This was my first effort at cheese enchiladas.

Ingredients

• 28 oz. of Las Palmas red enchilada sauce
• 8 flour tortillas (roughly 8 inches in diameter
• 3/4 lb. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 3/4 lb. sour cream
• 1/4 lb. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Method

1. Pour enough enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish to cover the bottom.
2. Mix cheese and sour cream in a bowl.
3. Break up the cheese/sour cream mixture into eight portions. Wrap an eighth of the cheese/sour cream in a tortilla. Roll up. Place seam-side down in casserole dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
4. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the tortillas.
5. Pour the rest of the cheddar cheese over the top.
6. Put the casserole in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes.

2018-09-26

This turned out fine. I would serve it to guests.

A couple of thoughts:

• I used flour tortillas. I think corn would be tastier. (And would frying them be better?)
• The Las Palmas enchilada sauce is okay, but it's a bit more bitter than I would prefer... although I would still both make and eat and serve this to guests again.

Second attempt

• 28 oz can of green enchilada sauce
• 12 white corn tortillas
• Monterey jack cheese

Yup, that's it. 350° in the oven for about 25 minutes (or until some of the cheese on top starts turning brown). This worked. Next time I would probably make a roue to thicken the enchilada sauce a bit more, but perfectly good without it. If this is all there is in the fridge to cook with, I'd definitely do it again, even without the roue.

2018-10-10: I did this again using ricotta cheese and a medium spicy enchilada sauce. Y'know, that much ricotta doesn't have the texture or taste to be a repeater.

2018-10-13: This time I decided to do a sort of Mexican lasagna. White corn tortillas. Ricotta. Fried ground beef. Marinara sauce. Not bad. I could do this cooking for the family.

Ingredients

• 2 medium onions, sliced
• 2 red peppers, sliced
• Oil for frying
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 chicken breasts, i.e., two full chicken breats
• a clove of garlic, minced
• 1 10-oz can of red enchilada sauce
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 8 oz of cheddar cheese, shredded

Method

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Put onions and peppers in frying pan with a bit of oil. Add a bit of salt and pepper and start softening them over medium heat.
3. If the chicken breasts aren't all that big, then flatten them in plastic so that it doesn't spatter. You can flatten them by whacking them with a manly cast-iron frying pan or using the womanly approaching with a rolling pin or a meat tenderizer (mallet). If the chicken breasts are thick, slice them in half again flatwise before pounding. Fry them in oil till they are mostly cooked through. As the chicken gets cooked, transfer to a plate for storage.
4. Throw in the garlic, enchilada sauce, cream cheese and half of the cheddar.
5. Once all the cheese is melted, briefly dip each piece of chicken in the sauce and then transfer the chicken to casserole dish. Add the onions and peppers to cover the chicken.
6. Put sauce on top.
7. Top with remaining cheddar cheese.
8. Put in oven for 15-20 minutes till the cheese starts getting brown and delicious on top.

Results

Tasty. Definitely a repeater.

2015-10-24: Variation. I had a bunch of left over pork tenderloin in the freezer that I wanted to use. Instead of red enchilada sauce, I had about 10 oz of left overs of a can of green Macayo's enchilada sauce. So I sauteed the onions and peppers. Mixed the sauce and cream cheese and half the cheddar. Put enough of that on the bottom of the casserole dish to cover it. Added the pork. Covered it with the onions and peppers. Added the remaining half of the cheddar. Popped it in the oven.

This turned out adequately. The pork doesn't combine as well with enchilada sauce as chicken does. Not bad, but no need to repeat.

2015-11-12: I did a beef variation using 2 pounds of hamburger and a 28 oz can of of Las Palmas enchilada sauce. 1/2 tsp black pepper.

This was entirely adequate. I would repeat it for myself, and repeat it for non-picky family.

This made more than my large casserole pan could handle, so I had to also use another half size casserole dish. Next time I would use 1 lb of hamburger and 14 oz of enchilada sauce.

I should try a variation with La Victoria enchilada sauce and Monterey Jack cheese.

Ingredients

1 (7 ounce) can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
4 tablespoons sour cream
5 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 cups (minus 4 tablespoons) sour cream
9 ounces baby spinach, rinsed
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp powdered caldo con sabor de pollo (chicken broth granules)

Adjusted method this time

1. Combine chopped chile peppers with 4 tablespoons sour cream. Mix together and spread mixture over chicken breasts. Cover and marinate in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
2. Place marinated chicken in an ungreased 9x13 inch baking dish and broil for about 8 minutes (rack should be about 6 inches from the top.) Pour remaining cup sour cream around edges of chicken and turn over chicken breasts. Broil for an additional 8 minutes.
3. Check meat. If not done, give another 15 minutes at 350°. Sour cream should be lightly brown on the edges. Move breasts into a separate dish and cover to keep warm. Set aside.
4. Pour leftover broiled sour cream into a medium saucepan over high heat. Add spinach, broth and salt to taste. Boil for about 1 minute until all melted and mixed together. Pour mixture over chicken breasts and serve.

Source: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chipotle-chicken/

Comments

As written, the recipe is tolerable. Broiling time seems unrealistic in the original, and also in my 8-minute version. One has to add more cooking time, which leaves the meat kind of tough.

I think this would be better as a crockpot recipe recipe with the chicken cooking all day long till it falls apart, then adding the sour cream and chipotle.

This is a recipe from "Special Mexican Dishes: easy and simple to prepare."

Ingredients

• 2 lbs pork loin
• 24 dry red chiles
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1/2 to 2/3 cup of water
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp oregano

I'm always confused about what chiles to buy; there are so many. This time I was shopping at Food City and bought New Mexico chile entero from the bins.

Cut pork loin into thin strips 5 to 6 inches long and about 2 inches wide and about 3/8" thick. Place in a deep dish and set aside. Wash and clean the dry peppers, leaving a few seeds for spicy flavor. Place the clean chile peppers in a large pot and add enough hot water to cover all the chiles. Cover the pot and soak the chiles for 30 minutes. Save 2/3 cup of water to make chile pulp. Place following ingredients in a blender: drained chiles, garlic cloves, salt, water and vinegar. Blend mixture to form a pulp. Add oregano to the pulp and mix. Add this pulp mixture to the meat, soaking all the strips. Marinate overnight. Roast in preheated oven at 275°. Roast 35 minutes or until well done.

Final result? Well, I gotta say that although this stuff is edible, it doesn't make me want to make it again.

Here's another version of picadillo. I've abandoned that vegetarian stupidity. I'm now convinced that carbs are the main problem in the American diet. Here's today's variation.

• 2 lbs. hamburger
• 1/2 head of cauliflower, chopped
• 1 tbsp ground chipotle
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper, ground
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
• Chicken broth/water to cover

Fry the garlic in a bit of oil. Remove garlic. Fry burger and onions and cauliflower until the beef is done. Add the garlic back in. Throw in the chipotle, cumin, tomatoes, salt, pepper. Add enough broth to cover the mess. Simmer until the cauliflower is the consistency you like.

This turned out good. Next time I might make it spicier by adding some chiles tepines. The recipe is Atkins friendly.

2015-11-22: I made it again tonight. This time I added a packet of red peppers left over from a Pizza Hut delivery. Entirely edible.

I made gallina en pipián again last night. I didn't have quite enough pumpkin seeds, so I increased the proportion of peanuts. I'm not all that fond of peanuts, but I'm growing fonder of this recipe. I may try the recipe once more in a large batch to prepare for making it for the family at Christmas.