Mom's Tex-Mex Enchiladas

Mom is back and she cooks up a storm in my latest recipe video.

She describes her Tex-Mex Enchiladas as: "A recipe with just  three ingredients: a can of beef chili, cheese, and corn tortillas." So you can rustle up this tasty meal at a moment's notice -  quick and easy.

What makes these Tex-Mex Enchiladas is a can of Wolf Brand Chili, beef, and no beans. This canned meat sauce is Texas-style. Hey, it's just canned chili, so use any local purveyors you have on hand. You can even substitute it with vegetarian chili. I've used veggie chili before and it's quite tasty.

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Mom uses about a pound of cheddar cheese, but go ahead and use good old-fashioned American Cheese if that's what you got.

One of the tricks for Mom's Enchiladas is to heat the corn tortillas for one minute to soften, them so they don't crack and spit when loaded with cheese and rolled shut. Pssst, don't tell anyone, but I learned to roll a doobie watching Mom make enchiladas.

She also oil sprays the baking dish so the Enchiladas crisp on the bottom, just a little. Okay to use any oil you have in the cupboard.

Once you've assembled the Enchiladas they are ready for a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes of baking - that's it!

Of course, any recipe evolves, so now she adds a few spices for extra flavor: chili,  cumin, garlic, and onion powder, plus salt and pepper. For this version, I'm keeping it simple. Mom didn't use extra spices for this recipe when we were kids. If you want to add extra flavors, go ahead and add a teaspoon of each extra spice.

This is a recipe from my childhood and teen years, made and served by my Mom in the 1960s and early 1970s. And, as most moms were apt to do, any high school friends hanging around the house (often up to no good,) were fed Mom's Tex-Mex Enchiladas.

One of my high school buddies was Marvin, and he still is my friend. We recently got together again when I visited Mom in Gonzales, Louisiana. And I remembered how he loved her Enchiladas more than any of my other friends. So I thought it apropos to have him over to film Mom's Tex-Mex Enchiladas recipe with me.

During the shoot, he mentioned that one bite brought on a flashback from our high school dazes. Well, that's all I needed to make that flashback happen - and as a sign of true friendship, Marvin agreed to reenact hanging out like we were teenagers, again -- listening to rock 'n' roll and sneaking a smoke in my bedroom. Oh boy, wait 'til Mom busts the Doobie Brothers!

Be sure to watch the video to the flashback ending where it's Wayne's World meets Beavis and Butt-head!

Our flashback high school hijinx happened in the last 2 minutes of this recipe video. So be sure to watch my latest video all the way to the end!

So kick back and join Mom, Marvin, and me in a recipe/flashback video that will leave you craving Mom's Tex-Mex Enchiladas. Go ahead and make it for yourself sometime - it's one of Mom's oldies but goodies!

Tex-Mex Enchiladas - VIDEO

Play it here, video runs 8 minutes 57 seconds.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.

Ingredients (about 10 enchiladas)

• 15-ounce can of chili - use any chili with beef (no beans)  you like. Okay to substitute with a vegetarian chili. Hey, use chili with beans if you like - it's all good.
• 1 pound cheddar cheese - okay to use any favorite cheese on sale, even American Cheese. Cheese can be grated or thin sliced.
• 11 corn tortillas - Mom had enough room in her baking dish for 11 filled tortillas.
• 3/4 can water - about 1 1/2 cups water added to chili sauce.
• 2 tablespoons oil - to coat tortillas and bottom of baking dish. Mom used oil spray, but okay to use favorite veggie oil.

Extra spices - optional

• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon onion and garlic powder
• Salt and pepper to taste - I find canned chili has enough salt for me.

Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees, and grease a frying pan over medium heat.

First, heat up a can of chili and water. Mom likes Wolf Brand Chili, but it's okay to use any favorite that you like.

Add the chili to a pot, along with 3/4 can of water - or about 1 1/2 cups water.

Next, Mom likes to add extra spices. But it's okay to leave these out, as she did not use them 45 years ago when I was a kid.

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Extra seasonings (optional) include half a teaspoon each of cumin, chili, garlic and onion powders.

Stir and simmer chili sauce for about 5 minutes or so, to thicken just a little bit.

As chili simmers, heat up corn tortillas in the frying pan. You can spray the corn tortillas with oil spray or add oil to the frying pan. Heat tortillas for about 30 seconds on each side or one minute total. You could microwave tortillas to soften.

All you are doing is softening the corn tortillas so they are pliable and easy to roll when filled with cheese.

Oil spray, or coat the bottom of a baking dish. This will help crisp up the enchiladas just a little so they don't fall apart. This is a mushy entree anyway, but so tasty.

As tortillas are cool enough to handle, fill each tortilla with grated or thin-sliced cheese. Mom uses about 2 tablespoons of cheese for each rolled enchilada. Of course, you can load them up with as much cheese as you like.

Place each cheese-filled corn tortilla in the baking dish, side-by-side. Mom managed to fill the baking dish with about 11 rolled enchiladas. Do leave half an inch clear at the top of the dish, as chili will bubble and may overflow. Okay to put a cookie sheet underneath the baking dish just in case.

Add heated beef chili over the top of filled enchiladas. Finally top rolled enchiladas with plenty of cheese.

Add baking dish with enchiladas to a 350-degree oven and bake for 30 minutes, until cheese is melted and chili sauce bubbling hot.

Serve right out of the oven after Mom's Tex-Mex Enchiladas cool down for a couple of minutes.

Creamy Cheesy Enchilada Casserole with Chicken, Corn & Peas

Got Leftovers? If you've bought a rotisserie chicken from the market and are looking for a recipe to use up the leftovers - like leg, wing and backbone meat, then read on for a delish dish with a Latin flare: my Creamy Cheesy Enchilada Casserole with Chicken, Corn & Peas.

