Enchiladas, Take Three

I must really love enchiladas. I can't come up with any other excuse for why I've posted three different enchilada recipes in as many months. A few weeks ago you got my Beef Enchilada Casserole recipe, and before that was the Enchiladas Suizas Stacked Casserole recipe. Well this time I went the more traditional route and made actual enchiladas as opposed to a casserole. And I have to say, it may have been my favorite enchilada recipe yet!

I'm pretty sure my love for enchiladas started a long (long) time ago when I was in high school. It was one of a handful of dishes I made on the rare occasion that I cooked. Those enchiladas were decidedly simpler ... just ground beef, a packet of taco seasoning, flour tortillas, canned sauce and cheese ... maybe a little diced onion inside if I got adventurous. They were yummy, but I've come a long way culinary-wise. So here's a slightly more advanced, and way more delicious, enchilada recipe:

Chicken and Green Chile Enchiladas
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 small onion, halved and sliced thin
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1/4 cup canned or frozen corn
1 (10 oz.) can enchilada sauce
1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chiles, drained
6 corn tortillas

Directions:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly coat an 8-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.

Stack tortillas on a plate, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and microwave 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from microwave, cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside until ready to assemble enchiladas.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook until softened and lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic, cumin, and chili powder, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Off the heat, stir in the chicken, 3/4 cup cheese, corn, 1/4 cup enchilada sauce, and chiles.

Spread the tortillas on a clean counter. Spoon 1/2 cup of the filling down the center of each tortilla. Toightly roll the tortillas around the filling and lay them, seam-side down, in the prepared baking dish.

Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top of enchiladas. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake until the enchiladas are heated through, about 10 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the cheese is completely melted, about 5 minutes longer.


So, as usual, this is a recipe I took from America's Test Kitchen Cooking for Two. And it happened to come from my favorite "One Big Roast, Three Great Meals" chapter. These enchiladas were actually meant to be made with leftover turkey, but since I haven't made a big roast lately, I bought a rotisserie chicken instead.

I think that rotisserie chickens are one of the greatest shortcuts EVER. Any recipe that calls for shredded or diced chicken should begin with a rotisserie chicken. I used one for my Enchiladas Suizas Casserole, I used one for my Quick Chicken and Cheese Tamales, and I always use one for making chicken salad (which I now have a huge craving for ... the leftovers from this chicken might become lunch later this week!).

And Then There Were Nada ... Enchiladas!

I think one of the first meals I made for Bill (what seems like many, many years ago) was a "Mexican Lasagna" recipe I had seen Rachael Ray prepare. It was super easy, layering flour tortillas, canned enchilada sauce, ground beef and cheese. I remember it being good, but for whatever reason it fell off the Tucker dinner menu a long time ago.

So when I saw this recipe for Beef Enchilada Casserole in one of my America's Test Kitchen cookbooks, I was anxious to try it and compare it against that old recipe. You'll see that this one is a bit more advanced than the Rachael Ray version (most likely because that was on 30 Minute Meals ... and I've learned that if you want a really good meal, it's going to take more than 30 minutes!).

Beef Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients:
6 corn tortillas
1 (10 oz.) can Ro-Tel tomatoes
8 oz. ground beef
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, stemmed, seeded, and minced
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup beef broth
6 oz. Colby-Jack cheese
1 teaspoon hot sauce
Salt and pepper

Directions:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan.

Toast 2 tortillas in a 10-inch non-stick skillet (they will overlap) over medium-high heat until bubbling and spotty brown, about 2 minutes, flipping them halfway through. Transfer to a plate and repeat twice more with remaining 4 tortillas.

Trim the tortillas into 4 1/2-inch squares, reserving the trimmings. Tear the trimmings into small pieces, combine with the Ro-Tel tomatoes and their juice in a food processor, and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer to a medium bowl.

Cook the beef in the skillet over medium heat, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 2 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the processed tortilla mixture.

Add the oil and onion to the skillet and cook over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, 2 teaspoons of the minced jalapeno, chili powder, and cumin, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato sauce and beef broth and simmer until slightly thickened and reduced to 1 cup, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat.

Stir 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce mixture, 1/2 cup of the cheese, and hot sauce into the tortilla-beef mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Arrange 3 toasted tortillas in the bottom of the prepared loaf pan. Spread the beef filling evenly in the pan, then top with the remaining 3 tortillas (they may overlap slightly) and the remaining tomato sauce mixture. Bake until the filling bubbles lightly around the edges and the top of the filling begins to brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

Sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup cheese and remaining minced jalapeno and continue to bake until the casserole is hot throughout and the cheese is browned in spots, about 10 minutes longer. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.


