I love Mexican food; unfortunately, my waistline doesn’t! I don’t think traditional Mexican food is necessarily high in calories or fat, but rather the way restaurants prepare it nowadays. They load the dishes up with tons of cheese and sour cream, and who knows how much oil was used in the kitchen. Hence, I tend to make a lot of Mexican inspired dishes at home so I can control the quality and quantity of ingredients.

I got the idea for this easy chicken enchilada recipe from Rachael Ray. I love how she always manages to keep her ingredients list to a minimum while making sure the dish doesn’t take you hours to prepare. I made a few tweaks to her recipe, however, to cut down on the calorie and carb level. I also added time to let the meat marinate so that it’s juicier and more flavorful. I made my chicken enchiladas with a red tomato sauce, but you could also use my recipe for a green tomatillo sauce!

Recipe
Yield: 2 servings (6 enchiladas)

INGREDIENTS FOR FILLING:
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs fresh oregano or 1 tsp. dried oregano
1 small onion, quartered
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 reduced-carb whole wheat flour tortillas

INGREDIENTS FOR SAUCE:
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
hot sauce
1/4 cup light Mexican blend shredded cheese
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a medium size pot, bring broth to a boil. Add chicken, bay leaf, oregano, and onion. Return to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to simmer. Poach chicken for about 10 minutes.
2. Remove chicken and place in a bowl. Shred chicken using 2 forks. Add 1/4 cup of cooking liquid, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix until well combined. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate for at least 15 minutes.
3. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine tomato sauce, cinnamon, chili powder, and hot sauce (add as much as you like). Keep warm until needed.
4. Make sure oven rack is in the middle and turn broiler on high.
5. Pile chicken onto tortillas and roll. Place enchiladas onto a casserole or baking dish, seam side down. Pour warm tomato sauce over enchiladas and top with cheese. Place in oven for about 2 to 3 minutes, until cheese melts. (Keep a close eye on it because the cheese melts very quickly!)
6. Sprinkle cilantro over enchiladas and serve immediately.