Steak and Cheese Enchiladas with Green Chile Sauce

Wow, it was brutally cold today across most of the country. The temps never rose above the mid-twenties here in East Tennessee today, which is cold enough for this Florida raised kid.   It's the kind of dry cold that chills you down to the bone.

I thought about making a hearty soup or chili for dinner.  But then I remember I had the leftovers of a flat iron steak from New Year's Day and decided I'd make some steak and cheese enchiladas.   Enchiladas are comfort food, right?  Especially when you use a creamy chile sauce instead of the traditional red enchilada sauce.

Steak and Cheese Enchiladas with Green Chile Sauce

www.nibblemethis.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup salsa verde or canned green enchilada sauce
• 1 cup half and half
• 8 corn tortillas
• 2 cups grilled steak, finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp garlic salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1/8 tsp ancho chile powder 
• 2 1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend

For the Green Chile Sauce

• 1/4 cup diced green chiles
• 1/4 cup Mexican crema
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon season salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cumin

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350f.
2. Spread salsa verde or canned enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch casserole dish.  Season the steak with the garlic salt, pepper, and ancho chile powder.
3. Warm half and half in a small saute pan over medium low heat.  Heat a corn tortilla in the warm half and half until soft and flexible, usually this is about 6-10 seconds.  
4. Top tortilla with about 1/4 cup of the steak and 1/4 cup of the cheese.  Roll the tortilla up, overlapping the ends, and place it seam side down in the casserole dish.  Repeat with remaining tortillas.
5. Stir in the green chile sauce ingredients to the remaining half and half until combined.  Pour over the assembled tortillas.
6. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.  
7. Remove cover, top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese and bake for 15 more minutes, or until the top edges begin to get crispy.  
8. Remove from oven, let cool for a few minutes and then serve.  

Grilling the flat iron steak on New Year's Day for tacos on that day.

Assembling the enchiladas.

A couple of tips for working with the tortillas.  If they are breaking when you try to roll them, you aren't letting them warm long enough in the half and half.  If they are falling apart then you are leaving them in too long.  Using silicone tipped tongs like these help avoid tearing the tortillas while shuttling them in and out of the warm half and half.  The ones on top are OXO Good Grips Silicone Flexible Tongs and the ones on the bottom are Amco Nylon Tongs. 

Both of these lock closed so you can put them in the drawer without having to worry about a spring loaded death trap the next time you open that drawer again. 

These hit the spot on a cold winter night. I cheated though, I always like more sauce so I made a second batch of the sauce with a half cup of cream.

[Standard Disclaimer]  I'm an Amazon affiliate so I get a kick back if you order it from them but you can also probably find the OXO ones locally.  I have no affiliation with either OXO or AMCO, these are just two sets that we bought years ago.