Reduced Calorie Chicken Enchiladas

By gnikylime

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• 1/2 t. vegetable oil
• salt
• 3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 3 T. chili powder
• 2 t. ground cumin
• 2 t. sugar
• 2 (8-oz.) cans tomato sauce
• 1 c. water
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large breasts), trimmed
• ground black pepper
• 8 oz. 50% light cheddar cheese, shredded (about 2 c.)
• 1 (4 oz.) can pickled jalepeno chiles, drained and chopped
• 1/2 c. minced fresh cilantro
• 12 (6-in.) soft whole wheat tortillas
• nonstick cooking spray
• 1 lime, juiced

Details

Servings 6

Preparation

Step 1

1. Combine onion, oil, and 1/2 t. salt in large saucepan. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until onion has softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in garlic, chili powder, cumin, and sugar and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomato sauce and water, bring to simmer, and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
2. Nestle chicken into sauce. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until thickest part is no longer pink and registers about 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate; set aside to cool. Strain sauce through medium-mesh strainer into medium bowl, pressing on onions to extract as much liquid as possible; discard onion. Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Put chicken in fridge.
3. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees.
4. Once chicken is cool enough to handle, shred into bite-sized pieces. Toss together shredded chicken, 1/2 c. of enchilada sauce, 1 c. of cheddar, jalepenos, and cilantro and season with salt and pepper.
5. Spray baking dish with non-stick spray. Stack tortillas on microwave-safe plate, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave on high until warm and pliable, 40 to 60 seconds. Spread warm tortillas out over clean work surface.
6. Arrange the warm tortillas on the work surface. Place 1/3 c. of filling down the center of each tortilla. Roll each tortilla tightly. Place the rolled tortillas in the baking dish, side by side, seam-side down, in a 13x9-in. baking dish. Spray the tops of the tortillas with vegetable oil spray. Pour 1 c. of the remaining sauce over the enchiladas. Use the back of a spoon to spread the sauce so that it coats the top of each tortilla. Sprinkle the remaining 1 c. of cheese down the center of the enchiladas.
7. Cover baking dish with foil and bake until enchiladas are heated through, 20 to 25 minutes.
8. Remove foil and continue to bake until cheese browns, about 5 minutes longer. Mix lime juice and remaining sauce. Serve with new sauce mixture.