Seafood Enchiladas Ala My Year on the Grill

It's been 3 weeks in the making, but today I am finally going to finish telling the tale of my Mexican influenced meal of Spanish Rice, Fresh Caribbean Tomato Salsa and these beauties... Cheesy, Spicy, Rich Seafood Enchiladas...











While it has taken 3 weeks to explain the single meal, I am learning that cooking is not about following a recipe, it is about building on the skills and knowledge you have.  Without being able to make chicken stock, I could not have made the Spanish Rice as rich.  Without making my own herb mixture of "not your Grandmother's HERBES de PROVENCE", my Caribbean Tomato Salsa would not have such a depth of flavors.





And if I did not make my own Cajun Spiced Rub Mix, I could not make the Blackened Tilapia that I used to stuff the enchiladas with.  It sounds all complicated and time consuming.  Click on all of those blue lettered links and you will see hours worth prep time and many dollars worth of ingredients.  But my Herbe and Cajun mixtures, as well as my chicken stock are all made in advance (and are all multi recipe ingredients, so having them on hand for months cuts the prep time per recipe down considerably.  The salsa can be cut up while the rice is boiling, and the tilapia cooks so fast, it practically cooks itself.  Everything comes together in a complicated sounding recipe, when in reality, a series of small easy steps makes an outstanding meal...





But I am ahead of myself... 





First the seafood stuffing...





Click HERE for the details of how I make Blackened Tilapia.  









Fried in butter, with seared spices makes this a flavorful fish.  The cooking method insures a moist tender fish. Overcooked rubbery fish is my personal buggaboo.  By cooking a thin piece of Tilapia, it takes only 5 minutes start to finish to make this.  Once it is done, remove the fish, but add some of the small salad size popcorn shrimp to the remaining butter sauce to add another taste to the enchiladas.





Cut the fish into small pieces (about the same size as the shrimp).





While that is cooling, I worked on the cream sauce...









In the same pan that I blackened the fish in (don't want to waste the spiced butter in the pan), add...





1 cup Heavy Cream

1 cup Whole Milk

1 cup White Cheddar Cheese

2 TBS "not your Grandmother's HERBES de PROVENCE"

1 cup Caribbean Tomato Salsa





Heat the Cream and Milk, add the cheese and stir till well mixed and the cheese is melted.  Add the Salsa and spices.





And now we are ready to assemble our enchiladas (finally)...



Take a 9X12 baking dish, spray with Pam
Set up an assembly line of Tortillas. Spanish Rice, mixture of the fish and shrimp, and some of the Caribbean Tomato Salsa.
Lay out a tortilla, add 1/2 cup of the fish, 1/4 cup each of the rice and salsa.
Roll up the tortilla and place in the pan
Repeat and make 8 tortillas, stuffed into the pan side to side
Pour all of the sauce over the tortillas... it will sink into the bottom of the pan, coating as it sinks.
Top the enchiladas with a cup of grated yellow Cheddar Cheese and 1/4 cup of the Caribbean Tomato Salsa.
Bake in pre-heated oven, 350 degrees for 30 minutes.






It sounds so much more complicated than it is.  Remember, a series of small steps to make something better than the pieces.





Well worth the effort!





Dave here from MY YEAR ON THE GRILL. Plan ahead, be a cook and you to can say...  



 ... I CAN COOK THAT! 



And so can you!...





Serve the whole meal (Seafood Enchiladas, Spanish Rice and Caribbean Salsa with a Pina Colada...





Come visit my site for an amazing recipe for this classic...