How to Make Enchiladas
There's a lot to love about the make-and-bake simplicity of enchiladas -- a tortilla wrapped around a mixture of fillings, dunked in sauce, and topped with cheese. The best part of making enchiladas is that they're completely customizable: Pick your favorite kind of tortilla, meat or bean, veggies, sauce, cheese, and go. Here are a few of our favorite enchilada recipes to get you started:
Step 1: Choose the tortillas
Corn tortillas are traditional for enchiladas, but flour tortillas also work. Choose 7- or 8-inch flour tortillas or 6-inch corn tortillas -- they fit best in most pans. Recipes vary, but for a 3-quart rectangular casserole dish, you will need about eight flour or corn tortillas.
Tip: Corn tortillas are more pliable and easier to roll if heated first. Wrap them in foil and bake in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes.
Step 2: Choose and prep the sauce
Covering enchiladas with sauce adds flavor and keeps them moist while cooking. Sauce recipes are abundant (see options below), or you can start simple by using canned enchilada sauce, canned Mexican-style tomatoes, or tomato or fruit salsa. Another popular sauce is the "Suiza" or "Swiss-style" cream sauce used in Enchiladas Suiza or Swiss Enchiladas
Some recipes suggest spreading a little sauce (1/2 cup for a 3-quart baking dish) on the bottom of the pan before adding enchiladas. This keeps the enchiladas from sticking to the pan or getting tough on the bottom.
Step 3: Choose and prep the filling
There are many different ways to fill an enchilada. Stir together a 10-minute black bean filling, braise beef or chicken in the slow cooker, opt for a seafood filling, or create your own with whatever ingredients you have on hand. Plan on about 1/3 cup filling per enchilada.
Step 4: Wrap the filling
Place the filling (about 1/3 cup per tortilla) onto one edge of each tortilla. Roll up tortillas and place them, seam side down, in a row in the pan. This deters the tortillas from curling up during baking and helps to keep them rolled.
Tip: If all the enchiladas don't fit in the pan crosswise, tuck some above your row. You can also bake them in two baking dishes or in individual baking dishes. You may need to shorten the baking time, however.
Step 5: Bake and serve
Most enchiladas are baked covered with foil until heated through. Oven temperatures and baking times vary per recipe, but on average they cook in a 350°F oven for about 25 minutes.
Sprinkle the cheese on top of the enchiladas after they are heated through. Return the pan to the oven to bake for about 5 minutes longer or until the cheese is melted. Let the enchiladas cool slightly on a cooling rack before serving.
Tip: Popular cheeses for enchiladas include shredded Monterey Jack or Chihuahua, or crumbled Cotija. Use 1/2 to 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of a 3-quart rectangular pan of enchiladas.
Tip: Snipped cilantro, sour cream, diced tomato, and shredded lettuce all make tasty enchilada toppers.
Make Homemade Dessert Nachos
Who doesn't love nachos? I mean, everyone knows it's a classic appetizer, but have you ever thought that you can have the same stackable fun for dessert? I'm gonna show you a couple of variations that I like to make, and then you can try this at home with whatever ingredients you'd like. So, all we're gonna do is make some sweet chips to replace our salty chips that you normally might use. I'm gonna take a plain flour tortilla and brush it with a little butter. And then I'm just gonna sprinkle it with something sweet, like cinnamon and sugar. That's what I'm using here, but what you can do is cocoa powder and sugar if you want something chocolate. So then, you just take a pizza cutter, cut them into wedges like you would want your chips to be, and then I'm just gonna put them on a baking pan that's covered with foil because that'll help with my cleanup later. And if you wanna do something really fun, you can bunch up your foil a little bit like I've done here and drape your tortillas right over the foil, and they'll come out a little bended after they're done broiling. This will make them maybe look a little bit more authentic. So now, I'm just gonna pop these under the broiler until they're a little bit crisp and golden, and they'll come out looking just perfect for our nachos. So, here's what they look like and I'm just gonna build my nachos now, which is the fun part. So, here, rather than using sour cream, beans, and cheese, like I might for a regular appetizer, I'm gonna use some yoghurt, fruit, and even some nuts. So I've got my nachos down. I'm just gonna dollop some yoghurt on top and then sprinkle with my toppers. Now, this variation is a little bit more healthy, so I like to use this when my girl friends come over because we've always gotta have something to eat when we hang out. Here's my berries, add a little bit of blueberries, too. And then sprinkle with some nuts. It's a perfect little dessert that's a little bit healthy, too.
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