Chicken Enchiladas Lightcap style

So usually I make a really fast version of enchiladas with a few ingredients.

tortillas (I like Tortilla Factory wheat/corn tortillas)
La Victoria mild enchilada sauce (if its good enough for Rick Bayless, its good enough for me...he used it on his show, i swear)
Chicken (boil up some chicken breasts, use some leftovers, do chicken in a crock pot, or buy a rotisserie chicken
cheese (whatever I have around - extra sharp chedder and jack is really good)
refried beans (I like whatever brand is cheapest that is vegetarian/no lard)

dip the torillas in the sauce, put some beans, chicken and cheese inside, roll them up and put them in a baking dish sprayed with pam. Pour some sauce on top, put some cheese on top of that, bake it for a while till really bubbly.

But today, I decided to be a little CRAZZZZY and switch up my recipe. I went with something slightly more involved but not overly so. It was so good. I will still make the easier version but the bit of extra effort was so worth it because it wasn't so salty and had a really nice flavor. I made it the day before, froze some for my sister, and put the rest in the fridge to cook up today. I didn't break apart the baking time...I just put all the ingredients together, refrigerated for a day and then baked it till bubbly for cinco de mayo. We served it with guac, refrieders, and a veggie mix of zucchnini, squash and mushrooms seasoned with mrs. dash (o how i love her). I would have had a margarita but I didn't think that was the smartest thing to do watching 3 kids by myself...joe claims a margarita is necessary for watching 3 kids but I stuck with the beer.

Chicken Enchiladas from Americas Test Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped fine
2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped fine
1 tsp. canola oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. cumin
1 tbsp. sugar
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
Salt and pepper
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup shredded sharp white cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese, divided
½ cup minced fresh cilantro
12 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas
Cooking spray

Directions:
Combine the onion, jalapeno and oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until the onions and peppers have softened, 8-10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin and sugar, and cook just until fragrant, less than 30 seconds. Mix in the tomato sauce, water, and chopped tomato. Bring the sauce to a simmer, lower the heat and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Nestle the chicken into the sauce. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the chicken is completely cooked through (160˚ F on an instant-read thermometer), about 12-20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside to cool.

Strain the sauce through a large mesh strainer into a medium bowl, pressing down on the onions and tomatoes to extract as much liquid as possible. Transfer the reserved solids to a large bowl and set aside. Season the sauce with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Shred the chicken into bite size pieces and add to the bowl with the onion mixture. Add in ¼ cup of the enchilada sauce, ½ cup of each of the shredded cheeses, and the cilantro. Stir to combine.

Preheat the oven to 425˚ F. Oil a 9 x 13″ baking dish with cooking spray. Stack the tortillas on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave for 40-60 seconds, until warm and pliable. Spoon 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture evenly down the center of a tortilla. Roll up the tortilla around the filling tightly, and place in the prepared baking dish, seam-side down. Repeat with the remaining filling and tortillas.

Lightly spray the tops of the enchiladas with cooking spray. Place in the oven, uncovered, for 7 minutes or until the tortillas start to brown slightly.

Reduce the oven temperature to 400˚ F. Remove the enchiladas from the oven and pour the sauce oven the top. Sprinkle with the remaining shredded cheese. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove the foil and bake for 5 more minutes, until the cheese is browned. Remove from the oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.