Cheese Enchiladas

I have spent what feels like a very good amount of time lately at other people's houses cooking, eating and celebrating all kinds of wonderful things. It's been a hoot and while I'm totally exhausted (still) I came away with some interesting new insights. Really, I gained new, important, valuable, eye opening information whilst celebrating my holidays away.

lovely Christmas dinner table

This is what I mean about always learning, by the way. I'm completely enthralled with the act and idea of learning something new, no matter how inconsequential it may seem to anyone else. For example, I recently made tamales at a good friend's house. This is the same fabulously roomy (space! What a hot commodity!) kitchen that housed our Wednesday Thanksgiving this year and where I spent a good day making ninjabread men in ugly sweaters (see pic below if you don't believe me). I noticed the same thing on all occasions- cleaning as you go. It happens. Seriously, I saw it.

This is how it went down: 

We prepped.
Then someone jumped in and washed everything we just used to prep. There were 4 or 5 of us, so those extra hands were nice, but on the day I was making cookies and just one other person was prepping and cooking wildly, then she did all the cleaning solo. 
Then we cooked some of the previously prepped stuff.
Then, like magic, someone cleaned it all up!*

When we sat down to eat, everything was cleaned and the kitchen was immaculate. It was impressive, to say the least. 

*Yes, sometimes it was me, but mostly it was not. I just stared in awe.

ninja bread men in ugly sweaters

I have heard about such things occuring, but I have never experienced them myself (or I wasn't paying attention, my mom's kitchen never seemed messy but I was probably off in la-la land while all that cleaning occurred) I cook mostly at home, alone in my decently sized but relatively tiny kitchen and I just make one mess after another. It's kind of how I seem to roll through life, leaving organized chaos in my midst. I know where it all is, but it looks kinda nutty to the casual observer.
Dylan is always commenting on my ability to take a spotless kitchen and go all tasmanian devil on it with one fail swoop of my wooden spoon.

It's a bit demoralizing, really. I never want to cook after I've spent a good chunk of time scrubbing the kitchen down. And cooking is what I really love to do. It's quite a conundrum.

This is when my frozen meals really blow my mind. I have about twenty frozen soups and pastas ready for just this moment, when my kitchen looks great and I'm spent and I do not particularly like to get takeout or eat out on week nights. I used to throw down some delicious frozen meals from trader joes on nights like this, but I feel a little better about the stuff I make myself. We do the occasional gnocchi, no lie, but I know all the ingredients in my frozen potato leek soup and that soothes my weary soul (ha! weary. a bit dramatic, I know).

homemade enchilada sauce

Here is one of our favorite meals I keep in the freezer. Just a note: it's such a fabulous recipe that I never get a chance to take a picture of the final result... how unsatisfying, I'm so very sorry. You'll just have to make it yourself to see what it looks like I guess. Then take a picture and send it to me so I have a frame of reference, ok?

These enchiladas were inspired by the Pioneer Woman's recipe for sour cream enchiladas. The only real change is the fact that I didn't like the ingredients in the enchilada sauce, so I made my own- dag nabbit.
I got this step, adding a bit of sauce to the mixture going in, from the custodian at my school. She gave me what is probably a killer enchilada recipe, but I haven't tried it yet because I'm so in love with this one. Soon! Soon.

By the way,  I'm under no delusion that these are 'healthy'. They are super tasty and satisfying and a great treat for after you've rolled out all the sod for your backyard (finally! yes! That happened! And I made enchiladas to celebrate! I love exclamation points! and cheese.)

Step by Step: Filling and rolling your enchiladas

Doing all these steps within the pan itself is genius and I thank my school custodian again for that tip. Makes so much sense! It's the kind of thing I might never ever think of myself.

Whenever I make these, I double the batch and make some more to freeze- though this batch makes two little 9x9 freezer trays pretty easily. This way, we never run out. Oh yeah. Enchiladas, always at hand. It's just how things work over here. 

