Carne Asada Enchiladas & Happy Families

It can be hard to please all of my family at the same time.

Me?
I tend to like the- as my husband calls them- "frou frou" foods.
While sometimes our tastes overlap in that category, generally my daughter steers clear.

My husband and daughter?
Meat.
They could easily be carnivores and be perfectly happy.
I've mentioned over and over again that I can really take or leave meat for the most part, so meat-heavy meals definitely aren't going to make me happy.

My son.
Oooooh my son.
We've talked about him.  The autism and sensory issues that carry over so significantly and frustratingly to his eating habits.  He'd be happy with chicken nuggets (sans sauce) and pizza for every meal for the rest of his life.

So.  Menu planning and meal times can be quite challenging!  To be honest, for your average weeknight meal I often plan around the carnivores, go to the old stand-by's for my son, and just graze a bit myself since I'm rarely desirous of a big heavy meal anyway.


What was my point?  I fear I may have gotten off track a bit!
Anyway, the point I was trying to get to was that this meal was truly a hit all around.
Well...not with the little guy, but that's to be expected.  We're still taking baby steps with him.  :-)

When I saw that this recipe was created by one of my fellow Allstars, Joey Joan, used those Herdez cooking sauces I told you I loved, and hadn't been reviewed by anyone else yet?
 Well, you know I was on the job!

Don't let the number of steps in this recipe intimidate you at all.
It's not difficult.

You just brown the meat, toss it in the crock pot, then shred it a few hours later.
Add it back to the cooking liquid, fill a few tortillas, top with sauce, and bake.
Not hard at all!

My husband and I actually got into a little discussion about whether these were carne asada or barbacoa as carne asada is generally sliced rather than shredded...I think in the end we decided that neither one of us is even close to being an expert in the realm of Mexican food and what we are most definitely sure these are is absolutely delicious!  :-)

I was a little concerned that my daughter would think these were too spicy, but she absolutely loves them!  As did my husband.  He smothered his with sour cream, but they'd also be good with some guac, tomatoes, lettuce, etc- whatever you feel like serving them with!

Carne Asada Enchiladas

Modified slightly from Allrecipes.com

2 lb beef chuck steaks

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tspground black pepper

2 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil, divided

4 green onions, chopped

4 cloves minced garlic

1/2 C tequila

1/4 C lime juice

1/4 C lemon juice

1/4 C orange juice

1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 kiwi, peeled

1 (12 oz) chipotle chile cooking sauce (such as Herdez®)

10 (8 inch) flour tortillas

1 (12 oz) bottle pasilla chile cooking sauce (such as Herdez®)

1 (12 oz) package shredded asadero cheese

2 Tbsp chopped fresh chives

1. Season chuck steaks on both sides with chili powder, onion powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chuck steaks in the hot oil in batches until browned, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a slow cooker.

3. Heat remaining 1 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil in the same skillet. Add green onions and garlic; cook and stir until browned but not burnt, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat.

4. Whisk tequila, lime juice, lemon juice, orange juice, and ginger together in a bowl. Mash in kiwi using a fork. Stir in green onion-garlic mixture and chipotle sauce. Pour over chuck steaks in the slow cooker.  Cook on Low until steaks are fork-tender, 6 to 8 hours.

5. Transfer chuck steaks to a cutting board; shred with 2 forks.  Pour cooking liquid from the slow cooker into the skillet. Simmer over medium heat until reduced and thickened into a sauce, about 10 minutes. Stir in shredded steak; simmer until most of the sauce is absorbed, about 5 minutes.

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish with 1/4 of the pasilla chile sauce.

7. Spoon shredded steak mixture into tortillas. Wrap up and place seam-side down, close together, in the baking dish. Pour remaining pasilla chile sauce over tortillas. Sprinkle cheese and chives on top.  Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted and bubbly, 20 to 30 minutes.