Beef Enchillada Casserole

Those of you that know me have probably noticed I have an obsession with Mexican food especially enchilladas. I recently came across another way to enjoy them. This is by far the easiest and quickest way to prepare them. Plus you don't even have to heat up the oven which works well during the summer months.

We purchase ground beef from a local farmer in large quantities. The last time we got meat I decided to brown up 10 lbs ahead of time and freeze them in smaller quantities (3/4 - 1 lb packages). Let me just say this is one of the best ideas I have heard of in a long time. It is so easy to just pull out a package of meat, let it thaw and throw it into something come dinner time. I browned some meat with green peppers, onions and chili powder and some with just onions (will add garlic next time). This is great for lasagne, sloppy joes, enchillada, tacos, chili and many other recipes.

Beef Enchilada Casserole

1 lb ground beef
1 tbsp taco seasoning mix
1/4 tsp salt
1 can (10 oz) enchillada sauce
3/4 cup water (I recommend 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup thick and chuncky salsa (choose your heat level)
8-10 flour tortillas
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided (I used dried)
1 cup shredded Colby & Monterey Jack cheese blend, divided
sour cream
tomatoes

1. Combine beef, seasoning mix and salt in skillet; cook over medium-high heat 8-10 minutes or until beef is no longer pink, breaking beef into crumbles. Add enchillada sauce, water and salsa to skillet. Bring to a simmer and remove from heat.

2. As beef mixtures cooks, place tortillas in a stack and cut into 1-in pieces using pizza cutter. Chop cilantro.

3. Arrange half of the tortillas evenly over bottom of a deep dish baker; top with half of the beef mixture and half of the cheese. Sprinkle 2 tbsp of the cilantro over cheese. Top with remaining tortillas, beef mixture and cheese.

4. Microwave on high 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Garnish with remaining 2 tbsp cilantro Serve with sour cream and tomatoes, if desired.

Yield: 6 servings

Note: This is a Pampered Chef recipe so the deep dish baker is a stoneware piece. I'm guessing it would work just as fine with a pie pan or casserole dish. If you try it without the stoneware, let me know how it works! Also, if you use already prepared beef and just mix in the enchillada sauce, water and salsa, you may want to leave in the microwave closer to the 5 mintues or more since it isn't heated from cooking it right then.