I make these chicken enchiladas by frying corn tortillas for a few seconds, then dipping them in warm homemade red sauce so they roll without splitting and don’t soak into a soggy layer on the bottom of the pan. The filling is shredded chicken mixed with a little of that same sauce and cheese. I set the pan next to skillet Mexican street corn when I want a full plate.

Ingredients

Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce

• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons (16 g) all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons (32 g) tomato paste
• 2 cups (480 ml) chicken broth
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon sugar

Chicken Enchiladas

• 2 cups (about 280 g) shredded cooked chicken
• 2 cups (226 g) shredded cheddar-jack cheese, divided
• 8 corn tortillas (6-inch / 15 cm)
• ¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable oil, for frying
• Kosher salt, to taste

For Serving

• Chopped cilantro
• Diced white onion
• Sour cream

Instructions

1. Cook the red sauce: Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, then whisk in the flour and chili powder and cook 1 to 2 minutes, stirring, until the mix darkens a shade and smells toasty instead of dusty and raw. Whisk in the tomato paste, cumin, garlic powder, and oregano until it looks like a thick paste, then stream in the broth and simmer 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce coats a spoon and looks like thin gravy, not watery. Stir in the salt and sugar and keep the pan on low so the sauce stays warm; cold sauce slides off the tortillas instead of clinging.
2. Heat the oven and mix the filling: Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and spread ½ cup of the warm sauce over the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch (23-by-33 cm) baking dish so the rolls have something to sit in besides a dry pan. Mix the chicken with ½ cup of the remaining sauce, 1 cup of the cheese, and a pinch of salt in a bowl. The mix should look moist and hold together on a spoon, not sit in a puddle, because extra sauce leaks and the rolls go soggy.
3. Flash-fry the tortillas: Pour the ¼ cup frying oil into a skillet over medium-high heat until a tortilla edge sizzles on contact. Fry one tortilla 3 to 5 seconds per side, until it puffs and turns flexible, then move it to paper towels and do the same with the remaining tortillas. If a tortilla turns rigid and blistered like a tostada, the oil is too hot or you left it in too long, and it will crack when you roll it.
4. Dip, fill, and roll: Pass each fried tortilla through the remaining warm sauce so both sides are coated, not dripping. Spoon about ⅓ cup of filling down the center, roll it tight, and set it seam-side down in the dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, nestling them in a single layer so they don’t unroll.
5. Sauce, cheese, and bake: Spoon whatever sauce is left over the rolls so the tops are coated and the ends aren’t dry, then scatter the remaining 1 cup cheese over the pan. Bake 18 to 22 minutes, until the sauce bubbles at the edges and the cheese is melted with a few light brown spots. Pull them before the tortilla edges look fried and dry.
6. Rest, then serve: Let the pan sit 10 minutes so the sauce thickens and the rolls hold when you lift them. Serve 2 enchiladas per plate with cilantro, diced onion, and sour cream.

If you swap the sauce or the tortillas

• Canned red enchilada sauce works if you skip the skillet sauce. Warm it first so the dip coats instead of sitting in a cold puddle.
• Green chile enchilada sauce uses the same fry-and-dip method. Don’t mix red and green in one pan; the sauces split and look muddy.
• If you’re using flour tortillas, skip the fry and warm them 20 seconds in a dry skillet so they bend, then dip lightly. They go gummy under red sauce if they sit in it more than a few seconds.
• A drained can of black beans folded into the chicken stretches the filling to 10 tortillas. Wet beans make the rolls leak, so drain them hard.

Storage

Cool leftovers and refrigerate in an airtight container within 2 hours. They keep 3 to 4 days in the fridge. Reheat, covered, at 350°F (175°C) for 15 to 20 minutes, until the filling is hot in the center. The tortillas soften more on day two; that’s normal. Freeze the assembled, unbaked pan tightly wrapped for up to 2 months, thaw overnight in the fridge, and bake as written, adding a few minutes if the center is still cool. USDA leftover food safety guidance is the 3-to-4-day fridge window I follow for cooked chicken.

