Nice!!! Yeah the powder is just so concentrated you can really bump up the flavor compared to straight broth. Glad you enjoyed! And agree, homemade sauce is the way to go when you have time. Canned is fine in a pinch but doesn’t hold a candle to scratch enchilada sauce.

Matter or personal taste, for me this is how I like them.

The powdered bullion 100% makes it for me, it gives you that salty savory tomato flavor. I do recommend using a plastic whisk or something to incorporate the powder into the rice (break up the clumps) before turning on your rice cooker. The bullion tends to climb up. Or you could microwave it in a little water to dissolve it better before adding to the rice as a whole. Hope your rice works out! Leftover pork is great for Mexican.

I’m from California and moved to WA 7 years ago, hard to find good casual Mexican food out here compared to Cali so I usually just try to make it at home. I feel your pain! Sounds like you lucked out though with some decent local spots.

🚀🚀🚀

For sure!

I don’t use measurements unfortunately I eyeball everything. The rice after washing I just mix with tomato purée, powdered tomato chicken bullion (Knorr brand, can buy it online or many grocery stores carry it), Mexican oregano and then cook like normal in rice cooker.

The beans do a normal soak and boil preparation, then I sautee sliced onions and carrots in lard until softened. Add in beans and liquid, simmer down and mash with a potato masher. I don’t fully smash into a puree but some prefer it that way, I like a mix of smashed and whole. If I wasn’t cooking for kids, I would have also added a fresh whole jalapeno cut in half lengthwise to the carrots and onions which adds great flavor to the beans but would have been too spicy for the little ones.

Enchilada sauce tonight I was short on time by the time the kids were ready to eat so I just used canned which is fine, I have made similar to this though and liked it a lot: https://lilluna.com/red-enchilada-sauce/ however most of the cooks I work with will boil, purée and strain out whole dried chiles which is a better flavor imo.

Heat up some enchilada sauce on low in skillet, use tongs to dip into sauce, transfer to plate, add Jack cheese, roll and put in casserole dish. Repeat until you have enough. Top with more enchilada sauce, more Jack cheese, bake at 375 for like 25 min or until all cheese is melted.

I also like them with shredded lettuce on top and pickled jalapeños on the side, but this was a school night dinner so kept it minimal.

Sounds amazing! When I crave this style of food I just have to give in, queso fundido is one of my favorites.