We've all been there. Scouring through the bits and pieces of leftovers, wondering "what to make?" On a work night, when you're getting home late you don't want to spend an hour and a half preparing dinner and in any argument between you and the oven that's older than you, the oven is going to win.
So it was in the Range kitchen the other night after I finished work. But I wanted to make something a little different than the expected, such open a can of sauce and boil spaghetti. Or I could have followed a recipe step by step.
No, I wanted to experiment. There was a pound of burger defrosted, assorted staples, a little bit of two or three different types of bagged cheese from the Christmas Party, half an onion and some day old tortillas.
Enchiladas. Smothered Enchiladas. Perfect for tortillas that are getting a bit stale and dry but which you don't want to waste. And they were ready to pop in the oven in 15 minutes.
Brown the ground beef and half an onion,
drain and stir in about 1/2 cup of water and one package of low sodium taco seasoning mix (or make your own mix with a Tablespoon of chili powder and 1/2 tsp each of garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, cumin, hot and smoked paprika and a dash of black pepper and sea salt). Simmer until the liquid is absorbed, but the meat is still slightly wet, stirring occasionally.
In a bowl mix one undiluted can of cream of chicken soup (try homemade Range
Cream of Cluck Soup to have on hand in the freezer for such recipes, it's cheaper without all the salt of canned) a can of Rotel (diced tomatoes and green chilis) and a shake or two of crushed red pepper.
Place half of the sauce mixture in the bottom of an 8 x 8 or 10 x 10 casserole.
Fill six flour tortillas with the beef mixture and a sprinkle of Pepper Jack Cheese and roll up.
Place on sauce, cover with remaining sauce and a handful of shredded extra sharp cheddar. Cover with foil and heat at 350 for about 25-30 minutes. Top with sour cream or onions or chopped pepper, whatever suits your fancy. Add some raw baby carrots and chips to scoop up any remaining sauce.
This was so easy and tasty enough it will
definitely be made again. For a larger family this would double easily without having to do any special measurements.
