Enchilada Casserole With Home Made Red Sauce

Last night I wanted Mexican for dinner.  I was cooking, so it was my choice right?  Right!  If you follow this blog, you know my love for Mexican food and flavors.  They are my favorite, hands down anytime.

I had all the ingredients to make enchiladas which are also my favorite next to tamales.  I have never had the gumption to make tamales as they are quite a process, but one of these days I'ma gonna do it.  Really I am.  You will be the first to know if and when I do.

Enchiladas are also a process.  Have you ever tried to fill and roll corn tortillas?  They split unless you heat them in hot oil or you can dip them in the warm red sauce before you roll them.  It is messy and I am not very proficient at this technique or very patient. (Uh oh, cat's out of the bag).   If you don't do one of these two, then your enchiladas are cracked and all the filling is spilling out and they don't look very pretty.  Remember, I am not a chef nor have I ever worked in a Mexican restaurant, so I go for the easy way - better known as my way.  Hey, it works!  If you love enchiladas too, you are going to be SO happy I showed you my fake enchilada recipe.

I do make my red sauce from scratch.  It is a recipe from Allrecipes.com and it is easy, takes 10 minutes and is fabulous!  Doesn't take much longer than opening a can of prepared sauce and heating it up.

Here is what you need for the sauce:

1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 TBSP flour
1/4 cup chili powder (I use Mexene which is my personal favorite)
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 tsp cumin
1 clove garlic, pressed or minced super fine
salt to taste

Heat oil in a skillet or deep saucepan over medium high heat.  Stir in flour and chili powder, reduce the heat to medium.  Cook until lightly browned, stirring constantly so the flour doesn't burn.

Gradually stir in tomato sauce, water, cumin, and garlic until smooth.  Cook over medium heat approximately 10 minutes or until thickened slightly.  Season with salt to taste.

This sauce is as good as any you will get in a restaurant.  We LOVE it.  Now, to make the enchilada casserole, here is what you need.

12 corn tortillas (use flour if that is your preference, but enchiladas are made with corn tortillas)
2 pounds ground beef
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced.
2 packages taco seasoning
1 8 oz block cheddar cheese, grated

Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet.  Add taco seasoning and garlic. Mix thoroughly.   Drain ground beef if necessary.  (I use grass fed local beef and there is nothing to drain.)

Now to assemble the casserole.  You need a 9x13 baking dish.  Line the bottom of the dish with 6 corn tortillas.

Cover the tortillas with the browned ground beef mix.

Cover the ground beef with 2/3s of the grated cheese.

Drizzle with some of the red sauce.  Now, cover this with 6 more corn tortillas.  (Forgot to take a picture, oops).

Pur the remaining red sauce over the corn tortillas.

Look how beautiful that red sauce is and it tastes absolutely divine!

Sprinkle the remaining grated cheese over the red sauce.  If you want more cheese, go for it!

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling.  Remove from oven and serve!

We had 4 grown men here for dinner last night and me.  This casserole got RAVE reviews.  Get that?  RAVE reviews!  Dan declared it better than our favorite Mexican restaurant's enchiladas which is quite a compliment.  We had this with black beans and Mexican rice.  Delicious.

Give this recipe a try the next time you are hungry for South of the border/Tex Mex flavors.  It will hit the spot.  You could easily halve this if you wanted, just use half the red sauce and refrigerate the rest for another meal.  Yum.  Yum.  Yum.  All I can say.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

When cooking, sometimes it is okay to do things a little differently, especially if the end result is basically the same, takes less time and is easier to accomplish.  That's my philosophy.   donna

Mas Taco Por Favor's Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe - Did I Say Fabulous?

We've both been a bit under the weather.  Hacky cough, headache, scratchy throat.  Not feeling terrible, just not great.  The sneezing and runny nose can stop anytime.  Hopefully it will resolve itself soon, and I do hope SOON.  Dan and I have been really healthy for years, but since the grandsons are in school, we seem to come down with a lot of little colds which they bring home from school.  They are all hacking and coughing too.  Springtime can't come fast enough.

Science has found that chicken soup is good for colds and congestion.  This soup I am writing about today is just good for the soul!  Our daughter kept raving about the chicken tortilla soup from a local restaurant called Mas Tacos Por Favor.  This is not your average Tex-Mex place.  It is a little hole in the wall decorated with mis-matched chairs and wobbly tables.  You have to place your order at a window and pray that you find a seat because the place is always packed.

