Tidbits & Nuggets

Enchiladas are not Manicotti

I am a native Californian. You'd have thought that I'd have enchiladas down cold. Growing up we ate them out, at Lupe's, not at home. Every attempt I've made resulted in mushy tortillas that fell apart. Apparently I was under the impression that enchiladas were manicotti and needed to be covered with sauce. Someone brought homemade enchiladas into the office and I realized that the sauce should only come about halfway up the enchilada. I made them for my dad and used queso fresco. They came out great. I tried them out on my significant other, who grew up eating at Sal's, and loves good Mexican food. He actually said these words "Yummy, yummy, yummy!" He's not exactly prone to flattery so I felt that I had a victory. I'm still not confident in sauce making so I used an authentic Select brand enchilada sauce and the recipe that came with it. Here's the technique:

1 jar enchilada sauce
water
corn tortillas
1 small can chopped green chilis
chopped or shredded chicken
8 oz Mexican blend grated cheese
4 oz queso fresco
chopped green onions for garnish

Pour 1/2 the jar of sauce into a pan along with half again as much water. Heat just until warm.

Pour enough sauce to cover the bottom of a 13x9 inch pan.

Take a corn tortilla and soften it in the warmed enchilada sauce. Lay it in in the pan. Sprinkle 1-2 TB green chilis, 1-2 ounces of the cheese blend and a handful of chicken. Don't oversuff. Roll up putting the seam on the bottom. Continue with the rest of the tortillas until the pan is filled. Pour more sauce over the rolled tortillas until it's about halfway up the enchiladas. Sprinkle with more cheese. Cook 20 minutes or so and sprinke with queso fresco. Cook another 10 minutes or so until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly. Sprinkle with green onions.