Red and Green Enchiladas with Homemade Flour Tortillas


The other day I was lamenting the fact that I could not find the one single brand of spelt tortilla I had ever seen in stores that did not have allergens in it for R.  That means in particular, no corn, corn derivatives or soy.  So I went back through my Pinterest boards, remembering that I had pinned a promising flour tortilla recipe within the last few months.  I found it and tried it out.  And it was a total winner!  They are called Best Ever Homemade Flour Tortillas and they did not disappoint.  I made mine with white spelt flour and coconut oil.  (That's refined oil with no coconut flavor.)  It took about ¼ cup plus two tbsp extra flour to get the dough to the proper smooth state, not too sticky.  That's the nature of spelt.  That dough is deliciously soft!  I love the Café Sucré Farine blog and highly recommend checking it out.  Here is how my tortillas turned out:


They were mostly around seven inches.  I did flatten them with a tortilla press the first time instead of my hands.  Then they pull back into a nice round patty of about four inches.  After resting, they roll out thin very easily.  I used half the batch for tonight's enchiladas, the rest I froze for later.

The other cool find I had was an enchilada sauce that was also allergen friendly.  A brand called Frontera that so far, I have only seen at Whole Paycheck.  I got one red and one green to try and decided to do both at once tonight.  Hubby liked the green best but liked the red as well.  The girls chose red and didn't try the green, but since they cleaned their plates and each ate an entire enchilada, I am assuming it was very good for them.  They have never eaten the tortilla out of an enchilada type casserole or dish when I used store bought, only picked out the filling.  One more super win for the homemade tortillas.  As a matter of fact, S ate the tortilla first and then the filling after some prompting.  Once she tasted it though, she cleaned her plate too.  We are all happily stuffed tonight.  The sauce is lightly spicy but not too much for my girls.  Hubby could have put some green tabasco on the green side but was happy without as well.  You can always use pepper jack cheese and hot salsa if you like it hotter.  I dressed up a bechamel to make it just a touch cheesy and add to the enchilada sauce.  When asked if this was a make again dish, hubs said, "Yes, definitely - preferably on a Friday when we can have leftovers for lunch on the weekend."  Everyone was "starving" tonight and dinner disappeared so fast I only got one quick phone photo of the finished dish!


(Next day, 6 year old S is begging for leftover enchiladas for her dinner.  One of each.  Well, one half of each, she is only 6!)

Two-tone Enchiladas
serves 6

8 7" flour tortillas, homemade recommended

Filling:
1 lb grassfed ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 15oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 4oz can diced green chilies
½ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp cumin
¼ tsp chili powder or southwest seasoning
pinch turmeric (optional)

Sauce:
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
1 cup milk
¼ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp fresh ground pepper
¼ tsp turmeric (optional)
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

½ cup salsa
2 8oz pouches enchilada sauce, green or red or both

Topping:
¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
¾ cup shredded jack cheese
small can sliced olives

Saute the ground beef and onions in a large pan until the beef is browned and the onions are tender.  Mix in the beans, chilies, salt, cumin, chili powder and turmeric.  Set aside, off the heat.  


In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and add the flour.  Cook and stir for a minute until foaming.  Take off the heat and slowly add milk, stirring or whisking constantly until smooth.  Return to heat and cook until mixture boils and thickens slightly.  Add in the salt, pepper and turmeric.  Remove from heat and stir in the ½ cup cheese until melted.  Then stir in the salsa.  If using one kind of enchilada sauce, combine it all with the cheese sauce.  If using both red and green, divide the cheese sauce in two and add separately to the sauces.  Stir 1 cup of the sauce back into the filling, ½ cup each of red and green sauce.  Spread ½ cup of sauce over the bottom of a 9x13" baking dish, ¼ cup each of red and green on each half of the pan.  Warm the tortillas slightly to roll easier, and divide the filling evenly among them.  Roll up and place seam side down in the baking dish.


Once the enchiladas are all lined up in the pan, top with the remaining sauce, one color on each half.  Mix the cheddar and jack cheeses together and sprinkle over the top of the sauce.  Then spread the olives evenly over as well.  Cover the dish with foil and bake at 375ºF for 35 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes or until done to your liking.  Let sit for a few minutes before cutting and serving.

Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro if you want to be fancy.

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