I found a great recipe today that I think is the perfect 'mock' enchilada sauce. (Linked below and included at the end of this post - sauce portion only.) This is a dish I would serve much more frequently, if it weren't such a pain to make! Looking for feedback on using STORE-BOUGHT tomato sauce and pressure canning this recipe. (Just the sauce - not including the meat!) One side of my brain says that the commercial sauce will be sufficiently acidified, but the other (safety-first!) side is saying, 'Meh, maybe not?!' Wondering if any of you gurus know the ph of commercially canned tomatoes, or if this recipe would be safe, regardless. I did look through this board, and the other recipes sound great. I just don't want to mess around with sourcing dried chili peppers, etc. Thanks in advance! RECIPE & INSTRUCTIONS: 1 medium onion, chopped fine 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped fine 1 teaspoon canola oil 3 medium cloves garlic, minced 2 tablespoons chili powder 2 teaspoons ground cumin 3 teaspoons sugar 2 (8-oz) cans tomato sauce 1 cup water In a large saucepan, combine the onion, jalapeno, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and oil. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the onions and peppers have softened, 8-10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and sugar, and cook until fragrant, less than 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato sauce and water. Bring to a simmer. Strain the sauce through a strainer into a medium bowl, pressing the onion mixture to extract as much liquid as possible. Season sauce with additional salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the leftover onion mixture from the strainer to a large bowl and set aside. http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2011/09/red-chile-sauce-chicken-enchiladas.html Here is a link that might be useful: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

We all like the green sauce.Too much trouble to make when you can buy it already made.I use the Las Palamas brand from WalMart on the Mexican Food aisle.They also make the red sauce but I have never used that because we prefer the green.Sometimes I use the green "as is" out of the can,sometimes I add a can of cream of chicken soup and some sour cream for a creamy sauce.We just had green beef enchiladas Friday.I made one pan with flour tortillas and 2 with corn.Put one in the freezer for later.I made rolled ones this time but a lot of times I just layer the tortillas,meat,cheese and sauce and make a casserole.Much easier and faster when you are cooking for a crowd.Either way they are always devoured! DS wanted them rolled this time so that's what I did.I do always roll them when I use flour tortillas. There's a Mexican food place where we eat regularly in TX that makes the BEST green sauce.I asked one time what was in the sauce and they said it was green chilies,tomatillos, onion,celery,bell pepper and lime juice cooked in chicken stock.I think from the consistency they probably put it in a blender after it is cooked.It has the most delicious,kind of tangy flavor I have ever tasted.Some day I am going to try to duplicate it.LOL I don't think you can go wrong with the canned sauce.

