Filled with chicken, veggies, or straight up cheese, enchiladas are always an awesome meal. This version in particular is one of my favorites and I’m excited to have revamped the recipe a little bit. Why? I found a way to make this meal more efficiently while using less dishes. I think that’s cause for celebration! I also played around with the filling to add a few more veggies because that never seems to hurt. Now, I’ve never been one of those that thinks enchiladas must be covered in sauce before baking to be delicious, but if you are of that camp, you can increase the quantity of sauce and reserve some for pouring on top. I love these as they are though – creamy, just a tad spicy and packed full of flavor. I actually think they would be too much with additional sauce on top. Depending on how quick you are in the kitchen, these can definitely be suitable for a weeknight meal. The process goes much faster with assistance from my helpful shrimp peeler, Ben. These also make excellent leftovers and make a lunch I can really look forward to.
Shrimp Enchiladas
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Ingredients:
3 tbsp. butter, divided
1 lb. medium-size shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 red bell pepper, diced
¾ cup onion, diced
¼ tsp. oregano
¼ tsp. salt
Dash garlic powder
Dash cayenne pepper
2 tsp. all-purpose flour
6 tbsp. heavy cream or half-and-half
¼ cup sour cream
6 oz. shredded cheese (such as Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, etc.), divided
1 cup tomatoes, seeded and diced
8-10 (8-inch) flour tortillas
Cooking spray
Directions:
In a large sauté pan, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp to the pan in an even layer and let cook without moving, about 1 minute. Flip the shrimp over and continue to cook until just pink and opaque, 30-60 seconds longer. Remove to a plate with a slotted spoon and set aside. When the shrimp is cool enough to handle, roughly chop into bite sized pieces, if desired.
Melt the remaining butter in the pan. Add the diced bell pepper and onion, and cook until just tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add the oregano, salt, garlic powder, cayenne and flour to the pan; stir well and cook briefly until fragrant, about 30-60 seconds. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the heavy cream to the pan, stirring to scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook just until slightly thickened, 1-2 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the sour cream, half of the shredded cheese, and the tomatoes. Return the shrimp to the pan as well, and mix everything together until the sauce is well blended and the cheese is melted.
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Scoop 1/3 cup of the filling and sauce mixture down the center of a tortilla. Sprinkle lightly with some of the reserved cheese. Roll the tortilla tightly around the filling and place seam side-down in the prepared baking dish. Repeat with the remaining filling, tortillas and cheese. Spray the tops of the finished assembled tortillas lightly with cooking spray. Bake uncovered for about 30-35 minutes, until lightly browned. Let cool at least 5-10 minutes before serving.
Source: adapted from My Kitchen Cafe
