Fucking Awesome Spinach Queso Enchiladas

These enchiladas are second only to the queso enchiladas at traditional hole-in-the-wall mexican restaurants. Below is the recipe:

Filling:
1/2 bag fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
1 red onion, chopped finely
8 oz quesadilla queso, grated (keep out a couple ounces for garnish)
4 oz goat cheese
1 tbl brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste
a little oil

Enchilada Sauce:
1 7oz can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 tbl brown sugar
1/2 cup or more water

13 corn tortillas

Saute onion on medium high for about 7 minutes, adding the brown sugar, salt and pepper at about minute 4. Throw in spinach for a minute or so; just enough to begin wilting it. Pour onion and spinach mixture into a bowl and mix the grated cheese and goat cheese in. While onions are sauteing put enchilada sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer over medium/low heat until heated through.

Cook tortillas in a skillet over medium heat for about 30 seconds on each side.

Put about 2 tablespoons of filling in each tortilla and place in a lightly greased 13x9 inch baking dish.

Bake for 20 minutes then pour the enchilada sauce over the enchiladas and top with the remaining cheese. Bake for another 10 minutes then let cool for about 5-10 minutes. Enjoy.

Shredded Chicken Enchiladas

These were heavenly! I am slightly embarrassed to say that me and my boyfriend ate the entire 13x10 inch pan of them in one night (Am I somewhat redeemed if I was drunk?). To be fair my partner had just finished a 60 mile training ride and I had gone running.

On a more recipe oriented note, these are kind of time consuming to make because of all the different steps, however, you can make the chicken filling on a different day (which is what I did) and just save some for this recipe.

Here you go:

Shredded Chicken Enchiladas
Spicy Shredded Chicken
Enchilada sauce (recipe below)
Cheese filling (recipe below)
10-13 Corn Tortillas
First make the cheese filling, then the enchilada sauce. Fill each tortilla with approximately 2 tablespoons or the chicken mixture and 1 tablespoon of the cheese filling.

Assembling the enchiladas

Roll up and put into at 13x10 inch pan (the enchiladas can be squished close together, I packed as many of those suckers in to the pan as I could). Cover with the enchilada sauce and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until the enchiladas are heated through. Should serve 4 people depending on how hungry they are and what accompaniments you have to the dish. Total dish has about 2689 calories (about 207 calories per enchilada).

Cheese Filling
1 cup shredded Mexican Cheese
1/2 – 1 cup shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese (I used the 2% reduced fat kind)
2 tablespoons Butter
2 tablespoons Flour
3/4 cups Milk 2 oz Cream Cheese
In a saucepan over low heat melt butter, add in flour and stir until you have a smooth paste-like mixture. Gradually add in the milk, stirring quickly so that no lumps form. Make sure to add in the milk fast enough so that the mixture doesn’t get too thick. (If, while you are adding in the milk the mixture starts to get too thick, pull off the heat and stir the rest of the milk in; then put back on the burner). Once the mixture has thickened to about the consistency of corn syrup add in the cheeses (including the cream cheese) and stir in just until melted. Pull off of heat and set aside.

Enchilada Sauce
Based on enchilada sauce recipe from Nobel Pig's cooking blog
1 Onion chopped very fine
1 1/2 tablespoons minced Garlic
1 15 oz can Tomato Puree
1 cup (approx) Chicken broth
3 teaspoons Chili Powder
2 tablespoons Vinegar
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Olive Oil

In a frying pan on medium-high, sauté onion and garlic in oil until the onion begins to turn translucent and caramelize (brown on the bottom). Add in the spices, and cook for a few minutes then add in the vinegar, tomato puree and chicken broth. Cook over medium-low heat stirring frequently. Add more chicken broth if needed to get the desired consistency for the sauce.