Red and Green Sauced Chicken Enchiladas

You don’t have to cross the border to enjoy some good, old fashioned, spicy, rich enchiladas. You can easily make them yourself, and take pride that your family and friends took great pleasure in eating something so wonderfully delicious that you made, with heart and soul!

Steps 1 (filling):

2 whole [store-roasted] chickens, cleaned off the bones in bite-size pieces

4 cups (1-pound) fine-shredded Mexican cheese

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup whipping cream

1/4 teaspoon, each of, ground chipotle, ancho, pasilla chile

Sprinkling ground nutmeg

In a medium bowl put all ingredients and toss well; set aside.

Steps 2 (red sauce):

1/4 cup rendered bacon grease, or lard

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons ground pasilla chile

1/2 teaspoon, each of, ground cumin, unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon, each of, cinnamon, onion, garlic powders

1/8 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon golden-brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup sundried tomato paste

1 14-ounce can chicken stock

1/4 cup tawny port

1/4 cup stout beer

1/3 cup whipping cream

In a medium sauce-pan heat, on a medium-heat, melt lard and add all the dry ingredients, and stirring constantly, cook for about 5 minutes (take care not to burn). Add the tomato paste, incorporate well and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the liguids, bring to a light simmer, and cook until it just thickens; turn off heat and set aside.

Steps 3 (Roasted Goop):

(Have ready ) See my published recipe on HubPages, “Creamy Tomato Soup,” for the [how-to] “roasted goop.”

Steps 4 (green sauce):

4 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons rendered bacon grease (or lard)

1/3 cup “roasted goop”

1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

2 28-ounce cans green chile enchilada sauce

1 cup whipping cream

In a medium sauce pan, on medium-heat, melt fats, add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a light simmer and cook gently, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes so that flavors can meld; turn heat off and set aside.

Steps 5 (assembling):

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

12 large tortillas

Prepared green sauce

Prepared red sauce

Prepared filling

2 cups Mexican cheese, fine shred

Pour some of the green sauce on bottom of 11x17 baking pan. Smear a coating of the red sauce on each tortilla, put some filling, and roll tortilla into a very fat cigar. Place seam-side down on baking pan. Continue in this manner, fitting them very tightly against each other.

Drizzle the remaining red sauce over the prepared enchiladas; pour enough of the green sauce to cover enchiladas, now evenly sprinkle the cheese throughout.

Bake enchiladas for about 45 to 50 minutes, or until nicely browned on top. Let them rest for about 15 minutes.

Buen Provecho!