Thursday, May 17, 2012

Poor Man's Enchiladas



Ok, if you are rich, you can also read this! :)


The reason I named this recipe Poor Man´s Enchiladas is simple - we were out of ingredients. In fact, our fridge had a hungry empty stomach and all we had were a few left overs of this and that.

You may ask where is the problem and wonder if we are really that lazy to go get some groceries. 

With 25 miles each way of a rough, dirt forest road and the lifestyle we live, grocery shopping whenever we feel like it is a luxury we do not have. Actually, this makes us think more and plan meals  and shopping, and be creative! :) 

So, after inspecting and evaluating what we have, and really really wanting to make something Mexican as it was Cinco de Mayo that day, I assembled these simple Poor Man´s Enchiladas :)

And they were great!


For 2 persons I used:

1 large chicken breast
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 a can of corn (about 200g)
1 small onion
Mexican Food Spice Mix (from Dollarstore) - use whatever amount you find right and you can use any spice mix suitable for enchiladas, tortillas, or other Mexican food)
a chunk of cheese (I had a leftover piece, normally I would use chedar, but remember - this a poor man´s/leftover recipe :))


On two tea spoons of oil, I softened the onion diced in tiny pieces, then added diced chicken, bell pepper and corn, properly spicing it up. This is done very quick.


You can use store bought tortillas, but here´s how Jachym (the bake master in our house) makes ours:


2 cups spelt flour (you can use wheat if you want, we just try to avoid wheat flour as much as we can)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 cup warm water

Mix flour, baking powder and salt. Add olive oil and stir well. Put in warm water 1 table spoon at a time until dough can be gathered into a ball. Add more water if needed one spoon at a time. Knead on floured surface 15-20 times. Let dough rest for 15 minutes, then divide into 10-12 equal portions and shape into balls. On floured surface roll out ball from center into a circle. Roast on ungreased pan over medium-high heat on each side about 30 seconds or until puffy. We usually leave them in the oven to keep them warm.

As you see on pictures - they don´t need to be perfectly round-shaped, so don´t be too hard on yourself! :)



Fill each tortilla with the meat and vegetable mixture, roll them and place them side by side in a baking ceramic dish.


Sprinkle them with whatever cheese and amount of cheese you have available. I also sprinkled a bit of the spice mix over.


Since the ingredients are all cooked and ready, you don´t need to bake it in the oven for long, or on high. Just enough to melt the cheese and warm up the tortillas. And add that lovely crispy edge to them :)

Woala! And serve.


You can make pretty much any meal even with little ingredients. Just use your imagination and don´t give up! :)

2 comments:

Finn said...

They look absolutely delicious, especially as we near lunch time in my world!

sammi said...

They do look very yummy and so simple to cook, I'm getting hungry now.