Chicken Enchiladas

So in honor of Cinco de Mayo, I decided to make some yummy chicken enchiladas. I pretty much look for any excuse to combine cream cheese, Mexican cheese and salsa together so I figured that it would make a great filling for enchiladas. I used a combination of Emeril Lagasse's and Rachael Ray's enchilada sauce recipes, with a couple of my own additions. The result was delicious!



Enchilada Sauce:

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic

1 serrano pepper

12 oz tomato paste

1 tsp hot sauce (or more to taste)

1/4 cup chili powder

3 cups chicken stock

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp cumin

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Filling:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

8 oz shredded Mexican cheese

8 oz salsa

4 cups shredded chicken, fully cooked

10-12 corn tortillas

Additional 1 cup shredded cheese for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a skillet, cook garlic and serrano in vegetable oil for about 2 minutes on medium-high heat. Add in tomato paste, hot sauce and chili powder. Allow to cook just for a minute and then add remaining ingredients. Reduce heat to low-medium and allow to simmer together for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine cream cheese, Mexican cheese, salsa and chicken in mixing bowl.

Once sauce is fully combined and seasonings are to your liking, spread about a 1/2 cup of the sauce on the bottom of a baking dish. Next, place a couple spoonfuls of the filling in each of the tortillas and place seam side down in baking dish. Top with remaining enchilada sauce (you will have leftover sauce for later) and then additional shredded cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.