Years ago my friend Lily (who is Latina) told me about some cheese enchiladas that she makes for her family. I have made them ever since and have adapted ("gringofied") the recipe over the years. I made them for Cinco de Mayo and took notes to share here. Brian and I love them. They're not low fat and they are a bit labor intensive, but they are delicious and different than the cheese enchiladas you get at a Tex-Mex restaurant.
Download Lily's Cheese Enchiladas
Here's what you'll need:
1 round package of queso fresco (it's very addictive...I love the taste of it...reminds me of ricotta salata)
1 package of either queso asadero, Monterey jack, or queso quesadilla
12-16 corn tortillas
¼ cup corn oil
1 can enchilada sauce
1 (10 oz) can of diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained
**A bunch of paper towels to drain the tortillas on**
Optional—sour cream, jalepenos, avocado, black bean and corn salad (recipe coming soon)
Preheat the oven to 300. Dice up the queso fresco and grate the other cheese you choose. Set aside and reserve ½ cup for the top of the casserole.
In a medium skillet, heat corn oil on medium high heat for 3-5 minutes. When you put the first tortilla in it should quickly begin to bubble around the edges. If it doesn’t it’s not hot enough yet, wait another minute and try again. Lightly fry each tortilla for about 20-30 seconds until they are just getting slightly stiff. Pull out and drain on paper towels. Repeat steps until all tortillas are fried.
Mix enchilada sauce and diced tomatoes.
Spread ¼ cup of mixture onto the bottom of a 8x8 square baking dish.
Take one tortilla, sprinkle some of each cheese inside, roll, and place in baking dish seam side down.
Repeat the step until all tortillas are filled.
Top with remaining sauce and cheese.
Bake at 300 for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Yum!
Posted by: Kelly | May 09, 2011 at 10:55 AM