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Jan 18, 2011

Beef and Cheese Enchilidas




Have I ever mentioned I absolutely hate getting dirt/dough/meatycheesey mixtures under my fingernails? Yep, its true, its up there on my top five things that give me the heebie jeebies right next to feet and being touched by people I don't know(and that my friends is a whole nother story!).  What does that have to do with tonight's recipe? Well, when I make up a batch of enchiladas I like to make two! One for dinner that night and another to freeze sans sauce.  This makes me life easier and more importantly, I only have to touch the meaty cheesy mixture once!
A couple of months ago I stumbled on Debby's recipe over at A Feast for the Eyes and I was THRILLED!  Living in the PacNW there aren't a lot of places that do Tex Mex and being that I am from Texas this was OBVIOUSLY a problem in my book.  The first time I made her recipe I cried a little with joy  was very excited to taste the chili gravy of my childhood again in my own kitchen!  I'm not going to lie, I have made that recipe no less than four times since seeing it and each time I have changed it a little this is the latest version:

TexMex Chili Gravy
1/4 c. Crisco (I know shocking right? But its only 1/4 a cup!)
1/4 c. Flour
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
2 large garlic cloves finely chopped
2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. Mexican oregano
1 tbsp. ancho chili powder
1 tbsp. chili powder
2 cups of organic chicken broth

To me the key to this recipe is having all of your ingredients ready. 
First melt your Crisco over low heat and add in flour, stirring until your flour has turned light brown.  Then add in spices and stir until combined.  Add in chicken broth and stir until well combined and cook until thickened (This took about 20 minutes for me.) stirring occasionally.

For the beef and cheese enchiladas I simply prepared some ground beef like I was making it for taco's and stuffed it into warmed corn tortillas with a little bit of cheese, and topped it with the gravy and more cheese and baked it in the oven for 20 minutes on 350.

p.s. In my book you have to have horchata, and guac with your enchiladas!

5 comments:

Merut said...

I don't have the same problem as you when it comes to cheesy mixtures, but I hate mud and sandpaper. Or anything that feels like mud or sandpaper. I love enchiladas! You're smart making two batches in one!

Unknown said...

I beet this was super good & I just adore horchata...wonder if I could bake that flavor....hmmmmm

Mary Bergfeld said...

Faith, these sound so good. Your changes have only improved what was a great recipe to start with. I plan to make these for my grandsons. My name will become legend :-). Have a great day. Blessings...Mary

Christina said...

This looks so yummy! I agree that guac is a must!

Lea Woodard said...

Mmm...that does look very much like an authentic Tex-Mex enchilada sauce! I'll have to try it out the next time I make Mexican.