I just grabbed this recipe from the Cooks.com site. Never mind the
quantities; I'm more interested in the ingredient list -- does it look
acceptable?

We usually have an enchilada when we go to our favorite Mexican
restaurant nearby. Seems like the filling isn't much but fried or
boiled ground beef -- it's pretty fine (texture).

I bought a small can of Old El Paso mild enchilada sauce. My plan was
to brown a half pound of ground beef with some onion and then maybe whiz
it in the food processor to make it fine, dip a corn tort into the ench
sauce, put some ground beef in it, fold it over a bit and lay it in a
casserole dish and then pour the rest of the ench sauce over it and bake
until hot -- maybe put some Chihuahua cheese on my two, and some
fat-free fake Cheddar on Rob's and heat 'em up.

I'm thinking about some tortilla soup first. We like that a lot and
I've been making it frequently.

I also bought a can of pinto beans and plan to smash them up and call
them refritos. :-) I don't have any pork fat for them, but I do have
some schmaltz. Fusion beans - Mexican Jewish. :-)

I've got some leftover rice that I may add some red and green pepper and
onion (all fried up) to and wet it with some V-8 juice.

Whaddaya think? It's 2:45 here; I've got 3 hours to think about this.
And I'm not going back to the supermarket for anything.

GROUND BEEF ENCHILADAS


1 1/2 lb. ground chuck
1 tbsp. chili powder
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 c. oil & 1 tbsp.
1 qt. enchilada sauce
1 lg. onion, chopped
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
24 corn tortillas
1 lb. grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In large skillet, place 1 tablespoon oil
and 2 tablespoons chopped onion. Saute onion until tender, crumble meat
into skillet. As it browns, add spices and stir often while meat is
browning. When meat is done, drain excess grease.
Next, heat oil in small skillet, and dip tortillas one by one for 3 to 4
seconds each, only long enough to make limber. Stack the tortillas on
top of each other in pan. You will need to pour the excess oil from the
tortillas back into the skillet as it accumulates.
Spray large baking pan or dish with Pam and begin the assembling of the
enchiladas. I make 2 at a time, and use my hands to make them. Lay 2
tortillas flat in baking dish, sprinkle approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons
meat on tortilla, followed by same amount of cheese, then sprinkle onion
(optional) sparingly. Roll tortilla and place seam side down. Continue
process, stacking enchiladas next to each other until pan is full. Make
2 rows and a large pan will usually hold 16 enchiladas. (Baking pan size
12 x 20 inches.)
Pour enchilada sauce over enchiladas, use sauce liberally. Top with more
grated cheese, sprinkle more meat and lightly sprinkle with onions. Bake
in oven 20 to 25 minutes until cheese is bubbly. Serve with picante
sauce, sour cream, guacamole, tortilla chips, Spanish (Mexican) rice and
diced tomatoes and chopped lettuce. I also prefer serving Ranch Style
beans with enchiladas instead of refried beans.
Serves 8.
--
-Barb
http://jamlady.eboard.com Updated 3-27-2006 It Can Can!

"If it's not worth doing to excess, it's not worth doing at all."

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
I just grabbed this recipe from the Cooks.com site. Never mind the
quantities; I'm more interested in the ingredient list -- does it look
acceptable? [snip]

GROUND BEEF ENCHILADAS

1 1/2 lb. ground chuck
1 tbsp. chili powder
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 c. oil & 1 tbsp.
1 qt. enchilada sauce
1 lg. onion, chopped
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
24 corn tortillas
1 lb. grated cheddar cheese
[snip]

You clearly have this all under control. It would be typical of
Mexican cooking to add cumin and oregano to the chili powder, and of
course you can always use minced garlic with the onion instead of the
garlic powder. I think a thread not too long ago noted that cotija
cheese often gets crumbled over enchiladas at the end. Oh, and there's
cilantro, to be sure... :-) . My sister is the enchilada maker in
the family and she prefers the LaPalma brand of sauce; I pretty much
think they're all okay. -aem

In article .com,
"aem" wrote:

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
I just grabbed this recipe from the Cooks.com site. Never mind the
quantities; I'm more interested in the ingredient list -- does it look
acceptable? [snip]

GROUND BEEF ENCHILADAS

1 1/2 lb. ground chuck
1 tbsp. chili powder
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 c. oil & 1 tbsp.
1 qt. enchilada sauce
1 lg. onion, chopped
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
24 corn tortillas
1 lb. grated cheddar cheese
[snip]

You clearly have this all under control. It would be typical of
Mexican cooking to add cumin and oregano to the chili powder, and of
course you can always use minced garlic with the onion instead of the
garlic powder. I think a thread not too long ago noted that cotija
cheese often gets crumbled over enchiladas at the end. Oh, and there's
cilantro, to be sure... :-) . My sister is the enchilada maker in
the family and she prefers the LaPalma brand of sauce; I pretty much
think they're all okay. -aem

Thanks. Much as I love cilantro, Rob does not, so there won't be any
cilantro involved (I don't have any anyway. :-) Cumin and oregano will
be included - thanks for the reminder. I don't have cotija cheese but I
do have the Chihuahua.

