I am generally not someone who enjoys spicy food. I don't know why -- my tastebuds simply are not cut out for it -- but occasionally, I do treat myself to some Mexican food. Granted, it has to be the most mild Mexican food that particular restaurant or venue offers, but it still satisfies my craving.
Cue earlier this week. That same craving for Mexican food returned out of the blue, except this time, instead of running to the nearest On the Border, I decided, "Hey, I'm supposed to be learning this whole cooking thing -- why don't I cook myself some enchiladas?" And thus began my online quest for a recipe that looked both delicious and easy.
Usually I alternate between a few sites to find recipes (my favorites are FoodNetwork.com, FoodGawker.com and Pinterest) or my mom will have one handy and leave it out for me. Whenever I look for a recipe on the Food Network website, I filter them by difficulty level so that I don't get in over my head and end up burning down my kitchen.I settled on one by Emeril that was labeled as "Easy," but still looked foreign enough to me that it would render itself a challenge. Tuesday afternoon, my mother and I went to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients not already found in our pantry, and then I came home to begin cooking.
Most of the ingredients for the recipe were some that I had never used before. Granted, I haven't cooked much, but I also haven't seen my mom use Mexican Chili Powder very often either. I decided to use a few shortcuts, such as some already cooked chicken and the already shredded cheese, because I was trying to get dinner on the table by 6 o'clock at the latest, and if you can note the very small number on the microwave, it was already quarter of 5.
The enchilada cooking process could be broken down into essentially three parts: making the sauce, making the filling, and baking in the oven. In hindsight, it was actually a fairly easy recipe, but of course, during the actual cooking, I asked my mom a million questions ranging from "Wait, which sauce pan should I use?" to "How do you chop an onion?" I am not ashamed to admit I asked those questions -- I am learning! And there is no such thing as a stupid question right?
I made the sauce first. All I really had to do was mix most of the ingredients in a pot, adding them in one at a time. I doubled up on the sauce recipe to make sure that I didn't skimp on what was the most important part of the enchiladas.
Mixing the filling was even easier than the sauce. All I had to do was mixed the shredded chicken, cheese and chopped onion in a bowl to later wrap in the tortillas. I asked my mom if I would cry while chopping the onion, to which she responded "Maybe," but while I was chopping the onion, I forgot about the "tear factor" and didn't. Maybe this means I'm a super human cook. Or maybe it means I didn't chop enough onion.
After preparing the sauce and the filling, I now had to combine all of the enchilada goodness into the casserole dish. The recipe suggested dipping the tortillas in oil (on a skillet) then draining them to make them easier to roll, but I didn't think that part was necessary. All it ended up doing was causing me to make a bigger mess. If anything, I read that other recipes suggested warming the tortillas in the oven wrapped in aluminum foil. That probably would have been easier and would have required less dishes for me to wash later.
To create the actual enchilada dish, all you really have to do is put the filling into the enchilada, and then add some sauce inside and on top of the enchilada. The recipe also suggested that you dip the tortillas in the sauce, but all I could see in my mind was one HUGE mess, so I decided to modify that part to appease my mother. I rolled the enchiladas and placed them seam-side down into the casserole dish, then baked for 30 minutes.
Okay, so the enchiladas did not look particularly appealing, but if you were in the kitchen, it certainly smelled amazing. All of the spices -- especially the chili powder and cumin -- were so aromatic as my dad walked to the kitchen, all he could say was "that smells so good!" I let the enchiladas sit for a few minutes before serving, and I have to say, they weren't that bad for my first Mexican attempt. My dad went back for seconds, which is always a good sign, and I found that it was spicy, but not too spicy that I couldn't eat it. Overall, it was another successful cooking attempt by the self-proclaimed messy amateur chef.
Cue earlier this week. That same craving for Mexican food returned out of the blue, except this time, instead of running to the nearest On the Border, I decided, "Hey, I'm supposed to be learning this whole cooking thing -- why don't I cook myself some enchiladas?" And thus began my online quest for a recipe that looked both delicious and easy.
Usually I alternate between a few sites to find recipes (my favorites are FoodNetwork.com, FoodGawker.com and Pinterest) or my mom will have one handy and leave it out for me. Whenever I look for a recipe on the Food Network website, I filter them by difficulty level so that I don't get in over my head and end up burning down my kitchen.I settled on one by Emeril that was labeled as "Easy," but still looked foreign enough to me that it would render itself a challenge. Tuesday afternoon, my mother and I went to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients not already found in our pantry, and then I came home to begin cooking.
Most of the ingredients for the recipe were some that I had never used before. Granted, I haven't cooked much, but I also haven't seen my mom use Mexican Chili Powder very often either. I decided to use a few shortcuts, such as some already cooked chicken and the already shredded cheese, because I was trying to get dinner on the table by 6 o'clock at the latest, and if you can note the very small number on the microwave, it was already quarter of 5.
The enchilada cooking process could be broken down into essentially three parts: making the sauce, making the filling, and baking in the oven. In hindsight, it was actually a fairly easy recipe, but of course, during the actual cooking, I asked my mom a million questions ranging from "Wait, which sauce pan should I use?" to "How do you chop an onion?" I am not ashamed to admit I asked those questions -- I am learning! And there is no such thing as a stupid question right?
 |
| My nose was not prepared for adding the chili powder... it certainly packed a punch |
I made the sauce first. All I really had to do was mix most of the ingredients in a pot, adding them in one at a time. I doubled up on the sauce recipe to make sure that I didn't skimp on what was the most important part of the enchiladas.
 |
| My mess, mid-cooking, as usual -- this was probably the biggest mess I made to date while cooking. I didn't think it was possible to be messier, but I surpassed my own expectations this time |
Mixing the filling was even easier than the sauce. All I had to do was mixed the shredded chicken, cheese and chopped onion in a bowl to later wrap in the tortillas. I asked my mom if I would cry while chopping the onion, to which she responded "Maybe," but while I was chopping the onion, I forgot about the "tear factor" and didn't. Maybe this means I'm a super human cook. Or maybe it means I didn't chop enough onion.
After preparing the sauce and the filling, I now had to combine all of the enchilada goodness into the casserole dish. The recipe suggested dipping the tortillas in oil (on a skillet) then draining them to make them easier to roll, but I didn't think that part was necessary. All it ended up doing was causing me to make a bigger mess. If anything, I read that other recipes suggested warming the tortillas in the oven wrapped in aluminum foil. That probably would have been easier and would have required less dishes for me to wash later.
To create the actual enchilada dish, all you really have to do is put the filling into the enchilada, and then add some sauce inside and on top of the enchilada. The recipe also suggested that you dip the tortillas in the sauce, but all I could see in my mind was one HUGE mess, so I decided to modify that part to appease my mother. I rolled the enchiladas and placed them seam-side down into the casserole dish, then baked for 30 minutes.
 |
| Bye-bye enchilada dish. You will emerge tasty and spicy and ready for devouring. |
Okay, so the enchiladas did not look particularly appealing, but if you were in the kitchen, it certainly smelled amazing. All of the spices -- especially the chili powder and cumin -- were so aromatic as my dad walked to the kitchen, all he could say was "that smells so good!" I let the enchiladas sit for a few minutes before serving, and I have to say, they weren't that bad for my first Mexican attempt. My dad went back for seconds, which is always a good sign, and I found that it was spicy, but not too spicy that I couldn't eat it. Overall, it was another successful cooking attempt by the self-proclaimed messy amateur chef.
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| I added chopped scallions and sour cream in an attempt to make the enchiladas look fancier and more appetizing. It kinda worked. |
They were delicious and the house didn't burn down. Good Job Angela!!
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