These enchiladas are a family recipe that has been handed down from my kids great grandma who was from Arizona. We call them "Grandma Webb's Enchiladas" at our house, and I haven't met a single kid who doesn't love them! Only a few simple ingredients, an easy assembly method, and a few quick minutes in the oven and you have a delicious dinner on the table. Serve with a salad or fruit, or if you want to get really "arizonan", top it with a fried egg!
Arizona-style Enchiladas
Servings 4-6
1 15-oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 7-oz. can El Pato Hot Tomato Sauce (key ingredient!)
Oil for frying
Corn tortillas
Shredded Mexican cheese
Toppings of choice: sour cream, guacamole, fried egg
In a saucepan, combine the tomato sauce and 1/2 can of El Pato Hot Tomato Sauce. Simmer over low heat with lid for 15-20 minutes. Heat oil in a small skillet to 350°F. Fry the corn tortillas one at a time, flipping half way through, just until slightly crunchy and no longer flexible. Drain on paper towels.
To assemble, dip fried tortilla into tomato sauce and layer on plate with mexican cheese in between layers. Top with more cheese. Put in a 350°F oven and bake for 5 minutes or until cheese is completely melted. Add each plate after assembling, then you can start removing them as they are melted. Be careful when handling the plates - they are hot! Serve with desired toppings.
Step-by-step tutorial:
Before making these, I go around and ask each family member how many tortillas they want in their enchilada. It can depend on their hunger level, but usually my littlest kids will do one, medium kids two, adults and bigger kids 3+. Teenage boys will say 5 or 6 - haha.
Gather your ingredients. The El Pato Hot Tomato Sauce can usually be found in the Hispanic section of your grocery store. It is really what gives these enchiladas their unique flavor.
Pour the tomato sauce and 1/2 of the can of El Pato into a saucepan.
Cover the sauce with a lid and allow it to simmer on low heat while you prepare the tortillas. It can also simmer longer if you want the sauce a little thicker. Pour about a 1/2 inch of oil in a frying pan.
Get the oil to around 350°F.
Start frying the tortillas one at a time. It will only take a minute per side to get them to a point of not being flimsy. We aren't going for too much browning here. Be sure to flip them over and fry both sides.
Then remove to paper towels to drain.
When all the tortillas are fried, get your dinner plates and start assembling. Dip each tortilla in the tomato sauce so that it is covered with sauce on both sides.
Place the tortilla on a dinner plate.
Top with Mexican cheese. Then repeat with however many tortillas you need per enchilada.
As you stack the sauced tortillas, sprinkle cheese between each layer and then top with cheese at the end.
Place in a 350°F oven and let the cheese melt. I put them in one at a time as I assemble them.
After about 5 minutes the cheese will be all melted and bubbly.
Carefully remove from the oven (plates will be hot!) and serve.
We like to top them with sour cream. You could also try topping with a fried egg! Think of a Saguaro cactus and Arizona sunset while eating. Delicious!
Recipe Source: Shanna's recipe box