What about my can of pinto beans? Just smash them and heat them?
--
-Barb
http://jamlady.eboard.com Updated 3-27-2006 It Can Can!

"If it's not worth doing to excess, it's not worth doing at all."

On Thu, 30 Mar 2006 14:43:50 -0600, Melba's Jammin'
wrote:

I bought a small can of Old El Paso mild enchilada sauce. My plan was
to brown a half pound of ground beef with some onion and then maybe whiz
it in the food processor to make it fine, dip a corn tort into the ench
sauce, put some ground beef in it, fold it over a bit and lay it in a
casserole dish and then pour the rest of the ench sauce over it and bake
until hot -- maybe put some Chihuahua cheese on my two, and some
fat-free fake Cheddar on Rob's and heat 'em up.

I'm thinking that you'll make beef paste if you put the ground beef in
the food processor. I fry my hangerberger, drain the grease, then
smash the hell out of the meat with a potato masher.

I'm thinking about some tortilla soup first. We like that a lot and
I've been making it frequently.

We have yet to try that, but I don't know anyone who doesn't like it.

I also bought a can of pinto beans and plan to smash them up and call
them refritos. :-) I don't have any pork fat for them, but I do have
some schmaltz. Fusion beans - Mexican Jewish. :-)

You need two other things for those beans. Mix in some beer, and top
with some shredded cheese.

I've got some leftover rice that I may add some red and green pepper and
onion (all fried up) to and wet it with some V-8 juice.

Bacon! You forgot the bacon!

Whaddaya think? It's 2:45 here; I've got 3 hours to think about this.
And I'm not going back to the supermarket for anything.

GROUND BEEF ENCHILADAS

This is making me hungry!

Please let us know what you do.

Peace,
Carol

Don't let the shape fool you. They are not sex toys.
:-)

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
Thanks. Much as I love cilantro, Rob does not, so there won't be any
cilantro involved (I don't have any anyway. :-) Cumin and oregano will
be included - thanks for the reminder. I don't have cotija cheese but I
do have the Chihuahua.

What about my can of pinto beans? Just smash them and heat them?

I've never used canned beans for refried but don't see why they
wouldn't work. Never fried them in schmaltz either, but I have used
corn oil and they come out fine, just not as flavorful as with lard or
other pork/[non smoked] bacon fat. Never used beer in them, either. I
do taste for salt a few times while they're cooking as my beans tend to
start out needing salt. I don't add cheese until the beans are done.
My refried beans tend to be noticeably moister than canned. -aem

Melba's Jammin' wrote:

What about my can of pinto beans? Just smash them and heat them?

If you want to refry them, the following works. Heat a few
tablespoons of onion in 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil in a saucepan.
After they have sizzle a few minuts, start adding the beans
gradually, smashing them as you go. I use a plastic kitchen
spoon, but you could use a fork if you don't care about scratching
the saucepan. By the time you've added the entire can, you
will be stirring them more than smashing them. The final result has
some intact beans, but mostly smashed.

Tangentially, flat enchiladas are my favorite. If you have a
ristra you can try replacing the canned enchilada sauce with
homemade.

Steve

: Melba's Jammin' wrote:
: I just grabbed this recipe from the Cooks.com site. Never mind the
: quantities; I'm more interested in the ingredient list -- does it look
: acceptable? [snip]
:
: GROUND BEEF ENCHILADAS
:
: 1 1/2 lb. ground chuck
: 1 tbsp. chili powder
: Salt & pepper to taste
: 1/2 c. oil & 1 tbsp.
: 1 qt. enchilada sauce
: 1 lg. onion, chopped
: 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
: 24 corn tortillas
: 1 lb. grated cheddar cheese
: [snip]

: You clearly have this all under control. It would be typical of
: Mexican cooking to add cumin and oregano to the chili powder, and of
: course you can always use minced garlic with the onion instead of the
: garlic powder. I think a thread not too long ago noted that cotija
: cheese often gets crumbled over enchiladas at the end. Oh, and there's
: cilantro, to be sure... :-) . My sister is the enchilada maker in
: the family and she prefers the LaPalma brand of sauce; I pretty much
: think they're all okay. -aem


Chili powder already has cumin and oregano in it. Don't confuse chili
powder with ground red chile - the two aren't the same thing. If using
ground red chile, then you'd need to add cumin and mexican oregano.

1Tbsp simply isn't enough spice either - bump it up to 2 or 3 Tbsp.

On Thu 30 Mar 2006 01:43:50p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Melba's
Jammin'?

I just grabbed this recipe from the Cooks.com site. Never mind the
quantities; I'm more interested in the ingredient list -- does it look
acceptable?

