Chicken Enchiladas

• To make sauce:
• 2t canola oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1-2 jalapeños, chopped (I only use one for the kids)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1T chili powder
• 2t cumin
• 1/2T sugar
• 1/2t salt
• 1 15oz can tomato sauce
• 1 cup water (+ more as needed for consistency... much of the water evaporates off when enchiladas bake, so you want your sauce to be rather thin before baking)
• To make chicken enchiladas:
• 4 cups cooked, shredded chicken
• Approx. 14 homemade flour tortillas
• 2 cups shredded cheese (jack, pepper jack, or cheddar/jack mix)
• 1/3c green onions, thinly sliced

Directions:

Heat a pot over medium heat. Swirl canola oil in bottom of pan. Add onions, jalapeños, and garlic. Cook until fragrant and tender.

Add spices, sugar, and salt. Stir and allow spices to toast, 2 minutes.

Pour in tomato sauce and water. Simmer 5 minutes.

[At this point you can cool sauce, blend sauce in blender, and cover and store in refrigerator until ready to use or move on with making enchiladas]

To Make Chicken Enchiladas:

Place  chicken in the pot with sauce and simmer, 30-45 minutes, until chicken has absorbed all the flavor of the sauce.

Preheat oven to 425. Grease a 13x9 pan.

Transfer chicken to bowl, season with salt. Mix and set aside.

Transfer cooled enchilada sauce to blender and whirl until smooth. Put 1/4 cup sauce into bowl of shredded chicken. Add 1/2c shredded cheese to bowl with chicken and sauce. Stir to combine.

Steam homemade flour tortillas in a tortilla warmer in the microwave, about 2 minutes, until hot and pliable. *If you do not have a tortilla warmer, a ziploc bag works well.

Spoon shredded chicken mixture (about 1/4 cup) onto center of warm tortilla, roll, and place seam-side down in greased pan. Repeat until all the chicken has been used.

Lightly spray the top of enchiladas with cooking spray. Cook, uncovered, for 7 minutes.

Remove pan from oven. Pour enchilada sauce over the entire pan of enchiladas.

Sprinkle remaining cheese evenly over top. Sprinkle green onions over cheese.

Bake 20 minutes more, or until sauce is bubbly and cheese is gooey and melted.