Cancun Chicken Enchiladas

So my story and recipe from the heart this week comes courtesy of Adrienne & George... two of my nearest and dearest friends! Adrienne came to me this past weekend and we were talking about the blog and how I'd love for everyone to contribute their stories and recipes and she said, Michelle, I would love to make the chicken enchiladas that George & I had when we went to Cancun for our first anniversary! Seeing as they've been married for 6 years... it's been 5 years since they've had them and I'd told her I'd love to help her recreate the memory! I think it went over muy bueno! Here's to 6 years of wedding bliss my friend... oh and yummy delicioso chicken enchiladas...

They're a little bit of work, but super easy to do and oh so worth it!

Ingredients

1 small onion, chopped (about a cup)

Vegetable oil

2 small cloves garlic, minced

1 can of chopped tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted if you can get it

2 Tbsp red chili powder

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup to a cup of water

12-14 corn tortillas

Peanut oil or canola oil - a high smoke point oil

2-3 cups of cooked chicken, shredded or chopped

2 cups grated cheese- monterey jack, cheddar mix

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Prepare the sauce. Coat a large skillet with oil and sauté the onions on medium heat until translucent, a few minutes. Add the garlic for a minute more. While the onions are cooking, purée the canned tomatoes in a blender. Add the tomatoes to the onions and garlic. Bring to a low simmer. Start adding the chili powder, one teaspoon at a time, tasting after each addition, until you get to the desired level of heat and chili flavor. Around 2 Tablespoons. It depends on your taste and how strong the chili powder is that you are using. Note that the tortillas and chicken will absorb some of the heat, so allow for that and let it be a little bit spicier than what you want in the finished dish. Add a teaspoon of sugar if necessary to cut down on the acid from the tomatoes. You want more of the taste of the chili and less of the tomatoes for this sauce. As the sauce simmers, dilute it with water to keep it from getting to thick as it simmers. Remove from heat.
• Mix in 1/4 cup of the sauce with the cooked chicken, and a 1/4 cup of the cheese. Sprinkle with a little salt. Set aside.
• Prepare the tortillas. Dip them in the sauce individually

• Heat a small light skillet on medium high heat. Add a teaspoon of oil (high smoke point oil as directed) to coat the bottom of the pan. Dip a tortilla in the sauce to coat the tortilla on both sides. Place the tortilla in the skillet and heat for a few seconds, until the tortilla begins to show some air bubbles, with a metal spatula flip it over and do the same thing to the otehr side. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
• Assemble the enchiladas... Get a pyrex dish 8x12 or 9x10. place a couple of spoonfuls of the shredded chicken and a bit of the grated cheese into the center of a tortilla and roll it up like a little cigar. Place in the backing dish and repeat untill all of your tortillas are neatly placed in rows in the pyrex dish. Cover the tortilla rolls with the remaining sauce.

• Sprinkle the top of the tortillas with the remaining cheese.
• Place in the oven and cook in the oven for 10 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly.
• Serve with shredded iceberg lettuce and sour cream

OPTIONAL: Chopped cilantro, tomatoes or avocado slices.

Sidenote:

Quick Shredded Chicken Recipe

1 chicken breast half, on the bone and with skin

1 slice onion

1 clove garlic

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

Combine ingredients in a small pan (or larger if recipe is multiplied). Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a low simmer, cover, and cook until chicken is cooked through, about twenty minutes

Remove chicken from broth. When it is cool enough to handle, remove bones and skin and shred chicken with fingers.

Please keep sending me your stories and recipes!

AYE! AYE! AYE!!!!! Keep making food memories!