[Liz]

Qdoba Mexican Grill offers their famous tortilla soup recipe. Serves 6 very easily.

TORTILLA SOUP

PREP Cook on med 5 min tb veg oil, 1/2 c ea minced red onions, diced poblanos.
Add tb minced garlic, 2 tsp chp jalapeno, 1/2 tsp ea cumin, chili powder; cook 5 min.

Now add blender/pureed 3 c broth and 2 corn tortillas, 2 c diced fire roasted tomatoes
and 1/2 c crushed tomatoes; simmer 15 min on med-low. Finish w/ 2 tsp kosher salt.

SERVE w/ Qdoba Chefs’ garnishes: Tb crushed tortilla chips; Tb diced zucchini; 2 thin-sliced avocados; tsp rough-chp cilantro.

[PUGACHEV]

Rice and beans, salad, and soup, the only thing missing are the enchiladas. The best enchiladas I had were from a native Mexican cook who opened a restaurant near my childhood home. He made cheese enchiladas that were delicate and subtle, with beans and rice to match. That one meal was his only menu choice and the place was packed every night of the week. I have never encountered anything else that could compare to it.

Nevertheless, my current recipe is as follows. I use Mission extra soft corn tortillas. I've bought freshly made tortillas, and even made them myself, but the difference is not enough for the trouble. I spread 14 of them out on a plate overlapping each other and put them in the Microwave under a cover for 1 Min. 30 Sec. I have used a comal, but, again, it's not worth the effort.

Coat the inside of a 12 x 8 pan lightly with corn oil. Shred some sweet yellow onions. You can chop them if you like, but shredding is worth the effort. Rinse the onions after cutting, as this is important to preserve the sweet flavor. I use a Monterrey Jack/Colby cheese mixture, which if you can shred it yourself is best. Roll a tortilla with a small amount of cheese and some onions. The tendency is to use too much cheese, so be careful. Too much cheese quickly overwhelms the corn tortilla flavor. I can fit 14 rolled tortillas in a line of ten with two pairs to the side in the pan. Pour on the sauce to coat the top surface of the rolled enchiladas. In the end there should be about 3/8 of sauce in the bottom of the pan. I have finally settled on Old El Paso red sauce, or Goya Mole. Once again, preparing your own sauce, while it is better, is not worth it, because I have not found a recipe that is that much better to justify the effort.

Finally, sprinkle some sharp cheddar cheese on the top, spread a small can of chopped chilies over that, add a few more onions, and cook for 30 minutes uncovered at 400.

If you are in a hurry, you can make New Mexico pancake enchiladas. Pour the sauce into a shallow pan and dip each corn tortilla in to thoroughly coat it. Don't bother pre-heating the tortilla, because your not going to bend it. Place the tortilla flat on a plate and add a small amount of cheese and onions, and then add a tablespoon of sauce toward the center. Coat another tortilla and place it over the first one. Again, add cheese, onions and sauce. I usually stack them four deep, and add cheese, chilies, sauce, and onions on top of the final tortilla. I put the plate, covered, into the microwave for 4.5 minutes (one minute for each tortilla in the stack, plus 30 seconds), and they come out perfectly cooked.