Tex-Mex Cheese Enchiladas (Recipe 111 of 150)

I have a hard time making enchiladas that aren't my mom's. They are the enchiladas I grew up on and the enchiladas I crave. In an effort to expand myself, I thought this would be a good recipe to make. I had all the ingredients other than tortillas, so it was perfect.

That being said, I did not follow the recipe to make the enchilada sauce. I used Simply Mama Cooks recipe and added a few things to it. I'll post the real recipe at the bottom. 

I guess then, the recipe that I recommend is actually my recipe. 

Tex-Mex Cheese Enchiladas - Jenn's version

Serves 5

Enchilada Sauce

• 6 dried ancho chiles, rinsed, stemmed, seeded
• 1/4 onion, roughly chopped
• 1 large garlic clove
• 2 tsp chicken bouillon
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp Garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp salt

ENCHILADAS

• 10 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 1 c vegetable oil
• 6 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
• 6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 4 ounces pepper jack, shredded
• 1 onion, chopped fine

After you've prepared your chilis, put them in a pan of cold water with about 2 cups of water. Bring it to a boil. Once it's boiling, cover it and turn off the heat. Let it steep for 20 minutes or until the chilis are soft. 

In the mean time, grate your cheeses. DO NOT buy pre - shredded cheese. It just doesn't melt the same. Shred it yourself. You won't be disappointed. You can combine them all in one bowl. Mix them together. Set aside 1/2 cup cheese mixture for topping enchiladas. 

Get your oven preheating to 400F. 

When the chilis are done, put them and the steeped water into a blender. Add the garlic clove, onion, chicken bouillon, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder and salt. Blend until smooth. With my blender - which is a Ninja - I blended it for a good 4 minutes. If you want a very smooth enchilada sauce, you can strain it. I don't mind chunks in my enchilada sauce so I didn't bother. 

Put the enchilada sauce into a pan with about 1 tsp vegetable oil. Let it cook for 20 minutes until it thickens. If it isn't thick enough for you, do a slurry of cornstarch to thicken it up. It should be the consistency of gravy. 

In a separate skillet, put the cup of vegetable oil and heat it. You're going to dunk each tortilla in the oil briefly to make them pliable. The method they have below might work, though Mom used oil in a pan, so I use oil in a pan.  You are literally putting the tortilla in, flipping it and then bringing it out. I drain them on paper towels. I square between each tortilla. 

Get your baking dish ready. I put it in a dish that's the width of the tortilla wrapped, so maybe a 7x9? I really don't know. You can see the size in the photo. 

Put a couple of spoonfuls of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of the dish, cover the bottom with it. 

Place about 1/4 cup cheese mixture across center of each tortilla, then sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon onion. You can eye ball this. I just make sure there's enough cheese lip to lip. Don't leave it all in the middle. Tightly roll tortillas around filling and lay them seam side down in dish. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the enchiladas, then sprinkle with reserved cheese mixture, and in my case, I had some extra onion too.

Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted, about 20 minutes. Let enchiladas cool for 10 minutes. Serve.

Tex-Mex Cheese Enchiladas - The Real Recipe

Recipe from Cook's Country

Serves 5

GRAVY

2 dried ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded, and torn into 1/2-inch pieces (1/2 cup)

1 T cumin seeds

1 T garlic powder

2 tsp dried oregano

3 T vegetable oil

3 T all-purpose flour

Salt and pepper

2 c chicken broth

2 tsp distilled white vinegar

ENCHILADAS

12 (6-inch) corn tortillas

1 ½ T vegetable oil

8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (2 cups)

6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (1 1/2 cups)

1 onion, chopped fine

FOR THE GRAVY: Toast chiles and cumin in 12-inch skillet over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer to spice grinder and let cool for 5 minutes. Add garlic powder and oregano and grind to fine powder.

Heat oil in now-empty skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Whisk in flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and spice mixture and cook until fragrant and slightly deepened in color, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in broth and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, whisking frequently, until gravy has thickened and reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 5 minutes. Whisk in vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat, cover, and keep warm. (Sauce can be made up to 24 hours in advance. To reheat, add 2 tablespoons water and microwave until loose, 1 to 2 minutes, stirring halfway through microwaving.)

FOR THE ENCHILADAS: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Brush both sides of tortillas with oil. Stack tortillas, then wrap in damp dish towel. Place tortillas on plate and microwave until warm and pliable, about 1 minute.

Spread 1/2 cup gravy in bottom of 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Combine cheeses in bowl; set aside 1/2 cup cheese mixture for topping enchiladas. Place 1/4 cup cheese mixture across center of each tortilla, then sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon onion. Tightly roll tortillas around filling and lay them seam side down in dish (2 columns of 6 tortillas will fit neatly across width of dish). Pour remaining 1 cup gravy over enchiladas, then sprinkle with reserved cheese mixture.

Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted, about 15 minutes. Let enchiladas cool for 10 minutes, then sprinkle with remaining onion. Serve.