Beef Enchiladas Recipe

I have always loved Mexican food.  Tacos, burritos, chili rellenos, fajitas, nachos, flautas, tostadas, taquitos, and quesadillas are all wonderful and flavorful dishes, but my favorite Mexican dish is enchiladas.  There are many different kinds of enchiladas.  There are shrimp, seafood, ground beef, shredded beef and chicken enchiladas and they are all delicious.  Below is my recipe for making some delicious ground beef enchiladas that are made with onion, garlic, chili powder, salt, pepper, ground beef, salsa, tomato sauce, red enchilada sauce, sharp cheddar cheese, black olives and green onions.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
2 pounds of lean ground beef
1 1/2 cups of chunky Salsa
1/3 cup of tomato sauce
2 teaspoons of chili powder
1 teaspoon of cumin
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/8 teaspoon of black pepper
3 cups of sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
3 cups of red enchilada sauce
16 corn tortillas
1 (2.5 oz.) can of  sliced black olives
1/4 cup of green onions, chopped

Instructions:

Place your oil into a skillet and put it over a medium high heat.  Then add in your onion and sauté your onion until it softens.  This should take about 3 minutes.  Now add in your garlic and sauté for an additional minute.  At this time add in your ground beef and cook your beef until it browns.  Then drain your ground beef.  You then want to add in your salsa, tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper and then reduce your heat to a simmer and then let your ground beef mixture simmer until it reduces.  You do not want your ground beef mixture to be wet, just a bit moist.  This should take 5 to 7 minutes.

While your ground beef is cooking you will want to place your shredded cheddar cheese into a mixing bowl and set it aside for use when you are assembling your enchiladas.  You will also need two 3-Quart baking dishes.  Place some enchilada sauce on the bottom of each baking dish and set them on the counter so that you can place your enchiladas in them as you make them.

This is the time you will want to preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Now take a 9 or 10 inch sauté pan and place your enchilada sauce into it.  You want it about 1/2 of an inch deep.  You will want to place your tortillas into the sauce and cook for about a minute or less to soften your tortillas. The sauce will also be absorbed by the tortillas and add to the flavor of your dish.  After your tortilla is softened remove it from the sauce and place it on a plate and take a slotted spoon and spoon in about 1/4 cup of your ground beef mixture into the tortilla and sprinkle your cheddar cheese over top.  Fold over your tortilla and then place it into a baking dish, seam side down.  Repeat the process, placing your enchiladas side by side until you have filled all of your tortillas.  You should have 8 enchiladas per baking dish.  Now pour the remaining enchilada sauce over top.  You will want about 1 cup of enchilada sauce per baking dish.  Now sprinkle the rest of your cheddar cheese over top and then sprinkle your black olives on top of the cheese.

Now, place your enchiladas into your preheated oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes until your cheese has melted.   Garnish your beef enchiladas with some diced scallions.  You can serve them with Spanish rice and beans.