Home-Made-Easy Enchiladas with Fresh Tortillas. Yes Please!

Rich red sauce and topped with Cotija cheese

What's better than a warm and delicious pan of homemade enchiladas on a winter day or lazy weekend afternoon. Tis the season for lots of people over the house and this is a tasty way to feed the masses without a lot of prep time. We hope you enjoy!

Red Enchiladas

It starts with the sauce

Ingredients

3 TBSP olive oil (may add up to 2 more as needed)

3 TBSP all purpose flour

3 TBSP chili powder

1 TBSP cumin

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (adds smoky flavor)

2 cups tomato sauce

1 cup chicken stock (may sub with water, add 1/2 teaspoon salt)

1/4 cup chicken stock (reserve this for protein)

Then the filling

4 cups of precooked meat - diced (turkey, chicken, pot roast, pork roast, etc)

2 cups of Monterrey jack cheese diced

1 shallot

2 TBSP butter

And of course the tortillas

8-12 corn tortillas (see below for recipe to make them yourself)

And the topping

1 cup of shredded Monterrey jack cheese for baking

1/2 cup of Cotija cheese (crumbled) for garnish

And now for the instructions

Preheat oven to 350

Heat 3 TBSP oil in medium sauce pan on medium heat

Once warm, add flour and chili powder and stir

(if too thick, add oil 1 TBSP at a time to thin)

Stir often and reduce heat to low

In a bowl, add tomato sauce, chicken stock and dry spices and mix well.

Add wet ingredients to pan once roux has simmered and fragrant

Whisk to ensure no lumps and simmer on low with lid 7-8 minutes

Warm a saute pan on medium heat, add butter, when melted add shallots.

Cook until translucent (do not brown).

Add protein to pan to warm and then add 1/4 reserved chicken stock

Bring to simmer temp then remove from heat and transfer to bowl to cool.

Prepare tortillas by either warming in a pan or stack and cover in microwave, 30 seconds at a time until warm to touch but not hot.

Add diced cheese to protein bowl and mix.

In large baking pan, add 1/2 cup of sauce to bottom and spread around.

Begin rolling enchiladas:

Add approx 2-3 TBSP of filling to each tortilla and roll up

Use ring and pinky fingers to keep contents inside the ends (see video)

Place seam side down in pan and repeat until all tortillas are filled and in the pan

Cover all enchiladas with sauce leaving no tortilla surface exposed

Sprinkle shredded Monterrey jack cheese to cover then bake 18-20 minutes until melted

(Do not brown the cheese)

That's it. When done, plate enchiladas on a Mexican or Southwest rice, sprinkle Cotija cheese crumbles and serve.

BONUS: For those that want to make Homemade Tortillas:

2 cups masa flour

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

Add oil and salt to water in microwave safe container and heat until warm.

Add to flour, mix well and cover for 15 minutes.

Roll even balls of dough a little larger than a golfball to make 8 tortillas.

Use tortilla press (see video) to create tortilla.

Cook tortillas on electric griddle (or flat pan).

Flip when bottom has light toasting.

Place on dish with paper towel and cover with additional dish to finish steaming as you cook the rest of the tortillas.

Now you're ready to make enchiladas. Make sure to flip plates over so you start with your first tortilla first.

Video below shows how easy this really is. There's BONUS footage showing how to make the tortillas from scratch. Be sure to Like, Comment, and SUBSCRIBE. Big things to come in 2020 and we want you to be in the know. It's going to be a delicious year I assure you. Thanks for visiting our website and supporting all of us here at the Bearded Homecook in 2019.