Red Enchilada Sauce

"Enchilada" simply means "to season with chili (pepper)." Enchiladas originated in Mexico, but they are quite common elsewhere, especially in some parts of the United States, although they are available throughout the U.S. Enchiladas are quite easy to prepare, but if you're a lazy ass... I mean, if you are too tired from work or other activities, they can also be found in the frozen food sections of supermarkets. Of course, you can always visit Mexican restaurants for their individual versions, as recipes do vary somewhat, including by the filling wrapped in the tortilla, by whether the tortilla is from corn or flour, by the enchilada sauce ingredients, as some recipes use tomato in some fashion in the sauce, while others use only chilies to make the sauce, no tomato. Some sauce is also green, but I'll do that at another time. Also, the cheese topping may vary by type, or may even be a mixture of cheeses. Here is my version of the sauce:

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons ancho chili powder (or other, if you don't have ancho)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
pinch cayenne pepper (or 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon, for hotter)
2/3 teaspoon abobo seasoning salt*
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (Mexican, if you have it)
1 1/2 cups chicken stock/broth
1 can tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon sugar (it takes some of the sharpness out of the tomato paste, but you can use more, less or none)

Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and add the flour and stir well to form a roux. Add the tomato paste, stirring constantly, until the paste is broken up. (I've found that adding the tomato paste at this point makes it easier to mix in, as it is so thick. You can add the broth first, however, and then mix the tomato paste, but be careful not to leave any "clumps" of tomato paste.) Increase the heat again to medium and gradually add the chicken broth in increments, stirring constantly. As you stir in the broth, let the mixture come back to a simmer each time until the broth is all added and the liquid begins to thicken somewhat. Reduce to a constant light simmer and add the other ingredients, and stir well again to combine. Let simmer for about 5 minutes. The sauce should not be super thick. Pour sauce over whatever type of enchiladas you're making. 

* Adobo seasoning is a type of Puerto Rican/Latino seasoned salt, easily available in supermarkets, although perhaps in the "Hispanic/Latino Foods" section. Ingredients vary somewhat, but generally it includes, at a minimum: salt, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, dried oregano, with ground turmeric being a frequent ingredient. Understand, the term "adobo" means different things in different Latino or Spanish influenced cultures. In Mexico, the term is used for a sauce usually made from a mixture of chili peppers, spices and some liquid component. It is often used as a marinade. If you've bought chipotle peppers in the can, they are usually packed in adobo sauce.

In this case, I made two enchiladas for myself. I like lots of enchilada sauce! 

WORD HISTORY:
Art-This noun goes back to Indo European "ar/aer," which had the notion of "join together, assemble." This gave Italic/Latin the noun "ars," which generally meant "skill," and later the extended meaning, "object produced by skill." The Latin noun, depending upon usage in a sentence, had various inflections (changes), which usually had a "t" included in those changes (inflections). Old French, a Latin based language, inherited a form of the word as "art," which was borrowed into English in the early 1200s, very much with the notion of "object produced by skill," a meaning still carried into modern times.