Best California Style Enchiladas Recipes

AUTHENTIC MEXICAN ENCHILADAS

Steps:

• Snap the tops off of the dried chilies, and place in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain the water, and place chilies into a food processor or blender with the garlic and salt. Puree until smooth. Press sauce through a strainer, and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Soak each tortilla in the sauce, then place in the hot oil. Turn over almost immediately, and fry for about 5 seconds on the other side. Remove to a plate that is lined with paper towels. The easiest way to do this is to fry the tortillas and stack them directly on top of each other until you have fried them all. This will keep the tortillas pliable until you are ready to fill them.
• Take one fried tortilla at a time, and fill with about 2 tablespoons of the queso fresco. Roll up, and place seam side down on a plate. Place three of these on each plate. Top in the following order: Start with a layer of sour cream, then a small handful of lettuce, three tomato slices, 2 more tablespoons of queso fresco, and finally, 1 tablespoon of green onions.

CALIFORNIA STYLE ENCHILADAS

Steps:

• Combine Beef, onions, oregano, garlic, the thick part of the green onion and green chili's into frying pan and cook until beef is browned; Drain but do not rinse. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Place a thin layer of enchilada sauce into about a 9x13 baking dish, just enough to fill the bottom.
• Place 1/4 to 1/2 cup of beef mixture into tortilla. Roll as you would a burrito and place into baking dish. Repeat 8 times until baking dish is full.
• Pour remaining enchilada sauce into baking dish, ensuring no tortilla is visible upon doing so. Dish will be near 2/3 full of sauce, this is okay.
• Top wraps with any remaining beef mixture, spread evenly.
• Spread cheese over baking dish, ensure each wrap has been topped with cheese. Its not uncommon to create an entire layer of cheese over top of the wraps.
• Spread remaining green onions over cheese layer.
• Bake in oven for about 20 minutes, until sauce is warmed and cheese is melted.
• Scoop each out onto a plate with a spatula or large spoon, top with sauce from pan if desired.
• Top with tomatoes, lettuce and sour cream if desired. Best served with refried beans and Zateran's Spanish rice.

SIMPLE PERFECT ENCHILADAS

Steps:

• In a saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the canola oil and flour. Whisk together and allow to bubble for 1 minute. Pour in the red sauce, chicken broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer while you prepare the other ingredients.
• While the sauce is simmering, brown the ground beef with the onions in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain the fat, add the salt and stir to combine. Turn off the heat and set aside.
• In a small skillet over medium heat, heat some canola oil. Lightly fry the tortillas just until soft. Do not crisp. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat until all the tortillas have been fried.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Spread 1/2 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Next, one at a time, dip each tortilla into the sauce. Set the sauce-soaked tortilla on a plate. Place on some of the meat mixture, chilies, green onions and black olives. Top with a generous portion of grated Cheddar. Roll up the tortilla to contain the filling inside.
• Place the tortilla seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas and pour the remaining sauce over the top. End with a generous sprinkling of cheese and any other bits of chiles, green onions or olives you have left over from the filling.
• Bake the enchiladas for 20 minutes, or until bubbly. Sprinkle chopped cilantro over the top and serve.

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Put the tomatillos, onion, serrano, yellow chile and 3/4 cup water in a medium, heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover and boil until the tomatillos turn olive-green color, about 10 minutes. Transfer the tomatillos, onion and chiles to a blender. Add the garlic and cilantro and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
• Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the tortillas until golden but still pliable, about 10 seconds per side. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
• Put the tortillas on a work surface. Divide the shredded chicken evenly among the tortillas and roll up each like a cigar. Spread 1/3 cup sauce in a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish. Arrange the enchiladas, seam-side down, in one layer snugly inside the dish. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas.
• Drizzle with the Mexican crema and sprinkle the cheese all over. Bake until the cheese melts and starts to brown in spots, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

SIMPLE PERFECT ENCHILADAS

Steps:

• For the sauce: In a saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the canola oil and flour. Whisk together and allow to bubble for 1 minute. Pour in the red sauce, chicken broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer while you prepare the other ingredients.
• For the meat: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the oil. Brown the ground beef with the onions. Drain the fat, and then add the green chiles. Add the salt and stir to combine. Turn off the heat and set aside.
• For the rest: In a small skillet over medium heat, lightly fry the tortillas in canola oil just until soft. Do not crisp. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat until all the tortillas have been fried.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Spread 1/2 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Dip each tortilla into the sauce. Set the sauce-soaked tortillas on a cookie sheet. Onto each tortilla, place some of the meat mixture, black olives and green onions. Top with a generous portion of grated Cheddar. Roll up the tortilla to contain the filling inside.
• Place the tortilla seam-side down in the baking dish. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas. Stir the cilantro into the sauce and ladle a little sauce over the top. End with a generous sprinkling of cheese.
• Bake the enchiladas until bubbly, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle extra chopped cilantro over the top. Serve with beans and/or rice.

ULTIMATE CREAMY CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Place chicken on a large sheet of foil and season with 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, and 1/2 teaspoon cumin. Seal the foil around the chicken and place the packet on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until tender and no longer pink in the center, about 50 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Shred cooked chicken and set aside. Increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• While chicken cooks, prepare tortillas. Spread both sides of each tortilla lightly with butter. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Toast each tortilla, about 10 seconds on each side, and set aside.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, poblano pepper, and bell pepper and cook, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Add remaining salt, chili powder, and cumin and cook, stirring frequently, until veggies are very tender, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in tomatoes and cream cheese. Cook, stirring constantly, until cheese has melted. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream and 2 cups Cheddar-Monterey Jack cheese blend.
• Spread about 1 tablespoon refried beans, if using, in the center of a tortilla. Add about 1/4 cup chicken filling and roll up to seal. Repeat with remaining beans and filling. Pour 1/4 cup sauce in the bottom of 9x13-inch baking dish. Arrange enchiladas in a single layer over the sauce. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the top and spread to evenly coat. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving with desired toppings.