{Green Chile Enchiladas}

I'm not sure if any of you will actually make this dish. Not because of difficulty of or lack of difficulty of making it. Just knowing some of this family isn't into spicy dishes (dad) might deter you from making it. But may I just say this was a dish that I enjoyed making as much as I enjoyed eating. Tom said to keep this in the "keeper" file. I'm a follower of Elise Bauer's blog called Simply Recipes. This is one of her recipes. She has great pictures of the step by step procedures. You can go to her blog for reference: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/green_chile_enchiladas

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds tomatillos
• 3 cloves garlic, still in their peels
• 2 jalapenos
• salt
• 12 corn tortillas
• canola oil
• 1/2 pound to a pound Monterey Jack cheese, grated (depends on how cheesy you want)
• sour cream
• cilantro (optional)

1. Prepare the tomatillo sauce. Remove the husks from the tomatillos. Rinse off the tomatillos. Cut them in half and place them cut-side down on a roasting pan lined with aluminum foil. Place the garlic and jalapenos on the pan with the tomatillos. Broil on the top rack on the oven for 5-7 minutes until the tomatillos are lightly charred. Remove from the oven and let cool to touch. Remove garlic from the garlic skins, discard the skins. Cut open the jalapenos and remove and discard the seeds and the stems. Place tomatillos, cooked, garlic, the jalapenos, and 1 teaspoon of salt in a blender, pulse until well pureed. Set aside. (You can make several days in advance and store in the refrigerator).


2. Prepare the Anaheim chiles. Use a broiler and broil the chiles in a roasting pan, turning them until they are blackened all over. Place the blackened chiles in a small brown paper bag. Close the bag and let sit for at least 5 minutes. Then remove the chiles from the bag and peel off and discard the blackened skin. Slice open the chiles and remove and discard the seed pod, any seeds (they're hot) and the stems. Slice the chiles into strips.


3. Cook the tortillas. Heat a couple of tablespoons of canola oil in a frying pan on medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, add a corn tortilla to the pan. The tortilla should sizzle as it hits the pan. Turn it over and let it cook until little pockets of air start to bubble up in the tortilla. Then remove the tortilla from the pan, shaking off any excess oil, to a plate lined with paper towels. Continue the tortillas this way, adding more oil as needed, separating the tortillas that are cooling with paper towels.


4. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread a little of the tomatillo sauce in the bottom of a 9X13 casserole pan. One by one, place a little grated cheese and a strip or two of green chiles in the center of the tortillas, roll them up, and place them in the casserole. Once you have filled the casserole with the rolled tortillas, spread the remaining tomatillo sauce over them, and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.


5. Bake for 14 minutes at 350°F, until cheese is melted.

Serve with sour cream and some chopped fresh cilantro.

Serves 4-6.

Elise says you can easily substitute prepared canned tomatillo salsa verde for the tomatillo sauce (you'll need two cups), and canned whole Anaheim green chiles for the chiles (remove the seeds and stems if still in the chiles). I always critique ways that could enhance the meal for another time. I think it would be great with some shredded chicken or beef. We will definitely be eating this again sometime. Can you imagine how great this would taste with produce straight out of the garden??? I can hardly wait for next summer to try it out!