Cheese Enchiladas
This recipe comes from my sister, Linda (otherwise known as Sissy – this is what she calls me as well, so at times it can be confusing). She obtained this recipe from Eddie, who used to run a Mexican Restaurant in our hometown that used to be the most popular hangout for all the high school kids. Eddie did a great business until he got arrested – but that’s another story. He may have had his problems, but this recipe is unbelievably good, and is as traditional Tex-Mex as you can get. The sauce is rich and full of chili powder, cumin, and garlic, with just enough gooey cheese to keep you coming back for another bite. You going to want to make a double batch – they go down easy.
Ingredients
- ENCHILADA SAUCE
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup canola oil
- 4 -5 cups chicken broth heated to a simmer
- 1-2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1-2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1- tablespoon garlic powder
- 1- tablespoon onion powder
- Salt to taste
- ENCHILADAS
- 12-14 Corn tortillas
- Chopped onion or use sliced green onion
- Cheddar and Jack cheese about ½ pound of each, in equal proportions
- 2 cups approximately crumbled Mexican Cojita cheese
- Chopped black green or Kalamata olives (optional – about 1 ½ cups)
Instructions
- ENCHILADA SAUCE
- Place flour and canola oil in a large Dutch oven. Cook over medium heat until mixture starts to boil, and continue cooking for another minute stirring often so it doesn’t burn.
- Heat chicken broth over medium high heat until simmering. Stir in the cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- Add chicken broth slowly to flour mixture – be careful of spatter. Wisk while adding to prevent lumps from forming. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Bring to a boil and boil for one minute, or until mixture is thickened – if too thick, just add more broth. If sauce has lumps, use an immersion blender and they will disappear.
- TO ASSEMBLE AND BAKE
- One by one, soften tortillas by placing in a hot cast iron skillet, flipping once, until pliable. Another quicker option is to place your tortillas in a microwave safe dish, covered with a paper towel, and heat until all are softened. This should take about 60 seconds.
- As soon as one tortilla is pliable, remove from pan and roll with mixture of cheeses, onion, and olives (if using). Place in a 13x9 inch-baking pan. It usually takes between 12-14 enchiladas to fill a pan of that size.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Just before you are ready to put enchiladas in the oven, add the enchilada sauce. Note: this sauce thickens as it sits, so you may need to stir in additional broth if there has been a long amount of time between making the sauce and baking, or if you have refrigerated the sauce. Pour sauce over enchiladas, then you can use the blade of a knife to separate the enchiladas so some of the sauce can flow to the bottom of the pan.
- Top with additional cheeses, onions & olives if you wish.
- Bake until bubbly and cooked through – usually around 20 minutes or less.
- Proceed to stuff yourself.