Enchilada Casserole

 


I skipped ahead to the International Cuisine section, mostly because I was going to make enchiladas as a weeknight meal anyway and thought I could click off a recipe if it's in there.  Sure enough, there was a recipe from Diane Larson for Enchilada Casserole.

Mexican food is my favorite.  In another lifetime I lived in Central America; I just know it.  So I cook a lot of Mexican cuisine, and let me just say THIS IS NOT MEXICAN CUISINE!  It's 100% totally a Midwest casserole that has the teeny-est, tiny-est hint of south of the border flavors.  And just like the quiche from earlier this week, it was bland as hell.

The first flag came with no spices in the meat and bean mixture.  Usually my enchilada mixes include a lot of chili peppers or powder, cumin, maybe some veggies like corn or chopped zucchini or bell pepper, and hot salsa.  This recipe calls for salt and pepper.

The second flag was the bechamel cheese sauce.  What?  I'm all for a good bechamel sauce, but on enchiladas it sounded like a mismatch.  I usually just use plain enchilada sauce and top with shredded cheese before baking.  This called for the cheese and the enchilada sauce to be combined with heaps of flour and milk.  

Modifications made: going back to my rule about not making recipes my family won't eat, I knew I needed to spice up the sauce.  Instead of paprika, I opted for chili powder, cumin, and cayenne.  I used hot salsa instead of hot sauce because I didn't have a good hot sauce on hand.  I also opted to not fry the tortillas in oil - this recipe was going to be heavy enough without that added fat.

This enchilada casserole was more edible than the quiche, but did not get very good scores from the family.  There are so many better ways to make enchiladas, don't ever bother with this method.

Result: 👎  Would not make again

Enchilada Casserole

1 1/2 lb ground beef                    1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. chopped onion                   1/2 tsp. salt
1 (15oz) can refried beans           1/4 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. salt                                  2 c. milk
1/2 tsp. pepper                            1 (10oz) can enchilada sauce
1 c. cooking oil                           1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
12 tortillas                                   4 Tbsp. hot pepper sauce
2 tomatoes, peeled & chopped    4 Tbsp. butter

Cook beef and onion until meat is brown; stir in beans, salt, and pepper.  Heat oil in another skillet; quickly dip tortillas in hot oil until soft.  Place 1/3 cup meat mixture on each tortilla.  Top each with chopped tomato.  Roll tightly.  Place seam side down in 13x9x2 inch pan.  Melt butter; stir in flour and seasonings.  Add milk and enchilad sauce.  Cook and stir until boiling; boil 1 minute.   Stir in remaining ingredients.  Pour over tortilla.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Diane Larson


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