Enchiladas Rojas / Red Sauce Enchiladas

These enchiladas rojas (red sauce enchiladas) are a favorite in my home. They're super simple, filling and delicious. These are perfect for those days when you have left over chicken from a previous night's dinner. I usually have the ingredients necessary in my pantry at all times, so it's easy to whip these up.

Ingredients:
- 2 dried chile guajillo 
- 1/2 onion
- small can tomato sauce
- 2 cloves garlic 
- shredded chicken (grilled or roasted or any leftovers)
- tortillas
- oil for frying the tortillas
- queso fresco 
- crema mexicana or sour cream

Soak the dried chile guajillo in hot water for a couple of hours, or even overnight. If you don't have much time to soak them, you can always boil them in hot water until they're somewhat soft.

Once soaked, cut off the stem and place the guajillos in a blender with the onion, tomato sauce, garlic cloves and some of the water the chile soaked in, enough to reduce the thickness of the sauce. Blend until smooth. Add more of the water as needed to get it to a saucy consistency that will stay on the tortillas. Strain and put aside on a shallow bowl or soup plate.

Heat up a couple tablespoons of oil in a pan. Once heated, place a tortilla in the pan and saute for about a minute, then turn over and saute for another minute. Just until it looks like it's soft enough to roll without breaking. Place on a plate with a paper towel. Do the same with all the tortillas you're going to use, adding a tablespoon of oil at a time as needed.

To assemble, soak a tortilla in the sauce and place on your baking sheet. Place shredded chicken down the middle in a line and roll the tortilla closed. Place the enchilada at the edge of the baking sheet with the seam down. Do the same for the remaining tortillas.
Tip: If you don't have a lot of chicken, or simply love cheese, you can add cheese along with the chicken. A mozzarella works well.

Once all the tortillas are lined up, pour the remaining sauce over them.

Bake at 250 F degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes. Just enough to melt the cheese and warm everything up, since the chicken is already cooked.

Top with queso fresco and drizzle with crema mexicana or sour cream. You can add any other toppings you might like, like chopped onions, shredded lettuce/cabbage, salsa, etc. Your choice!

And don't forget to serve alongside some delicious refried beans.

If you feel inclined to share your creations with us, you can do so on our Facebook Page or Instagram, and use #mexicanfamilyrecipes.


Provecho!!

~Sonia

Top 5 Recipes for 4th of July

We will be celebrating Fourth of July at mom's. Surrounded of course by family and great food. Our get-togethers always revolve around food!! And as is usually the case, it is expected to be SUPER hot in Southern California. Easy and quick cooking is the way to go on a hot summer day, specially when we're with family and friends. I rather spend the time with them than cooking.

So what are the best meals for 4th of July? I gathered our best hot weather friendly recipes:

1.- Tostadas- these are a hit. Easy to prep, and great to eat on a hot day. Just don't fry your own tostada shells because that's the time consuming and hot part about this recipe. Yes they're delicious home-fried but not necessary specially on a hot summer day. Make the refried beans a day or two ahead of time and just warm up the day of.

2.- Fish Tacos- so good and refreshing with the fresh homemade salsa, and just enough crunch with the cabbage slaw. Mouth watering!

3.- Mexican Style Corn- this is almost a no brainer. They're in season. They're cheap. They're delicious. Nuff said.

4.- Camarones a la Diabla- YUM! Personally looking forward to making these this weekend. Camarones a la Diabla always remind me of the vacations we took when we were young to the beaches in Mexico. Being the shrimp lover that I am, I always ordered the Camarones a la Diabla. So it's appropriate that I always crave these on hot days by the pool.

5.- Micheladas- and to wash everything down and attempt to stay cool, here's a michelada recipe sure to please on a hot summer day. It's my cousin's recipe from Mexico City. 

And of course you can always make a great guacamole and some salsa for chips or to add to your meals. These are the two most made recipes in my home!

What are your cooking plans for 4th of July?