Shrimp Enchiladas
Ingredients
Cheese Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- ½ cup chopped red bell pepper
- ½ cup chopped green bell pepper
- ½ cup chopped yellow or white onion
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, add more for a spicier sauce
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup cream or milk, I almost always use 2% milk
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack cheese
- ½ cup sour cream, light or regular
Shrimp Mixture:
- 1 tablespoon butter, canola oil, coconut oil or olive oil
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 1 ½ to 2 pounds shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped into bite-size pieces
- 2 cups ripe tomatoes, chopped
- 1 ½ cups shredded Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack cheese
- 8 (9-inch) flour tortillas
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch dish and set aside.
- For the sauce, in a large, 12-inch nonstick skillet, melt the butter, and add the bell peppers and onion. Cook, stirring often, until crisp-tender.
- Add the salt, oregano, garlic powder, pepper, cayenne pepper, and flour; blend well and cook, stirring constantly for about a minute. Whisk in the cream or milk and continue cooking for 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add the cheese; stir until melted. Add sour cream, stir to blend. Set aside.
- For the shrimp, in another skillet, heat 1 tablespoon butter or oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent and soft, 3-5 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook until the shrimp just turn pink, 1-2 minutes (don't overcook or the shrimp will be tough).
- Add the chopped tomatoes and 1/2 of the cheese sauce; stir to combine.
- Spoon about 1/3 cup of the shrimp mixture into each tortilla. Sprinkle cheese on top and roll the enchiladas up tightly. Arrange seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Spoon the remaining cheese sauce over tortillas and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes until hot and bubbly. Let the enchiladas rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Tortillas: I've used many different types and brands of tortillas over the years for these enchiladas. I really love the corn + wheat tortillas from Trader Joe's, but regular flour tortillas or basic corn tortillas work great, too! The cook-your-own tortillas are tasty as well if you want to go to that extra step (and they seem to hold up better in terms of sogginess, if that's a motivating factor for you).
Sauce: these enchiladas aren't overly sauce (I'm one of those aforementioned soggy-haters), so if you like more sauce to your enchiladas, consider doubling the sauce (or maybe double the flour, seasonings, milk and cheese and leave the peppers the same?).