Spicy! Chicken-Green Chile Enchiladas with Homemade Enchilada Sauce + Giveaway Winners

These enchiladas are SPICY but delicious! I've never made my own enchilada sauce before, and it was way easier than I thought it would be.  It's not as authentic as one made with dried chilis, but it's a lot more delicious than the type out of a jar.  And, it made the perfect amount for a pan of enchiladas, at least to my taste (I like mine pretty saucy!).

The filling is a tasty combination of chicken, green chiles, tomatoes, and Monterey Jack cheese.  I usually put lots of cheese both in and on my enchiladas, but this cheese-lite version was really good!  Next time I'd probably do a less spicy filling to pair with the spicy sauce, although you can make both together if you're a fan of spicy food.  One tip on the chicken -- you can cook it any way you like (or get a rotisserie chicken), but everything will come together more quickly if you get it ready the night before - you can just roast it in the oven while you eat dinner and then it's all ready to tuck into the enchiladas the next day!

I'm also excited to announce the winners of my Bertolli Extra Light Tasting Olive Oil giveaway!  Everyone had really creative and delicious-sounding ideas for using this oil - just reading through the comments made me hungry!  The winners are Heather with her Guinness Bundt Cake (um, who could resist a recipe with that title?!) and Meghan with her homemade tater tots (I am a sucker for homemade tater tots...so amazing!).  Congrats to the winners - check your email for a message from me so that I can get your address to ship the olive oil.  (If I don't hear anything back by Monday, I'll have to choose another winner.)

Spicy! Chicken-Green Chile Enchiladas with Homemade Enchilada Sauce (adapted from Budget Bytes, original recipe here)
Serves 4

For the sauce:
2 T vegetable oil
2 T flour
2 T chili powder
2 cups chicken broth or water
3 ounces tomato paste
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 garlic powder
1/4 tsp Aleppo pepper or cayenne pepper (to taste)
1/2 tsp salt

For the enchiladas:
2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced (about 2 cups)
10 ounce can diced tomatoes with chile (such as Rotel brand)
4 ounce can diced green chiles
1 cup freshly shredded Monterey Jack cheese (don't use the pre-shredded stuff!)
10 corn tortillas, heated until warm (a microwave is great for this)

1. Make the sauce. Combine the oil, flour, and chili powder in a medium pot.  Turn the heat to medium, and whisk the ingredients to combine.  When the mixture begins to bubble, let it bubble, whisking constantly, for one minute -- the mixture will be very thick.
2.  Whisk in the chicken broth a bit at a time, and then add the tomato paste, cumin, garlic powder, Aleppo or cayenne pepper, and salt.  Whisk until smooth, and bring to a simmer.  Once the mixture thickens slightly, taste and adjust for seasoning.  Set aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9x13 baking dish with oil.
4. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, diced tomatoes, green chiles, and cheese.  Stir until well combined.
5. Fill each tortilla with about 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture, carefully roll up, and place in the baking dish.
6. Once the dish is full, pour the sauce over the top in an even layer.  Depending on how much sauce you like, you may not use it all (I like lots of sauce, so I did!).
7. Cover the dish with foil and bake 30 minutes.
8. Remove the dish from the oven and let sit about 10 minutes before serving.