Mo's Cheese Enchiladas- Recipe for Cinco de Mayo

. It's time to get ready for Cinco de Mayo! I learned this recipe from my son's grandfather who lives in Mexico. Learning how to cook from a man who spoke Spanish only while I didn't understand any of it was quite interesting! The end result is delicious regardless of the language barrier, I promise. 

Warning: I make this salsa very spicy! Ingredients you will need are below:

1. Corn Tortillas (I buy a bag of them soft from the food store, you can also buy the hard ones or use tortilla chips) 

2. 4-6 Plum Tomatoes (depending on size)

3. 1 yellow onion - I prefer a smaller onion but if you love onions, by all means get a big one.

4. 4-5 fresh jalapenos (depending on size)

5. 1 clove of garlic

6. Cilantro (I actually prefer the McCormick Cilantro over fresh for this recipe) 

7. Salt & Pepper 

8. Queso Fresco - This is a soft cheese that you can crumble. You can find it in a lot of Walmart's, some super markets in their dairy section (depending on the area you live), and International & Hispanic grocery stores. I suggest Walmart because it is the cheapest- around $3.00 for the whole round. 

7. Oil if you plan to fry your tortillas. 

Recipe:

1. Boil water in a large pot. Cut tomatoes and onion in half. Cut jalapeno stems off and cut the whole pepper in half, keeping some seeds for spice. If you do not like a lot of spiciness, I suggest getting the seeds out. Avoid touching your eyes and children when handling the jalapenos! Put tomatoes, onion, jalapenos, and garlic in the water and cover with a lid. I keep the veggies in there for about ten minutes. 

2. The best way to know they are done are to check the tomatoes. I put a fork or knife through them and if it slides right off, I know it's done. You'll also notice the skin of the tomatoes is coming off. Peel the skins off of the tomatoes completely. (Be careful! They're hot and you will want to let them cool before peeling.) Put all of your vegetables into a food processor. You can add just a bit of the water from the pot, too, to make it blend easier. Blend the vegetables until you have a smooth sauce. I like to blend for a minute so it is more liquid than chunky. 

3. Pour sauce into a bowl and sprinkle the cilantro, salt, and pepper in to taste. This part really will depend on how spicy you like things. I usually do five shakes of the cilantro and pepper and three shakes of salt. Stir. 

4. If you bought the soft corn tortillas, you can fry them in oil until they are hard. This part is time consuming but tasty and more authentic! Whenever I'm feeling pressed for time I just use chips.

5. Spread a spoonful of sauce on each tortilla or several spoonfuls over your plate of chips. Sprinkle some of the crumbled queso fresco on top. 

6. Enjoy!