Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Sweet Corn and Shrimp Enchilada's

Last night I was stuck in a meeting that ran much longer than I had planned, so by the time I got home to make dinner, it was already 9:30pm. I had some white rice left over from the night before and had planned to make some black beans with it tonight. Black beans (from a can) take hardly 10 min to make so that was one item taken care of. I just needed something quick and easy to go with this...

These enchiladas were a total experiment but turned out really good! Of course, as bad as I am with taking pictures, I remembered only AFTER I ate that I should've taken a couple. Sorry folks, next time... I see this quickly becoming a favorite  :)

6 corn tortillas (6")
1 small can of sweet yellow corn
10 to 12 medium size raw shrimp, tail off, peeled, de-viened and cut in half
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 medium yellow onion diced
1 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne (or to taste)
2 tbsp tomato sauce
1/2 cup of chicken stock or water
salt to taste
1 cup+ grated cheese (cheddar, colby, montery jack, whatever you like)
3/4 cup Old El Paso medium (red) enchilada sauce

In a skillet, saute the onion until translucent. Keeping the heat at medium to medium low, add in the cumin, cayenne, garlic and salt then mix well. Add in corn, stir and cover for a minute. Add in the tomato sauce, shrimp, chicken stock/water and stir to mix well. Cover and let cook for 5 to 7 minutes (over cooking will make the shrimp rubbery). Turn off the heat and pour contents of skillet in to a heat proof bowl, let sit for 5 min to cool down. Mix in the Parmesan cheese and check salt taste, add more if necessary. Keep to the side.

In another skillet, warm the tortillas one at a time with a drop of olive oil. Remove tortilla from skillet to a flat surface, fill with the prepared shrimp mix, roll and place seam side down in a baking/casserole dish. Repeat until all six are completed. Pour the enchilada sauce over the prepared enchiladas, sprinkle with cheese and bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the oven, set at 400 degrees. Once the cheese is melted and slightly browning around the edges, remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes before serving.

You can also add some chopped cilantro, diced tomato and sour cream as garnish if you like. I served these enchiladas with black beans, cilantro lime rice (re-purposed from the night before) and an avocado tomato salad. As always, feel free to try your own variations...point is to make things quick and easy from what is available in your freezer or pantry.

Happy Cooking!