Meatless Monday: Sour Cream & Cheese Enchiladas

I love Mexican food. LOVE it. I especially love Mexican cuisine because the recipes are made of basics -- rice, beans, cheese, and the like -- which translates to a frugal dish. And because many delicious Mexican recipes feature things like beans, rice, and cheese, it's not too difficult to make a meal meatless.  Another reason I love Mexican food? It's soooo good, making it something the entire family will eat.

A few months ago, I came across a recipe for sour cream enchiladas on the Pioneer Woman's blog (love her.) and I knew I had to try them. As with every PW recipe I've tried (seriously, every recipe), it was absolutely delicious. These enchiladas have since become part of my repertoire of recipes. When I plan my dinners for the week and ask my husband what he'd like me to make, he'll almost always suggest these enchiladas.

I would just send you straight to PW's blog (really, if you haven't gone there, you must. MUST.) for the recipe and end this post right now, but I have tweaked it a bit to fit my family's tastes and preferences. The big difference is that I use flour tortillas, which may make them less authentic, but we just like them better. This also eliminates the need to fry the tortillas in oil as in the PW recipe.

That all said, here's our version:

Sour Cream & Cheese Enchiladas

Serves 6

6-8 flour tortillas (This number varies because of the size of the tortilla you're using, how much filling you put in them, and how many your pan can hold. I don't mean to be vague, but it varies for me every time. I say, start with six and go from there).
1 can (20 oz.) enchilada sauce
2 cups sour cream (I've used both regular and light with equally delicious results)
3 cups of colby jack cheese, shredded (I prefer this over cheddar. You can use any kind of cheese you want, though. One time I added a little shredded pepper jack and gave it a good little kick.)
1/2 cup chopped chives (If you don't have chives growing somewhere, you can use 1 cup of chopped green onions instead)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cayenne pepper
Pico de gallo (optional but highly recommended)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl, combine the sour cream, 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheese, chives, cumin, and cayenne.

To soften the flour tortillas, wrap a few (2-3 at a time) in a slightly damp paper towel or cloth napkin. Microwave for a just a few seconds until they become flexible. You don't want the tortillas to crack as you're rolling them. Sidenote: Lately, I've been using uncooked flour tortillas since so many of the other flour tortillas have preservatives and hydrogenated oils; the uncooked ones only have flour, canola oil, salt, and sugar in them. When I use these tortillas, I'll just quickly cook them up and keep them in a tortilla warmer until I'm ready to roll them into enchiladas.

In a medium saucepan, heat the enchilada sauce. Using tongs, dip the tortilla in the enchilada sauce, coating the entire tortilla well, and then lay it on a plate. Put a dollop (about a couple tablespoons or so) of the sour cream mixture on the tortilla. Roll and place facing down in a 9x13 baking dish. Repeat with other tortillas until sour cream mixture is used up. Pour any leftover sauce over the enchiladas. Top with the remaining 1 1/2 cups of cheese.

Bake for 15-20 until bubbly.  Serve topped with pico de gallo. You don't have to do this, but it is so good. For a great recipe for pico de gallo, go to this link from (who else?) The Pioneer Woman. Trust me, when it comes to cooking just about anything, she knows what she's talking about! Plus, with garden tomatoes ripening now, there are few things better than some fresh pico de gallo.