Mexican food is perhaps my absolute favorite food ever...except for chocolate. But I could live on Mexican food. Sadly, I don't think I could live on chocolate alone. I try to make something mexican related on a semi-regular basis, especially when we're living overseas, because good mexican is just really hard to come by.
Tonight, we had beef enchiladas. I don't make them very much, because in my experience, they are really complicated and time consuming. But my, oh my, the time spent was so worth it. One limitation I've had is buying cheddar cheese, which is pricey in small quantities at the grocery stores here. However, after receiving advice from several friends I found a gigantic (2 Kilos) block of it at quite a deal at the nearby bulk wholesale store and now have a freezer full of cheese! When I make mexican, I have to tone down the heat to accommodate my family's preferences. The recipes always call for chili powder in amounts that are probably authentic, but way too much for us. I just use what I think we can handle. Tonight, the meal was a smash hit and I was very pleased and excited at the response. Here is a recipe I used from Betty Crocker with some adaption.
Beef Enchiladas
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup sour cream (I used plain yogurt-it works interchangeably)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 ounces or 125 grams)
2 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp pepper
1/3 cup green bell pepper chopped (didn't have, left it out)
2/3 cup water
1/2 tsp chili powder (recipe calls for 1 TBSP)
1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 green chili, seeds removed, chopped (recipe called for 2 whole, chopped)
1 clove garlic finely chopped (or 1/4 tsp minced garlic)
2 cups tomato sauce
8 flour tortillas (recipe called for corn)
Shredded cheese, sour cream (or yogurt) if desired
Heat oven to 350.
Brown beef in skillet, drain. Stir in onion, sour cream/yogurt, 1 cup cheese, parsley and pepper. Cover, set aside.
Heat bell pepper, water, chili powder, oregano, cumin, chili(s), garlic and tomato sauce to boiling, stirring occasionally; reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered 5 minutes.
Take out 1/2 cup of tomato sauce mixture and mix with meat mixture. Spoon about 1/4 cup beef mixture onto each tortilla. Roll tortilla around filing. Place in ungreased rectangular baking dish, (I used a 9x13 pan). Poor remaining tomato sauce mixture over enchiladas (Here, I only poured enough sauce over to cover the tortillas, and used the rest for topping at the table).
Bake uncovered about 20 minutes or until bubbly.
Leave bowls of extra tomato sauce mixture, cheese, and yogurt on the table to dress enchilada as desired.
Maybe Friday night Mexican fare will be our new tradition!
(I'm sorry no pictures this time)
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1 comment:
Aha, I found you! These sound wonderful- I think they'll go on my meal list for next time. Did you use those yummy tortillas we were talking about? I'm still ambitious to make my own- we'll see if I get around to it. Glad to know you're here!
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