Mas Tacos Por Favor has been written about in many culinary magazines and in the New York Times on June 18, 2012.  Their menu is written on a chalk board and changes every day.  Their tacos are things like braised pork and red mole in la manana, or fried avocado, pulled pork, cast iron chicken and quinoa.  Merciful heavens their food is good.  But, the chicken tortilla soup is divine, their shining star.  Simply heavenly.

I took my chances and googled Mas Tacos chicken tortilla soup and miracle of miracles there was an online recipe in Bon Appetit magazine.  The tortilla soup gods smiled on me with great favor!  Full, rich flavor tasting of lime juice and clear, tasty chicken broth is the base for this soup.  It is topped off with grilled corn, avocado slices, cherry tomatoes, queso fresco and more lime juice.  It has a spicy taste from chipotle chiles and just a bit of jalapeno.  Not too spicy, but just right in my estimation.

Here is what you need to make 8 servings:

1 4 pound chicken
1 onion, quartered
1 carrot, peeled, chopped
5 garlic cloves, smashed
2 dried chipotle chiles
1 jalapeno (with seeds), halved lengthwise
7 cilantro sprigs
3 tablespoons (or more) fresh lime juice
vegetable oil
5 corn tortillas, cut in 1/2 inch strips
2 ears of husked corn, or 2 cups frozen, thawed corn kernels  (I had to use frozen corn)
Chopped fresh cilantro, halved cherry tomatoes, avocado wedges, queso fresco or mild feta, lime wedges.

I didn't have any chipotle chiles on hand, so I used a can of green chiles.  Just a little different, but not the end of the world.

Bring the whole chicken, onion, carrot, garlic, chipotles, jalapeno, and 16 cups water to a boil in a large pot; skim foam from surface.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer, skimming the surface frequently until chicken is cooked through, about 1 hour.

Transfer chicken to a plate.  Strain broth into another large pot.  Return chiles to broth if a spicier broth is desired.  Discard remaining solids.  Shred Chicken meat; discard skin and bones.  Transfer chicken meat to a medium bowl and set aside.

Meanwhile, set pot with strained broth over medium heat and add cilantro springs.  Bring broth to a simmer; cook until reduced to 8 cups, about 1 hour.  Discard cilantro sprigs and chiles if using.  Stir in 3 TBSP fresh lime juice.  Season with salt, pepper, and more lime juice if desired.  Add chicken to broth.

DO AHEAD:  can be made 2 days ahead.  Chill until cold, then cover and keep chilled.

Attach deep fry thermometer to the side of a large cast iron skillet or other heavy skillet.  Pour oil into skillet to a depth of 1 inch.  Heat over medium heat until thermometer registers 350-360 degrees.  Working in batches, fry tortilla strips, turning occasionally until crisp and golden brown, 2-3 minutes per batch.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain.  Season with salt.

(I baked my tortilla strips.  Drizzle with oil, toss until coated and put on a baking sheet at 400 degrees.  Stir on occasion to make sure they brown on all sides).

Cook the corn over a gas flame or under a broiler, turning occasionally until charred in spots.  (You can use your outdoor grill too).  Let stand until cool enough to handle  Cut kernels from cobs in strips.   Discard cobs.  (Alternatively, cook kernels in a large skillet over high heat until charred in spots).

Rewarm broth with chicken.  Divide soup among bowls.  I put the corn and tortilla strips in the bowl and then put out plates with toppings because not everyone likes all of them.  (You know who I'm talking about, right?)  We had cherry tomatoes, avocado slices, queso fresco, cilantro and lime wedges. YUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

This soup is heavenly.  Divine.  Amazing.  Fabulous.  Incredible.  Awesome.  Flavorful.  Tasty.  Scrumptious.  Is that enough adjectives?

I had never thought of eating avocados in a hot soup broth, but boy oh boy, are they good!  It's all good and will do wonders for a stuffy head.  It's not really hard to make either.  You don't even have to wait until you have a stuffy head to enjoy this fabulous concoction.

If you are ever in Nashville and want some spectacular food, head straight to Mas Tacos Por Favor at 732 McFerrin Avenue in east Nashville.  They are open 11-4 Tuesday through Saturday and I don't know about evenings.  They also have a food truck that makes appearances from time to time around town.  Mas Tacos is owned by Teresa Mason and she certainly knows her stuff when it comes to delicious food.

Give this soup a try.  No, it's not like the chicken tortilla soup you get other places - it's so much better!

