A short time ago I wanted to make ground beef enchiladas, but could not obtain a recipe making use of all of the ingredients I truly desired to include in them. I decided to take a chance and do a little experimental cooking of my very own. I'm happy that I did. The enchiladas turned out just beautifully and very flavorful. The end product was 2 pans full of tasty beef enchiladas. There are four very big enchiladas in each 9x13 baking dish. I covered one firmly with aluminum foil and placed it in the deep freeze. It should be no problem to reheat for an instant dinner for another day. If 8 super-sized enchiladas are too many for you to use up within a short period of time, you may easily decrease the recipe to half.
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 large white onion, chopped coarsely
1 packet taco seasoning mix
2 1/2 teaspoons chili spice
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup water
2 cups rice, already prepared
1 10 ounce can red enchilada sauce
2 cups of mild salsa
1 can condensed cream of golden mushroom soup
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 15 ounce can kidney beans, well drained
4 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded and divided
8 10 inch tortilla wraps
sour cream, optional
In a large frying pan, brown hamburger until nearly cooked. Add the chopped onion and continue cooking until the onion is clear. Drain well.
Add the package of taco seasoning, chili seasoning, pepper and water to the meat mixture. Continue cooking over medium-low heat until somewhat thickened, around 5 minutes. Decrease heat to low. Stir in salsa and prepared rice to skillet and cook up to the point where almost all of the water is gone. Put aside.
Using a medium bowl, combine enchilada sauce, condensed cream soup and softened cream cheese. Blend until smooth. Move to one side.
Set out 2 9x13 glass pans. They do not need preparing of any sort.
In the center of each tortilla wrap, put about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of meat mixture on top. If you have an excessive amount of ground beef mixture, simply add a bit more to every tortilla. Add about two teaspoons of kidney beans as well. Add 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese. Roll up tortilla and position seamed side down in a baking dish. It is going to take four enchiladas to fill each baking pan.
When all of the tortilla wraps are full, rolled and put into pans, spread 1/2 of sauce mixture along the center of both pans. Place the leftover cheddar cheese on top of each pan. Place in preheated 325 degree oven and bake 15 to 20 minutes, until shredded cheese becomes melted and slightly browned. Serve with some sour cream, if you like.
This recipe produces very large enchiladas. It may possibly appear like too much of the sauce mixture, and a large quantity of cheese, but I promise that they turn out extremely well. I used flour tortillas just because that is all I had in the cupboard. I'm positive the recipe should work just as well with corn tortillas.
If you do not have 2 9x13 inch glass pans, three 9x9 baking dishes could do the trick. I really don't suggest using metal pans, as the enchiladas will start to taste like metal if it stays in the metal baking pans for very long. Definitely don't use metal when you plan to freeze one of the pans of enchiladas.
When you don't care for kidney beans, you can use pinto beans, re-fried beans, black beans or chili beans. I believe chili beans would likely give them an added kick. I simply chose kidney beans because I really like them.
In case you are an olive fanatic, I bet black or green could be a fantastic ingredient to add. Unfortunately, I seem to be the single olive fan in my family, so it wasn't an option for me. A little chopped sweet bell pepper sprinkled on top of the layer of cheese would add to the look of the meal. Do a bit of guesswork and combine your preferred foods as you like.
In addition, this dish will be perfect for dinner served with a garden salad and bread. Enjoy your supper!