If you're like me, BUSY, then it's super helpful to do a little meal prep when you can to set yourself up for success on your busiest days. Most weeks, I make a batch of Pulled Chicken in my trusty slow cooker, and one of our very favorites way to flavor it is with Mexican spices.
Years ago, our friend had us over for dinner and made chicken enchiladas. I was floored by how good they were, and she said they were the easiest thing in the world to make. She told me all she did was just dump the chicken breasts and a can of enchilada sauce in the slow cooker and let it rip on low all day while she was gone. Then she just shredded it up with a couple of forks and stuffed it in tortillas, topped with a little more sauce and some cheese and baked them until they were bubbly. It instantly became a staple in our house, but as we've adapted our eating habits, the recipe has had to change as well.
I started off by just saving some of the meat back and eating mine over a bed of greens. My hubby wasn't as concerned with his carb intake as I am, so I still roll enchiladas up for him and the kids. They can keep their tortillas and cheese! Then I got to thinking about it one day when I already had the chicken thawed but found no cans of enchilada sauce in my pantry, that surely I could make a clean version of the sauce as well! I did a little research and found a great recipe that I've tweaked just a bit and came up with the following:
Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce
Yields about 1 1/2 cups depending on how long you simmer to reduce it.
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Flour
4 Tbsp Chili Powder
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Cumin
1/4 tsp Oregano
1/4 tsp Paprika
2 cups Low Sodium Chicken Stock (You could use Vegetable Stock to make it vegetarian)
Directions:
Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook for about 30 seconds. All the rest of the seasoning and stir to combine. Slowly add the stock while whisking, so it doesn’t clump. Bring it up to a boil and then reduce heat to low to simmer until thickened to your liking.
If you’re worried about the heat level, start with half the amount of chili powder.
Note: This sauce freezes well, so you can feel free to make extra to keep on hand for next time!
I usually double that recipe and use half for cooking the chicken in the slow cooker, and then the other half is used for the pan of enchiladas. So to make the chicken, I use 4 good size organic chicken breasts and about 1.5 cups of the enchilada sauce. Just put that in the slow cooker and cook on low for about 6 hours. When it's done, you can shred with 2 forks or with a mixer on low. Then I add a can of organic black beans that have been drained and rinsed, and a 7 oz can of mild diced green chilis.
That's it! Easy peasy. This makes about 8 1 cup servings equaling 1 Red Container and a 1/2 Yellow each. I generally eat mine over greens, but if you want to roll it up as enchiladas you can do that too! Additionally, it's delicious with a squirt of fresh lime juice over the top.
**If you want to roll it up in tortillas, I spray a 9x13 pan with nonstick spray (I know this is the cleanest option, but it sure does the job) and then spread a bit of the remaining sauce on the bottom of the pan. I roll a total of 6 for my pan so that I have a couple servings reserved for my salads. Then I top with additional sauce and some shredded cheese. (I'm not providing container counts on this portion of the recipe as flour tortillas aren't Fix approved.)**