FAQ

Why do corn tortillas crack when I roll them?

The tortillas are cold or dry, so they split down the fold. A 3-to-5-second fry in hot oil makes them flexible, and the warm sauce dip keeps them that way while you fill them. Microwaving under a damp towel helps a little, but without the thin oil film they still split.

Can I assemble chicken enchiladas ahead of time?

Roll them, cover the dish tightly, and refrigerate up to 1 day. Pull the pan out 20 minutes before baking so the chill comes off, then bake as written. Don’t sauce and cheese the tops until you’re ready to bake, or the tortillas soak overnight and fall apart on the spatula.

Can I use leftover rotisserie chicken?

Pull the meat off the bones and shred it small enough that a chunk won’t tear a tortilla when you roll. Two cups packed is enough for 8 enchiladas. Taste the filling after you mix in the sauce, because rotisserie chicken is already salted.

These pigs in a blanket brown instead of steaming when I pat the cocktail sausages dry before the dough goes on. Packing liquid soaks crescent dough from the inside, and the bottoms stay pale even after 15 minutes at 375°F (190°C). I set the tray next to baked jalapeno poppers and a pan of buffalo chicken dip when the rest of the spread is already in the oven.

Ingredients

• 1 (8 oz / 226 g) can refrigerated crescent roll dough
• 1 (12 to 14 oz / 340 to 400 g) package cocktail smoked sausages (about 24)
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon water
• 1 teaspoon everything bagel seasoning or coarse salt

Instructions

1. Heat the oven and dry the sausages: Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Drain the cocktail sausages and pat each one dry with paper towels until the skins look matte, not shiny. If they still feel wet, the dough will steam from the inside and the bottoms stay pale.
2. Cut the crescent dough: Unroll the crescent dough on a lightly floured counter and separate it along the perforations into 8 triangles. Cut each triangle lengthwise into 3 skinny triangles so you have 24 strips. Work while the dough is still cold; warm dough stretches thin, tears, and won’t puff.
3. Wrap seam-side down: Set one sausage across the wide end of a strip and roll toward the point so the dough overlaps itself. Place it on the parchment with the point and the seam underneath, leaving about 1 inch (2.5 cm) between pieces. If the seam sits on top, it peels open in the oven.
4. Egg wash and bake: Beat the egg with the water and brush a thin coat on the tops and sides of the dough, not on the parchment. Sprinkle with everything bagel seasoning or coarse salt. Bake 13 to 15 minutes, until the wraps are puffed, deep gold at the edges, and the bottoms look baked instead of doughy, then serve warm.

If you change the dough or the sausage

• Quartered hot dogs work on the same skinny strips. A whole hot dog needs more dough than one triangle gives, so the blanket overbrowns before the center is hot.
• Tuck a thin strip of cheddar under the dough before you roll. Cheese sprinkled on top slides off; cheese inside melts against the sausage.
• Puff pastry looks taller, but the extra layers stay pale against sausage fat unless you roll it thinner than the box says. Crescent dough is already that thin out of the can.
• An air fryer works if they sit in a single layer. They’re done at the same deep gold as the oven batch; crowding the basket steams the dough the same way a packed sheet pan does.

Storage

Cool leftovers and refrigerate in an airtight container within 2 hours. They keep about 3 days in the fridge. Reheat on a parchment-lined sheet at 350°F (175°C) for 10 to 12 minutes, until the dough is hot and the bottoms crisp again. Freeze them baked, in a single layer, for up to 1 month, then reheat from frozen at 325°F (165°C) for 14 to 16 minutes, loosely covered with foil. Don’t microwave them; the dough turns rubbery. USDA leftovers and food safety covers the 2-hour cooling window and the 165°F (74°C) leftover reheat target.

FAQ

Can I use hot dogs instead of cocktail sausages?

Cut regular hot dogs into quarters and wrap each piece in one skinny crescent strip, same as the cocktail sausages, after you pat them dry. Skip extra-thick dogs; they take longer than the dough, and the blanket overbrowns.

