Beef Enchilada

Many of you have probably had chicken enchilada before and another great way to make enchiladas is with beef.  These enchiladas are packed with seasoned ground beef, rice, cheese. The real highlight of this recipe lies within the enchilada sauce.   The sauce is basically a salsa/tomato sauce mixture with various seasoning. It is very easy to make and requires only combining ingredients and simmering. As you can see the ingredient list is pretty lengthy but it shouldn’t be too expensive if you have most of the seasonings on hand for the sauce.

Ingredients

Enchiladas

1lb ground beef
1 (1.25 once) package taco seasoning
1 cup water
2 cups rice (cooked)
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans, optional
2 cups shredded cheese (divided)
10 (8 inch) flour tortillas

Red Sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 teaspoon onion (minced)
½ teaspoon dried oregano
2 ½ teaspoons chili powder
½ teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried parsley
¼ cup salsa
1 (6 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 ½ cups water

Step 1: To make enchilada sauce- Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add the onion, chili powder, oregano, basil, ground black pepper, salt, cumin, parsley, tomato sauce and salsa. Mix well and then stir in the water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Step 2: In a large skillet, brown ground beef over medium heat. Drain. Stir in taco seasoning and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Stir in the rice. Cook and stir until the liquid is evaporated. Spread 2 tablespoon refried beans, ¼ cup ground beef mixture, and 1 tablespoon of cheese down the center of each flour tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in two greased 13×9” baking dishes. Repeat until all tortillas are filled.  Top enchiladas with red sauce and with the remaining cheese.

Step 3: Place into the oven and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until heated through and the cheese has melted. 

(Makes 6 Servings)