Quick and Easy Enchiladas

submitted by j.martin1218
from Corpus Christi, Texas, USA

1 15-oz. can enchilada sauce
1 15-oz. can chile con carne without beans
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 pound ground beef
12 corn tortillas (yellow, but white will do)
1/2 cup lard, bacon grease, or a mixture of the two
1 large onion, chopped
16 oz. cheddar cheese

Combine in medium bowl canned enchilada sauce and canned chili con carne.
Add to mixture the chili powder and cumin. Brown ground beef in a
skillet, drain any grease, and add to the chili-sauce mixture. Then, melt
lard, grease or oil in medium cast iron skillet turned to medium high and
"wilt" each of the tortillas by placing them, one at a time, in the hot
oil. Turn each one repeatedly for about 15-20 seconds. (The trick is to
make them pliable for rolling but not too saturated with the grease. If
you leave them in too long, they will get crisp and unusable.) Spread
each softened tortilla on a cookie sheet covered with paper towels,
adding a new layer of towels when the first row is completed. Chop the
onion medium-fine. Shred the cheese. To assemble: place each enchilada,
one at a time, in the chili sauce. Then lay the sauce-covered tortillas
in a 9 X 13" baking dish, placing in the middle of each a generous portion
of the chili sauce (a heaping tablespoon, at least). Then, place on top a
scant handful of the chopped onion and another heaping tablespoon of the
cheddar cheese. Roll the filled tortilla and place, seam side down, in the
baking dish until all tortillas are used. Top with remaining chili,
onion, and cheese, in that order. Heat oven to 350 degrees and run baking
dish into oven on top shelf. Leave in just long enough to heat through
and thoroughly melt cheese, about 20 minutes.

NOTES: This recipe is loosely based on a South Texas Junior League
cookbook published in the 70's, but my modifications make it completely
distinguishable from the earlier version. One night when I had a huge
hunger for Tex-Mex enchiladas, I made these. They taste much like the
"enchies" we get in our South Texas Tex Mex restaurants.

As to the ingredients, please note:

Any good enchilada sauce will do, but it should be a red, not green sauce,
as the latter are made with tomatillos (mistakenly called "green
tomatoes"), and these are not "right" for this dish. Almost any brand
will do, but I have used Hatch, which actually comes from New Mexico.

Probably the best chili con carne is the old Texas standby, Wolf Brand,
which, after its acquisition by Con-Agra, began to contain less and less
meat.

By chili powder, I do not mean ground dry chilies but the stuff that
contains, in addition to ground chilies, spices, salt and other
ingredients, including garlic and/or onion powder.

Put a little oil in your skillet if you use lean beef, but be sure and
drain the meat on paper towels when browned. Our local H.E.B. Supermarket
chain now packages one-pound loaves of ground brisket, which is just
perfect for this dish. However, any old ground beef will do.

You can use corn or canola oil if you're diet-conscious, but in Oaxaca,
seasoned -- you should pardon the pun -- diners in the superb local
ethnic eateries swear they can tell when a mole contains vegetable oil
instead of the customary lard. I used a mixture of lard and bacon grease
and it worked fine.

In my opinion, the best cheddar is from Vermont, and the Cabot Farms brand
in particular. You can get it in sharp and very sharp, yellow or white.
It's a matter of taste.


http://www.simpleinternet.com/recipes/
International Recipes OnLine
On-Line Culinary Discussion at Food.Chat:
http://www.simpleinternet.com/foodchat/

--
Rec.food.recipes is moderated by Patricia Hill at .
Only recipes and recipe requests are accepted for posting.
Please allow several days for your submission to appear.
http://www.cdkitchen.com/rfr/ http://recipes.alastra.com/