My mom is the best cook! Growing up she made a home cooked dinner for us every night. Today I am going to share her cheese enchilada recipe. It is simple and delicious. The oil and the onions are what give it the flavor. I’ll do my best to provide some measurements, however my mom never measures anything when she cooks. This even goes for baking. She used to make cakes without a recipe. I can’t bake WITH  a recipe.

I made these enchiladas for a Cinco de Mayo get together along with fresh squeezed citrus margaritas, and homemade Mexican refried beans.

2-3 tablespoons of oil
4-5 onions sliced
1 28oz can red enchilada sauce in medium or mild (the kind you get in the Mexican section at the market – I think you can actually get by on a 19oz can, but I wasn’t sure, we definitely had leftover sauce)
1 can of petite diced tomatoes
Oil for shallow frying tortillas
13 homemade style corn tortillas (the absolute best ones to use are from Old Town San Diego, unfortunately I had to use regular this time)
1 pound longhorn cheddar cheese grated (we also had leftover cheese)
Black olives whole
Cilantro chopped
Sour cream (for topping)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat oil in a big skillet and cook onions slowly getting them all caramelized.
3. In a medium sauce pan mix enchilada sauce, tomatoes, and a little of the caramelized onions and heat through.
4. Heat the other oil in a medium skillet.
5. Using tongs, slip a tortilla into the oil to soften, then into the sauce, then into a 9″ x 11″ baking pan.
6. Put onions inside the tortillas, then cheese, then roll.
7. Continue until the pan is full.
8. Pour sauce on top of all the enchiladas, sprinkle with a little cheese, and top each enchilada with an olive.
9. Bake 30 minutes.
10. Serve with cilantro and sour cream.