at last

It's Friday!

I don't have much to say after a very exhausting five days, but I wanted to mention how tasty my enchiladas were on Tuesday. I shared them with an office buddy for Valentine's Day. I also shared a few of the chocolate truffles I made. I now know how to roll funny-looking little ganache morsels and dip and twist them to create fantastically delicious yet not-stunning truffle bites.

Now back to these enchiladas. I believe I may have mentioned before how at one point some years ago I realized that rolling enchiladas (although creative and pretty-looking) was basically a wild waste of time. Thus began my Enchilada Casserole years. Delicious, not as time consuming, and did I mention delicious?

You may be surprised that I am willing to share my recipe, but I'm pretty sure they're important enough to share. Also, I've never been one to think mine better than the original chef's so I feel that makes intellectual property pretty special and utterly sharable.

Layer upon layer, until you come out just right:

Corn tortillas

A round casserole dish that the tortillas almost fill

Rosarita vegetarian refried beans (you can add your own non-canned meat at will)

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin (add to beans, stir until hot)

1/4 teaspoon chile powder (add to beans and cumin)

A sprinkling of garlic powder if needed (I don't use it anymore)

Sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Monterey jack cheese, grated (if desired/optional)

Mild diced green chiles (one small 3oz can)

Mild/medium/hot green OR red enchilada sauce (your choice of brand, but I like Hatch)

The following are optional additions:

Black olives, chopped

Cilantro, washed and chopped

Chicken breast chopped small, sauteed in tamari, ginger powder, garlic powder, thyme

Corn (add ancho chile powder for some added flavor)

Rice (add sauteed onions, pepper, chile powder, garlic powder for flavor)

Pre-heat the oven to 350F (expect 45 minutes to bake)

Add a thin layer of sauce to bottom of casserole dish

Add one tortilla

Add 1/4" layer of beans

Add sprinkling of cheese (not much needed)

Add chicken/olives/cilantro

Top with a few spoonfuls of sauce (not enough to be really wet)

Repeat until pan is nearing full.*

Top layer: cheese, sauce, olives (pretty) finish with more sauce

*Make eating your enchilada casserole more interesting by varying the amount in between each layer. I've noticed adding chicken to one but beans to another keeps the texture interesting.

Bake for 45 minutes at 350F. Your enchilada casserole is finished when the cheese is bubbly on top and sauce is bubbling.

Let sit for five minutes (if you can) and add small scoop of sour cream or plain yogurt.

This photo is from Monday night. I accidentally used Hot sauce, which made it more interesting but not in a super good way.

layers

Last night I made enchiladas.

Actually, that's a lie. They weren't technically enchiladas; they weren't rolled, they were layered, and the ingredients were a "creative" combination of truffle mashed potatoes, steamed carrots, green enchilada sauce, sauteed mushrooms, black beans, black olives and cheese. Sharp cheddar, to be specific. Oh, and of course corn tortillas.

I used to make rolled enchiladas, carefully heating each tortilla in hot oil, and purposefully wrapping measured ingredients into each one, stacking them against one another until the pan was full. They looked pretty, and servings were easy to measure out. At some point, I started layering them (it takes far less time) and adding different ingredients such as rice sauteed with ancho chile powder and corn, chicken with thyme, tamari, and ginger... I tried different cheeses, green sauce instead of red, and found the perfect baking dish that is probably meant for small casseroles (it even has a lid for storing in the fridge). I bake them uncovered for about 45 minutes at 400 degrees, till the cheese on top is bubbling.

My enchiladas are no longer truly enchiladas. They are difficult to serve (rather sloppy, actually) and typically look like someone put the ingredients in a blender. But, they are delicious. I guess when it comes down to it, no one cares how pretty the garnish is or how dressed up the food looks, as long as it tastes good.

I still like it to look pretty, but I make an exception for those layers of goodness. A little scoop of plain yogurt sometimes helps...