Enchiladas

A week or two ago, I decided I wanted some Mexican food. Something reminiscent of the area south of the wall that He Who Shall Not Be Named wants to build. Tonight, I finally made it – really simple chicken enchiladas using flour tortillas. Okay… not exactly traditional, but I’m in Pennsylvania, not Mazatlán where my Uncle Dick was born. I take liberties.

The filling was pretty simple – diced onions, diced bell pepper, minced garlic, and a can of diced green chiles, cumin, chili powder, Mexican oregano, and Monterey Jack cheese. It was wrapped in a flour tortilla. I used Trader Joe’s Salsa Verde as my enchilada sauce. The Salsa Verde was one of the products on the shelf when I started working for them back in 2001. It’s passed the test of time and besides working as a dip, makes a really good green enchilada sauce.

I baked them in the oven at 350°F for 45 minutes.

I made four enchiladas, but when they came out of the oven it was evident that there was no way we were going to eat that much – so I cut them in half and we have another meal for another day. I made a Goya Amarillo Rice as a side – and we have more of that, as well.

Going south of the wall for our dinner sent us south of the wall for a bit of a pre-dinner imbibe of Patrón Añejo. We do have good taste in liquor.

Tequila

Trying to hold a glass in one hand and take a selfie with the other is not easy.

We’re in the midst of planning a bit of a southwestern USofA trek for our 25th Anniversary in November. Phoenix to the Grand Canyon to Taos, a bit of a ramble down Route 66, a stop at the Petrified Forest, some Anasazi cliff dwellings… Neither of us have been to the Southwest since the ’70s, when we were young and foolish. It’s time to revisit the area.

In the meantime, we’ll continue with our bastardized versions of Mexican cooking until we can get down there are get the real deal. I wonder how many Hatch chiles I can stuff into a suitcase?!?