Skip to main content

Spicy Shrimp Enchiladas


Everybody loves a good deal at the grocery store.  Buy one, get one.  Reduced for quick sales (my personal favorite for produce and meats),  Seasonal sales on expensive items like shrimp for example.  Went to the grocery store where locally caught wild Gulf shrimp were on sale for $5/lb.  Instantly dinner plans were rearranged for a long saved recipe in the filing box: spicy shrimp enchiladas. To satisfy this table's palate, Creamy Shrimp Enchiladas and Easy Creamy Shrimp Enchiladas were combined for the perfect fancy dinner.

Modifications Made:
Shrimp Modifications:
To a large hot skillet all of the following were added and cooked until shrimp were pink in color.  Separate into eight portions.  Set aside.

1 pound clean shrimp, cut in thirds
1/2 cup very thin sliced shallots
1 cup red pepper diced very small
1/2 jalapeno minced
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 teaspoon comino
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
Juice of 1/2 lime (about 2 Tablespoons)
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Cream Sauce Modifications:
3 tablespoons butter, salted
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded Pepper Jack cheese, divided into four piles

In a saucepan melt butter on medium heat. Whisk in flour. Cook for 2-3 minutes, whisking the entire time.  Whisk in chicken broth.  Cook until thickened, whisking occasionally to keep from sticking to bottom of pan.  Whisk in one pile of Pepper Jack cheese until melted. Continue with each pile until all cheese has been fully incorporated.  Turn off heat and whisk in sour cream.  Set aside.

Enchiladas Modifications:
Warm eight corn tortillas in a damp cloth in the microwave for ten seconds.  Flip cloth and warm for additional five seconds.  On large microwavable plate, remove one tortilla fill with shrimp stuffing.  Roll leaving seam side down.  Repeat for all remaining tortillas.  Spoon cream sauce over enchiladas.  Warm enchiladas for 20 seconds or until warm.

Scaled for Likability: Good
Spicy shrimp enchiladas these were not as the jalapeno lack any heat.  There was more heat from the cheese than from the jalapeno itself.  Shrimp were tender and perfect in size when cutting into enchiladas.  Larger shrimp would have been difficult to manage for smaller mouths. However, the shrimp lacked flavor.  The flavor was outside the shrimp not down deep. Cheese sauce was creamy without any grainy texture and thick enough to not run off enchiladas when dished out per plate.

Next time, shrimp and shrimp seasonings will be allowed to marinade for a minimum of 30 minutes for deeper penetration of flavor.  To the marinade two tablespoons of olive oil will be added to keep the shrimp from sticking to the pan.  Whole black beans will be served alongside shrimp enchiladas and rice for a nice blend of textures and proteins.

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Better Than Campbell's Old Fashion Vegetable Soup

Went to the store with the hopes of gathering fresh produce for soup. With more than 45 people in line for two packages of any meat product and the produce section containing only avocado, orange, and most randomly, strawberries, I settled upon canned soup.  Well not canned soup since that section was still void of food, too.  Instead soup made from canned goods as the canned vegetable section had been mostly restocked. Soups like this 15 Minute Vegetable Soup  are ideal in dire food situations such as current times. Modifications Made: Plain petite diced tomatoes omitted, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one cup celery, three cups diced potatoes, one can tomato sauce, two beef and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water.  Once onions were softened, carrots/celery/potatoes/juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almost tender.  Green be
Read more

Papas a La Mexicana (Ranchera)

It  is a crying shame that there are six hens and not a egg in sight. What am I supposed to do with homemade ranchero sauce? Thankfully with a few quick searches of the internet a recipe from my hometown newspaper was discovered: Papas Ranchera . Not once in the thirty years I lived in my hometown did I ever eat at a local food joint serving papas rancheras. No time like the present to remedy this cultural dish. Because this recipe is hidden behind a paywall (grrr...) I have included it here for you: Servings: 4-6  Ingredients: 1 pound potatoes, diced 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/2 large onion 1 1/2 medium tomatoes 3 jalapenos 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup juice from canned tomatoes Instructions: Fry potatoes in vegetable oil until lightly browned (about 4-6 minutes).  Saute onions, tomatoes, jalapenos until soft.  Add garlic powder and salt. Add tomato juice until vegetables are covered (may need to add water).  Bring to a boil and then add potatoes.  Cover and reduc
Read more

Sour Cream & Chive Scalloped Potatoes

Can't believe the Month of the Potato is over.  There are so many more potato recipes saved.  Guess I will have to work them into another month. Last week's scalloped potatoes were one of the best new recipes during the month of potatoes.  With today being the last day in the Month of Potatoes, I decided to go out with a bang by cooking another batch of scalloped potatoes but this time sour cream and chive.   The Best Scalloped Potatoes , or so they said. Modifications Made: Recipe was reduced by half.  Mayo was omitted and one entire package of chives were chopped and added to sauce before pouring onto layers. Scaled for Likability: Good Betty Crocker Sour Cream and Chive Box Scalloped Potatoes were the standard for this recipe.  These were a family favorite for years but have long since been discounted.  Bummer.  Trying to replicate this seemed easy enough.  Alas, it was not. These had a nice texture but were too oily from the cheese and did not contain enough onion, garlic,
Read more