1# cooked chicken, shredded or diced (or ground beef)
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 4½ oz. cans chopped green chiles with their juice
½ tsp. Dried oregano
½ tsp. Dried basil
3 cups (approx.) shredded jack or Mexican cheese mix. ( I prefer a minimum of cheddar in the mix for this recipe.)
Enchilada Sauce:
3 tbl. Veg oil
1 tbl. Flour
1/8 c. chili powder
1 c. chix broth
1 c. beef broth
10 oz. tomato paste
1 tsp. Dried oregano
1 tsp. Ground cumin
½ tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Crushed garlic
Make the sauce first:
Heat oil in medium saucepan over med-high heat. Add flour and stir, cooking for 1 minute until smooth.
Add chili powder and cook 30 seconds.
Add beef & chicken broth, tomato paste, oregano, cumin, salt & garlic, stir to combine.
Bring to a low boil and then reduce heat – simmer for 15 minutes. The sauce will smooth out. If too thick, add a little water or more broth.
Taste and add more chili powder or cumin if desired. If you add, simmer 10 minutes more.
Remove from heat so it cools a little for the tortilla-dipping step below.
While the sauce is simmering, and subsequently cooling, make the filling:
Saute the diced onion, oregano and basil over medium heat until onion is beginning to get tender. Add the chiles and continue cooking until onion is completely soft and clear. Do not let the onions brown.
Add the onion mixture to the chicken.* Add enough of the enchilada sauce to coat the chicken/onion mixture.
Tortillas: (Use CORN tortillas)
Heat a pan, preferably cast iron, over high heat. Do not put oil in the pan. Put a tortilla in the pan (more if they fit) and cook until it just begins to brown. Flip to do the other side. Repeat until done.
Assemble the enchiladas: (this is messy!)
Lightly grease a 9 x 13” pan.
Dip a tortilla in the enchilada sauce so both sides are lightly coated. Put the coated tortilla on a plate. Put about ¼ cup chicken mixture down the center of the tortilla. Top with a tablespoon or two of shredded cheese. Roll the tortilla and place in pan seam side down. Repeat 11 times J
When done, generously sprinkle the top of the enchiladas with more cheese.
Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350 for 30 – 35 minutes. Remove from oven, uncover and let sit for 10 minutes. Reheat the enchilada sauce while the enchiladas are resting.
To serve: Spoon some enchilada sauce on half of a dinner plate. Place 2 enchiladas on top of the sauce. Garnish with sour cream and chopped green onions if desired.
*note: When I made this there was a lot of the onion/chile mixture. (big onion!) I added most of it to the chicken. The remainder (about ½ cup) I pureed and dumped into the enchilada sauce. This probably isn’t necessary but I thought I would mention it.
