Beef Enchiladas with Red Sauce

As I established in my post for chicken enchiladas with a green chili and sour cream sauce, I LOVE enchiladas! These enchiladas are filled with ground beef, green chilies, cheddar cheese, black olives, and green onions. They are then wrapped in corn tortillas and rolled in a red enchilada sauce. There are so many great flavors all wrapped up into these little enchiladas! They are perfect for a Mexican fiesta!

To make roughly 3 servings (about 10 enchiladas) you will need:

• 8 oz. GROUND BEEF (I used 80/20, but feel free to use whatever your normally use!)
• 1 small ONION, chopped
• 1 (4 oz.) can GREEN CHILIES
• about 10 CORN TORTILLAS
• 1 & 1/2 cup CHEDDAR CHEESE, grated
• 1 (2.25 oz.) can BLACK OLIVES, chopped
• 4-6 GREEN ONIONS, chopped
• 1/4 cup CILANTRO, chopped

For the sauce you will need:

• 1 & 1/2 tsp of CANOLA OIL
• 1 & 1/2 tsp FLOUR
• 1 (14 oz.) can of ENCHILADA SAUCE
• 1 cup CHICKEN BROTH
• 1/4 tsp SALT
• 1/4 tsp PEPPER
• 1 Tbs FRESH CILANTRO, chopped

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk the oil and flour together in a medium sized saucepan. Then add the enchilada sauce, chicken broth, salt, pepper, and cilantro. Let the sauce simmer for about 20 minutes while you cook the beef.  

Saute the onion in a skillet until they just begin to turn translucent, then add the ground beef. Cook the beef until done and then stir in the green chilies. 

Heat up either a skillet or a large griddle and spray on a little cooking spray. Cook the corn tortillas for about 2 minutes on each side in order to make them easier to fill. (Doing this will prevent some of the cracking that usually happens when you try to roll corn tortillas.)

Once the sauce is done simmering, pour a little bit into the bottom of your baking dish so that it just coats the bottom. (I used a 10 x 10 inch pan, but you could use a 9 x 13 inch pan)

Now it's time to build the enchiladas! Once the tortillas have been cooked on each side, dip them into the red sauce. Make sure that the whole tortilla is coated! Then  layer on the beef mixture, cheese, black olives, green onions, and cilantro!

Next, roll up the tortilla and lay it in the baking pan seam side down! You may need to use a toothpick to keep it from unrolling until you get a few enchiladas into the pan.

Repeat this process until you either use up all of the beef mixture or fill you pan!

Pour the extra sauce over the top of the enchiladas...

...and top with any extra cheese, green onions, or black olives you have left!

Bake the enchiladas for 20 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly!

Top with any extra cilantro and then serve it up!

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Beef Enchiladas with Red Sauce

Ingredients:

To make roughly 3 servings (about 10 enchiladas) you will need:

• 8 oz. GROUND BEEF (I used 80/20, but feel free to use whatever your normally use!)
• 1 small ONION, chopped
• 1 (4 oz.) can GREEN CHILIES
• about 10 CORN TORTILLAS
• 1 & 1/2 cup CHEDDAR CHEESE, grated
• 1 (2.25 oz.) can BLACK OLIVES, chopped
• 4-6 GREEN ONIONS, chopped
• 1/4 cup CILANTRO, chopped

For the sauce you will need:

• 1 & 1/2 tsp of CANOLA OIL
• 1 & 1/2 tsp FLOUR
• 1 (14 oz.) can of ENCHILADA SAUCE
• 1 cup CHICKEN BROTH
• 1/4 tsp SALT
• 1/4 tsp PEPPER
• 1 Tbs FRESH CILANTRO, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. Whisk the oil and flour together in a medium sized saucepan. Then add the enchilada sauce, chicken broth, salt, pepper, and cilantro. Let the sauce simmer for about 20 minutes while you cook the beef.  
3. Saute the onion in a skillet until they just begin to turn translucent, then add the ground beef. Cook the beef until done and then stir in the green chilies. 
4. Heat up either a skillet or a large griddle and spray on a little cooking spray. Cook the corn tortillas for about 2 minutes on each side in order to make them easier to fill.
• Doing this will prevent some of the cracking that usually happens when you try to roll corn tortillas.
5. Once the sauce is done simmering, pour a little bit into the bottom of your baking dish so that it just coats the bottom. 
• I used a 10 x 10 inch pan, but you could use a 9 x 13 inch pan.
6. Once the tortillas have been cooked on each side, dip them into the red sauce. Make sure that the whole tortilla is coated! 
7. Layer the beef mixture, cheese, black olives, green onions, and cilantro onto the coated tortilla.
8. Next, roll up the tortilla and lay it seam side down in the baking pan! 
• You may need to use a toothpick to keep it from unrolling until you get a few enchiladas into the pan.
9. Repeat this process until you either use up all of the beef mixture or fill you pan!
10. Pour the extra sauce over the top of the enchiladas and top with any extra cheese, green onions, or black olives you have left!
11. Bake the enchiladas for 20 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly!
12. Top with any extra cilantro and then serve it up!

