Tuesday Night Dinner

Apparently I am on a chipolte kick because tonight's dinner also features chipolte chilies in the form of enchiladas. This recipe was a big experiment and one that quite frankly I didn't have a whole lot of confidence in but my hatred of wasted food forced me to forge ahead and boy am I glad I did because it was pure deliciousness my friends.


This recipe emerged from a whole lot of left over pot roast and me being entirely sick of pot roast. Truth be told pot roast isn't really one of my favorites. I like it occasionally but I mostly make it because we have 1/4 of a cow in our freezer and Margot goes completely crazy for pot roast and has since she was about 7 months old. Finding myself with a stretch of free time and a strange burst of energy yesterday I decided to turn that leftover pot roast into something completely unlike itself. But I knew I needed some strong flavors to mask the Herby quality of pot roast and veggies hence the chipolte chili. If you don't regularly make enchiladas I strongly recommend you start. First they are easy and cheap, two they are crazy versatile and three they are great for re purposing leftovers and for feeding vegetarians. They are also great to make ahead of time and they freeze beautifully. And making homemade enchilada sauce is a great skill. Homemade enchilada sauce makes good enchiladas GREAT and it is so much yummier than the store bought varieties I've seen. Granted not the most beautiful food photography but trust me this is delicious.

Shredded beef enchiladas with homemade chipolte enchilada sauce

2 cups shredded cooked beef from pot roast
1 cup of mashed cooked potatoes and carrots from pot roast
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
8 soft corn tortillas

for sauce:
olive oil
2 14 oz cans fire roasted diced tomatoes
2-3 chipolte chilies, seeded
1 small onion diced
3 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
salt and pepper

First make the sauce. Saute onions in olive oil till softened and beginning to brown. Add garlic and cook another minute or two. Add chipolte chilies and spices. Cook for another minute. Season with salt and pepper. Add the two cans of tomatoes and cook for a couple of minutes. Then pour tomato-chili mixture in food processor and process until smooth. Return to pan simmer for 20-30 minutes. Season to taste. Set aside but keep warm on low heat.

To prepare filling heat medium sized non stick skillet. Add leftover potatoes and carrots from pot roast (1-2 cups) with one table spoon of butter. sprinkle with the cumin and coriander and a little salt and pepper. Transfer to mixing bowl and mash with potato masher or fork. Mix in 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce. In same skillet add shredded beef from pot roast along with 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce. Cook for a 5 minutes. Add beef to potato mixture and mix well. Add sour cream or plain yogurt and 1 cup of cheddar cheese. 

To assemble enchiladas: place tortillas one at a time in hot enchilada sauce to soften, takes about two minutes. Once tortilla is softened place in glass baking dish and fill with 1/8th of filling, roll up and move to one side. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas and cover with second cup of cheddar cheese. Bake 30 minutes in 350 degree oven until hot and bubbly and cheese has melted.  You can assemble and then keep in the fridge until ready to bake or freeze and then defrost in fridge before baking.

Since these enchiladas are kind of spicy I served them with a nice fresh spring salad mix dressed with a homemade vinaigrette. I think the light and fresh salad balanced out the spicy enchiladas really well. These would also be good with a tomato avocado salad.