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

A Jewish woman had two chickens. One got sick, so the woman made chicken soup out of the other one to help the sick one get well.   Henny Youngman

Better Than Numero Cinco - Chicken Enchiladas

What's your favorite ethnic food?  I like Italian and Greek, Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese food, but I LOVE Mexican or Tex-Mex food.  It is my favorite.  All of the flavors speak to me somewhere deep in my soul, a primal place.  Perhaps I once lived in Mexico or the deep Southwest in another life.  It's really hard to say.  I just know from the moment I tasted Mexican food, I was hooked.

I had cooked those two whole chickens the other night when I made the chicken, broccoli super yummy casserole and I had a lot of chicken left.  Today was a busy day as I had my appointment for my visual field test and more pictures of my optic nerves.  In addition, our daughter had called and asked if we could watch our grandson for a bit while she got her hair done.  You know, there is nothing more important than a hair appointment, especially when you are 39 weeks pregnant!!  All you ladies will understand that!  So, we went over to play with little G while momma got her "hair did."  Then, off to the opthalmologist's office to finish up this year's eye examination and tests.  

It was an absolutely gorgeous day, sunny with clear blue skies.  People downtown were walking around in shorts and flip flops on February 2.  Talk about a great day!  Wow.  After we left the doctor's office, I told Dan that I thought we should have chicken enchiladas for supper.  I mean, come on - corn tortillas, chicken, cheese and green chiles in a beautiful bechamel sauce.  What could be better on such a gorgeous day?  So, we made a quick stop at the grocery before heading home to begin preparations for a delicious dinner.  Sunny days always make me want to cook something super good.  But then again, so do rainy days and cold days and every day I guess.  Who doesn't want good food to eat?  

I have made this recipe before and it is excellent.  I found it on where?  You guessed it - Pinterest - the world's greatest resource for all things yummy.  Here is what you will need.

Ingredients:

10-12 corn tortillas

2 cups cooked chicken, shredded

3 cups shredded jack cheese 

3 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp flour (or 1.5 tsp corn starch for gluten free)

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup sour cream

1 4 oz can diced green chiles

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 13 casserole with cooking spray.  

Mix chicken and 1 cup cheese in a bowl.  Roll up in tortillas and place in casserole dish.  

Here is a hint for your corn tortillas to keep them from breaking when rolling.  Make sure they are new tortillas.  Older ones break easier.  Heat a skillet and brush with cooking oil.  Heat a tortilla on each side for just a few seconds, dip in bechamel sauce, fill down the middle with chicken/cheese mixture, roll and place in casserole dish seam side down.   Not overfilling the tortillas also helps keep them from breaking.  If they do break, don't be alarmed.  You are going to cover them with sauce and cheese and no one will ever really know.

Making Bechamel sauce:

In a fairly deep saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the flour or corn starch, cooking for 1 min.  Add the chicken broth and whisk until smooth.  Heat over medium until thick and bubbly.  Stir in sour cream and whole can of chiles.  Do not boil!  Remove pan from heat when you add the sour cream or your sour cream can curdle.  (This is the sauce you will dip your tortillas in before filling.)

Line the casserole with filled tortillas.  I had 12 in mine - two rows with 5 across and two across the bottom.     Pour the sauce over the enchiladas.  Top with 2 cups of shredded jack cheese.  Bake for 22 minutes and then broil for 2 - 3 minutes to brown the cheese.  Remove from the oven.  

This is a really easy and delicious recipe for all you enchilada lovers out there.  Be sure and use corn tortillas for authentic enchiladas.  Flour tortillas will tend to get gummy in the sauce anyway.  I served these enchiladas with black beans, rice and home made guacamole and chips.  Better than what we get at the local Mexican restaurant and way less expensive because we have left overs for tomorrow and fed 5 people this evening!  Wahoo!  

You can expect this recipe to feed 4 to  6 people easily if everyone eats two enchiladas and up to 12 if everyone has just one as they are very filling and oh so good!  I can tell you this, it's hard to eat just one, so make a double batch if you are expecting a crowd.

Give this recipe a try the next time you want something that is not too spicy, but very very tasty.  It's a great way to use left over chicken or you can even use one of the rotisserie chickens from the grocery.  This recipe can be made gluten free by substituting 1.5 tsp of corn starch for the flour in the bechamel sauce which I have done.  Talk about a great recipe to serve for a super bowl party this weekend!  Everyone will be talking about them and how good they are.  They will all want the recipe.

Tomorrow, I'm going to show you how to make super Mexican rice to complement your enchiladas - as good or better than they serve at your local restaurant!  It will even have that beautiful color they get and you always wonder how they do it.  It will no longer be a secret.  Now, how is that for temping you to come back tomorrow?

Everyday Donna

Things to remember:

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating." -- Luciano Pavarotti