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I adapted this recipe from the following blog: http://jamiecooksitup.net/2011/09/ground-beef-enchiladas/

Salsa

I love eating chips and salsa at restaurants but somehow the salsa you buy in stores never seems to taste as good, am I right? Maybe it's just me... Anyway, I have found a recipe for salsa that I think is just as good as the salsa you get from restaurants! It is also incredibly easy to adapt it to your tastes. If you like spicy food, add more jalapeno! If you don't like chunky salsa, chop the heck out of it with a food processor!

If you use the quantities of ingredients I have listed below, it should make about 2 cups of salsa that I would consider to have mild to medium heat. Remember, if you want it hotter (or less hot) just vary the amount of jalapenos!

To make this delicious, restaurant style salsa you will need:

• 1 (14 oz.) can of WHOLE PEELED TOMATOES, separate the juice from the tomatoes, but save the juice!
• 1 (10 oz.) can ROTEL 
• 1/4 cup RED ONION, chopped  
• 1/2 medium sized JALAPENO (de-seeded and de-veined), finely chopped 
• 1/4 cup FRESH CILANTRO
• 1-2 Tbs LIME JUICE
• 1/4 tsp SALT
• 1/4 tsp CUMIN

Start off by roughly chopping the onion and finely chopping the jalapeno. Then throw all of the ingredients (except for the juice from the whole tomatoes) into a food processor...

NOTE: If you don't have a food processor you can still make this salsa, you will just have to chop everything by hand!

...and pulse it until you like the size of the chunks! Then add some some of the juice from the whole tomatoes until you get a consistency you like. (I used about half of the juice.)

Now the best part, taste the salsa! Add more spices, jalapeno, or lime juice until you like it!

Once you are happy with the flavors, serve the salsa with chips and dig in!

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Salsa

Ingredients:

• 1 (14 oz.) can of WHOLE PEELED TOMATOES, separate the juice from the tomatoes, but save the juice!
• 1 (10 oz.) can ROTEL 
• 1/4 cup RED ONION, chopped  
• 1/2 medium sized JALAPENO (de-seeded and de-veined), finely chopped 
• 1/4 cup FRESH CILANTRO
• 1-2 Tbs LIME JUICE
• 1/4 tsp SALT
• 1/4 tsp CUMIN

Directions:

1. Roughly chop the onion and finely chop the jalapeno. 
2. Next, throw all of the ingredients (except for the juice from the whole tomatoes) into a food processor and pulse it until you like the size of the chunks.
• NOTE: If you don't have a food processor you can still make this salsa, you will just have to chop everything by hand!
3. Add some some of the juice from the whole tomatoes until you get a consistency you like. (I used about half of the juice.)
4. Now the best part, taste the salsa! Add more spices, jalapeno, or lime juice until you like it!
5. Once you are happy with the flavors, serve the salsa with chips and dig in!

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I based my recipe on the Pioneer Woman's salsa recipe: http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/appetizers-and-snacks/restaurant-style-salsa/

Taco Seasoning

I love to use Mexican flavors when cooking. Lately we've been making a lot of Mexican food and I got tired of always having to pull out half of the spices in my cabinet to get the seasoning mix that I wanted, so I took an empty spice bottle that I had and mixed up a large batch of Mexican seasonings so I can just pull out one bottle!!

To make my Mexican spice blend you will need:

• 3 parts CUMIN
• 3 parts CHILI POWDER
• 2 parts GARLIC POWDER
• 1 part SALT
• 1 part CAYENNE
• 1 part PAPRIKA

Depending on how big of a container you have and how much of the mix you want to make, one "part" could be anything from a 1/4 teaspoon to a cup! Just make sure you are consistent throughout the batch! Mix up the seasonings in a bowl and then put it into an air tight container for storage! (A funnel may be helpful)

We tend to use this spice mix 2 to 3 teaspoons at a time in dishes like fajitas, enchiladas, soups, and many other things.

