Chicken and Morada Sauce Enchiladas with Homemade Enchilada Sauce

 

If you want authenticish (with guidelines touches) Enchiladas this recipe is delish!! Also, two previous posts from this week will help with this recipe too!!! Check out the Smothered Shrimp Etouffee for the broth recipe (just sub chicken instead of shrimp shells) and the Morada Sauce recipe. If you didn't see them, no worries I will repost them here. This dish can be quick if you have your broth and Morada Sauce already made or if you want to make it super quick by using store bought Chicken Broth, Verde Sauce, enchilada sauce and flour tortilla's. However, if you have the time and want the BEST tasting Enchiladas, do this from scratch!!! 

INGREDIENTS:

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (see method below)

1 TBS olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

2 cups of fresh or roasted tomatoes, chopped

2 garlic cloves, diced

1 tsp Salt plus more for taste

1/2 tsp pepper plus more to taste

6 large flour tortillas 

2.5 cups of Mexican Blend Cheese

2 cups Enchilada Sauce (see recipe below)

2 cups Morada or Verde Sauce (see recipe below)

Garnish: hot sauce, sour cream, lime wedge and cilantro

Makes 6

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a skillet sautee, heat the olive oil over medium heat and sautee onion and bell pepper until soft. Add garlic cloves and cook for 1 min. Next, add shredded chicken, chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook for 10 min and taste to adjust salt and pepper to your liking. 

Dip the large flour tortillas one at a time in warm enchilada sauce covering each side in a thin layer. Scoop approximately 1/2 cup of chicken mixture into each dipped tortilla and fold the sides in. Start with with left and right side and tuck towards the middle. And then fold the top and bottom in hugging the chicken mixture so none pokes out. Like a Burrito. 

In a 9x13  deep baking pan or casserole dish spread 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom. Place 6 stuffed enchiladas seam side down. They should all squeeze in perfectly. Top with any extra enchilada sauce. Spread two cups of mixed shredded mexican cheese evenly across the top. Place in oven and cook for 20 minutes until bubbly. 

Assemble the plate with an enchilada, more cheese, 1/3 cup morada sauce, a large dollop of sour cream, fresh cilantro, several drops of hot sauce to taste and fresh squeezed lime juice wedge. 

ENCHILADA SAUCE:

2 TBS olive oil

2 TBS all purpose flour

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

4 TBS chili powder

2 cups chicken broth (see recipe below) 

In a sauce pot, heat oil over medium heat, slowly add in flour whisking continuously until boiling. Immediately add all the spices, whisking to incorporate. Slowly add chicken broth still whisking. Reduce heat to low and cook until thickened, about 10 min. 

MORADA SAUCE:

Well, I call this Morada Sauce for obvious reasons. It's like Verde Sauce but with purple Tomatillos and smoked. I also make a Blanco Sauce with our White Tomatillos. Whatever color you can get your hands on, this recipe will be super delicious!!! We had a wonderful Tomatillo season last summer so I made this sauce in batches and froze them in quart size bags for later use on all our Mexican dishes like Taco night, Enchiliadas, Quesadillas, Chalupas, Nachoes, Burritos, and Chips and Dip. There are so many uses for this amazing sauce. 

Smoke approx 6-8 cups tomatillos, 1-2 serranos, and 1/2 white onion on the smoker until a little charred. Remove and let cool. 

Place in blender with 1-2 serranos or more (depending how hot you want it 😨 and its ok to use jalapeno or poblano) one squeezed lime, handful of cilantro and your fav mexican spice blend. Or use 1/2 T cumin, 1/2 T chili powder, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/ tsp mexican oregano, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper. Add a shot of tequila to make it even better, but that's optional. Blend until chuncky like salsa. Taste to adjust seasonings to your likings. Enjoy! 

CHICKEN BROTH:

2 large chicken breasts 

1/2 bell pepper

1/2 onion

1 celery stick

1 carrot

2 garlic cloves

1 bay leaf

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Handful of fresh mixed herbs like parsley, thyme, oregano, basil, dill, sage etec.

1 gallon of water 

Optional: plus pretty much any vegetable in my fridge that needs to be used like a tomato, fresh herbs, jalapeno, red onions, a little cabbage, a couple of brussels sprouts, shallot, mini sweet peppers, potato etec. 

In a stockpot add all the ingredients halved. No need to cut small as liquid will be strained. Add water to cover and boil for 1 hour or more. Add water as it evaporates during cooking time. Make with ingredients listed only or add the optional vegetables if you have some on hand that need to be used. More vegetables equals more flavor. No fresh herbs on hand? No problem just use dried herbs 1/2 tsp of each. 

Reserve 2 cups for the Enchiladas and freeze the rest. 

Remove chicken breasts, cool and shred for enchilada recipe above!!