Week 22

Sunday, January 10th, 2010

Beef Enchiladas, Double Fudge Brownies

Making dinner with Grammy

My parents came to visit for a few days. The kids were so excited to see Grammy and Grandpa, especially since my mom came bearing Christmas gifts. Holy cow, it was like Christmas Day all over again! She likes to spoil them, much to my chagrin. But, she is very thoughtful and they loved the things she picked out for them. As you can see Laney is wearing the goggles from a dart gun set she got for Jordan.

He loves it, and looks a little too Al Caponish in this picture

Beef Enchilada Preparation:

Since my Dad is highly carnivorous, it was time to get out the large roast from the freezer and put it to use for the meal. I only buy roasts when we have family in town because I am not a huge fan of large chunks of red meat. Since we rarely have roast to cook with, I have never tried making Beef enchiladas before. It was a good compromise, satisfying his thirst for blood and my need for other ingredients.

Double Fudge Time!

My mom found this brownie pan she had been wanting that cooks them in pre-cut slices. I wanted to see how it worked so we made one of the recipes from it's booklet.

The Leaning tower of chocolate

I don't know if that bowl is clean enough guys.

Better lick it some more!

Yes, that's better!

Look at those chocoholics! Where do they get it from?

Certainly not me!

Brownies going in....

Brownies coming out! Wow, it does work!

This little pan was great! I hate waiting for brownies to cool to eat them. So, they usually end up served as a gooey mess. Not this time. Even piping hot, they came out in perfect chunks.

Beef Enchiladas

3 pounds beef chuck roast

1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups beef broth
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 large onion, chopped
2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chile peppers
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 cups sour cream
3 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
1 cup oil for frying
20 (6 inch) corn tortillas
1-2 cans Green Enchilada sauce

Directions


1.Place roast in a large saucepan that has a tight-fitting lid. Pour in water, cover, and simmer on low for 30 minutes. Increase heat to medium/high, and brown the roast on all sides. Once the water has boiled away, pour in the beef broth, vinegar, chili powder and 1 tablespoon of cumin. Cover tightly and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the beef falls apart when you try to pick it up. Shred the beef, using 2 forks or your fingers. Place shredded beef back into the saucepan with all the juices, and let cool to room temperature. ( I didn't do this. I just sliced the roast stuck it straight into the crock pot and poured the mixture over it. )

2.In a large skillet, saute the onion until just soft, not browned. Mix in flour and green chilies. Stir constantly for 2 minutes to cook the flour taste out. Stir in sour cream and 2 cups of Monterey Jack cheese. Cook on low for 10 minutes, stirring often, until the cheese is all melted and mixed. Set aside and let cool. ( I added a can of enchilada sauce into the creamy mixture, but it coagulated and didn't look very good)

3.In a large heavy skillet, heat the olive oil. Using tongs dip the tortillas, one at a time, into the oil for 30 seconds each side. Drain on paper towels. (I dipped the tortillas in green enchilada sauce instead)

4.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Spread 4 tablespoons of sour cream mixture down the center of the tortilla. Top with about the same amount of beef. Roll up and place seam side down in one or two 8x11 inch baking dish. Repeat for each tortilla. Continue until you are out of the filling. Sprinkle with remaining Monterey Jack cheese. (I poured rest of enchilada mixture over the top to moisten them)

5.Bake in a pre-heated oven for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbling.

Bottom Line:My family really like these, especially my dad, but I thought they turned out dry. I think I would change some things if I made them again.

Double Fudge Brownies

6 oz. Unsweetened Choc

1 Cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 cup flour
½ tsp. Salt
½ cup hot fudge
Nuts (optional)

Melt butter and Choc. In sauce pan. Mix with sugar in a mixing bowl. Add eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour and salt. Pour into greased pan. Dollop hot fudge over the top of the brownies. Bake @325 for 25-30 min or until cooked through. Makes fudgelike brownies!

Brownie Review

Very tastey brownies. They were extremely rich and reminded me more of fudge than brownies. They didn't need the fudge topping. It would have been better to leave it out and simply call them Fudge brownies. Thumbs way up for the brownie pan!

The kids enjoyed the brownies and their weekend with their grandparents. We went to the zoo, rode paddle boats at Kiwanis park, went out for Thai food, saw Avatar in IMAX 3-D (without the kids of course), and even played rock band (my mom did great on guitar).

In fact I have to include this little clip of the kids rocking out with their grandma!