Home-made Enchilada Sauce

For my freezer stocking task this week, I planned to make a bunch of enchiladas. However, when I went to the store to buy the ingredients, I couldn't find a sauce without soybean oil or HFCS, two things I try to avoid as much as possible. So I decided to look for a recipe to just make it myself. I chose this one because it uses cocoa powder as a secret ingredient and, well, that just sounded like a yummy idea to me! I also used home-made chicken stock instead of the water to give it more nutrients and flavor. It turned out just fine and I will be using this from now on!

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 3 cups water
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

Directions: Combine all dry ingredients in a small bowl. Stirring constantly, slowly add enough of the water to make a thin paste. Pour into pan and add rest of water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Stir in tomato sauce.Use in your favorite enchilada recipe. The amounts on the ingredients are very flexible. For instance, if I am feeding my kids who do not like"spicy", I will halve the chili powder and double the tomato sauce. Experiment to suit your taste, but don't leave out the cocoa!

*For a quick meal, we will soften a corn tortilla in a bit of hot oil, drag it through the sauce, and lay it flat on a plate. Cover it with grated cheddar cheese, sprinkle with chopped onions and sliced black olives. Then cover with another softened sauced tortilla and melt the cheese in the microwave for 1 minute on high.