Sour Cream Enchiladas

I thought that I couldn't make enchiladas that remotely represented the ones served in authentic Mexican restaurants. But I can, thanks to this recipe and the fact that I will go to my grave using corn tortillas, no matter how much they flake and fall apart. These enchiladas, from one of Penzey's recipe cards that are free to take from their store, get as close as I've ever gotten to authentic taste.

SOUR CREAM ENCHILADAS

1 1/4 lbs. lean ground beef
1 c. sour cream, regular or light
1/2 c. chopped onion (1 small)
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 4 oz. can chopped green chiles
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. Chili Con Carne seasoning or chili powder
12 corn tortillas
1 10 oz. can red enchilada sauce
Vegetable oil for frying

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown the ground beef. Remove from heat and drain any fat. Add to the beef the sour cream, onions, 1/2 cup of the cheese, the green chiles and seasonings. Mix well and set aside. Fill a deep skillet with oil, about 2" deep, roughly 2 cups. Heat the oil over medium-high heat. Dip each tortilla, one at a time, into the oil and cook until softened, 1-2 minutes. Then dip each fried tortilla into the enchilada sauce. Spoon 2-3 TB of meat mixture down center of each tortilla, roll, and place in an ungreased glass baking dish. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the tortillas and top with the remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Sabrosas. (Delicious.)

Now, let's talk for a second...or I guess let ME type for a few more seconds. Here are some tips if you're making these for the first time:

1. Season everything to taste. Since the meat mixture is cooked, this is a great opportunity to make it taste exactly the way you want it. If you like onions or cheese, add a little more. If not, add less. I'm not a big green chile fan, so I don't go out my way to buy them for this recipe. Not a big deal. I didn't have Penzey's "Chili Con Carne" seasoning, but I did have their "Chili 9000" and it worked perfectly. The cumin is very important. I'm sure I use more like 1 - 2 teaspoons, instead of 1/2 tsp.

2. The one thing I would NOT recommend would be to use a package of orange taco seasoning.

3. Working with corn tortillas can be frustrating. They are dry unless you heat them, and even then they tend to break apart. I noticed that if my oil wasn't hot enough, the tortillas would break up in my tongs when I tried to remove them. The idea of dunking tortillas into a pool of oil didn't really sit well with me, so I just drizzled my pan with oil and added more as needed.

4. Make yourself a little assembly line. If you're flying solo, you'll need to heat tortilla, remove onto paper towel lined plate for a second, dip in enchilada sauce, fill, roll, and place in pan. Then start all over.

5. Since corn tortillas usually come in big packs of 30, it might be wise to double up the meat recipe and freeze some or give away to someone you really like.

6. Have more enchilada sauce and cheese on hand. Maybe you won't need to open it after all, but it's nice to have plenty and be able to cover your whole dish, especially if your husband likes extra sauce and cheese like mine does.

OK--es la hora de cocinar! (Time to cook!)