Chicken Enchiladas are another of our uses for leftover chicken. When we roast a whole chicken, the last stage is to strip the bird; from there, we tend to make either chicken risotto, or chicken enchiladas. Enchiladas are infinitely variable; you are making a red sauce, combining it with chicken and cilantro, making wraps, covering with the sauce and cheese, and baking. Below is our basic, but feel free to substitute as you go. Also, because for us it is a leftover meal, we are perfectly happy using canned items that can be replaced with fresh when one desires.

Preheat oven to 300°f

Red Sauce and filling:

• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3 tblspns chili powder
• 2 tspns each: coriander, cumin, sugar
• 1/2 tspn salt
• 1, 15 oz. can tomato sauce
• 3/4 cup water
• 8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese
• 1, 4 oz. can pickled jalapeños, drained and chopped
• handful of fresh cilantro

Soften the onion in oil over low heat, about 10 minutes (do not brown); add items garlic through salt, and cook about 30 seconds; add the tomato sauce and water, and simmer about ten minutes.

Use about a ladle full of the sauce to coat your chicken pieces; then combine the wet chicken with the sharp cheddar cheese, the jalapeños, and the cilantro. Set aside and prepare the tortillas, as follows (you will be able to make about 2 dozen enchiladas, depending on size – more with corn, fewer with flour):

Brush each tortilla, both sides with melted butter; place the tortillas in a single layer on baking sheets and place in 300°f oven for 4 minutes; remove and fill immediately.

Increase oven temp to 400°f while you make your rectangular Pyrex baking dishes (or whatever you want to use); coat the bottom of the dish with a ladle of the sauce; place a tortilla on a work surface and place a tablespoon of sauce on the tortilla; then about 1/3 cup of the filling in the tortilla, roll, and place in the prepared dish; repeat until the dish is filled quite snugly; once the dish is filled – or more than one dish, pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas, cover with grated cheddar cheese, cover with foil, and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Serve with fresh sour cream and sliced avocado.