Holy Mole Enchiladas

August. The month of departures and beginnings. Isaiah goes back to Charlotte in two weeks — sophomore year. Marcus returns to Morehouse — senior year, his last, the year everything he's built becomes the foundation for what comes next. Jasmine starts her junior year at Howard. And Zoe — my compass, my sous chef, my prophet with watercolors — starts 11th grade.

Set the Table showcase was Saturday. The "Sunday Dinner" project: five teams, five complete meals, twenty-five families fed. The meal that stopped me was Brianna's team. They made fried chicken, mashed potatoes, cornbread, and green beans on a thirty-dollar budget and the chicken was GOOD. Not good-for-fourteen. Good. Period. Brianna seasoned that chicken the way I season — by feel, by shake, by the instinct that lives in the hand. I asked her where she learned it. She said, "I watched you." The watching becomes the knowing becomes the cooking becomes the feeding becomes another girl who watches. The cycle. The program. The line.

The move is in October. Derek has project-managed the timeline (obviously) with military precision — packing schedule, moving company, the conversion of the Cascade Heights first floor for Curtis. We're selling the College Park townhouse. I have complicated feelings about selling the place where I rebuilt my life. The townhouse was the first thing that was truly mine after Terrell — the mortgage I paid alone, the kitchen I claimed. Leaving it is leaving the version of me who needed it. I don't need it anymore. I need the gas stove and the magnolia tree and the three streets from Mama and the future that Zoe already painted.

Made the taco bar. Back-to-school tradition. Isaiah's guacamole (perfected). Zoe's churros (she added cinnamon sugar this year and they were transcendent). Marcus sent salsa from Atlanta. Jasmine sent a voice memo — not "School Days" this year but "A Change Is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke, which is either about civil rights or about our family moving to Cascade Heights. Knowing Jasmine, it's both.

The taco bar is never just food—it’s a ceremony, a way of accounting for everyone before they scatter again to Charlotte, to Atlanta, to D.C., to the high school hallways where eleven-graders begin to figure out who they actually are. Zoe’s churros were the moment that stopped the room this year, but what anchored the whole spread, what made it feel like a meal instead of just a table of toppings, were these Holy Mole Enchiladas—deep and complex and layered the way this August has been, the way every goodbye-that’s-also-a-beginning tends to be. Mole takes patience and time and the willingness to let things get complicated before they come together, which felt exactly right for where we are right now.

Prep Time: 25 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 1 hr | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cooked and shredded
1 1/2 cups mole sauce (store-bought or homemade)
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt and black pepper to taste
12 corn tortillas (6-inch)
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1/4 cup crumbled cotija cheese, for topping
1/4 cup sour cream, for serving
Fresh cilantro, sliced radishes, and lime wedges, for garnish

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish and set aside.
Build the filling. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Stir in the shredded chicken, 1/2 cup of the mole sauce, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Cook for 3–4 minutes until everything is well combined and warmed through. Remove from heat.
Make the sauce. In a small saucepan, whisk together the remaining 1 cup mole sauce and the chicken broth over medium-low heat until smooth and warmed, about 3 minutes. Spread a thin layer of the mole sauce on the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
Warm the tortillas. Wrap the corn tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave for 45–60 seconds to make them pliable. Keep covered until ready to use.
Fill and roll. Working one at a time, spoon about 3 tablespoons of the chicken filling down the center of each tortilla. Add a pinch of Monterey Jack and cheddar. Roll tightly and place seam-side down in the baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
Top and bake. Pour the remaining mole sauce evenly over the enchiladas. Sprinkle the rest of the Monterey Jack and cheddar cheeses over the top. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10–15 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and edges are lightly crisped.
Garnish and serve. Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes. Top with cotija cheese, fresh cilantro, and sliced radishes. Serve with sour cream and lime wedges alongside the rest of your taco bar spread.

Nutrition (per serving)

Holy Mole Enchiladas — The Taco Bar That Blessed Us Before the Move