So, it’s been a little quiet around here… I know, I know. I usually write 2-3 recipe posts a week; but I’ve got a little something personal to share with you. I’ve been busy getting ready for surgery tomorrow… Nothing major thankfully, just scheduled abdominal surgery to repair a hernia. I guess two beautiful back-to-back babies and all my “McGiver-like” stunts in the house while lifting 70 pounds of combined toddler weight are finally catching up with me.
How do I feel about the surgery? Rather OK, for the most part. I honestly just want to get it over with and recover… and get back into the groove of things; which is cooking up a storm with my kids in tow and blogging about it. I love nothing more than a messy kitchen, a countertop full of food and the warm & inviting smell of dinner brewing. So let’s hope all goes well and let’s talk enchiladas, shall we? Because that’s far more interesting than abdominal surgery chatter.
En-to-ma-ta-das is what my mother calls enchiladas. It literally translates to: “smothered in tomatoes” ; which is a pretty good depiction of this dish, as a matter of fact. When I think about large casseroles, comfort food, the perfect freeze now & eat later meal… these are at the forefront of my mind! When you make them, it’s always worth it to make two pans; one for your and one for friends. Or one for you and one for later. Trust me, they’re good and hearty and ALL the things you need your dinner to be.
The recipe uses my mother’s authentic red sauce. It’s not overly spicy, it’s a little sweet, it’s just right. The best part is; it’s a simple blender sauce that absolutely hits the spot and makes the dish stellar. You can totally customize your level of picante to suit your palate needs. You can add some chillies or none, or even add more than the amount I call for on the recipe . Your call, completely.
And if you’ve followed this blog long enough; you know I have a penchant for the occasional kitchen hack that will save time without compromising on quality or nutrition. So here we have it; these enchiladas use Whole Foods rotisserie chicken to cut down on prep time by half. When warming the chicken up, feel free to lightly season to taste; but the sauce is SO good, you won’t need this step.
Also, I use corn tortillas in my recipe because (1) they’re naturally gluten free & (2) because authentic enchiladas are made with corn tortillas. But I know a lot of you prefer flour tortillas or what not; & this recipe would work on both. AND… if you follow me on Snapchat for all “behind the scenes” kitchen action…. you know this recipe took two tries! Because well, not heating the corn tortillas before rolling them into “taco-like” structures resulted in them breaking apart the first time around. So whatever you do (do), don’t skip that simple step!
So wish me luck tomorrow & hope to catch up with you all next week! In the meantime, go ahead and make these. You’ll soon be making them on repeat like yours truly.
-Aleyda xx
Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 8-10 corn tortillas
- 1 tbsp of deodorized coconut oil or olive oil
- 1/2 a rotisserie chicken
- 1 cup of cooked brown rice
- a handful of canned, pickled green jalapeños
- 1 cup of cooked black beans
- 3/4 cup queso fresco OR fresh mozzarella OR cheese of your choice. You may use Daiya for vegan, non-dairy options.
- 1/3 cup of fresh organic cilantro for garnish
For the sauce:
- 2 serrano or poblano peppers, remove the stems & seeds (optional)
- 2 tbsp of vegetable, sunflower or olive oil (or oil of your choice)
- 1 tbsp of gluten free flour (or all purpose flour)
- 1/4 cup of chili powder (about 3-4 tbsp)
- 1 small red onion
- 3-4 large tomatoes
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth (I always buy low sodium)
- 1 tsp of ground cumin
- 1 tsp of agave or brown sugar (to fight off any acidity in the tomatoes)
- 1/2 tsp of sea salt ( I do 1/4 tsp because I hardly eat salt)
- 1/4 tsp oregano
Instructions
- Turn your oven on to 350F.
- Use 1 tbsp of oil of your choice and grease two baking sheets using a kitchen paper towel to rub in the oil or remove any excess
- On one baking tray, place the tortillas. On the other, place the tomatoes and the onion over parchment paper. Take the tortillas out after 2-3 minutes, stack them, and cover with a glass plate to keep moist. Take the onion & tomatoes out after 10-15 or until they’re starting to char.
- Place the onion and tomatoes inside your blender & add the 2 cups of stock. Add the serrano peppers & blend until smooth. Make sure you remove the pepper seeds; this is where the spicy resides.
- In a small saucepan, add the 2 tbsp of oil for the sauce. Then add the flour. Stir until smooth. Throw in ALL the sauce seasonings: chili powder, cumin, sea salt & oregano. Stir well.
- Slowly throw in the blender stock contents and bring to a boil. Then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 10-12 minutes. For thicker sauce, add an additional 1 tbsp of flour. I use GF flour. Always store the sauce in the fridge.
- Don’t turn off your oven! (Just yet, at least). In an assembly line fashion, add some brown rice, black beans, chicken and a 1/2 tbsp of sauce to each enchilada and then roll. Always face the side with the opening face-down on a lightly greased baking tray. Line them up horizontally (side by side) and repeat the process for each one.
- Cover them with sauce and a generous sprinkle of cheese of your choice. I also like to add some canned, pickled jalapeños.
- Bake for about 20 mins, uncovered. Aluminum foil scrapes off the cheese (the best part)! For vegan options, you could replace the chicken with tofu or use the black beans as protein. You could also sprinkle Daiya, non-dairy cheese or a cashew cheese of your choice. Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve them up! These are also amazing with Tofutti non-dairy sour cream.
- Enjoy them!!
