Rosita’s Cheese Enchiladas

Enchilada sauce:

The enchilada sauce can be made a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator. If you do this, just reheat it in a saucepan and follow the assembly portion of the recipe.

In a large saucepan, bring the beef broth to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium/high.

In a heat proof measuring cup or small bowl, whisk 2 tablespoons of flour with 2 ladlefulls of hot broth, and mix until well combined. Return the flour mixture to the saucepan and whisk, combining well. Continue this ratio and this process until all the flour is incorporated into the broth.

Next, do the same with the chili spices: mix 2 tablespoons of chili spices with 2 ladlefulls of the broth, whisking to combine, then return the mixture to the saucepan. Use this ratio until all the chili spices are incorporated, whisking after each addition into the saucepan. Turn the heat to medium/low and add the cayenne pepper and salt. Adjust the seasonings if necessary and let the sauce thicken for about 5 minutes. The sauce will be on the thinner side.

Enchilada assembly:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Turn the heat on the burner down to low, so the sauce stays warm. In two 13×9 or large baking dishes, ladle some of the enchilada sauce to coat the bottom, so the enchiladas won’t stick when baking. Take your corn tortilla, hold at the edge, and dip into the sauce. Be careful not to burn your fingers. Hold in the sauce for 5-8 seconds or until softened. Don’t sumerge for too long, or the tortilla will fall apart.

Carefully transfer the tortilla to the baking dish. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup of cheese down the middle of the tortilla and fold the sides in toward the center, overlaping a bit to close. Repeat until all the tortillas are assembled. Ladle some sauce over the enchiladas and along the sides of the baking dishes, so they don’t dry out while in the oven. Store any left over sauce in the refrigerator for later use.

Sprinkle the remaining cheese and the green onion on top. Cover with heavy duty aluminum foil and bake for 30-45 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Serve with refried beans and Mexican rice.

* I prefer the flavor of the chili spices in Carroll Shelby’s Chili Kit, but any chili seasoning mix is fine. It is usually in the spice aisle at the market near all the spice packets.

Enjoy!