Enchilada Sauce

One of HH's favorite meals is chicken enchiladas. I always seem to forget to get enchilada sauce at the store though. It never occurred to me that it would be possible to make it at home. Here is a really quick and easy way to make it yourself. It looks, smells, and tastes just like the store bought version, and is much cheaper. This made enough for me to freeze two portions and use a third for dinner.

Red Enchilada Sauce
{Budget Bytes}

Total Recipe cost: $0.80
Recipe Yield: 2 cups
Prep time: 0 min. Cook time: 5-10 min. Total: 5-10 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
2 Tbsp	vegetable oil	$0.10
2 Tbsp	all-purpose flour	$0.02
2 Tbsp	chili powder	$0.30
2 cups	water	$0.00
3 oz.	tomato paste	$0.27
1/2 tsp	cumin	$0.03
1/2 tsp	garlic powder	$0.03
1/4 tsp	cayenne pepper	$0.02
3/4 tsp	salt	$0.03
TOTAL		$0.80

STEP 1: Add the vegetable oil, flour, and chili powder to a medium pot. Turn the heat on to medium and whisk the ingredients together. Continue to whisk as the mixture begins to bubble. Whisk and cook the mixture for one minute once it begins bubbling.

STEP 2: After one minute, whisk in the water, tomato paste, cumin, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper until smooth. Allow the sauce to come up to a simmer. Once it reaches a simmer it will begin to thicken slightly.

STEP 3: Starting with a 1/2 teaspoon, add salt to taste. I used about 3/4 teaspoon total. The sauce is now ready to use!