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Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Cheese Enchiladas

I'm from California and my favorite food ever is enchiladas. Granted I like almost anything Mexican (or Mexi-Cali, since I guess I've never really had Mexican food in Mexico). I judge every single Mexican restaurant by their cheese enchiladas. If they aren't good, I don't go back. Harsh? Maybe, but enchiladas are super important to me =) So, since moving to NY there is a serious lack of Mexican restaurants so if I want enchiladas I have to make them myself. I came up with this recipe and in my opinion it's perfect. I've passed down my love of enchiladas to my kids. They always have seconds and sometimes thirds. So try this recipe, you'll be happy you did!!! And FYI I use small whole wheat tortillas for this. You by all means CAN use corn tortillas. I actually prefer corn, but the tortillas are a little trickier to roll. So warm them first. My husband prefers flour tortillas. I conceded since I've been unable to find organic corn tortillas. Since corn is highly GMO'd, I opt for the flour tortillas. I did make my own tortillas once, but that took a long time.

I make two pans at a time, cut in half if you only want one. But believe me, you'll want leftovers!

Cheese Enchiladas

18 small tortillas
16 oz. organic jack cheese

Sauce:
2 TB olive or coconut oil
1 TB organic chili powder
1 TB organic cumin
1 ts organic garlic powder
1 ts sea salt
36 oz organic tomato sauce

In a saucepan heat oil over medium heat. Toss in the chili powder. Cook for a few minutes. Pour in tomato sauce. I use bottled tomato sauce (which is actually pureed tomatoes) I then rinse down the sides of the bottles to get the last bits of tomatoes out, filling about halfway with water, then add to pot. You don't want  it too watery, but I find it a bit thick if I don't add any water. If you end of adding too much water and need to thicken it, it's easily fixed by adding a little tomato paste. Add cumin, salt, and garlic powder. Simmer on medium low for atleast ten minutes.
Let sauce cool for ten minutes (not totally necessary, but your fingers will thank you in a few minutes).
This is how I set up my work station:


Pour a spoonful of sauce in each pan and spread it around. Also pour a spoonful of sauce on the empty plate.


Take a tortilla, lay it on the plate, and rub it around in the sauce. Flip it over and do the other side so both sides are coated in sauce. Sprinkle cheese across the middle. (Now by all means you can add veggies, ground beef, chicken, etc...I'm just partial to just cheese)
Grab one end and roll up. Place in baking dish, seam side down.
Continue with all tortillas. Pour remaining sauce over the top and spread around. Sprinkle on remaining cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until everything is hot and bubbly! I always serve them with a side of rice and beans, sour cream, and cholula hot sauce! Enjoy!

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