This was so much better than my "Mexican Lasagna" and so worth the extra effort! Seven years ago I never would have taken the time to trim the tortillas or process the Ro-Tel tomatoes, or even make my own enchilada sauce. I understand the quick-and-easy concept, but it turns out it's just not my style any more.

On a side note, this recipe made two GIGANTIC portions. Since the recipe claimed to yield two servings, I simply cut it down the middle and dished it up. I was hungry! Bill was convinced my eyes were bigger than my stomach and bet me $20 that I couldn't clean my plate. Well, being the Man vs. Food fan that I am, I gladly accepted that challenge. And in the battle of (wo)man vs. enchilada casserole ... WOMAN WON! (However, I'm still waiting for my $20.)

Just Call Me Senorita Suiza

Rachael Ray's got a show on the Cooking Channel called "A Week in a Day" where she prepares five make-ahead meals in one afternoon. The idea is that spending a little time on the weekend will easily give you five fresh meals for the week. I'm not necessarily a fan of that type of forethought because I tend to cook on a whim ... but I certainly understand how it can be handy for busy families who have trouble getting dinner on the table.(Although, unless you love to cook so much that you're willing to give up an entire Sunday afternoon to do it, I don't know how realistic this approach really is!)

Anyway, I caught this show for the first time on Saturday and she made one recipe that intrigued me: roasted chicken enchiladas suizas casserole. It used a few ingredients (poblanos, tomatillos) and methods (roasting peppers) that were new to me, so I thought I would give it a try.

I had heard of enchiladas suizas, but couldn't have told you what they were. Thank goodness Rachael enlightened me. Apparently Swiss immigrants to Mexico blended to two cuisines, resulting in dishes like this. Oddly enough, Rachael failed to mention what I later learned from Wikipedia: the dish typically has a bechamel-type white sauce. Her recipe does not, but I'll give her a pass because it was still delicious.

Don't be intimidated by the long list of ingredients here. The recipe really is quick and easy (it's from Rachael Ray, after all!).

Enchilada Suizas Stacked Casserole
Ingredients:
4 poblano peppers
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
12 tomatillos, peeled, rinsed and quartered
2 small handfuls cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons honey
1 quart chicken stock
Salt and pepper
1 lime, juiced
2 lbs. cooked chicken, meat shredded
16 corn tortillas, softened
1 cup Mexican crema (or sour cream)
1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions:
Heat broiler to high. Arrange poblanos on a sheet pan, put them under the hot broiler and char them on all sides, about 10 to 12 minutes. Alternatively, you can char them over an open flame on a gas stove (which is what I did). Place charred peppers in a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to sit until cool enough to handle. Peel and seed the peppers. (I learned that the plastic wrap allows to peppers to steam a bit after you char them, making them easier to peel later. So definitely don't skip that step!)

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add jalapeno, onion and garlic. Cook until onion softens, about 5 minutes. Put the tomatillos and cilantro in a food processor. Coarsely chop the poblanos and add them to the processor. Process until an almost smooth sauce forms, about 1 minute. Pour the sauce into the skillet and stir to combine. Add cumin, honey and stock. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes. Add lime juice and turn off the heat.

Pour a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of a medium casserole dish. Place 3 or 4 tortillas in the bottom of the dish, top with chicken, sauce, crema (or sour cream, which is what I used) and a handful of both cheeses (I only used Jack because Bill doesn't like Swiss). Repeat layer twice more.

Bake in a 375 degree oven about 40 to 50 minutes, or until heated through and bubbly on top.


BTW, I took a shortcut and used a store-bought rotisserie chicken. An alternative to that is my trusty poaching method: just boil a few chicken breasts and shred the meat with two forks. Roasting the poblanos was a cinch (I'm sure the broiler technique is just as easy - or even easier ... and probably safer - than using an open flame), and I learned that I really like tomatillos. In fact, I think I should make some salsa verde!

Also, I halved the recipe because Bill and I would never be able to eat the giant casserole this makes. It ended up being the perfect portion for dinner and we had just enough leftovers. Plus, it was super tasty and is even better the next day (I had it again for lunch this afternoon!). You can call me a regular Senorita Suiza! (For those of you who are Spanish-challenged, that's Swiss Miss.)