Garlic Beef Enchiladas
So I'm not always the most organized cook in the kitchen. I have an awful habit of starting to make a recipe without reading and re-reading it the whole way through. I'll always read the recipe before I decide to make it, but then once I actually start preparing the food I totally forget to read through the instructions so I know if I need to be multi-tasking or not. This was sort of one of those cases. At least I was smart enough to chop my onion up before starting to cook the beef.
Oh my god, I did that one time when I first started cooking, why did I think it wouldn't take me that long to chop an onion? I don't know, but I must be the world's slowest chopper too. That was a disaster. That and I was trying to make biscuit dinner roll things at the same time. Flour everywhere. Anyways, that's a different story for a different time. These Enchiladas mainly consisted of me running back and forth from the stove to my trusty cookbook while trying to dodge two large dogs. I only stepped on my husky once...well twice.
I really liked this recipe, it was just a different spin on enchiladas, the garlic flavor in the beef was really different from other enchiladas I've had or made. Also, this recipe is a perfect example for me to show that not everything turns out perfectly the first time you make it. Case and point...my enchiladas really ended up being more like...well I almost ate them out of a bowl. They just wouldn't keep their shape. Yet still, quite tasty!
OK let's get started with these yummy enchiladas! Here's what you'll need...
The meat mixture:
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped (I chopped mine into small/medium pieces so they would blend in with the beef)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon chili powder (little extra if you want that extra kick!)
1 teaspoon salt (I cut it down a little, I just don't like a lot of salt in my foods)
1 teaspoon garlic powder (extra of this is a nice touch)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (I love cumin, it adds so much flavor)
1/4-1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
1 can (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes, chop these up a bit so you don't have random bites of huge tomato chunks
The Enchilada sauce:
4-6 garlic cloves, minced (I crush mine in my garlic press)
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 can (14.5 oz) beef broth
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1-2 tablespoons chili powder (I did closer to 2, but I love chili powder. love, love, love it!)
1-2 teaspoons ground cumin (use your best judgement taste, taste, taste!!)
1-2 teaspoons rubbed sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 flour tortillas (6 or 8 inches) (get some name brand ones...otherwise you might run into the problem that I did with the tortillas crumbling before you even cook them. Grrrrr annoying)
2 cups shredded Colby-Monterey Jack Cheese, I used more because I love cheese!!
Oh wonderful, I just re-read my recipe....warm the tortillas. Oops didn't do that, maybe that's why it went wrong. Genius Kendra, genius. Anywho let's get started!
Grab a large saucepan or skillet, I used my 11in non-stick one, and cook the beef and onion over a medium heat until the beef is no longer pink. Once it's all cooked drain the beef. Return to the stove and blend in the flour and spices until they are well blended into the beef and onion. After that stir in the tomatoes, juices and all from the can!
Bring this deliciousness to a boil. After about a minute or two reduce the heat to a low setting, cover it up and let this simmer for about 15 minutes. While this is all simmering and coming together yummily (yes I'm making up my own words), you can get started on the sauce.
Grab a saucepan, I used my 3-quart non-stick Cuisinart one. Saute the garlic in the 1/3 cup of butter until it's tender. This should only be a couple of minutes (I define a couple minutes as 2-3). Stir in the flour until it's blended and smooth, this will create the roux for the sauce.
This is what my roux looked like, it smelled so nice and garlicy. Oh so yummy!! Once you're at this step, gradually stir in the beef broth. Then bring it to a boil. Keep it boiling and stir it until the mixture thickens up, should take about 2-4 minutes depending on your stove. Use your best judgement to tell when it's thickened up enough. Now that your sauce is thickened up...pause and just quickly check on your beef mixture. Does it look good? Does it look yummy? Does it look something like....
This? Yes? Good. OK now get back to your sauce!!
So we added the beef broth and thickened it up and we're stirring it. So now add in the tomato sauce and the seasonings. Heat the whole thing through for about 5 minutes. Taste it now!! Does it taste good? Are the spices balanced? Can you taste the garlic? If you can't throw in some garlic powder. Look at the color and the pretty, pretty swirl in the sauce.
OK so now you have your meat mixture and your sauce sitting on the stove and you're looking at it going..."Ok...how to I put these things together and get them to turn out nicely?" So as you're standing looking at the delicious food on the stove don't panic...like I sorta do every time I make a new recipe.
Preheat your oven to 350F right now, before you start putting this all together! Alrighty, so take about 1-1/2 cups of the sauce and pour it into an ungreased 13 x 9 in baking/casserole dish.
Boom! That's the start of slopping this all together! Now is when I recommend warming the tortillas...you know the step that I didn't do when I made these. Pop them in the microwave for about 10 seconds or something.
Scoop about a 1/4 cup of the beef mixture down the center of each tortilla then sprinkle it with about 1-2 tablespoons of cheese...or however much you want. A little cheese, a lot of cheese it's all good!
Roll up the tortillas lightly, gently, carefully if you will. Then again, GENTLY place the tortillas into the baking/casserole dish seam side down. Once you have all the tortillas in the dish and hopefully they don't look like mine here...
Oh my god, I did that one time when I first started cooking, why did I think it wouldn't take me that long to chop an onion? I don't know, but I must be the world's slowest chopper too. That was a disaster. That and I was trying to make biscuit dinner roll things at the same time. Flour everywhere. Anyways, that's a different story for a different time. These Enchiladas mainly consisted of me running back and forth from the stove to my trusty cookbook while trying to dodge two large dogs. I only stepped on my husky once...well twice.
