enchilada sauce.

saucy

I've been really lazy about putting this recipe up, so I'm forcing myself to do it before bed- if it's not now, it's never going to happen. It's nothing too exciting, but still sort of mind-blowing to a girl who grew up with the absolute knowledge that enchilada sauce comes from a can. I'm not on a diet, and I'm not 100% strict with my eating habits, but I am making a pretty decent effort to avoid nasty foods, (hydrogenated oils, refined shit, etc.) just for overall health reasons. That doesn't mean I'm not going to have a salt bagel when I go to work, but it does mean I'm reading labels even closer than I was before, and if it's something we can whip out in a few minutes, why not make it at home instead of buying a gnarly can of mystery liquid?

enchilada3

My husband gave me the recipe after we had dinner the other night, and I keep staring at what I've written down, thinking- "Really? That's it?" It seems so simple, but OKAY DUDES- here you go. You want to make some enchilada sauce from scratch? Here's what Jason did:

Enchilada Sauce

1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
3 seeded & soaked California chilies. (they're the ones that are about 4 inches long. you can find them in the Mexican aisle at the grocery store.)
1 clove of garlic
2 tbsp (more or less) chili powder
cumin "to taste" (I'd say a tablespoon or so?)
salt
a generous glug apple cider vinegar
1 can of tomato sauce
IMPORTANT EDIT!: my husband was just looking at this post and said, "Oh hey, you forgot to put down the corn starch." apparently it's pretty crucial for texture- just add about a tablespoon to the cuisinart and mix it in.

Seed dried chilies (it's easier to get the seeds out when they're dry) and soak in cool water until pliable. Combine all ingredients in food processor and taste periodically until, you know- it tastes like enchilada sauce. TA DAAAA. You made enchilada sauce. See? Now you understand why I keep second guessing myself and thinking I've forgotten something. This made about half a Classico jar of sauce, so like, 2 cups? A little less than 2 cups. It was enough for what we needed.

enchilada2

For the actual enchiladas, we just rolled up some corn tortillas with some grilled chicken that had been mixed up in a big bowl with cheese and the sauce, then topped them with more cheese and sauce, and baked them until the cheese got all melty. Jason went easy on the sauce because he was afraid he'd run out, but there was plenty, and I ended up just dumping all the leftover sauce on top of the uneaten enchiladas, to soak in for the next day. I was seriously blown away that this just tasted like enchilada sauce. I keep comparing it to what it must be like to taste homemade ketchup for the first time- which is seriously inspiring me to make some homemade ketchup. I'm on a roll, you guys. Homemade condiments? Why not?

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