If you cook with turkey pieces, they are too huge to use all at once, so take a bite out of the those leftovers, too.

Add a package of cheese, a tub of sour cream, frozen veggies like corn and green peas, plus a can of enchilada sauce, and you have a one pot meal for the whole family. 

I use cans of enchilada sauce (sometimes listed as red chili sauce) quite often. It especially goes well with poultry in entrees like: Stuffed Bell Peppers and Chicken Tinga Stew.

Chicken is cheap anytime and turkey segments come on sale quite often, especially during the winter holidays. I get mine from my local Latin market.

Frozen veggies hold up better than canned when baking, so use frozen, or lightly steam fresh veggies for this Mexican-style casserole.

I can always find corn tortillas and sour cream at my local 99c only Stores. You should lightly brown tortillas in a pan to dry them out somewhat, so the enchilada sauce with sour cream does not dissolve away the tortillas (which happened the first time I baked this.)

You need an oven proof pan or dish, but don't fill it up all the way, it may bubble over - always leave an inch from the top lip. You may want to place a cookie sheet under the heating casserole dish in case it overflows.

Since the ingredients are pre-cooked, all you are doing is heating it up, so the baking time is quick, only about half an hour.

Try out my Latin-themed one dish entree, Creamy Cheesy Enchilada Casserole with Chicken, Corn & Peas, and save some leftovers for your weekly work lunches, too.

Ingredients (about 4-6 servings)

• 2 cups shredded cooked turkey - okay to use roasted or boiled chichen.
• 2 cups veggies - I used frozen (and defrosed) corn and peas. Okay to use any favorite frozen veggie combo. You can use fresh, lighlty steamed, veggies too.
• 2 cups enchilada sauce - 1 small can, add a little water or stock to bring up to 2 cups, if necessary. Okay to use red canned chili sauce.
• 1 cup sour cream - or cottage cheese. Light, low calorie, or regular.
• 2 cups cheese - shredded, sliced or crumbled. I used pepper jack cheese, but use any budget cheese you like.
• 6-8 small corn tortillas - whole and/or torn in half. Cut tortillas to fit a large casserole dish or deep pan.
• 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil - to lightly brown corn tortillas.

Directions
Start with firming up tortillas by lightly browning corn tortillas for 2-4 minutes. This will keep tortillas from dissolving or falling apart when baking with liquid ingredients. As tortillas heat up move on to assembling casserole.

Defrost frozen veggies. Either soak in water (then drain) or allow to come to room temperature. Shred cooked turkey or chicken into bite-sized pieces. Slice, shred or crumble cheese.

In a large bowl lightly mix 2 cups of enchilada sauce and 1 cup of sour cream, or cottage cheese.

Now time to bring it all together. In a large casserole dish or deep pan add a thin layer of creamy enchilada sauce. Next add a single layer of tortillas. Spread on a thin layer of enchilada sauce. Next pile on a layer of turkey, cheese and veggies. Spoon on another layer of enchilada sauce.

Layer on tortillas, sauce, turkey, veggies and cheese until you almost reach the top. I used 3 layers of tortillas total.

Save some cheese and sauce to top the Enchilada Casserole with. Also stop about an inch from the top of dish. You need some room as sauce and other ingredients melt and bubble. You may want a cookie sheet underneath casserole dish in case it bubbles over some.

Cover casserole dish with lid or foil. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. If you want the cheese lightly browned then uncover the baking dish during the last 10 minutes of baking.

Serve hot. A delish side dish is my Mom's Mexican Rice, recipe is a click away, here.

Deal of the Day - Queso Enchilada Dinner

Loaded with cheese, these 2 stuffed enchiladas, with beans and rice, from El Charrito, are well worth 99.99 cents. If you saw my last disappointing Deal of the Day review (click here),  I'm pleased to point out this micowaveable dinner has a lot going for it.

My go-to cheap Mexican frozen dinner is made by Banquet. I've had many of their beef enchiladas and tamale dinners, so I am an expert on mediocre Mexican fare. There are a few problems with Banquet's Mexican meals, though. First off, the refried beans are all mush -- I like a few legume bits to remind what you are eating. Also, the Mexican rice has too much liquid, making more of a rice porrage. And finally, the cheese and beef enchilada filling is quite bland with no ground beef texture. (Now, to be fair, I give props to Banquet for their tasty Salisbury Steak Dinner - read about it here.)

This is not a problem with El Charritos' Cheese Enchilada Dinner. The refried beans have enough whole pinto beans for texture. The Mexican Rice is slightly soggy, but much better than Banquets.

And the main ingredient, the cheese enchiladas, are sprinkled with small pieces of green and red chiles, that give off a slight tingle of chile heat after each bite. It takes real guts to make mass produced Mexican food spicy.

The only slight drawback is the cheese. While flavorful, it is not Mexican in any way -- more like cheddar flavored Cheez Wiz, made to appeal to average American tastes. But on the good side, these enchiladas are fat ones, so you get your moneys' worth.

As with many cheap, frozen, Mexican meals they are loaded with ingredients, too many to read all the way through. So, this is something you don't want to eat too often.

On a scale of 1-9, 9 being best, I give El Charritos' Queso Dinner a solid 7 ! I deducted a couple of points for way too many chemicals and average tasting cheese. But it is definitely a step up from my usual Banquet frozen Mexican dinners.

Now, I could take off a point for false advertising, but I won't -- just compare the package photo at the top of this post and the microwaved plate in photo above! There is no stringy cheese on the beans, and the enchiladas are unrecognizable (and less visually appetizing) under a layer of cheese sauce.

 Click on image and begin to read the ingredient list!