FOODIE FRIDAY--Garlic Beef Enchiladas

As much as I love this recipe, my daughter hates it. But too bad, so sad.  Okay, I do cave and give her a cheese enchilada instead of the meat.  I used to make enchiladas out of the entire batch, but found I didn’t like the way they reheated. The meat filling and sauce freeze quite nicely. Just thaw and reheat the meat in the microwave until warm. The sauce I warm up on the stove. If it has thickened up too much, just add a little beef broth to thin.

I have no idea where I got this recipe. It isn’t from Bon Appetit, but it is from a magazine. And I don’t usually buy any food magazines, EXCEPT Bon Appetit.  It says A TASTE OF HOME COLLECTOR’S EDITION. This recipe was a runner-up.  So if that makes sense and you KNOW where I picked this recipe up, I’ll add it to my notes.

FYI: the entire bulb of garlic is called a ‘head’, which breaks down into ‘cloves’. Cloves vary in size from monster (from the outside of the head) to small and thin (inner part of clove). Use your best judgment and your family’s garlic tolerance to guide you!

Though I don’t normally premeasure my spices when I cook, I would recommend do it for this recipe as everything happens quickly.

I also will make recipes EXACTLY as it is written for the first time. Then I’ll adjust the seasonings accordingly. I usually lean toward the heavier end of the spices listed.

Garlic Beef Enchiladas

FILLING

1 lb. ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

2 Tbls. flour

1 Tbls. chili powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. ground cumin

¼ tsp. rubbed sage

1 can (14 ½ ounces) stewed tomatoes (I don’t usually have this in my pantry. Diced tomatoes work just as well)

SAUCE:

4-6 garlic cloves, minced (2-3 for my family)(I also use a garlic press instead of mincing)

1/3 cup butter or margarine

½ cup flour

1 can (14 ½ ounces) beef broth

1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce

1 to 2 Tbls. chili powder

1 to 2 tsp. ground cumin

1 to 2 tsp. rubbed sage

½ tsp salt

10 flour tortillas (7-inches, soft taco size) microwave slightly to soften

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Colby-Jack cheese

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook beef and onion until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add flour and seasonings; mix well. Stir in tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in another saucepan, sauté garlic in butter until tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually stir in broth; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes until bubbly. Stir in tomato sauce and seasonings; heat through. If sauce is lumpy, pull out your handy-dandy immersible blender (hand blender) and blend away.

Pour about 1 ½ cups sauce into an ungreased 13 x 9 baking dish. Spread about ¼ cup beef mixture down the center of each tortilla; top with 1-2 Tbls. cheese. Roll up tightly; place seam side down over sauce. Okay, the measurements are for ‘official’ purposes, just put the amount that feels right and allows you to roll the tortilla.

Cover and bake at 350 F degrees for 30-35 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, 10-15 minutes longer until cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

FOODIE FRIDAY--Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

Many times, I’ll use leftover rotisserie chicken from a previous meal in this recipe.  If I don’t have any chicken, then I’ll poach a few boneless chicken breasts in water with whole peppercorns and a bay leaf.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

2 cups sour cream

1 7 oz. can salsa verde (Herdez)

2 cups chicken, cubed

1 small onion, or 1/3 cup onion, chopped

1 tsp. chili powder

½ tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

1 4.5 oz. chopped green chilies, drained

8 oz. mushrooms, sliced

10-12 flour tortillas

Cheddar cheese, grated

Jalapeno pepper slices, optional

Take ½ cup of sour cream and hold for filling.  Mix sour cream with salsa verde and spread layer on bottom of 9 x 13 pan, reserving the rest for the top of enchiladas. Sauté onions in slight amount of butter until translucent.  Add chicken, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, chilies and mushrooms.  Stir in reserved sour cream.  Heat through.  Heat tortillas until pliable (microwave them 8-10 seconds each, if refrigerated) and place ¼ cup of mixture along the edge of the tortilla, sprinkle cheese if desired.  Roll and place tortilla seam-side down on baking dish. Continue until pan is full of enchiladas or mixture is gone.  Spread enchiladas with remaining sour cream/salsa verde mixture. Top with grated cheese and jalapenos.

Bake at 450 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

To lighten:

·         Substitute real sour cream with low fat.  Do not use no fat sour cream because it breaks down and becomes granular.

·         Sauté onions in a little water instead of butter

·         Use less cheddar cheese in recipe.  Do not use ‘fake’ or no fat cheddar cheese, as it just sits there and tastes like plastic. It’s gross, trust me.

 Enjoy!

Later, Peeps!