Seafood Enchiladas

So a couple of weekends ago I went to dinner and a play in Warrensburg with my sister.  We debated as to where to eat, but just the day before someone at work had said that C**per C*y*te had the best seafood enchiladas they had ever had.  SEAFOOD ENCHILADAS?! Why hadn't I ever thought of that?  It sounded wonderful.  BUT the reality was very disappointing.  The white processed cheese sauce that they were drenched in overpowered the seafood and made the flour tortillas soggy.  There had to be a better version.  I started looking online and found a lot very similar recipes, mostly copycat from a chain restaurant.  But the one I chose was actually from one of my favorite blogs, Annie's Eats.
 I changed just a couple of things, a little more cream, a little less cheese, and a small package of scallops added to the shrimp. Also, I didn't bother to add and extra cheese to the enchiladas, just what was melted in the sauce and a little sprinkled on the top.  Next time I'll use skim milk instead of cream and maybe add some crab instead of the scallops.

Shrimp Enchiladas

3 tbsp. butter, divided

1 lb. medium-size shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 red bell pepper, diced

¾ cup onion, diced

¼ tsp. oregano

¼ tsp. salt

Dash garlic powder

Dash cayenne pepper

2 tsp. all-purpose flour

6 tbsp. heavy cream or half-and-half

¼ cup sour cream

6 oz. shredded cheese (such as Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, etc.), divided

1 cup tomatoes, seeded and diced

8-10 (8-inch) flour tortillas

Cooking spray

Directions:

In a large sauté pan, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat.  Add the shrimp to the pan in an even layer and let cook without moving, about 1 minute.  Flip the shrimp over and continue to cook until just pink and opaque, 30-60 seconds longer.  Remove to a plate with a slotted spoon and set aside.  When the shrimp is cool enough to handle, roughly chop into bite sized pieces, if desired.

Melt the remaining butter in the pan.  Add the diced bell pepper and onion, and cook until just tender, about 5-7 minutes.  Add the oregano, salt, garlic powder, cayenne and flour to the pan; stir well and cook briefly until fragrant, about 30-60 seconds.  Lower the heat to medium-low and add the heavy cream to the pan, stirring to scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Cook just until slightly thickened, 1-2 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat.  Stir in the sour cream, half of the shredded cheese, and the tomatoes.  Return the shrimp to the pan as well, and mix everything together until the sauce is well blended and the cheese is melted.  

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.  Scoop 1/3 cup of the filling and sauce mixture down the center of a tortilla.  Sprinkle lightly with some of the reserved cheese.  Roll the tortilla tightly around the filling and place seam side-down in the  prepared baking dish.  Repeat with the remaining filling, tortillas and cheese.  Spray the tops of the finished assembled tortillas lightly with cooking spray.  Bake uncovered for about 30-35 minutes, until lightly browned.  Let cool at least 5-10 minutes before serving.