Saucy.

We are BIG Mexican food fanatics over here. It's pretty much the only food that all three kids will eat without complaint. (Well, the only food without sugar, that is.) So we eat it a lot.

Last night I made Gary's favorite dish of mine: enchiladas.

When we were first married I made enchiladas the Easy/Hard way. The easy part was canned enchilada sauce, which isn't bad but is, well, canned. The hard part of my old method was trying to heat the tortillas in oil with tongs until they were soft while also trying (unsuccessfully) not to splatter myself with oil. I hated that part.

Then I came across a great recipe for enchilada sauce. And I've never gone back to canned. So now I make enchiladas the Easy/Easy way. This sauce recipe is very easy, and my mother-in-law showed me a much easier way to soften those tortillas.

And since you're my friends, I'll show you.

First, pour one 10.5-ounce can of beef consomme into a measuing cup and add enough water to measure 2 cups. Pour into a saucepan. Add 1/2 cup melted butter, 1/2 cup flour, 5-6 cloves pressed garlic, two 8-ounce cans tomato sauce, 2 Tbsp. chili powder, 2 tsp. rubbed sage, and 1 tsp. ground cumin and whisk until smooth.


Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until smooth and thickened. Resist urge to eat it by the spoonful, and set aside.

Now for the toughest part of the enchilada-making process. Grate one package of monterey jack cheese and try not to eat it all out of the bowl. (Is is just me, or is grated cheese even tastier than cheese in block form?)

To soften the corn tortillas - and here's the ingenious part - spray both sides of each tortilla with Pam cooking spray. Stack the tortillas on a plate, cover with a paper towl and heat in microwave for 1-2 minutes, or until all of the tortillas are soft and don't crack when you bend them. (Wasn't that SO much easier than dipping them in hot oil?)


Once the tortillas are soft, spread a little sauce in the bottom of an 11x13 baking dish. Fill each corn tortilla with cheese and any meat of your choosing. I usually add chicken, but was in a hurry last night so we went the vegetarian route. Place the enchiladas in the dish and cover with sauce and some more cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.


Yum. So yum, in fact, that we ate it so fast I didn't have a chance to take a picture of the melted cheese version.

And they go great with these beans and rice.

¡Que sabroso!