Shrimp Enchiladas

I'm pretty sure our family has tried this recipe before because it sounded familiar to me, but I figured that if we kept the recipe, it must have been good, right? You bet you're right. I'm not a huge Mexican food fan simply because I grew up in a house that didn't like or eat beans. Ever. That pretty much nixes 95% of Mexican food right there which means I'm always glad to find great Mexican-themed recipes that don't involve "the musical fruit."

I really liked this meal and so did most everyone else. I say "most" because Tyler said it was a little bit spicy, but this is the kid who thinks toothpaste is spicy. Seriously, he does. There are tears (and lots of grunting) if he has to use "big boy toothpaste," but that's another story. Even with the spicy comment, Tyler ate half of his enchilada, and I will admit, with my sensitive taste buds, it did have a bit of a kick to it. Maybe I should have used mild instead of medium salsa? That said, it was easy to assemble, not much prep time necessary and turned out great.

I know I've mentioned before how big a fan I am of pre-prepping our dinners to save time. I had some onion leftover from a previous recipe that I knew wouldn't get used before it went bad so I chopped it up, put it in a storage bin with some water and froze it until I needed it. Saved a lot of time (and extra onion tears). I could have combined all the spices in a ziplock and grated the cheese ahead of time for this recipe too, but I didn't think ahead that much this week and it didn't take forever anyway.

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3/4 lb uncooked medium shrimp, peeled, deveined
• 1 can (4oz) chopped green chilies
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, cubed
• 8 flour tortillas, warmed
• 1 1/2 cups chunky salsa
• 1 1/2 cups (6oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

In a large skillet, saute onion in oil until tender. Add the shrimp, green chilies, chili powder, salt, cumin and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until shrimp turn pink. Stir in cream cheese until melted. Place 1/3 cup shrimp mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in greased 13x9 inch baking dish. Pour salsa over the top, sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.

NOTES: I actually bought cooked shrimp and it still did alright. Might be what made my prep time go quickly. Also, I think it is pushing it to say you need 8 tortillas: we barely had enough filling for 5 enchiladas and we used the whole pound of shrimp I bought. And my previously frozen Monterey Jack cheese was 50 shades of nasty so we used a 4 cheese Mexican blend instead and it still tasted yummy.

Serves: 6-8
Prep Time: 20 min
Total Time: 40 min

Not sure where I actually got this recipe, though it looks like it's duplicated many times online.