Our first My Kitchen My World country for the month of May is Mexico, in honor of Cinco de Mayo! We love Mexican (sometimes more Tex Mex than authentic) food at our house and I make it often. This dish is kind of a cheesy bean burrito bake, complete with homemade enchilada sauce based off Emeril's recipe for Easy Enchilada Sauce. I have to admit that I'd always used canned enchilada sauce, as much as I hate using canned ingredients, I just didn't think enchilada sauce was something you could make at home, unless you had a secret family recipe passed down from your abuela. But I did it, I finally made enchilada sauce at home, and it was wonderful.
Emeril's Easy Enchilada Sauce
with my modifications in italics
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup chili powder -- I dropped it down to 2 tablespoons, didn't want it too spicy for the kids
2 cups chicken stock -- I used vegetable stock
10 ounces tomato paste -- I used a small 6 ounce can and it was plenty
1 teaspoon dried oregano -- might leave this off next time
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
In a medium saucepan heat oil, add flour, smoothing and stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook for 1 minute. Add chili powder and cook for 30 seconds. Add stock, tomato paste, oregano, and cumin. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. The sauce will thicken and smooth out. Adjust the seasonings. Serve atop your favorite enchiladas.
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I will be using this recipe again for sure and playing with the spices. It is so easy and tastes much better than the canned enchilada sauce. I found this recipe makes just enough for one 9 by 13 dish of enchiladas/baked burritos. Next up is a recipe for one of my favorite 'comfort dishes' made even better by the homemade enchilada sauce...
Easy Cheesy Bean Burrito Bake
5 ten inch flour tortillas, make sure your use a brand you know and like (or make your own)
4 cups of a Mexican style cheese, shredded
I used Chihuahua Queso Blanco this time and it was wonderful1 cup shredded cheddar (or other complimentary cheese, like Monterrey jack)
2 1/2 cups enchilada sauce
2 cups refried beans, you could also use mashed black beans, whatever you have on hand
10 jumbo black olives, sliced
Preheat oven to 375. Spray a 9 by 13 glass pyrex baking dish with non-stick spray. Pour 1 cup of enchilada sauce over the bottom of the baking dish and spread around to make a thin layer.
Lay a tortilla flat and scoop about 1/3 cup beans and spread down the center of the tortilla. Add about 1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese on top of the beans.
Roll up burrito style, and place, seam side down, into the enchilada sauce in the baking dish.
Repeat with remaining four tortillas, you should have about 1 cup of Mexican cheese left over, and your 1 cup of cheddar.
Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the filled tortillas, you can use a spoon back to spread it around, you want to cover most of the tortilla with sauce.
Mix the Mexican cheese and cheddar together and sprinkle over the top of your sauce covered filled tortillas. Sprinkle on the sliced black olives.
Cover the baking dish tightly with some aluminum foil that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray (spray side down towards the burritos). Bake for 30 minutes at 375, then carefully remove from oven, remove the aluminum foil, and return to the oven for 10 more minutes until the cheese is sligtly browned and bubbly. I sometimes just turn on broil for a minute or two to get the cheese bubbly, instead of the extra 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.
These are great with a dollop of sour cream, some Mexican rice, shredded lettuce, all of your usual taco toppings and sides. They are also so easy to personalize with different fillings, definitely one of my favorite easy dinners.
