Been a while since I made a cooking post. I love Mexican Food, its my favorite. This past Saturday I made enchiladas to eat for a day of football. Its my red chile gravy recipe that I use.

What you need:

-Corn Tortillas. Doesn't matter how many or what size, you just need them
-1 pound of Cheddar Cheese, grated
-1 pound of ground beef, preferably a fattier(non lean) pound
-4oz of ground red chile powder(I use New Mexico, California and Arbol)
-2 Cups of Diced Onions
-6 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
-1 quart of Chicken Stock
-Vegetable Oil
-2.5 TSP Ground Cumin
-0.5 TSP Ground Black Pepper
-2 TSP Salt
-3 TBSP Flour

1. First things first brown the ground beef. You want to use a fattier pound of meat because you need the drippings.

2. After the ground beef is browned drain it and put the beef aside, meanwhile take 3 TBSP of the drippings and put it into a skillet or pan. Add the onions and sautee until they become a clear color, then add the garlic and sautee for another 45 seconds or so until it becomes fragrant.

3. Once this is done remove the skillet and combine the contents of the skillet into a blender or food processor with the chile powder cumin, salt, black pepper, and about a cup of the chicken stock. Blend it for a couple minutes until its all blended and smooth. For this recipe I used about 1/3 of a cup of chile powder. In the past I have gone as high 1/2 cup, but realize the more chile powder, the hotter it is. I wasn't quite in the mood for a hotter version so I scaled it down but feel free to go higher.

(NOTE: You can do it long way and personally depod and deseed and bake and grind dried chile peppers to make your own powder, which I have done before. But I don't do it anymore because I don't see the point when I can buy packets of the chile powder from New Mexico, Arbol, and California chiles off the shelf. Here is my red chile powder blended stash of New Mexico/Arbol/California chiles that came in packets off the shelf, for like $1.00 per 2 oz. at Fred Meyer AKA Kroger)

4. Once its all blended heat 3 TBSP of oil over medium heat in a skillet. When hot add 3 TBSP of flour and make a roux, stirring constantly until its a golden brown color, like the color of a peanut. If you want thinner sauce you can go with 2 TBSP but I like it a bit thicker. Once the roux is the right color add the chile mixture from the blender and stir in the rest of the chicken stock and ground beef. Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or so. While it simmers it should become thicker, like a gravy.

5. While it simmers heat enough oil in a skillet to cover the base and cover a tortilla. This is an important step. Make sure the oil is hot enough. I recommend a high-medium heat, not quite high, but well past medium. 375-400 degrees or so. Once the oil reaches the temperature, fry corn tortillas one at a time. About 10 seconds per side. You want the tortilla to fry long enough to become firm and crisp, but not too long to where its basically a tortilla chip. Be patient and wait for the oil to be hot enough before frying so this happens. If the oil isnt hot enough they will be soggy no matter how long you fry. Place the fried tortillas on paper towels to dry.

6. Preheat the oven to 375. Once the sauce is done simmering, remove from heat. Take a fried corn tortilla and dip it in the sauce, covering both sides. Then put it on a plate, add chopped onion and shredded cheese in the middle. Then roll it up and place it into a baking dish.

7. Once the dish is full sppon the rest of the sauce ontop of the enchiladas. You can add all the sauce, or just some, its up to you. Whatever cheese and onion didn't make it into the tortillas, also sprinkle on top.

8. Bake for about 15 minutes at 375.

9. Put the baking dish on a wire rack and cool for 10-15 minutes. Use a spatula to remove the enchiladas from the dish and put onto a plate. Serve with rice and beans.