Cheese Enchiladas
serves 6 (or two very hungry people twice with leftovers!)

inspired by the Pioneer Woman's Sour Cream Enchiladas 


print this recipe 

ingredients

2 15oz cans of tomato sauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon+ chili powder (adjust to your taste)
1/2 tablespoon cumin
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups sour cream
2 1/2 - 3 cups grated cheese (cheddar or jack work well)
about 1 cup chopped scallions
12 corn tortillas (or a flour/corn hybrid- I love those)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Get your 9x13 baking pan ready. 


Put the two cans of tomato sauce in a medium sauce pan over medium high/medium heat. Add the oil and the seasonings and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer until the sauce retains that dark red color you know you're waiting for, about 10 minutes.
Mix the grated cheese, scallions and sour cream in a medium sized bowl. Add a dollop of the enchilada sauce and mix together.

Get your set up just right, I prefer to heat the tortillas up in the sauce as opposed to in oil, but you can use oil if you wish. I have a small frying pan loaded with some sauce heating up to about medium. Then I add the tortilla for a quick bath in the sauce, flip it over after about 15 seconds and then toss it in the 9 x 13 in pan, where you intend for it to end up, and fill it and roll it right in there. Continue with the rest of the enchiladas. Top with extra sauce and cheese and bake until the cheese is bubbly, 15-20 minutes.


Enjoy!
-m

Goat Cheese and Cucumber Bruschetta

I love goat cheese.
I love bread.
I love fresh herbs.
I love vinagrettes.
I love cucumber.

It's as if this little appetizer was made for my palette. 

This is one of those appetizer things that you might get somewhere and think- genius! If only I could do that!- without ever realizing how amazingly simple it is to create. I remember when I saw the recipe and started imaging the flavors playing so well together, I just had to have it.

You could really make it look nice too, but I didn't have time (or desire, I don't know if 'pretty food' is in my repertoire) to pretty it up too much. Besides, the food speaks for itself- it says "it's not what's on the outside, but how I burst with flavor and scrumdiddlyumptiousness inside that counts" 

I'm so glad I made it that first time. I've made it a few times and each time I love it. With all the fresh flavors and tart goat cheese, it just works so darn well.

Want to know a secret? I used to be afraid of goat cheese. Yeah. Who wants to eat something with the word 'goat' in it? Turns out, I do. And so do a lot of other fabulous people. Don't be afraid, goat cheese is amazing. Baa. Or is it, bleeaat? 

Make this when you are having people over and you want a quick snack because, oops, the main course is going to take an hour longer than you planned. Or make this tonight, to make your Monday night dinner seem fancy and to welcome the week with open arms! You will rock this week! This week has nothing on you, you had an appetizer with dinner- an appetizer on a Monday!- who does this week think it is? This week will be amazing with a start like this!

Am I convincing you, or me there?

The cucumber can be used in a few ways, here we stuck it between the cheese and bread. Other times we used it in place of the bread-it was divine both ways and a big thick slice of cucumber is just what this recipe was begging for.


Goat Cheese and Cucumber Bruschetta  
(what's the deal with bruschetta? is it just 'stuff you put on bread so you don't feel bad about just having bread before eating a big meal'? or not? I must do research) 
adapted from Real Simple: Best Recipes, Easy, Delicious Meals 

Time: 10 minutes, seriously. 
Serves: 8 people well, 4 people 'till they're stuffed. 

ingredients

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
salt and pepper
1 small shallot, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of any fresh herbs you have on hand (I used rosemary, chives and thyme- parsley, basil and dill would be great too)
8 thick slices of bread
8oz of soft goat cheese
1 English cucumber, sliced (about 1/4- 1/2 inch thick) 

In a small bowl whisk together pretty much everything except the bread and cheese. You can start with the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, honey and salt/pepper- then toss in the herbs and shallots after that's mixed nicely.

Here's where you get to be creative: you can drizzle the vinagrette on the bread, then spread the cheese and place a cumber on top, or drizzle after assembling the bread/cheese/cucumber- or however you please! That's the beauty of it. There's no wrong way, to eat this bruschetta.

Enjoy!
-m