{ shrimp enchiladas }

My stunningly beautiful [identical] twin sister provided me with this recipe. She claims it's one of the best enchilada recipes she's ever made. And I whole-heartedly agree with her -- it's delicious.

A definite keeper with an endless amount of potential variety (lobster?).

Shrimp Enchiladas
adapted from melskitchencafe

Ingredients
Cheese Sauce:
½ cup sweet red pepper, finely-chopped
½ cup yellow onion, minced
½ cup green pepper, finely-chopped
1/4 cup butter
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon coursely-ground black pepper
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 cup light whipping cream
1 ½ cups Monterrey Jack/Cheddar cheese mix (Mexican blend)
½ cup light sour cream

Shrimp Mixture:
2 tablespoons butter
1 ½ pounds shrimp, peeled, deveined and sliced down the middle, so shrimp pieces retain their "shrimp" shape (I thawed some frozen shrimp)
½ cup yellow onion, chopped
2 cups ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 ½ cups Monterrey Jack/Cheddar cheese mix (Mexican blend)
8 (9-inch) flour tortillas

Process
Preheat the oven to 350°.

Lightly coat a 9 x 13" casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute red pepper, onion and green pepper in 1/4 cup butter until crisp-tender.

Add oregano, salt, garlic powder, pepper, cayenne pepper, and flour. Blend well and cook, stirring constantly for about a minute.

Whisk in the cream and continue cooking for 3 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Add 1½ cups cheese and stir until melted. Add sour cream, stir to blend. Set aside.

In another skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Saute shrimp and ½ cup onion until shrimp are pink, or, if using thawed-out frozen shrimp, cook until heated through (don’t overcook or the shrimp will be tough).

Add chopped tomatoes and ½ of the cheese sauce.

Spoon 1/3 cup shrimp mixture into each tortilla. Sprinkle a small amount of cheese on top of shrimp mixture. Roll the enchiladas up tightly. Arrange seam side down in baking dish. Spoon remaining cheese sauce over tortillas and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake until cheese is completely melted and bubbly, about 30-35 minutes.

I served the enchiladas with cilantro-lime rice and fresh pico de gallo.