Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef (For Enchiladas)

As a kid, I HATED roast! Mom would frequently make it on Monday nights, and I would just despise it. Eventually I got smart and would kill the taste by rolling the meat in a flour tortilla with some salsa.

I guess that’s why these beef enchiladas are my new favorite! They remind me of how at an earlier age, I put a Mexican twist on roast. Recently I started using a slow cooker. It makes life soooo much easier when you can literally dump all your ingredients in the crock pot, and have a delicious dinner 6-8 hours later.

Since I’m obsessed with the slow cooker, I’ve been looking for recipes, and found this one via Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. The slow cooker does all the work and makes the beef roast tender and juicy. To my enjoyment, there is a cup of salsa, and a bunch of spices like cumin, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic powder added to the roast to make one delicious sauce.

Once the roast is done about 8-10 hours later, you shred it, and roll it in corn tortillas with a little cheese, and bake with more cheese and more sauce. Just like I did as a kid! LOL. 🙂

I see roast in a whole new light now. Enjoy!

slow cooker beef for enchiladas

Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef (For Enchiladas)

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 10 hours

Total time: 10 hours 5 mins

Serves: 6

Adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients

1 (2-3 pound) chuck or sirloin beef roast
2 cups low-sodium beef broth
2 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
1 cup (8 oz) salsa (I used Joe T. Garcia’s)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. flour
12 6- or 7-inch corn tortillas
2 cups monterey jack and cheddar cheese

Instructions

In a 4- or 5-quart slow cooker, add beef roast. Whisk together the broth, vinegar, salsa, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Pour over the roast, cover the slow cooker, and cook on low for 8-10 hours until the beef is tender and shreds easily.
Remove the roast from the slow cooker and place in a large bowl.
Pour the mixture from the slow cooker into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour with about 3 tablespoons of water. Whisk the slurry into the simmering liquid and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thickened slightly, 4-5 minutes.
Pour about 1/2 cup sauce in with the beef and toss. Spread another 1/2 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9×13-inch pan. Toss the cheese together.
Fill each tortilla with some of the beef mixture and a sprinkle of cheese. Roll up and place in the pan.
Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas. Top with remaining cheese and bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes.
Let enchiladas rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro, salsa, or sour cream if desired.

Lighter Chicken Enchiladas

Homemade enchiladas are one of my favorite dinners. Up until now, my go-to recipe has been aunt Jolene’s sour cream chicken enchiladas, which are outstanding. However, flour tortillas, Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheese, sour cream, and butter aren’t exactly calorie friendly.

A few weeks ago my sister and mom discovered a new, lightened-up chicken enchiladas recipe that I just had to try.

While there’s no butter or sour cream in these, they definitely do NOT lack flavor. Two tablespoons of chipotles in adobo (dried chiles from smoked jalapeños) don’t sound like much, you’d be surprised! If you’re not very tolerant of spicy foods, you might want to scrape out the ribs and seeds. With that said, the chipotles in adobo add a wonderfully rich smokey flavor that create an authentic-tasting Tex-Mex chicken enchilada dish.

If you have a Central Market anywhere near you, you MUST try their homemade corn tortillas for these enchiladas. I’m not a huge fan of corn tortillas (I’d take flour over corn any day of the week), but Central Market’s corn tortillas blew me away! Not only are they fresh out of the oven, they are slightly larger than your typical corn tortilla and they don’t crack like the regular pre-packaged ones. I really think these tortillas “made” the dish for me!

Matt loved these lightened-up enchiladas and even liked them better than the sour cream enchiladas I always have made. This recipe tastes more authentic, like something you’d expect from a Mexican or Tex-Mex restaurant, sans the grease. 🙂

Enjoy!

Lighter Chicken Enchiladas

Serves: 4

Source: Martha Stewart

Ingredients

Course salt and ground pepper
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6-8 ounces each)
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cumin
1-2 Tbsp. minced canned chipotles in adobo
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
8 corn tortillas (6-inch) from Central Market
1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese (2 ounces)

Instructions

In a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid, bring 1 inch salted water to a boil. Add chicken. Cover; reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 5 minutes; remove skillet from heat. Let chicken steam, covered, until opaque throughout, 12-14 minutes. Transfer chicken to a medium bowl; shred with two forks. Set aside.
While chicken is cooking, make sauce: In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add garlic; cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add flour, cumin, and chipotles in adobo; cook, whisking 1 minute.
Whisk in broth and 1/2 cup water; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook, whisking occasionally, until sauce has thickened slightly, 5-8 minutes; season with salt and pepper.
Transfer 1 cup sauce to bowl with chicken; toss to combine.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Pour 1/4 cup sauce into bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish; set aside.
Stack tortillas, and wrap in a double layer of damp paper towels; microwave until hot, about 1 minute.
Fill each tortilla with chicken mixture; roll up tightly, and arrange, seam-side down, in baking dish. Cover with remaining sauce, and top with cheese. Bake until hot and bubbling, 15-20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

Chipotles in adobo (smoked, dried jalapeños in sauce) are spicy – for less heat, scrape out the ribs and seeds. You’ll find them in the international aisle.

Chicken Enchiladas

Look no further if you’re craving a good, creamy, cheesy chicken enchilada.

My aunt Jolene is an amazing cook and gave me the recipe for her famous sour cream chicken enchiladas.

Seriously, these enchiladas are better than any you would order from a restaurant. Plus if you’re wanting to lighten up the recipe, feel free to substitute fat-free sour cream for the full fat version….trust me, you won’t be able to tell the difference. You could also use low-fat cheese and whole wheat tortillas.

Yum….dinner doesn’t get much better than this! Enjoy!

Saute onion in butter until tender. Stir in flour. Add chicken broth and cook until thickened. In a medium bowl combine the chicken, 1 cup of sauce, green chilies and cheese. Place chicken mixture in a tortilla. Roll up and place seam-side down in a baking pan. Sprinkle with paprika and remaining cheese. Bake for 25 minutes or until sauce is bubbly.

Chicken Enchiladas

Serves: 10

Ingredients

1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
8 oz sour cream at room temperature
1/2 cup (2 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/4 cup (6 oz) shredded monterey jack cheese
4 oz chopped green chiles
1/2 tsp chili powder
3 cups chopped cooked chicken
10 flour tortillas
paprika to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Saute onion and butter on medium heat until tender .
Stir in flour.
Add chicken broth and cook until thickened.
Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.
Combine 1 cup sauce, cheddar, 1/2 of monterey jack, chiles, chili powder, and chicken. Mix until combined.
Spoon chicken mixture onto flour tortilla. Roll up tortilla and place in a baking pan. Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas. Sprinkle with paprika and remaining cheese.
Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until sauce is bubbly.