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[Hank D Thoreau]

Simple enchiladas are great comfort food. Last time I made them I needed to make another batch two days later.

These are very simple. Just hamburger and onions. The assemble with corn tortillas, enchilada sauce, cheddar cheese and crushed olives.

It looks like I was running short on olives for the top, but there were plenty inside.

As usual, they did not last very long. I was looking for some for breakfast this morning and there were none left.

I had two corning wear dishes. The big one held seven and the small one held four. They were big though. The large sized tortillas, stuffed to the limit.

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[Hank D Thoreau]

Oh, about the boat comment. The enchiladas went so fast that I needed a bigger boat to fight off all the jaws in my family.

As per usual, two days later I needed to cook some more; this time 23 in this much larger pan. Note though that the tortillas were not quite as large.

I dedicated a can of crushed olives for the top this time.

This goes to show that not all good things come from the smoker.

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[BigDave83]

I never had enchiladas until I girl I knew showed up at work peddling someones cooking that was trying to start a business. She had them, subs/hoagies, lasagna. I went with the enchiladas out of the trunk of the 65 red mustang convertible. They were fantastic, the sauce that was on them. My GF likes to go to a couple of Mexican restaurants, I have tried them at all of them and left feeling really disappointed.

Do you make you sauce or is it bought. I have no idea on the sauce I has, it was bright red and full of flavor. I had talked to the girl that was trying to help this lady out and she said it all seemed to fall through.

I would make these if i could find a good sauce. That one with all of the black olives, if I were there you probably still would be without any for breakfast.

[Kristin Meredith]

Those look really good Hank!  Love enchiladas.

Big Dave, the Mexican food we have eaten in Virginia is, to put it mildly, a real disappointment and not even close to what we were use to in California, Nevada and Arizona. You can buy decent enchilada sauce at the grocery store -- Old El Paso makes a decent one and you can usually find it in different heat levels. You can make your own, but I don't think homemade is that much better myself.  Now, homemade enchiladas are fantastic because you can customize the recipe and change around the cheeses.  I also like corn tortillas better than flour.

[02ebz06]

Look terrific!! 

We made some Sunday and finished them off yesterday.
They definitely do not last long, even with just 2 of us.

[Hank D Thoreau]

Kristin,

I am definitely a fan of corn tortillas. I have been thinking of trying to make enchiladas from scratch with homemade corn tortillas. The problem is that the homemade tortillas will be more difficult to roll since they are usually thicker. Making the sauce is not as difficult, but then, like spaghetti sauce these days, there are too many good options available from the store.

These are big and hearty enchiladas, unlike the thin flat variety you get at Mexican restaurants, even here in Southern California.

Dave,

I used sauce from a can. I had a large can of La Victoria Red, which is my favorite, and a small can of Old El Paso, because they did not have La Victoria in the small cans.

The Old El Paso was thinner and smelled different.

This is quick comfort food. Cook the meat and onions, assemble, and melt the cheese. I cooked that big pan last night. There is one serving left. I just finished eating mine for dinner after having them for breakfast. I don't even heat them up when eating left overs. They are like cold pizza.

[Bar-B-Lew]

Does anyone put any cheese inside the tortilla with the meat and onions or would that have some other name other than an enchilada?  Also, any rules regarding adding bell peppers and mushrooms with the beef and onions, or again, would that be called something else?  I have never made my own, but I do order them on the occasions we do go out to eat Mexican food somewhere.  I wouldn't mind making some and freezing them in portions to pullout of the freezer and reheat for a quick lunch or dinner.

[Kristin Meredith]

I mix cheese with the meat and then put in he tortilla and roll up.  I think if you add mushrooms and bell peppers you kind of get away from what the enchilla is about. I have never had any Tex-Mex with mushrooms.

[BigDave83]

I doubt it would really matters what was in them as long as it is things you like. one could probably do chopped up tofu and bean sprouts and if the sauce is good I would eat it.

[Kristin Meredith]

I doubt it would really matters what was in them as long as it is things you like. one could probably do chopped up tofu and bean sprouts and if the sauce is good I would eat it.

Heresy!!! Anarchy!!!  Is no recipe sacred anymore?

[Bar-B-Lew]

I doubt it would really matters what was in them as long as it is things you like. one could probably do chopped up tofu and bean sprouts and if the sauce is good I would eat it.

Heresy!!! Anarchy!!!  Is no recipe sacred anymore?

Haha.  You can thank Emeril and all of those TV food shows from years ago for that.  Everything had to be kicked up a notch!

I am in an interesting household.  My wife doesn't cook often.  Maybe a few times a week.  It is usually something routine.  Or, it will be something new that she follows a recipe to a T and if we like it then it goes onto the list of routine cooks.  She has begun over the last year or so to add some spices or onions, peppers, mushrooms, etc into some dishes that are not part of the recipe.  I am not big on recipes being strictly followed and often will modify ingredients to my liking.  And, I rarely make the same thing the same way.  I tend to experiment.  Anyhoo, it has made cooking fun and is better than frozen microwave meals.

[Hank D Thoreau]

Mushrooms on Mexican food is just wrong. I feel the same way about sour cream.

I put cheese on the inside. That is standard. I use lots of cheese.

As far as cooking style, I use the visualization method. I visualize what I like and then try to make it. I often use recipes to get ideas.

An example is gazpacho. I started by perusing recipes to see what ingredients are common, just to get ideas.

I ended up using what I thought would work, not really following any particular recipe.

[Clonesmoker]

Just made some!! Had some leftover fajita meat/onions/peppers and some rice. Layered a tortilla with rice, meat, and mexican cheese. Fit five tortillas into a small casserole dish, added the red enchilada sauce, and put the rest of the mexican cheese on top. Covered with foil and in the oven at 400 for about 45 minutes. Last five minutes pulled the foil off to get a little cheese crust going. Turned out great!! Sorry no pics of it.

[Brushpopper]

Mushrooms on Mexican food is just wrong. I feel the same way about sour cream.

I put cheese on the inside. That is standard. I use lots of cheese.

I concur with you on these points.  I've never seen mushrooms on enchiladas in my life, and I've eaten a lot of them.  I've also never seen black olives on them and I doubt I'd care for them with the olives because it's not how I'm used to seeing them.  I'm not a fan of sour cream but my wife likes them with it.  The olives and sour cream are just my own weirdness, though, and probably very tasty.  My mom would make layered enchiladas with the corn tortillas flat instead of rolled up.  It was kind of like Mexican lasagna.  I'm sure it was easier that way and just as tasty.  We'd just cut a square piece out like you'd cut a cake out of a pan.  I want enchiladas now.

[Bar-B-Lew]

Mushrooms on Mexican food is just wrong. I feel the same way about sour cream.

I put cheese on the inside. That is standard. I use lots of cheese.

I concur with you on these points.  I've never seen mushrooms on enchiladas in my life, and I've eaten a lot of them.  I've also never seen black olives on them and I doubt I'd care for them with the olives because it's not how I'm used to seeing them.  I'm not a fan of sour cream but my wife likes them with it.  The olives and sour cream are just my own weirdness, though, and probably very tasty.  My mom would make layered enchiladas with the corn tortillas flat instead of rolled up.  It was kind of like Mexican lasagna.  I'm sure it was easier that way and just as tasty.  We'd just cut a square piece out like you'd cut a cake out of a pan.  I want enchiladas now.

I just saw a recipe for that yesterday called King Ranch Casserole on a spicy food blog that i subscribe to.