Here's the recipe I've used for years. It's from Tyler Florence. It's easy and good. It's from his "Ultimate" series. Chicken Enchiladas with Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa, Beans and Rice Ingredients Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa: 1 pound tomatillos, husked (or, substitute canned out of season) 1 white onion, peeled, sliced, quartered or whole 4 garlic cloves 2 jalapenos 2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves 1/2 lime, juiced Enchiladas: Extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 medium onion, diced 3 garlic cloves, chopped 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 2 cups chicken stock, storebought is fine Chopped cilantro leaves 1 deli roasted chicken (about 3 pounds), boned, meat shredded (or, roast your own) Salt Freshly ground black pepper 10 large flour tortillas 1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded 2 cups sour cream Chopped tomatoes and cilantro leaves, for garnish Spicy Black Beans, recipe follows Yellow Rice, recipe follows Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. For the salsa: On a baking tray, roast tomatillos, onion, garlic and jalapenos for 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the roasted vegetables and any juices on the bottom of the tray to a food processor. Add the cumin, salt, cilantro, and lime juice and pulse mixture until well combined but still chunky. Enchiladas: Meanwhile heat a 2 count of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and caramelized - this should take 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin then cook for a further minute. Sprinkle on the flour and stir to ensure the flour doesn't burn then gradually add the chicken stock to make a veloute. Continue stirring over a low simmer until the flour cooks and the liquid thickens. Turn off the heat, add half of the roasted tomatillo chile salsa, some additional fresh chopped cilantro and fold in the shredded chicken meat. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Change the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees F and begin assembling the dish. Take a large baking dish and smear the bottom with some of the reserved tomatillo salsa. Now take the flour tortillas and briefly flash them over the stove-top flame (or put them briefly under the broiler if using an electric stove). Using a shallow bowl, coat each tortilla lightly with the reserved salsa mix. Put a scoop of the shredded chicken-enchilada mix on top of the tortilla followed by a sprinkle of the shredded cheese. Fold the tortilla over the filling and roll like a cigar to enclose it. Using a spatula place the tortillas in the baking dish and continue to do the same with all the tortillas. Finally pour over some more of the salsa and top with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes until bubbly and cracked on top. Garnish, cilantro and tomato. Serve hot with Spicy Black Beans and Yellow Rice, the remaining tomatillo salsa, sour cream and fresh guacamole, if desired. Spicy Black Beans: 2 cups (about 1 pound) dried black beans, picked over, soaked overnight 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 medium onion, diced 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1 bay leaf Kosher salt freshly ground black pepper In a large pot, soak beans overnight covered in water by 2 inches. Drain and set aside. In the same pot, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, jalapeno pepper, garlic, and bay leaf and cook until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the beans and cover with water by about 1-inch. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the beans are tender. Remove the bay leaf and discard. Taste the beans and season with salt and pepper. Yellow Rice: 2 cups long-grain rice 4 cups water 2 cloves garlic, smashed 1 tablespoon turmeric 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 bay leaf Put all the ingredients into a heavy-bottomed pot, stir well, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook over low heat until the rice has absorbed the water, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes. Discard the garlic and bay leaf, fluff with a fork, and serve. /tricia Here is a link that might be useful: Tyler Florence Ultimate Chicken Enchiladas w/Beans & Rice

but I eat fish and seafood sometimes. The health of my OWN diet can vary wildly from day to day - today was mostly coffee, soymilk and french fries, but Friday was almost all fresh vegetables. Left to my own devices I sometimes devolve into the grad student diet of cold coffee and whatever I can steal from the department coffee room, but I really do prefer to eat properly. Whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, cheese and dairy, that sort of thing. I rarely cook anything out of a bag or can. Almost everything I make is from scratch from fresh vegetables. I eat quite a lot of cheese, but since I don't eat meat or drink cowmilk (I drink soymilk), that's not really a problem for fat and cholesterol. I drink pop sometimes, averaging about a can every other day. Popcorn or yogurt covered raisins are my favourite evening snacks. Dessert (if it happens) is usually fruit or yogurt, but can be cake or something too. When I have any of my N&Ns with me, or when we have A__, it's square meals at regular intervals - regardless of what I feel like eating or how tired I am. I try to "kid-friendly" my meals for A__ and the N&Ns by chopping my vegetables smaller for sauces or skipping chopped onions in the tuna salad. A__ HATES mushrooms, so I cook them on the side if we have something mushroomy when he's with us. My oldest niece HATES lettuce, but loves broccoli and cabbage, so I make coleslaw when she's around. My youngest niece says apples hurt her tongue, but she likes apple sauce, so she has that instead. A__ is limited to one can of pop in a day when he is with us. But he gets to choose when to drink it (it only has to be after breakfast). We don't keep much junk in the house, but he's allowed to have one junky snack in the day if he requests it (a small quantity of icecream or chips or chocolate or jujubes, etc) and only if it's not too close to an approaching proper meal. Junky snack privileges may be removed for bad behavior, but I've never given any of them junk food as straight bribery. I've been known to tell my N&Ns "If you guys are good all morning, we'll go to the park this afternoon to play" and then I'll "surprise" them with a stop for icecream on the way home - they know the "surprise" is coming, but they pretend to be surprised... Or when A__ is good at the grocery store, he might get to pick dessert for that night, but he chooses fruit as often as he chooses cake and he often gets a high five and hug instead!