Can I make pigs in a blanket ahead of time?

Wrap them, set them seam-side down on the parchment, cover the sheet tightly, and refrigerate up to 2 hours before baking. Longer than that, the dough picks up moisture from the sausages and bakes pale. For a longer hold, bake them, cool, and freeze as in the storage note.

Can I cook pigs in a blanket in the air fryer?

Cook them in a single layer so hot air can reach the dough. They’re done when the wrap is deep gold and the bottoms look baked, not pale. Don’t stack them; crowding steams the dough the same way a packed sheet pan does.

This apple cider donuts recipe gets its orchard flavor from cider boiled down until it coats a spoon, then fried at 350°F (175°C) so the crust cracks instead of turning greasy. I skip apple juice here – even reduced, it stays one-note sweet and never tastes like a cider mill. If you want a faster fried bite without rolling dough, I already have fried apple cider glazed donut holes, and leftover fruit from a cider run goes into air-fryer apple crisp.

Ingredients

For the donuts

• 2 cups (480 ml) nonalcoholic apple cider, preferably unfiltered
• 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus extra for dusting
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt or ½ teaspoon Morton kosher salt
• 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ⅓ cup (67 g) packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until lukewarm
• ⅓ cup (80 ml) buttermilk
• Vegetable or canola oil, for frying

For the cinnamon sugar

• ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
• 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Reduce the cider. Bring the cider to a boil in a wide saucepan, then simmer until reduced to ⅓ cup (80 ml), checking after 15 minutes. Measure in a heatproof cup: simmer longer if needed, or add a little water if reduced too far. Cool until lukewarm.
2. Make the dough. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Separately, whisk the brown sugar, eggs, cooled cider, melted butter, and buttermilk, breaking up any sugar lumps. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry just until no flour remains. The dough should be soft and sticky.
3. Chill and prepare the coating. Cover and refrigerate for 45–60 minutes, or until firm enough to handle with floured hands. Chill longer if it still smears when lifted. Mix the coating sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl.
4. Shape the donuts. On a lightly floured surface, gently pat or roll the dough to ½ inch (1.3 cm) thick. Cut 3-inch rings with 1-inch centers, flouring the cutters as needed. Transfer the rings and holes to a lightly floured baking sheet with a spatula. Reroll scraps once, then refrigerate the cut dough while the oil heats.
5. Heat the oil. Add 2 inches (5 cm) of oil to a Dutch oven, filling it no more than halfway. Heat to 350°F (175°C), using a frying thermometer with its tip clear of the pot’s bottom. Set a wire rack over a baking sheet nearby.
6. Fry and check. Fry one ring first, about 60–75 seconds per side, until golden. Let cool briefly, then cut it open: the center should have a cake-like crumb with no wet dough. Adjust the cooking time if needed. Fry the remaining rings 2 or 3 at a time, keeping the oil near 350°F and letting it return to temperature between batches.
7. Coat while warm. Lift the donuts out with a slotted spoon, drain on the rack for 15–30 seconds, then gently turn in the cinnamon sugar. Fry the holes separately for about 1–2 minutes total, turning frequently, until golden and cooked through. Drain, coat, and serve warm.

Pan bake, glaze, and overnight dough

• A donut pan at 350°F (175°C) for 10 to 11 minutes gives a muffin crumb, not the cracked orchard crust. Brush those with melted butter before the cinnamon sugar or it won’t cling. If you’d rather bake a fall breakfast than heat oil, I make pumpkin muffins.
• For a glaze instead of cinnamon sugar, whisk 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons of the reduced cider until it ribbons, then dip the donuts after they cool 5 minutes.
• Covered dough keeps overnight in the fridge. If it’s stiff the next morning, leave it on the counter 10 minutes before you roll.

These are best the day you fry them, while the crust still cracks. Keep leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 to 2 days, then reheat on a rack at 325°F (165°C) for about 8 minutes so the outside dries again. I don’t freeze fried cider donuts – they thaw soggy.