friday food post : chicken enchiladas

this was my first recipe i collected from someone other than my mom.  and it was from a complete stranger.  at a hispanic food store.  a hispanic stranger...
my purpose was to get an authentic mexican enchilada recipe.  at that point i had never had an enchilada before, authentic or not.  we didn't eat much mexican food growing up. 
over the past 10 years (or so), i have perFECTed it.  i'll write down what she wrote down for me as the recipe, but add my little "i'm dumb, so i have to spell it out for myself" notes that i didn't get from her pretty clear instructions.  they were good the first time i messed them up, but this last time i made them i actually got the recipe out and made sense of it and they were the best. 
AUTHENTIC MEXICAN ENCHILADAS
cook chicken - boil.  season with garlic, cumin, peppar (i've bbq'd the chicken most of the time to get that yummy bbq flavor... but finally this last time, i diced it up as small as i could while it was raw, and fried it up with a little water and lots of these seasonings --since they're all watered down---)
drain chicken set aside (i just spooned out the chicken and left all the seasoned broth for the sauce -below.  when i bbq'd the chicken, i'd let it cool and then dice it up.)
for enchilada sauce - heat skillet with oil.  optional add flour -about 2 teaspoons.  brown.  add california chili powder.  brown.  add garlic and salt to taste.  add water.  (my biggest problem was the enchilada sauce... 'cause it's homemade.  and i had never seen, nor tasted the canned kind.  so i didn't know what i was aiming for.  i should have known it was a sauce (from the name), rather than a paste... but well, i'm dumb, so i have to spell it out for myself sometimes.  so i took the broth from the chicken and added a bunch --like 2 Tbsp-- of chili powder.  then i added 2 tsp. of flour and mixed it around as if i was making gravy.  since my broth was already seasoned, i didn't have to add as much garlic and salt... but i still had to add some.  you don't want it TOO flavorful, but it needs some flavor.)
dip tortilla in sauce -> add chicken to tortilla.  wrap.  sprinkle with cheese.  put in oven and let cheese melt.  (the more cheese, the better!  i usually open up a can of mild green chilis and add them to the chicken, but they're not necessary.  'nother note: i had extra sauce when i actually made it into sauce this last time instead of paste.  i poured the extra sauce over the cheese-sprinkled enchiladas and baked them for about 20 minutes.  it really helped moisten them up.  otter pop exclaimed that they didn't even need any ranch --or sour cream and salsa is how i like them.  delish!)
here you are.  with some pictures too. (but i guess they'll come later, because it seems i haven't uploaded them yet.)

Try to remember, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."