Enchilada Sauce (Homemade)

Enchiladas are a quick-to-put together meal on nights when I forget to plan ahead. This sauce recipe is handy to have because I usually have all the ingredients on hand. Then I can vary the enchiladas to use up whatever items I currently have. This time, I rolled up refried beans, diced green chiles, shredded chicken, and cream cheese in flour tortillas. Then I topped the tortillas with the sauce, and baked them for about 20 minutes at 375 degrees F before adding shredded cheese (Monterey Jack & cheddar) and baking about 10 minutes more to melt the cheese.

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon chili powder
2-1/2 teaspoons gorund cumin
1-1/2 cups water
1 can (29-ounces) tomato sauce
1-1/2 teaspoons salt

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour, chili powder, and cumin and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in water, tomato sauce and salt. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes; set aside until ready to use for enchiladas. (You can make it ahead and refrigerate it or freeze it if desired.)