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Immediate-Quit4157 OP t1_itovwwa wrote

Reply to comment by The_Truthkeeper in [homemade] cheese enchiladas with Mexican rice and refried pinto beans by Immediate-Quit4157

For sure!

I don’t use measurements unfortunately I eyeball everything. The rice after washing I just mix with tomato purée, powdered tomato chicken bullion (Knorr brand, can buy it online or many grocery stores carry it), Mexican oregano and then cook like normal in rice cooker.

The beans do a normal soak and boil preparation, then I sautee sliced onions and carrots in lard until softened. Add in beans and liquid, simmer down and mash with a potato masher. I don’t fully smash into a puree but some prefer it that way, I like a mix of smashed and whole. If I wasn’t cooking for kids, I would have also added a fresh whole jalapeno cut in half lengthwise to the carrots and onions which adds great flavor to the beans but would have been too spicy for the little ones.

Enchilada sauce tonight I was short on time by the time the kids were ready to eat so I just used canned which is fine, I have made similar to this though and liked it a lot: https://lilluna.com/red-enchilada-sauce/ however most of the cooks I work with will boil, purée and strain out whole dried chiles which is a better flavor imo.

Heat up some enchilada sauce on low in skillet, use tongs to dip into sauce, transfer to plate, add Jack cheese, roll and put in casserole dish. Repeat until you have enough. Top with more enchilada sauce, more Jack cheese, bake at 375 for like 25 min or until all cheese is melted.

I also like them with shredded lettuce on top and pickled jalapeños on the side, but this was a school night dinner so kept it minimal.

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The_Truthkeeper t1_itowa79 wrote

Definitely going to try your rice recipe, never found a Mexican rice recipe that's even half as good as restaurants. I've got some leftover pork that needs to be used up, maybe I'll try it for enchiladas.

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Sp1cyP0tat0 t1_itpy1o4 wrote

I like to add some oil to a pan and brown the rice slightly with the bouillon seasoning. After browning, I make a well in the center and add the tomato purée. After slightly cooking the tomato purée, I like to add frozen veggies. While some people like green beans and/or carrots, my go to veggies are peas and corn. Finally, deglaze the pan with some of your measured water before throwing in the rest of the water and covering. What I need to start doing is adding a slice or 2 of onion when browning the rice. Hope you manage to make some good rice!

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The_Truthkeeper t1_ittjmc8 wrote

Took your advice and toasted the rice, I definitely like the result.

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Immediate-Quit4157 OP t1_itoxxqu wrote

The powdered bullion 100% makes it for me, it gives you that salty savory tomato flavor. I do recommend using a plastic whisk or something to incorporate the powder into the rice (break up the clumps) before turning on your rice cooker. The bullion tends to climb up. Or you could microwave it in a little water to dissolve it better before adding to the rice as a whole. Hope your rice works out! Leftover pork is great for Mexican.

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The_Truthkeeper t1_ittjkuu wrote

Made it tonight, can definitely confirm that adding bouillon to the rice, even though I only had chicken bouillon, makes a huge difference compared to just straight broth. And your suggested recipe for enchilada sauce was a lot better than the canned stuff.

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Immediate-Quit4157 OP t1_ittjwgq wrote

Nice!!! Yeah the powder is just so concentrated you can really bump up the flavor compared to straight broth. Glad you enjoyed! And agree, homemade sauce is the way to go when you have time. Canned is fine in a pinch but doesn’t hold a candle to scratch enchilada sauce.

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The_Truthkeeper t1_ittk5hy wrote

It never really occurred to me how easy it is to make the sauce from scratch with ingredients that I almost always have on hand anyway. I'll definitely tweak the recipe a bit for future uses, but I don't using canned sauce in my future for a while.

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