Ingredients:
Sauce & Filling:
1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil (I prefer hearth healthy Thrive algae oil)
1 medium chopped white onion (plus 1/8 cup chopped uncooked for final step before baking)
2-3 medium minced garlic cloves
3 tablespoons good chili powder (I use a dark red)
2 teaspoons ground coriander
½ teaspoons oregano (You may also use cumin)
1 teaspoon sweet marjoram
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt (but sea salt is good too)
12 ounces boneless skinless chicken. (When I am in a hurry, I purchase a whole baked chicken from my local natural food store, and pick off most of the meat to 12 ounces)
2 (8 ounce) cans good tomato sauce
¼ cup water
8 ounces sharp, medium or mild cheddar. I prefer mild.
½ cup coarsely chopped cilantro
1 (4-ounce) can pickled jalapeno chiles, drained and chopped.
Tortilla Prep
10 corn tortillas
¼ Vegetable oil in frying pan
3 ounces sharp, medium or mild cheddar cheese
1 fresh jalapeno chopped
Sour cream (3/4 cup or more, if you like sour cream)
1 medium avocado
Romaine lettuce leaves chopped (about 6)
Lime wedges
Method:
On stove top sauté onion until translucent and slightly brown, add garlic and next six ingredients and cook on medium heat, Stir often. Add cooked chicken pieces for 30-40 seconds. Add tomato sauce and water. Let simmer for about 6 minutes. Pour mixture through a strainer to extract all of the sauce. Place sauce aside. Put chicken in the freezer for about 15 minutes or until completely cool. If you use warm chicken, this will make the enchiladas soggy. Remove chicken mixture from freezer and add cheddar, jalapeno, and cilantro.
Adjust oven rack to lower middle. Warm oven to 300 degrees.
While chicken mixture is cooling, warm oil in skillet and add tortillas one at time and warm for 10-15 seconds on each side. This process is to make tortilla more pliable to roll. Place warmed tortilla on a plate lined with four sheets of paper towels to drain. Keep warm.
Warm oven to 400 degrees.
In a 13 by 9 inch baking dish, smear bottom with ¼ cup chili sauce. Take one tortilla at a time and smear outer side, then roll in sauce. Add 1/3 cup chicken mixture inside tortilla and roll tightly with seam side down. Do this until you have rolled all tortillas. Pour remaining chili sauce over the top of all tortillas, and spread with back of a spoon. Sprinkle cheddar in center, add 1/8 cup raw chopped white onions, and 1 chopped fresh jalapeno. Cover with one parchment sheet, then with aluminum foil. Bake on lower-middle rack until heated through about 20-25 minutes. Uncover and serve immediately with sour cream, avocado, and romaine lettuce. Squeeze with lime juice if preferred. Leftovers can be frozen for up to two weeks.
My friend from Mexico tells me these are a winner 🙂