Homemade Enchilada Sauce

I'm pretty picky about how I make enchiladas. There are a few restaurants (which I frequent) that make them excellently, but if I try them at a new place I'm often disappointed. Now, the way I prefer them is probably not all that authentic, and it may not be close to anyone else's ideal. But the good thing about cooking for yourself is that you can make things exactly how you prefer them. So tonight, that's what I did!

So, let me explain how I think enchiladas should be made. The filling is not something I'm too picky about. In fact, I think one of the great things about enchiladas is that you can fill them with just about anything. But I am very picky about the sauce. I've tried quite a few enchilada sauces - there are things I like, and things I'm not so fond of. When I first started making enchiladas, I used canned sauces. Easy, yes. But to me, they all taste like tin, and they're too watery. I feel the same way about a lot of the recipes I've tried: too thin, and not much going on as far as flavor goes. I mean, I don't want to bathe my enchiladas in chili powder-flavored water. I want plenty of flavorful sauce that compliments the flavors of whatever filling I'm using. So today, I decided not to even bother looking for a recipe, and I winged it. And you know what? It turned out pretty good - so good, in fact, that I may or may not have burned my finger tasting it while it was still cooking... I never said I was patient.

Anyways, I decided to only include the recipe for the sauce. For the filling, I just used refried beans and cheese - no recipe required really. But you can fill them with whatever you want. I've used black beans and corn, roast vegetables, cheese, and even sweet potato in the past. Be as creative or boring as you like!

Recipe: based primarily off the ingredients that were in my pantry

1 Tbsp oil

small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

16 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies

6 oz can tomato paste

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 Tbsp sugar

water, if needed

Heat the oil over medium heat in a medium sauce pan, and add onion. Cook about 5 minutes or until soft, then add the garlic and cook an additional minute. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste. Since I wanted a smoother sauce, I used my immersion blender at this point, but this isn't strictly necessary if you use petite diced tomatoes - make it whichever way you prefer! Add the spices and heat until just simmering. The sauce should be rather thick, but if you want to thin it out a bit you can add a small amount of water at this point.