Enchiladas

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But Gwen, I *am* stupid on the enchiladas subject!! Give me advice, because I desperately want to make them but all the recipes make the sauce look really difficult and scary to make.

-- Anonymous, September 15, 2000

Answers

Please share! All I know is Italian and German and redneck cooking. I promise I won't tell you how to tell me how to make them.

-- Anonymous, September 15, 2000

Oh, honeys... y'all just use the pre-packaged mix. That's what I do.

Or else you just mix the pan drippings (from your ground beef or whatever) with a little tomato sauce and chili powder. Or you can go all homestyle and smash up garlic and cumin and stuff. That's for the red ones. That's the most real way I know how to make them, because enchiladas are restaurant food to me and nothing we ever made at home from scratch.

Now, if you wanna make green enchiladas... tell me if you wanna make green ones, and I'll tell you how to make the most super-bad-ass sauce for those, from scratch all the way.

-- Anonymous, September 15, 2000


OK, I'll look for the mix. But it's probably in the "specialty section". Does that sound weird to you Gwen? Central Ohio is not known for diversity food-wise so I'll search the 3 shelves with refried beans, taco shells, and taco sauce.

And the green ones! How do you make the green sauce? Thank you thank you thank you big hug.

-- Anonymous, September 15, 2000


The only enchilada I ever made was Helen Hinojosa. That woman gave me carpet burns that required a doctor's care. I walked hunched over for a week! She was worth it.

-- Anonymous, September 16, 2000

My "secret" enchilada sauce is a couple cans of Rosarita enchilada sauce, a couple cans of S&W Mexican style sliced tomatoes (drained), caramelized onions and lots of oregano.

My favorite filling is chicken roasted in a dish with lots of chili peppers and onions and cayenne. You cook it until it falls off the bones (don't start with boneless, it ain't the same) and then shred it. The peppers and onions should be real mushy, you mix it up with the shredded chicken and cheese. Buy some real Mexican queso if you can.

The enchilada sauce also makes really good "Spanish" rice.

Mmm hmm oh yeah...

-- Anonymous, September 17, 2000



Do you make carmelized onions or buy them?

-- Anonymous, September 17, 2000

Caramalized onions is just pretty much a PC term for fried onions (basically just sautee until browned).

-- Anonymous, September 17, 2000

But you have to use just a lil bit of oil, to get 'em to caramelize right, and not butter or margarine, or they are just fried onions.

-- Anonymous, September 18, 2000

Sour cream enchiladas are the easiest.

green chiles (small can) diced tomatos and onions (however many you like) 1 pkg. Sargento Mexican cheese blend sour cream corn tortillas chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper (to taste) chicken (cooked and shredded)

Mix the chiles, toms, chicken, onions, a dollop or so of sour cream, spices, and cheese (however much you like) together. Put in the tortillas, seam side down in a baking dish, and top again with a little more sour cream and cheese. Bake for about 30 mins at 375. Yum, yum. Very easy, quick and cheap. You can add/take away stuff as you see fit. I usually throw some mushrooms in there or you can even do the Rotel tomatoes for more kick if you want something more than regular tomatoes. If you like sour cream enchiladas, it's a pretty good recipe.

Enjoy!

-- Anonymous, September 18, 2000


Tomatillo sauce for green enchiladas. Here we go...

You have to buy tomatillos. Those are the cherry-tomato-sized green tomatoes with husks attached. Get a bunch of those... like, um, let's say, four or five cups, husked and washed. Put them in a little pot with a few cloves of garlic, a few chopped serranos or jalapenos (remove the seeds to make them milder), some chopped onion, and a teaspoon or so of ground cumin. (aka "comino") I might be forgetting something. If so, I'll just tell you later, okay?

So you pack all that in the little pot and then put just enough water to barely cover it. Then you cook it til everything's soft. Then you let it cool a little bit and then pour it all in the blender. (Unless it's too watery. You want it to end up the consistency of... um...say...well, somewhere between nacho cheese and tuna salad.) So you pour off a little water if necessary, then pour the mixture into your blender, and then squeeze the juice of a lime on top. Then blend it all together. Then pour it on top of the steamed (or lightly fried), cooked-chicken-and-cheese-filled corn tortillas that you already have rolled up in your lightly oiled pan. (Shredded leg meat chicken is best. Or just use cheese and vegetables if you're not into eating meat.) Then cook it until the tomatillo sauce is kind of dry -- almost like when you cook meatloaf with ketchup on top, but not so much. Then serve the enchiladas with little dollops of sour cream on top. Voila!

Tomatillo sauce is tangy. You can also eat it with chips in place of regular red chile. It also makes a nice dip if you mix it with sour cream.

-- Anonymous, September 18, 2000



Oh man, Gwen, that sounds GOOOOOOD.

-- Anonymous, September 20, 2000

Thanks, starmama.

-- Anonymous, September 20, 2000

Hey, that's kind of how I make it, except I put it all in the food processor before I cook it. I'll try your way next time. I planted tomatillos this year and I have a bazillion of them.

I also put chopped squash in with the chicken and stuff. I know it sounds weird, but it's good, and it means you can use less meat, which is less money, unless you're buying some super expensive squash. Cook the squash first, with some onions and peppers and garlic, or it will be super bland.

I say "super" too much.

-- Anonymous, September 26, 2000


Every time I make enchiladas, they come out really soggy. The tortilla just falls apart. What is the trick?

-- Anonymous, November 21, 2000

I don't know. I kind of like it when the tortillas fall apart. Mine usually don't, though, because I don't fry them in the grease long enough.

-- Anonymous, November 22, 2000


Are you supposed to fry them first? I used the recipe that was on the back of the Old El Paso can and they didn't say to fry them.

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2000

Fuck Old El Paso. Just kidding. I don't really "fry" them... I cook them a little in oil + sauce. Just a little so they're soft enough to roll. Did I already say that part? You can steam them if you don't want to do that.

I don't even want to ask this, but you did use corn tortillas and not flour, right? I mean... sorry if that sounds condescending, but I have to know.

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2000


yes, I used corn. I like corn tortillas way better than flour.

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2000

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