For Sherri...Restuarant Style Enchiladas

This is so for Sherri...but I will let you share this oh so yummy recipe.....so easy...so quick and so truly better then a restuarant's....

I believe in quick and easy...with so many mouths to feed...it needs to be that way...or I loose energy and there is no one left to clean up! That is a bad thing!

...and....

I am starting to get a phobia about eating in restaurants...do we really know what they put in the food...do they wash their hands...do they spit in my food, because I complain....or made a face because I take issue with the cleanliness of their walls (and hello...have you seen kitchen nightmares on fox....I have gagged more then once!)

So I am searching more and more for our favorite restuarant foods so that I don't have to go out...

and oh yeah..

the whole not having a job thing...puts a damper on eating out....but who is complaining! As long as I have good food..

So Sherri here is your recipe for Restaurant style cheese enchiladas

• canola oil
• 12 corn tortillas
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 cup of salsa. (I used my canned roasted tomato salsa and please DO NOT use salsa made with fresh, uncooked tomatoes for this dish, it won't taste right.)
• 3 Tbsp of tomato paste
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup of canned crushed tomatoes (preferably fire roasted)
• Olive oil
• 1 lb of jack cheese, mild cheddar or longhorn or any mild yellow cheese, grated
• A handful of cilantro
• 1 cup of sour cream
• Half a head of iceberg lettuce

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large fry pan at high heat add 3 Tbsp of canola oil. Add a tortilla to the pan. Cook for 2-3 seconds, lift up the tortilla with a spatula, add another tortilla underneath. Cook for 2-3 seconds, lift again, both tortillas, and add another tortilla underneath. Repeat the process with all the tortillas, adding a little more oil if needed. This way you can brown and soften the tortillas without using a lot of fat. You do this process to develop the flavor of the tortillas. As the tortillas brown a little, remove from the pan one by one to rest on a paper towel, which absorbs any excess fat. Sauté up the chopped onion and garlic, then turn off the heat. Add 1 cup of salsa. Dissolve 3 Tbsp of tomato paste into 1 cup of water, add to pan. Add 1 cup of crushed fire roasted canned tomatoes. Taste. If the sauce tastes too vinegary, add a teaspoon of sugar. Put some olive oil on the bottom of a large casserole pan. Take a tortilla, cover 2/3 of it lightly with the shredded cheese, then roll up the tortilla and place it in the casserole pan. Continue until all tortillas are filled and rolled. Add sauce to the top of the tortillas in the the casserole pan. Make sure all are covered with the sauce. If not, add a little water. Cover the whole thing with the rest of the grated cheese. Put the casserole in the oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese melts. Garnish with cilantro and sour cream. Serve with sliced iceberg lettuce that has been dressed only with vinegar and salt.

I know what you are thinking...the iceberg lettuce with vinegar...but it really adds a crisp flavor....

I also added  about 2 tablespoons of refried beans (the church dried refried beans that come in a ten can...they are the best!) to the enchiladas.....you could anything....mean onions....so good!!  You can't get them wrong!


This recipe serves about four so of course I tripled..or was it quadrupled...but anyways it was...it wasn't enough...it sounded like a pack of rabid wolves at the table!  They licked their plates clean....

I also added fresh tomatoes and fresh avocados for garnish.......

Is it midnight yet?  I think it is time for a snack...and um, I secretly made another pan of them......I have to be sneaky that way!!

Love yer guts!!