Enchiladas

Mike volunteered me to make these for his international group in California this past summer.  Several of his Asian friends worked with me in the kitchen and enjoyed learning this easy recipe for a Mexican meal.  

Another time I made them to take to some friends from Mike's home group who were new parents, but I made the mistake of using pre-packaged enchilada sauce.  Bad idea.  I recommend making the sauce from scratch.  The others were a bit too spicy for small children and didn't taste as good anyway.

Here's my basic recipe, which I have tweaked over the years.  I never measure anything, but I've tried to give you an idea of quantities.  Feel free to double or triple it, and adjust any way you like.  Sometimes we use sour cream and chicken in place of the ground beef, with or without the beans.  It's good that way, too.  This is the easiest version.

Jamie's Enchiladas

Fry 1½ lbs. of ground beef with one large onion and garlic

Mix with dried beans, cooked, mashed (about the same amount as beef)

One can green chilies (or chopped jalapenos, which we prefer)

Grated cheese

Sauce:  2 cans tomato sauce

            2 cans water

            1 tsp. chili powder or more

            salt, pepper, cumin and basil to taste

            a little thickening (flour water)if you want (I skip it)

            corn oil (maybe ¼ cup?)

Cook to a boil.

Dip corn tortillas in sauce to soften.  Remove.  Fill with meat mixture and cheese.  Roll edges over in thirds.  Place upside down in greased casserole.  Cover with remaining sauce and cheese.  Cook at 350 degrees 20 minutes until it bubbles. Cover with foil to keep them from drying out too much.  Add more sauce as needed.

Top with sour cream and fresh salsa (or Pace picante) at the table.

Note: some people prefer these with flour tortillas.  If you use flour tortillas, don’t cover with foil to help them dry out a bit; otherwise the leftovers turn gooey and gummy.  We prefer corn tortillas with added sauce or salsa to moisten the leftovers.