Cheese Enchiladas with Chile con Carne {Cookbook Spotlight}
I have the pleasure of participating in a Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-off with some of my fellow food bloggers. Together we are spotlighting the release of the new cookbook The Homesick Texan by Lisa Fain (available now!). Many of you may already have heard of her wonderful blog of the same name The Homesick Texan. Hyperion sent us each a copy of the beautiful cookbook to drool over and during this 4 week journey, we will be cooking the same recipe in our individual kitchens for the first couple of weeks. The third week each blogger cooks up their own pick. We will round off the month with our own reviews of the cookbook and the food. To view the complete list of participating bloggers and follow their scrumptious dishes and thoughts of the book, visit Heather’s announcement page on Girlichef.
It was my mother-in-law’s lucky night. She happened to come over when I was cooking my final meal for the Homesick Texan Cookbook review. Boy oh boy, did she come on a good night! I thought that for my last dish, I would make a classic mexican dish- enchiladas (Texas style!). Of course, as the photo was presented in her book, it was served alongside her refried beans and red chili rice. What a better way to go out than with a complete meal?
When I looked at all of the ingredients and the process to making this as a complete meal, I initially thought what am I getting myself into? But, aside from slow cooking the beans for a couple of hours, it only took a little more than an hour for me to complete all three dishes and plate them. Not bad overall.
As individual components, every part of this dish could stand alone. But, have you ever had that one perfect bite? The bite when you take a little bit of everything on your plate, eat it all at one time, and it blends in a harmonious flavor combination that stops time for just a second. Yes, I got that one perfect bite. A-ma-zing. I would have taken more pictures, but it wasn’t long before I found myself taking a few bites here and there and before I knew it, there wasn’t a picture worthy moment left. The only changes I made – because of what I had on hand – were using ground turkey and flour tortillas. The recipes for the Refried Beans and Red Chili Rice can be found in The Homesick Texan Cookbook.
From The Homesick Texan Cookbook ~ While enchiladas are found across the border in Mexico, in texas we've put our stamp on it by stuffing the enchiladas with yellow cheese - and covering it in our state dish - a hearty, beefy chili. If you ask a Texan what they miss the most, more often than not, it's this signature dish. You just can't find it done well at restaurants outside the state, as for some reason this particular combination of flavors is hard to reproduce unless you grew up with the dish and know how it's supposed to taste. I, however have figured out a way to make it at home. If you're feeling homesick, I guarantee that after taking one bite of these cheese enchiladas, you'll be instantly transported back to Texas.
Ingredients
- 6 dried ancho chilis, stems and seeds removed
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil or lard
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/2 Tablespoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 pound ground beef
- 2 cups beef broth
- salt, black pepper and cayenne, to taste
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil or lard
- 12 corn tortillas
- 4 cups grated cheddar (16 ounces)
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
Directions
- In a dry skillet heated on high, toast the ancho chilis on each side for about 10 seconds or just until they start to puff. Fill the skillet with enough water to cover the chilis. Leave the heat on until the water begins to boil and then turn off the heat and let the chilis soak until soft about 30 minutes. Once hydrated, discard the water and rinse the chilis. Place in a blender.
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the vegetable oil or lard, and cook the onions, occasionally stirring, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 more seconds. Place cooked onions and garlic into the blender, along with cumin, oregano, allspice, cinnamon and 1 cup water. Blend until smooth.
- In the same pot that you used to cook the onions and garlic, on medium heat, brown the ground beef, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. (You can drain the extra fat once browned.) Add the chili puree and the beef broth, heat on high until boiling, then turn the heat down to low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 30 minutes, adjust seasonings, and add salt, black pepper and cayenne to taste.
- To make the enchiladas, first preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a large baking dish. In a skillet, heat the oil or lard on medium-low heat. One at a time, heat up the tortillas in the hot oil. Keep them wrapped in a cloth or tortilla warmer until all tortillas are heated.
- Take a heated tortilla and use tongs to dip it into the sauce. Shake off most of the sauce but make sure it is moist enough to be pliable. Lay the tortilla on a plate or clean cooking surface, add a 1/4 cup of the grated cheese down the center of it, along with a few of the diced onions. Roll the tortilla. Place rolled enchilada in the greased baking dish and repeat with remaining tortillas. Pour sauce over enchiladas and top with remaining grated cheese and diced onions. Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is slightly browned and bubbling.
This Recipe Linked To Some of These Blog Hops:
{Sun} Recipe Swap Sundays {Mon} Made By You Mondays, Recipe Sharing Monday {Tues} Totally Tasty Tuesdays, Tip Me Tuesdays {Wed} These Chicks Cooked {Thurs} Full Plate Thursday {Fri} Fresh Food Fridays, Friday Potluck
This post is part of The Homesick Texan Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off sponsored by Hyperion and hosted at Girlichef.
Oh man, I wish I had been the one dropping by that night. That is a plate full of DELICIOUS!!
Delicious it was! Thank you for hosting this whole event Heather, it has been really fun!
Me too!!! If you make ‘em again, I’ll be there!
These look wonderful… hope to try these babies soon!
This dish was so great – you wouldn’t be disappointed.
This looks delicious! I love enchiladas.
I’m always looking for “the perfect bite” and here you’ve got it right in front of me! How delicious!
Mmmm….enchiladas. A favorite of mine from wayyy back!
The perfect bite!! yeah, here these babies are in every resturaunt!! love them!! thanks for sharing!
It was your MIL’s lucky night for sure! The whole dinner looks fantastic. A great choice.
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