Pork Enchiladas. Cheese & Onion Enchiladas and Beef Tacos with Creamy Black Beans

I love the combo platters at Mexican restaurants so I decided to try making one of my own. Making your own enchilada sauce is time consuming but well worth the effort. The men preferred the pork. I preferred the cheese but I would have liked to try the cheese with the red enchilada sauce. Next time I want to try it with short ribs.
My family loves tacos. I gave up the taco packets when I found Penzey's Taco Seasoning. This taco recipe is so easy and is made with things I usually have on hand.
I have also been experimenting with cooking with dried beans and have found that slow cooking from scratch and adding a little milk at the end you can create "refried" beans without all the fat and calories.

Pork Enchiladas Rojas

adapted from Bon Appetit September 2015

1   tsp coriander seeds

2   Tbsp cumin seeds

14 dried guajillo chiles, seeds removed

4   dried ancho chiles, seeds removed

3   dried arbol chiles, seeds removed

4   cups chicken stock

8   garlic cloves, peeled

2   Tbsp tomato paste

1   tsp dried oregano

1   Tbsp corn oil

1½  lb boneless pork shoulder, trimmed

Kosher salt

2   bay leaves

1   cup vegetable oil

8   6-inch white corn tortillas

Cotija cheese, crumbled

Toast coriander seeds in a small skillet over medium heat for about 2 minutes or until fragrant. Shake the pan frequently to prevent them from burning. Add the cumin seeds during the last 30 seconds of cooking. Let cool, then finely grind in spice mill.

Bring guajillo, ancho, arbol chiles and stock to a boil in a saucepan. Cover, remove from heat, and let sit to soften the chiles. Depending on how dry the chiles are this can take 30-60 minutes.

Transfer chile mixture to a blender and add toasted spices, garlic, tomato paste, and oregano.  Purée until smooth.

Preheat oven to 250°. Heat oil in a oven safe pot. Season the pork with kosher salt and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides. Pour off excess oil and add chile purée and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, cover, and transfer to oven. Braise pork until meat is very tender and shreds easily, about 2 hours.

Transfer the pork to a large bowl and shred. Discard the bay leaves

Mix ½ cup chile sauce into pork; season with salt. Set remaining sauce aside.

Preheat oven to 425°. 

Prepare a baking pan my spreading a cup of reserved chile sauce over the bottom.

Heat oil in a skillet over until it bubbles immediately when edge of tortilla touches the surface. Working one at a time, fry tortillas until just starting to brown and crisp, about 10 seconds per side. They should still be pliable. Transfer to paper towels to drain.

Dip both sides of each tortilla in the reserved chile sauce to coat lightly. Spoon ¼ cup pork mixture across the center of a tortilla and roll up the tortilla. Place seam side down in prepared baking dish. Repeat with more sauce and remaining tortillas. 

Top with the remaining sauce and cotija cheese and remaining sauce. 

Bake until sauce is bubbling and cheese is beginning to brown, about 15–20 minutes. 

Cheese and Onion Enchiladas with Tomatillo-Green Chile Sauce

adapted from Bon Appétit.July 2001

¾   lb tomatillos, husked, rinsed, quartered

1¼ cups water

2    Tbsp minced seeded jalapeño chilies

12  garlic cloves

2½ cups chopped scallions, divided

¾   cup canned mild green chilies

12  large spinach leaves

8    white corn tortillas

3    cups shredded Mexican Blend Cheese
Cooking spray

Bring tomatillos, water, jalapenos and garlic to boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until tomatillos are soft, about 15 minutes. 

Transfer mixture to blender; add 2 cups of green onions, green chilies, and spinach and puree. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Return sauce to skillet.

Preheat oven to 350°F. 

Coat a baking dish with cooking spray. 

Using the same oil as the pork enchiladas.  Fry the tortillas, one at a time until just starting to brown and crisp

Dip the tortilla into sauce. Top with about 2 Tbsp cheese, 1 Tbsp green onions, and 1 Tbsp sauce. Roll up tortilla. Place seam side down in prepared dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas, sauce, cheese, and onions.

Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake until cheese melts, about 15 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.

Beef Tacos   

adapted from The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001-2016 (2015) America's Test Kitchen, Brookline, MA

2  Tbsp corn oil

1  small onion, minced

3  cloves of garlic, minced
2  Tbsp chili powder 

1  tsp ground cumin 

1  tsp ground coriander 

½ tsp dried oregano 

¼ tsp cayenne pepper 

Kosher salt 

1  lb ground beef 

½ cup tomato sauce 

½ cup chicken stock

½ tsp brown sugar 

2  tsp cider vinegar

Freshly ground black pepper 

8  taco shells 

Shredded Mexican blend cheese 

Lettuce, shredded

Tomatoes , chopped

Cook the onion in the oil until softened. Add the garlic, spices, and 1/2 tsp salt; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant. 

Add ground beef and cook, breaking up the meat up and scraping pan bottom to prevent scorching, until it is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. 

Add tomato sauce, chicken broth, brown sugar, and vinegar; bring to simmer. Simmer, uncovered, stirring frequently until the liquid has reduced and thickened (mixture should still be moist), about 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.

Fill the taco shells with the meat mixture and top as desired.

Creamy Black Beans

adapted from Food Network Magazine September 2010

½   lb dried black beans, rinsed

1½ Tbsp olive oil

1    small onion, minced

2    cloves garlic, minced

½   jalapeno pepper, halved and seeded

1    tsp ground cumin

1    dried oregano
¼   cup skim milk

Kosher salt

Cotija cheese

In a large saucepan cover dried beans with triple their volume of cold water. Bring the water to a boil and cook beans, uncovered for 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat and soak beans 1 hour. Drain.

Cook the onion, garlic, jalapeno and cumin in the oil, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. 

Add the oregano and the beans, then add enough water to cover (about 4½ cups). Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low, partially cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are just tender and moist of the liquid has been absorbed, about 3½ - 4 hours.

Add the milk and heat through, stirring to cream some of the beans. Season to taste with salt. 

Top with cotija cheese.