I really liked this recipe, it was just a different spin on enchiladas, the garlic flavor in the beef was really different from other enchiladas I've had or made. Also, this recipe is a perfect example for me to show that not everything turns out perfectly the first time you make it. Case and point...my enchiladas really ended up being more like...well I almost ate them out of a bowl. They just wouldn't keep their shape. Yet still, quite tasty!
OK let's get started with these yummy enchiladas! Here's what you'll need...
The meat mixture:
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped (I chopped mine into small/medium pieces so they would blend in with the beef)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon chili powder (little extra if you want that extra kick!)
1 teaspoon salt (I cut it down a little, I just don't like a lot of salt in my foods)
1 teaspoon garlic powder (extra of this is a nice touch)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (I love cumin, it adds so much flavor)
1/4-1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
1 can (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes, chop these up a bit so you don't have random bites of huge tomato chunks
The Enchilada sauce:
4-6 garlic cloves, minced (I crush mine in my garlic press)
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 can (14.5 oz) beef broth
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1-2 tablespoons chili powder (I did closer to 2, but I love chili powder. love, love, love it!)
1-2 teaspoons ground cumin (use your best judgement taste, taste, taste!!)
1-2 teaspoons rubbed sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 flour tortillas (6 or 8 inches) (get some name brand ones...otherwise you might run into the problem that I did with the tortillas crumbling before you even cook them. Grrrrr annoying)
2 cups shredded Colby-Monterey Jack Cheese, I used more because I love cheese!!
Oh wonderful, I just re-read my recipe....warm the tortillas. Oops didn't do that, maybe that's why it went wrong. Genius Kendra, genius. Anywho let's get started!
Grab a large saucepan or skillet, I used my 11in non-stick one, and cook the beef and onion over a medium heat until the beef is no longer pink. Once it's all cooked drain the beef. Return to the stove and blend in the flour and spices until they are well blended into the beef and onion. After that stir in the tomatoes, juices and all from the can!
Grab a saucepan, I used my 3-quart non-stick Cuisinart one. Saute the garlic in the 1/3 cup of butter until it's tender. This should only be a couple of minutes (I define a couple minutes as 2-3). Stir in the flour until it's blended and smooth, this will create the roux for the sauce.
This? Yes? Good. OK now get back to your sauce!!
So we added the beef broth and thickened it up and we're stirring it. So now add in the tomato sauce and the seasonings. Heat the whole thing through for about 5 minutes. Taste it now!! Does it taste good? Are the spices balanced? Can you taste the garlic? If you can't throw in some garlic powder. Look at the color and the pretty, pretty swirl in the sauce.
OK so now you have your meat mixture and your sauce sitting on the stove and you're looking at it going..."Ok...how to I put these things together and get them to turn out nicely?" So as you're standing looking at the delicious food on the stove don't panic...like I sorta do every time I make a new recipe.
 |
| Looks good doesn't it? Yes, yes it does now let's put it all together!! |
Boom! That's the start of slopping this all together! Now is when I recommend warming the tortillas...you know the step that I didn't do when I made these. Pop them in the microwave for about 10 seconds or something.
Scoop about a 1/4 cup of the beef mixture down the center of each tortilla then sprinkle it with about 1-2 tablespoons of cheese...or however much you want. A little cheese, a lot of cheese it's all good!
 |
| This is where I'm thinking 8in tortillas might be better, the 6in ones were just really small. |
Gaahh!! They're falling apart already!!! Noooooo!!! This is when I went, "eh, it's ok I'm going to cover it with sauce no one will know the difference." Ummm...yeah I was wrong. Oops, oh well didn't affect the taste, just the presentation. *Sad face*
Top the enchiladas off with the remaining sauce.
Doesn't look pretty...it's because my damn tortillas weren't warmed. I'm so annoyed with myself now. How did I miss that step?!?! Whatever, I was committed I was going through with these enchiladas whether they looked pretty or not. I was fricken hungry!!!
Cover and bake for about 30-35 minutes. During this time, clean, clean, clean all your dishes! I know, it sucks. I hate doing the dishes but it's so much easier now. You have the time to kill so just clean them!!
After the 30-35 minutes, uncover the enchiladas, sprinkle with the remaining cheese (or again as much as you want :-D ) and pop it back in the oven UNCOVERED for another 10 minutes or so, until the cheese is nice and gooey and melted.
 |
| I swear, the enchiladas are under there somewhere...Man I need to make this one again and perfect it. |
Alright, I recommend letting the enchiladas cool for a few minutes, this will up your chances of them holding their form when you take them out of the dish. I didn't even bother taking a picture of the enchiladas once I plated them because it didn't look like anything. Next time, if they turn out better I'll update this and post it. I have faith in me!
So like I've said before, sometimes things don't turn out the way you want them to. You just kinda gotta get over it and roll with whatever happens. In the kitchen. In life? I don't know, I would recommend making sure at least some things go your way, it's no fun if they don't right? Hopefully these turn out better for you if you choose to make these, I'm hoping the reason they didn't was because of the tortillas.
Anywho! Enjoy these delicious garlicy enchiladas!!
'Til Next Time!!
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