Fajitas

Fajitas are so good and so easy! They are definitely a staple recipe in my family!

To make 2 to 3 servings of fajitas you will need:

• 1 BELL PEPPER, sliced into strips
• 1 ONION, sliced into strips
• 1 CHICKEN BREAST, sliced into strips
• 4-6 FLOUR TORTILLAS

Seasoning mix:

• 3/4 tsp CUMIN
• 1/2 tsp CHILI POWDER
• 1/4 tsp PAPRIKA
• 1/4 tsp CAYENNE
• 1/4 tsp GARLIC POWDER
• 1/4 tsp SALT

Start off by cutting the pepper, onion, and chicken into slices. Easy peasy! Then throw the onion and pepper into a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the veggies until they start to wilt a little bit. Toss them occasionally so they don't burn on one side! 

(This is where personal preference comes in a little bit though. If you like your fajitas to have really caramelized onions and peppers, then cook them longer on their own. If you like the veggies to still have a little bit of a crunch to them, then just cook them until they just start to wilt. They will continue cooking after the chicken has been added in.) 

Once the onions and peppers have cooked for a bit, throw the chicken in the skillet! Keep tossing everything occasionally to make sure the ingredients cook evenly. (I know, throwing raw chicken into a pan with veggies might be weird to some people. It was hard for me at first too! But don't worry, everything will get cooked!)

While the chicken is cooking, measure out the spice mix. Set aside until the chicken is cooked.

Once the chicken is cooked through, sprinkle the spice mix over the onions, peppers, and chicken strips. Keep tossing the ingredients until everything has a good coating of spices!

Just before serving, steam the tortillas. I usually roll a damp paper towel up in a tortilla and then microwave it for about 30 seconds. When everything is cooked and the tortilla are steamed, serve it up!

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Fajitas

Ingredients:

To make 2 to 3 servings of fajitas you will need:

• 1 GREEN PEPPER, sliced into strips
• 1 ONION, sliced into strips
• 1 CHICKEN BREAST, sliced into strips
• 4-6 FLOUR TORTILLAS

Seasoning mix:

• 3/4 tsp CUMIN
• 1/2 tsp CHILI POWDER
• 1/4 tsp PAPRIKA
• 1/4 tsp CAYENNE
• 1/4 tsp GARLIC POWDER
• 1/4 tsp SALT

Directions:

1. Start off by cutting the pepper, onion, and chicken into slices. Easy peasy! 
2. Throw the onion and pepper into a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the veggies until they start to wilt a little bit. Toss them occasionally so they don't burn on one side! 
3. Once the onions and peppers have cooked for a bit, throw the chicken in the skillet! Keep tossing everything occasionally to make sure the ingredients cook evenly. 
4. While the chicken is cooking, measure out the spice mix. Set aside until the chicken is cooked.
5. Once the chicken is cooked through, sprinkle the spice mix over the onions, peppers, and chicken strips. Keep tossing the ingredients until everything has a good coating of spices!
6. Just before serving, steam the tortillas. I usually roll a damp paper towel up in a tortilla and then microwave it for about 30 seconds. When everything is cooked and the tortilla are steamed, serve it up!

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Chipotle's Cilantro Lime Rice Copycat

Last weekend we had some friends over for a burrito night and we decided to try to recreate Chipotle's cilantro lime rice. It turned out to be quite easy and delicious!

To make the rice you will need:

• 2 cups RICE (uncooked)
• 4 Tbs LIME JUICE
• 1/2 bunch CILANTRO (1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped)

Start of by cooking the rice. I know, crazy right? Once the rice is cooked you will end up with about 6 cups of rice. You could easily cut this recipe down, but we were cooking for 5 hungry guys so we needed plenty of food!

I then chopped up about half a "bunch" of cilantro and mixed it in to the cooked rice.

Lastly, mix in the lime juice!

Then serve!

