Chicken Enchiladas

from The Best Light Recipe by ATK

• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
• Salt
• 3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
• 3 tablespoons chili powder [Made my own according to Mark Bittman's recipe in HTCE]
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large breasts), trimmed of excess fat
• Ground black pepper
• 8 ounces 50 percent light cheddar cheese shredded (2 cups) [Used some pre-shredded 4-cheese Mexican blend.  Full fat, y'all.]
• 1 (4-ounce) can pickled jalapeno chiles, drained and chopped
• 12 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas
• Vegetable oil spray
• 1 lime, cut into wedges (for serving)

Couldn't locate a 4-ounce can of pickled jalapenos, but I found an 11-ounce can.  I was surprised to find it contained carrots as well.

I suppose a 4-ounce can, drained, would contain even fewer jalapenos than the can I bought, but I thought it was worth noting that the total weight came out to be 2.3 ounces.

Mise en place.

Sweating the onions in 1/2 teaspoon of oil with a 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, and sugar.  Cook until fragrant.

Stir in tomato sauce and water, bring to a simmer, and cook until slightly thickened.

Nestle chicken into sauce and cook until thickest part registers 160 degrees on thermometer.  Set aside to cool and shred.

 
Strain sauce through medium-mesh strainer.  The sauce was crazy spicy at this point since I used chile de arbol in the chili powder rather than "mild" chiles.  I hoped the heat would even out later, and it did.

I guess you're supposed to toss the chicken, 1 cup cheddar, jalapenos, and cilantro with a 1/2 cup of the sauce, but I kind of flaked and threw it all in there.  Pouring out as much sauce as I could later.

Wrap tortillas in plastic wrap and microwave until warm and pliable.

Place a 1/3 cup of filling evenly down center of each tortilla.  Tightly roll and set seam side down in baking dish.  I only managed to use 9 of them.
Then you're supposed to spray the tops (I guess this uses less oil, but my spray has expired and I didn't have a new one.), but i just brush them with vegetable oil.  Pour 1 cup of sauce over the top and sprinkle cheese evenly.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes covered with foil at 400 degrees and then uncovered for 5 minutes to brown the cheese.

 

Pretty serviceable enchiladas.  Not crazy greasy.  Certainly not terrible.  Sour cream and store-bought salsa picante to accompany them.