Red Enchiladas

I had an Oops moment recently.  I went to the store to buy some enchilada sauce.  Mainly because I love mexican food, but I’m a little shy about making it.  So when I cook, I take some short cuts.  This includes buying enchilada sauce rather than trying to make my own.

Unfortunately, when I got home to make the enchiladas, I noticed that I had bought red chile sauce instead of enchilada sauce.  I admit, I have very little knowledge of how red chile sauce is different from enchilada sauce, but I looked at the ingredients and realized that red chile sauce is essentially a puree of chile peppers.  So, I decided to add a little of this, a dash of that, and see what I ended up with.  Luckily, the results were excellent!  I know this does not have any tomato in it, so it is not your traditional enchilada sauce.  However, it is mighty tasty.

Filling:

1 lb of ground meat for filling (I used turkey)

1 small onion, chopped

1 Tbl of oil

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tsp cumin

1 cup of shredded cheese (I used cheddar)

2/3 cup of red chile sauce

Topping:

1 (28 ounce) can of red chile sauce

1 1/2 Tbl cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp garlic salt

1 cup of shredded cheese (I used cheddar)

corn tortillas

Get a 9×11 pan ready to place the assembled enchiladas.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Warm up the 28 ounce can of red chile sauce on low in a saucepan.

In a separate pan, heat oil in a pan on medium.  Add onion and garlic.  Heat through until fragrant, a few minutes.  Then add ground turkey, cumin, and add 2/3 cup of red chile sauce from saucepan.  Let this simmer until all ingredients are nearly cooked through.

While meat is simmering, season remaining red chile sauce.  Add cumin, oregano, garlic salt, salt and pepper to taste to the sauce.  Only warm through, then remove the sauce from heat.  Pour half of the sauce into a shallow dish to dip tortillas.

When meat is nearly ready, remove from heat.  To assemble enchiladas, take a tortilla.  Dip into seasoned sauce.   Then, place meat mixture in the center of the tortilla.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Roll and place, seam down, in the 9×11 pan.  Continue until meat mixture is finished and tortillas fill the pan.  Pour remaining red chile sauce over enchiladas.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Place enchiladas in the oven for approximately 15 minutes or until cheese is bubbling.  Let cool slightly before serving.  Enjoy!