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Chipotle's Cilantro Lime Rice Copycat

Ingredients:

• 2 cups RICE (uncooked)
• 4 Tbs LIME JUICE
• 1/2 bunch CILANTRO (1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped)

Directions:

1. Start of by cooking the rice. (You will end up with about 6 cups of cooked rice). 
2. Chop up about half a "bunch" of cilantro and mix it in to the cooked rice.
3. Lastly, mix in the lime juice!
4. Then serve!

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Chipotle's Corn Salsa Copycat

We made this corn salsa last weekend when we has some friends over for a burrito night! It is incredibly easy to make and tasted just like Chipotle's corn salsa!

To make this corn salsa you will need:

• 12-16 oz. FROZEN SWEET YELLOW CORN
• 2 medium JALAPENOS, seeded and finely diced
• 1/2 medium RED ONION, finely diced (We used a yellow onion because that is what we had on hand, but Chipotle uses red onion.)
• 1/2 bunch CILANTRO (1/2 to 3/4 cup), chopped
• 4 Tbs LIME JUICE (juice of 2 limes)
• 1/2 tsp SALT
• 1/2 tsp PEPPER

Put ALL of the ingredients into a large bowl. (No, you aren't crazy, the picture below is missing the parsley.)

Then mix them together.

Boom! Corn Salsa! It's that easy!

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Chipotle's Corn Salsa Copycat

Ingredients:

• 12-16 oz. FROZEN SWEET YELLOW CORN
• 2 medium JALAPENOS, seeded and finely diced
• 1/2 medium RED ONION, finely diced (We used a yellow onion because that is what we had on hand, but Chipotle uses red onion.)
• 1/2 bunch CILANTRO (1/2 to 3/4 cup), chopped
• 4 Tbs LIME JUICE (juice of 2 limes)
• 1/2 tsp SALT
• 1/2 tsp PEPPER

Directions:

1. Put ALL of the ingredients into a large bowl. 
2. Then mix them together.
3. Boom! Corn Salsa! It's that easy!

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I found this recipe on the following website: http://www.howsweeteats.com/2012/04/just-like-chipotles-corn-salsa/

Mexican Stuffed Shells

These stuffed shells have all of the flavors of a taco, but are in stuffed into pasta shells rather than taco shells! Yum! 

To make 3 to 4 servings of these Mexican stuffed shell you will need:

• 1 lb. GROUND BEEF
• 3/4 tsp CUMIN
• 1/2 tsp CHILI POWDER
• 1/4 tsp PAPRIKA
• 1/4 tsp CAYENNE
• 1/4 tsp GARLIC POWDER
• 1/4 tsp SALT
• 4 oz. CREAM CHEESE
• 14-18 JUMBO PASTA SHELLS
• 1 cup SALSA
• 1 cup TACO SAUCE
• 1 cup CHEDDAR CHEESE, shredded
• 1 cup MONTEREY JACK CHEESE, shredded
• 3 chopped GREEN ONIONS, to garnish
• SOUR CREAM, to garnish

Start off by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Start boiling a pot of water to cook the jumbo shells in. Once it comes to a boil, cook the shells until they are just under cooked. (They will finish cooking in the oven.) Drain the shells and then spread them out on a clean surface so they don't stick together.

While the pasta is cooking, brown the ground beef in a skillet. Drain any excess liquid and then add all of the spices and the cream cheese. You can cover the pan to help the cream cheese melt faster, then mix it into the beef. Once mixed in, set the skillet aside to cool.

Pour the salsa in the bottom of a 9 in. x 13 in. pan.

Then, stuff each shell with the beef mixture and place them (open side up) on top of the salsa in the baking pan.

Pour the taco sauce over the top of the shells making sure to get an even coating over all of the shells. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, take the pan out of the oven and sprinkle the cheddar and monterey jack cheese over the top. Bake uncovered for another 15 minutes.

Once it is done baking, serve it up and top with green onions, sour cream, and more salsa!

