Enchiladas Made With Homemade Enchilada Sauce

Sometimes working on an instructable is comically frustrating and worth mentioning. Examples might be Giant Schnauzers snatching new tortilla bags, family members eating ingredients before you have a chance to make the recipe , or son-in-laws (taking hidden enchiladas reserved for daylight pictures) to work, when ample enchiladas were packed for lunch.

With that said, the pictures do not give these enchiladas any justice; because they were delicious. Achieving these kind of results when creating a recipe for the first time; does not happen very often.

Follow through and I will show you how to make very tasty enchiladas with sunshiine's homemade sauce.

Step 1: Ingredients

This is what you will need:

Sauce:

1 Can Hunt's Tomato Sauce 29 oz
1 Juice from a lime
4 Garlic cloves 
2 Serrano Peppers
1 Small onion 
Cilantro if desired I used about 1/4 of a bunch 
2 Tablespoons Chili Powder
1 teaspoon Cumin
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Onion powder
Black pepper to taste
The Olive oil is for the chicken

Chicken:

4 Small skinless chicken breast lightly seasoned with Cumin, Garlic powder, Onion powder, and Kosher salt.

Tortillas:

Small package of flour or corn tortillas I used both because my son-in-law prefers the whole wheat flour tortillas and I love the corn tortillas. I buy them cold.

Filling: I love vegetables so I use many different kinds of vegetables in my enchilada's, but most people keep it pretty simple and use a couple for garnish along with cheese. Reserve some of the filling for the garnish if desired. 

Diced: 1/4 Onion, 2 Serrano peppers, cilantro as desired ,4 Roma tomatoes, 2 cans sliced black olives, and 2 small packages (1 of each) shredded Mexican blend cheese.

Garnish

I used lettuce for the bed of the enchilada  ( I break all the rules when I eat enchiladas) and garnished the top with a small amount of onion, tomato, black olives, cheese, cilantro, Serrano pepper, and sour cream. 

You will need a baking dish, knife, spatula, blender, oven, bowls, cutting board, sauce pan, skillet, measuring spoons, and a can opener, for this recipe.

This recipe made about approximately 9 corn and flour enchilada's.

Step 2: Preparations

Wash and dice vegetables:

Wash the vegetables
Dice the tomatoes, onions, De-seeded Serrano pepper,and cilantro
Crush the garlic (I used a garlic press)
Shred the lettuce
Juice the lime

Step 3: Making the Sauce

Pour the tomato sauce into a sauce pan on a low heat while you measure the spices:

2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt or any salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Black pepper if desired
(lime juice)

Add the seasonings and lime juice to the tomato sauce reserving 2 cups after the spices are added ( allow reserved sauce mixture to cool before adding to the blender in the next step, and increase the heat of the remaining sauce and bring to a light boil, then reduce the heat to simmer while you are preparing the other ingredients. 

Step 4: Blend Ingredients for the Sauce

Blend:

Make a puree by blending  2 of the diced Serrano peppers, 4 of the mashed garlic cloves, 3/4 of the diced onion, cilantro if desired, and add a couple of cups of the cooled tomato sauce mixture to the vegetables.  

Step 5: Dice, Season, and Cook the Chicken

Method:

Dice the chicken
Lightly season with Cumin, Garlic powder, Onion powder, and Kosher salt
Cook the chicken in a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet until done

Step 6: Prepare Filling

Assembly station:

Set up a station with three or more of the following ingredients:  enchilada sauce, chicken ,tortillas, onion, cilantro, olives,sour cream, and cheese, to fill and garnish the tortillas.

Step 7: Fill and Roll the Tortillas

Place a little sauce in the bottom of a baking dish as shown:

Coat one side of the tortilla shell with the sauce.
Fill each tortilla with the filling of your choice.
Roll each tortilla and place them into the baking dish.
Top with a small amount of the sauce as shown.

Step 8: Bake

Bake 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes or until the cheese melts.

Step 9: Garnish

Garnish as desired 

Step 10: Sunshiine's Final Thoughts

I will never go back to the expensive canned sauce again. Adding the lime juice and cilantro made the sauce taste like it was made with garden fresh ingredients.

Tonight when Roger came home from work I told him he "ate" my pictures. He said,  "I know! Those were the best enchiladas I have ever eaten and the guys at work were very interested in them, sniffing my plate". He gave me two thumbs up and a " Please add the recipe to my cookbook"  kind of compliment. A compliment like that made me forget he devoured my pictures. 

I wish to thank Instructables, our sponsors, contributors, and all my visitors for making this a great place to share. Thanks for stopping by and do have a Happy Valentine's Day!

sunshiine