Cheese Enchiladas with Chile Con Carne

This recipe is one of my favorites. When I moved to Boston, I moved out of Tex-Mex land and into Seafood and Italian land. This recipe fills the void, and, while it takes time to make (especially if you make your own tortillas), it is certainly worth it. The enchiladas are actually better the next day, after the ingredients have had time to marry. How sweet! I recommend tasting the chili along the way to see if you want to change the flavor (salt and chili powder are typically the two ingredients I need to alter). Lastly, according to Wikipedia, chile con carne is the official dish of Texas.

Chili con carne ingredients
1 pound ground beef
~3 tablespoons chili powder
~1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
~1 tablespoon granulated garlic
~1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon dried leaf oregano
4 tablespoons coarsely chopped sweet white onion
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped red bell pepper
1 (14 oz.) can whole stewed tomatoes
2 cups water

Brown the meat until it is done, then drain the fat. Add all of the seasonings, the onion and pepper, and sauté for 2 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and water, and simmer uncovered for approximately 1 hour (more water may be added as needed).

Enchilada Ingredients
1 batch of chile con carne
Vegetable oil (enough to fill a small, tortilla-sized skillet half way with oil)
12 corn tortillas
3-4 cups Cheddar-Jack cheese
1 cup finely chopped onions (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the oil in a skillet on medium heat (you know it's hot enough when you sprinkle a bit of water in the oil and it pops - watch out though!). With tongs, carefully swipe each tortilla through the oil, no more than 2-3 seconds. Drag the tortilla over the side of the skillet, removing the excess oil, and stack the tortillas on a paper towel-covered plate. Then, one by one, dip the tortillas into the chili con carne and stack them again on the plate.

Fill the tortillas with cheese, and if you want, onions. Then, tightly roll up each tortilla. Arrange the enchiladas in a 13x9 glass baking dish and spread the chili over the tortillas. "Sprinkle" with more cheese on top (I prefer to release the cheese floodgates). Bake the enchiladas for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is completely melted. Serve! I typically serve this meal with Spanish Rice.