Thursday, I had to spend the night in the kitchen cooking. And these happened.


They are a mess because the corn tortillas I bought were awful. They tasted great, but they just didn’t…roll well. So, my enchiladas looked terrible, but really tasted fantastic.

In case you were wondering, Cinco de Mayo and Kentucky Derby, quite possibly two of my favorite events, happen ON THE SAME DAY THIS YEAR! I might make these and some mint juleps (actually…no, I’m not going to do that. That sounds gross).

Here is what you need (recipe adapted from My Life as a Mrs)…

Olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, diced
2 jalapenos, seeded and diced (get the seeds out!!!)*
1 tsp of salt
3 tbsp of chili powder
3 tsp of cumin
3 tsp of sugar
2 8 oz. cans of tomato sauce
1 cup of water
1 large tomato, chopped into small pieces
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 bag of sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 bag of Monterey jack cheese, shredded
14 corn tortillas (spend a little extra and get some good ones)

*If you are not a fan of spicy food, leave out the jalapenos and this recipe is not spicy at all.

Here is what you do…

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Saute garlic, onion and jalapenos in a large pan with olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes.


3. Add the salt, chili powder, cumin and sugar and stir until well blended.
4. Add tomato sauce, water, and tomato and allow the mixture to simmer about 5 minutes.
5. Add the raw chicken breasts to the mixture. Bury them in the sauce so they are well covered and turn the heat to low. Simmer for 25 minutes, turning once after about 12 minutes.


6. Remove the chicken and chop into little pieces. Set aside in a large bowl.
7. Here’s the complicated part. You may need another set of hands for this. You want to strain the juice from the remaining mixture into a bowl, and then mix the vegetables that are leftover in with the chicken. Here is a picture to help:


8. Mix about ½ cup of the sauce in with the chicken and vegetables and about ¾ cup of each of the cheeses.
9.  Pour a bit of you chicken mixture into the center of each tortilla, wrap tightly, and place in a large greased baking dish, seam side down.
10. Spray cooking oil on top of the tortillas and bake for about 10 minutes; until the tortillas are brown on top.
11. Remove from the oven, turn the oven down to 400 degrees, and evenly pour the remaining cheese and sauce on top. Baking for 20 minutes, remove and let sit for 10 minutes.
12. Enjoy!


I made some spanish rice (from a box) and refried beans to round out the strange looking meal. It was VERY good...but very messy. Have a great week!!!

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