Enchiladas are wonderful things to make for dinner. You can make them as simple or as complicated as you want. Basically, you need a shell of some kind, and then you take a filling and roll it up in that shell, pour sauce over the whole thing, and then pop it in the oven. Enchiladas are really wonderful things!
For the shells, I go back and forth on my preference. Sometimes I use corn tortillas, but I have such troubles getting those to stay together, that I often reach for flour tortillas instead. Flour tortillas are good, and what I used the other night, but then I miss that corn flavor in the enchiladas. When I’m filling inspired I’ll make up a batch of Corn Crepes, which gives me the flexibility of a flour tortilla mixed with the flavor of a corn tortilla- it’s really the best of both worlds.
And the filling, well, let your imagination run wild! This time around, I used some leftover Pork Carnitas, which I mixed with a can of black beans and a pile of cheddar cheese. If I’d had some on hand, or thought to pick some up, a can of mild green chilies would have been wonderful as well. The meat and veggie possibilities really are endless for a good pan of enchiladas.
But what about the sauce? That’s one area I’ve not been consistent in. Honestly, I usually just blend up some tomatoes, salsa and other stuff, and call it a sauce, but more often than not, those sauces end up a little bland when baked up. I’ve definitely bought enchilada sauce before, but I really wanted something in which I could control the spice level. Spicey enchiladas would not be eaten by my kids, but a little spice was do-able. So I went searching for a good red enchilada sauce, made a few tweaks, and found something really delicious.
It really is as easy as the recipe sounds. The sauce came together very quickly, and even better, made enough for two large 9×13 pans of enchiladas. This means I have an extra jar of sauce in the freezer for the next time the enchilada bug strikes.
You can find Mexican oregano at Penzey’s Spices or other spice suppliers. It really imparts a much different flavor than regular oregano. If you can’t find the Mexican variety, you can substitute half a tablespoon of regular oregano, or just leave it out entirely.
Red Enchilada Sauce
1 (14.5 ounce) can tomato sauce 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes 1/3 cup mild chili powder 1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano 1 tablespoon paprika 2 teaspoons ground cumin 2 teaspoons ground black pepper 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon butter 1 onion, minced 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped Directions:In a medium saucepan combine tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, chili powder, Mexican oregano, paprika, cumin, pepper, salt and garlic. Cover and cook over medium heat.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until it begins to caramelize and turn a lovely golden brown; stir into sauce. Add the chopped bell pepper to the saute pan and saute it for about 2 minutes, or until the pepper loses it’s bright green color and begins to soften. Add the peppers to the sauce. Cook sauce for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.