Chicken Enchiladas

This recipe was taught to me by a friend and is as authentic as it gets. She doesn't use a recipe when she makes this, so I made notes and have been working to tweak this each time I make it to be as clear as possible and get the right amount of everything. These are amazing and one of our all-time favorite meals. Not super fast to make, but well worth the effort! The recipe makes two 9x13 trays of enchiladas so you can definitely freeze some for multiple meals.

Cook the sauce and the chicken at the same time, because they take about the same amount of time to prepare. You can do this earlier in the day and then assemble everything closer to dinner if that's more convenient.

Ingredients
Chicken recipe (below)
Sauce recipe (below)
Extra soft corn tortillas (24-30)
2 lb colby jack cheese block, shredded (or a large bag pre-shredded)
Oil
Sour cream (optional)

Chicken
4-5 lbs chicken thighs, skins removed (I use my kitchen shears to remove the skins)
1/4 C onion
chicken broth (reserved) from the water you cooked the chicken in)
sauce (see recipe below

Remove the skins from the chicken thighs (I use my kitchen shears), and place into a large pot. Add the onion, fill with water, bring to a boil, and simmer for about 45 minutes.

Use salad tongs to remove the chicken to a separate bowl and let it cool. Keep the chicken broth in the pot because we will use some of it later in the recipe. Once the chicken is cool, shred it with your fingers and fry it up in some oil in a pan. Add some chicken broth and sauce (about 1/2 C of each) to add more flavor to the meat.

Sauce
4 celery stalks (sliced in half lengthwise and sliced finely)
1 med onion, chopped
1 large can mild diced green chilies (7 oz)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/3 C el pato salsa de chile fresco/tomato sauce mexican hot style (pictured below, found in the ethnic food area at my local grocery store in the same section as the diced green chilies)
1 TB cornstarch
2 C water
1 small can tomato sauce (8 oz)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder

In a medium saucepan, saute in oil chopped celery stalks and onion. Add green chilies and season with salt and pepper.  Mix 1 TB cornstarch with 2 C cold water and add to the pot. Add the entire can of tomato sauce, 1/3 C el pato salsa de chile fresco, cumin, and garlic powder. Then taste a little bit and add more water or salt and pepper to season it so it tastes good to you.

Simmer while you are doing some of the other stuff (45 min-1 hour) so that the flavors settle until it's time to use in the meat and on top of the enchiladas. You'll know it's done when you lift up the spoon you are stirring with and some of the sauce stays on the spoon instead of dripping all the way off.

Assembly
Heat some oil in a small skillet (enough that you can put the tortillas into). Fry the tortillas in the oil two at a time for 30 seconds (flipping with salad tongs so all sides get cooked a bit) and transfer to a plate. Keep warm with a towel while you are cooking all the tortillas.

Line up your plate of tortillas, bowl of prepared chicken, cheese, and two 9x13 pans (each sprayed with a bit of cooking spray). Fill each tortilla with chicken and cheese, folding the sides in to make an enchilada, and place folded-sides-down into the 9x13 pan. I can fit anywhere between 12-15 enchiladas in each pan depending on how much chicken I have.

Cover the top of the enchiladas with the sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Bake in the oven before eating at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until bubbling and the cheese is melted. You can garnish with sour cream and pico de gallo. I also serve this with Mexican rice and refried beans on the side.