Usually when I make enchiladas I use a package sauce mix like Lawry’s. It’s what we’ve used for years and we like it. It does add some extra time to the cooking though because you have to mix the package with some water and tomato sauce or paste and then cook it for five minutes or so. Not a whole lot of work but I’m still not quite back to being able to do a lot of cooking since a recent surgery and its complications so I try to use a lot of short cuts.
So the other day when we had some unexpected company [my parents], we needed a quick lunch. Everyone was hungry and it was up to me to make something for everyone because it was my turn to cook. I live with my adult daughter and her three young sons and we take turns cooking.
We had a large can of Las Palmas Enchilada Sauce that we had gotten from the local food pantry and since all I had to do was open the can and use it, it seemed like a good idea to make enchiladas with it. My mom helped me by cooking some hamburger and we both grated some cheese. I cut an onion to add to the enchiladas and I started layering the corn tortillas with cheese, hamburger meat, onion, sauce, tortilla, sauce, cheese, hamburger meat, until everything was gone and I ended up with sauce on top and added cheese. I didn’t individually roll the enchiladas because that takes more time! 🙂 With my mom’s help, everything went pretty fast and then I popped the tray of enchiladas into the microwave for ten minutes.
After the ten minutes, everything was hot and the cheese was melted and it looked absolutely delicious! I cut the enchiladas and mom and I started dishing up plates of food and cups of iced tea for all the adults.
The complaints started immediately. My adult daughter began by saying that the taste reminded her of the enchiladas she’d had and HATED at the private church school that she went to when growing up.
Then came dad’s complaints, he said they reminded him of institution food like at the rest home where grandma lives when they go over to visit her and stay and eat in the cafeteria there with her.
Mom said they were hot and burned her tongue [she has problems with her tongue and spicy food is painful for her].
And I have to admit that I complained too. The flavor of the sauce was hot and spicy and sort of bitter. I didn’t like it at all. I did go ahead and eat it because frankly we don’t get to waste food unless its spoiled and inedible. But I have to tell you, it was tempting to throw all the enchiladas into the trash!
Next time we have enchiladas, we will be using a package mix and will not ever use canned sauce again. I can not recommend Las Palmas Enchilada Sauce since it was not a success for me and my family. We don’t even consider it to be worth the price of FREE that we didn’t pay for it!
