Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Shrimp Enchiladas

Cinco de Mayo is coming up! 
When we lived in Denver, it was a HUGE celebration.  Of course, when we lived in Denver, we were able to get simply PHENOMENAL Mexican food, though probably considered more Tex-Mex.  If you have never had a fresh Hatch Green Chili, you are missing out! 
Well, here in North Carolina....the Mexican food has been just sad...and bad.  We went to one place that actually made a "chili relleno" stuffed with hamburger and I am assuming American cheese...and that made me mad.  Just call me the Siggy Seuss of Mexican Food. 
(((sigh)))
Moving on...
For some reason, I had always been scared to try any kind of fish or seafood in a Mexican dish.  Not sure why.  However, after reading the reviews on this recipe, I knew I had to try it.  I am SO glad I did!  It was phenomenal!  It is creamy and rich but light at the same time.  SERIOUSLY delicioso!

Shrimp Enchiladas
Recipe Source:  another GREAT one from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Cheese Sauce:

  • ½ cup sweet red pepper, chopped
  • ½ cup onion, minced
  • ½ cup green pepper, chopped
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • ½ teaspoon oregano
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup whipping cream
  • 1 ½ cups Monterey Jack cheese or Pepper Jack cheese
  • ½ cup sour cream

Shrimp Mixture:
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 ½ pounds shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped into bite-size pieces
  • ½ cup onion, chopped
  • 2 cups ripe tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 ½ cups Monterey Jack cheese or Pepper Jack cheese
  • 8 (9-inch) flour tortillas

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch dish and set aside.
Saute red pepper, onion and green pepper in 1/4 cup butter until crisp-tender. Add oregano, salt, garlic powder, pepper, cayenne pepper, and flour; blend well and cook, stirring constantly for about a minute. Whisk in the cream and continue cooking for 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add 1 1/2 cups cheese; stir until melted. Add sour cream, stir to blend. Set aside.
In another skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Saute shrimp and 1/2 cup onion until shrimp are pink (don’t overcook or the shrimp will be tough). Add chopped tomatoes and 1/2 of the cheese sauce. Spoon 1/3 cup shrimp mixture into each tortilla. Sprinkle a bit of cheese on top of shrimp mixture. Roll the enchiladas up tightly. Arrange seam side down in a 9X13-inch glass baking dish. Spoon remaining cheese sauce over tortillas and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.

This recipe has been linked up at:
Tidy Mom
Simply Sweet Home
Mommy's Kitchen
Eat at Home

8 comments:

  1. It sounds really good, and a good departure from the normal enchilada.

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  2. Oh girl.. That picture looks AMAZING! I cant. stop. drooling.... YUMMM!! These sounds incredible! : )

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  3. This sounds DELICIOUS! I need to remember this one for the June menu plan! I live in ND and we can't really get decent Mexican food here either.

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  4. I can only imagine North Carolina Mexican is horrible!!! lol

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  5. oh yummm!! I am going to give this one a try! Love shrimp and love enchiladas!

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  6. That cheese sauce sounds amazing. I need a trip to the store!

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  7. These are baking in the oven right now! I can already tell you, they are going to be AMAZING! I tried the sauce;) I hope you don't mind, I think I will be posting this one on my blog!!

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