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Mexican Stuffed Shells

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. GROUND BEEF
• 3/4 tsp CUMIN
• 1/2 tsp CHILI POWDER
• 1/4 tsp PAPRIKA
• 1/4 tsp CAYENNE
• 1/4 tsp GARLIC POWDER
• 1/4 tsp SALT
• 4 oz. CREAM CHEESE
• 14-18 JUMBO PASTA SHELLS
• 1 cup SALSA
• 1 cup TACO SAUCE
• 1 cup CHEDDAR CHEESE, shredded
• 1 cup MONTEREY JACK CHEESE, shredded
• 3 chopped GREEN ONIONS, to garnish
• SOUR CREAM, to garnish

Directions:

1. Start off by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Start boiling a pot of water to cook the jumbo shells in. Once it comes to a boil, cook the shells until they are just under cooked. (They will finish cooking in the oven.) Drain the shells and then spread them out on a clean surface so they don't stick together.
2. While the pasta is cooking, brown the ground beef in a skillet. Drain any excess liquid and then add all of the spices and the cream cheese. You can cover the pan to help the cream cheese melt faster, then mix it into the beef. Once mixed in, set the skillet aside to cool.
3. Pour the salsa in the bottom of a 9 in. x 13 in. pan. 
4. Then, stuff each shell with the beef mixture and place them (open side up) on top of the salsa in the baking pan. 
5. Pour the taco sauce over the top of the shells making sure to get an even coating over all of the shells. 
6. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. 
7. After 30 minutes, take the pan out of the oven and sprinkle the cheddar and monterey jack cheese over the top. Bake uncovered for another 15 minutes. 
8. Once it is done baking, serve it up and top with green onions, sour cream, and more salsa!

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I found the recipe of the following blog: http://apinchofthisandthat.wordpress.com/2009/01/02/mexican-stuffed-shells/

Stuffed Peppers

These stuffed peppers are great! They are sweet from the red pepper and a little bit spicy from all of the seasonings in the filling. I have seen other people make stuffed peppers, but I had never actually made them so this it sort of a combination of things I've had before and things that I just thought sounded good! And it worked out!

To make these delicious stuffed peppers you will need:

• 8 oz. GROUND BEEF
• 1/2 a SMALL ONION, diced
• 3/4 cup COOKED RICE (1/4 cup uncooked rice)
• 3/4 tsp CUMIN
• 1/2 tsp CHILI POWDER
• 1/2 tsp GARLIC POWDER
• 1/4 tsp CAYENNE PEPPER
• 1/4 tsp SALT
• 1/4 tsp PAPRIKA
• 2 tsp WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbs CHEDDAR CHEESE, shredded
• 1/4 cup CRUSHED TOMATOES
• 2 RED BELL PEPPERS (or a different color bell pepper)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Start off by browning the ground beef in a skillet with the diced onion. 

Once the beef is cooked, add the spices and Worcestershire sauce.

Now you could either leave the ground beef and onion in the skillet or transfer it to a bowl. Then, mix in the rice.

Next, mix in 1/4 cup of cheese. Then, add the crushed tomato. It should look something like the picture below!

Cut off the tops of the peppers and carve out all of the veins and seeds. This will open the pepper up so you can stuff lots of filling in!

Then, you guessed it, stuff the filling in!

Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of cheese on top of the peppers.

Place the peppers on a baking pan and cover the top with foil. Bake for 30 minutes.

To brown the cheese on top you can either remove the foil from the top of the peppers for the last 5-10 minutes, or after the 30 minutes, remove the foil and turn the broiler on for a few minutes. Make sure to keep an eye on it though!

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Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. GROUND BEEF
• 1/2 a SMALL ONION, diced
• 3/4 cup COOKED RICE (1/4 cup uncooked rice)
• 3/4 tsp CUMIN
• 1/2 tsp CHILI POWDER
• 1/2 tsp GARLIC POWDER
• 1/4 tsp CAYENNE PEPPER
• 1/4 tsp SALT
• 1/4 tsp PAPRIKA
• 2 tsp WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbs CHEDDAR CHEESE, shredded
• 1/4 cup CRUSHED TOMATOES
• 2 RED BELL PEPPERS (or a different color bell pepper)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Start off by browning the ground beef in a skillet with the diced onion. 
2. Once the beef is cooked, add the spices and Worcestershire sauce. 
3. Now you could either leave the ground beef and onion in the skillet or transfer it to a bowl. Then, mix in the rice, 1/4 cup of cheese, and the crushed tomato. 
4. Cut off the tops of the peppers and carve out all of the veins and seeds. This will open the pepper up so you can stuff lots of filling in!
5. Then, you guessed it, stuff the filling in!
6. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of cheese on top of the peppers. 
7. Place the peppers on a baking pan and cover the top with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. 
8. To brown the cheese on top you can either remove the foil from the top of the peppers for the last 5-10 minutes, or after the 30 minutes, remove the foil and turn the broiler on for a few minutes. Make sure to keep an eye on it though!

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