Spice Up Your Cinco de Mayo With The LEFT OF THE RIGHT Guys Recipe For Taco Melts And Enchilada Pie

TACO MELTS

I use Mission brand  thin yellow corn tortillas.

Heat at medium about a half inch of shortening, oil, or what ever media you prefer in a nonstick frying pan. The more tacos you want, the bigger the pan.

Spread hamburger over half the tortilla about 1/8 of an inch thick in the shape of a half moon. A dash of salt and perhaps a dash of your favorite chili powder or taco seasoning.

Fold the tortilla over carefully so as not to break it and lower it slowly into the hot oil. Hold in place until the fold softens and then drop it on it's side. Load as many tacos into your frying pan as you think you can handle. Smooth edged tongs work best.

Cook until burger is done. Hold taco sideways to drain excess oil before removing from pan. Place on paper towel to further soak away excess oil. Add shredded cheddar cheese immediately.

Top with Lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, and salsa and serve.

Cooking the hamburger inside the tortilla gives these tacos a very unique flavor.

ENCHILADA PIE

Anyone who has ever prepared enchiladas knows that individually heating and rolling each enchilada is time consuming and can be back breaking. Well here's a way to whip them up in just a few minutes and most folks can't even tell the difference.

The key to the best enchiladas is the sauce. I recommend Las Palmas brand enchilada sauce if it's available. If it's not, don't be afraid to request your grocer acquire it. You won't be disappointed. The enchiladas can be either red chili or green chili. Las Palmas makes both. Traditionally beef is used with red chili and chicken or pork is used with green. I say, who cares, what ever lights your fire is A-OK as far as I'm concerned.

Heat oven to 400 degrees

Any cake pan will work. The bigger the pan, the more enchiladas. Pour about a table spoon or 2 of sauce into the bottom of the pan and slosh it around until it coats the bottom and a bit up the edges.

Line the bottom with thick white or yellow corn tortillas. I prefer white. Depending on the pan you may need to break some tortillas into pieces to cover the bottom without too much overlap.

Spread sauce thinly over layer of tortillas. Sprinkle meat over sauce. Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese over meat. Cover with second layer of tortillas and repeat as many times as will fit or as you desire. I usually don't put meat on the top layer. Just sauce and cheese.

Bake at 400 degrees until cheese begins to brown around the edges. Let stand for 10 minutes. Cut into enchilada size pieces and serve with lettuce. tomatoes, sour cream, and avocados.

I've seen folks add tomatoes, mushrooms and olives to these recipes. But I'm more of a purist.

Las Palmas sauces are great for red chili and green chili burritos as well.