I’m burning up, burning up for your love…

The other night I felt like taking risks. I chose Valentine’s day dinner to debut a new dish! Quite a gutsy thing to do if you ask me. I could have gone with a trusty standard but I wanted to be bold. The stakes were high, it could have ended up in disaster but instead it resulted in a deliciously spicy dish! I made Chicken Enchiladas with Spicy Chocolate Mole Sauce! This was my first attempt at taking on this yummy Mexican classic and it was a hit!

When researching numerous mole recipes the amount of time, ingredients, and effort varied wildly. My goal in coming up with my own recipe was to make a dish that was restaurant quality (or be even better 🙂 ) and to not tie me to the kitchen for an unreasonable amount of time, because after all it was Valentine’s day. I achieved both of the goals in the recipe I came up with. YAY!

Chicken Enchiladas with Spicy Chocolate Mole Sauce

Yields: 4 servings

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 Dried Ancho Chili Peppers (if you want it spicier than add additional peppers, but do so at your own risk 🙂 )
• 1/2 Large White Onion, chopped
• 2 Tb. Dutch Cocoa Powder
• 1/4 Cup Chocolate Chips (milk or dark, whichever you prefer)
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1 tsp Chili Powder
• 1 tsp Crushed Cinnamon
• 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
• 1 14 oz Can Crushed Tomatoes (I use the fire roasted option, yum!)
• 3/4 Cup Organic Low Sodium Chicken Stock
• 2 Tb. of your favorite Peanut Butter
• 1/2 tsp Good Quality Almond Extract
• 1 Cup Freshly Grated Gouda Cheese
• 1 Tb. Vegetable Oil
• 1 Cup Shredded Chicken, precooked
• 6-8 Corn Tortillas (place each tortilla on a damp paper towel and stack on a plate, microwave for 30-45 seconds then keep covered until use = easy way to soften them)
• Fresh Cilantro – Optional Topping
• Avocado Slices – Optional Topping
• Light Sour Cream – Optional Topping

Directions

1. Soak in dried Ancho Chili peppers in hot water for 30 minutes, then cut stem off and take seeds out.
2. Prepare 9 by 9 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
4. Add vegetable oil to large saute pan over medium heat, add onions and cook for 2-5 minutes.
5. Add garlic, ancho peppers, cumin, cinnamon, chili powder, cocoa powder and chocolate to pan, cook for 2-5 minutes.
6. Add tomatoes, chicken stock, peanut butter and almond extract, allow to cook for 5 minutes.
7. Pour mixture into food processor or blender and blend until smooth.
8. Take corn tortilla and fill in the center 1/3 of the tortilla chicken, cheese, and a dollop of mole sauce. Roll tortilla and place it in baking dish, seam-side down. Repeat until all tortillas are used.
9. Once all tortillas are in pan pore remainder mole sauce on top, fully submerging the enchiladas. (I do this instead of dip the tortilla in mole sauce prior to stuffing it with the chicken and cheese because it’s less messy and tastes just as good 🙂 )
10. Bake for 20 minutes.
11. Once enchiladas are down top with shredded cheese, avocado slices and a dollop of sour cream 🙂