Sounds like you've alrady made up your mind. :-) Acceptable? Yes. Like the
restaurant? Who knows. It sounds good, nevertheless.

--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
_____________________

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
In article .com,
"aem" wrote:

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
I just grabbed this recipe from the Cooks.com site. Never mind the
quantities; I'm more interested in the ingredient list -- does it look
acceptable? [snip]

GROUND BEEF ENCHILADAS

1 1/2 lb. ground chuck
1 tbsp. chili powder
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 c. oil & 1 tbsp.
1 qt. enchilada sauce
1 lg. onion, chopped
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
24 corn tortillas
1 lb. grated cheddar cheese
[snip]
You clearly have this all under control. It would be typical of
Mexican cooking to add cumin and oregano to the chili powder, and of
course you can always use minced garlic with the onion instead of the
garlic powder. I think a thread not too long ago noted that cotija
cheese often gets crumbled over enchiladas at the end. Oh, and there's
cilantro, to be sure... :-) . My sister is the enchilada maker in
the family and she prefers the LaPalma brand of sauce; I pretty much
think they're all okay. -aem

Thanks. Much as I love cilantro, Rob does not, so there won't be any
cilantro involved (I don't have any anyway. :-) Cumin and oregano will
be included - thanks for the reminder. I don't have cotija cheese but I
do have the Chihuahua.

What about my can of pinto beans? Just smash them and heat them?


Just mash them and stir in some sauteed onions might work. I usually
buy canned refritos. You know you don't really have to roll the
enchaladas; you can stack them. Mexican hotcakes. ;-)

Your chili powder already has cumin and oregano and garlic in it unless
it says something like "ground red chile" on the package. Add more if
you like it, just know that it already has some. (I always add extra garlic)

Have you seen my recipe for Mexican Hotdish? It would adapt easily to
make enchiladas. Leave out the cheese sauce and replace with a little
water, add more grated cheese, assemble kind of like that Cooks recipe
you found. Canned enchilada sauce is good stuff. I think last time I
made this I used two 15 or 16 ounce cans, and I used a little to thin
out the beans.

Try using mozzarella cheese with a little sharp cheddar mixed in. It
melts really nice.

Cilantro = yuck. It's not bad in pico de gallo, but don't put it in
anything that gets cooked (you can use a little coriander for that.)

Best regards,
Bob

--

Bob's Mexican Lasagna Hotdish!

1 package fresh corn tortillas [uses about 15 to 18 tortillas]
1 pound ground turkey or lean ground beef
1 cup (approx) cheese sauce [from a humongous can]
1 (19 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 big pinch ground cumin
1 big pinch dried oregano
garlic powder to taste
Monterrey jack cheese, or medium cheddar, grated

Mix meat, onion, and spices in skillet. Cook until browned, chopping up
with your spatula. Stir in the cheese sauce and heat through. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour half the enchilada sauce in a 9x13"
lasagne pan. [I should have greased it] Cut a bunch of the tortillas
in half so they'll fit in the pan better. Spread the beans on enough of
the tortillas to cover the bottom of the pan. Cover with another layer
of tortillas. Spread the meat and cheese mixture over that second layer
of tortillas. Cover with a third layer of tortillas. Pour the
remaining enchilada sauce all over. Rinse the can with a little water
and pour that in too. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Take out of oven, remove the foil, and sprinkle with that grated
cheese that you thought I forgot about to cover the top. Put back in
the oven, uncovered, for ten minutes. Allow to rest for 5 minutes
before cutting.

In article ,
Damsel in dis Dress wrote:

I bought a small can of Old El Paso mild enchilada sauce. My plan was
to brown a half pound of ground beef with some onion and then maybe whiz
it in the food processor to make it fine,

I'm thinking that you'll make beef paste if you put the ground beef in
the food processor. I fry my hangerberger, drain the grease, then
smash the hell out of the meat with a potato masher.

Nope. I've already fried it and whizzed it in the fp. You gotta know
when to shut the machine off, Carol! And I do. :-) It looks great and
also made finer the peppers, onions, and garlic pieces I fried in with
the meat. No hay problema.

I also bought a can of pinto beans and plan to smash them up and call
them refritos. :-) I don't have any pork fat for them, but I do have
some schmaltz. Fusion beans - Mexican Jewish. :-)

You need two other things for those beans. Mix in some beer, and top
with some shredded cheese.

No beer in house, I don't need the extra fat from the cheese --
especially if I use the Chihuahua on my enchiladas.

I've got some leftover rice that I may add some red and green pepper and


Bacon! You forgot the bacon!

No bacon in house.


Whaddaya think? It's 2:45 here; I've got 3 hours to think about this.
And I'm not going back to the supermarket for anything.

GROUND BEEF ENCHILADAS

This is making me hungry!

Please let us know what you do.

Sure. I might even post pictures. LOL!!!
Right now I'm going to get the soup going -- I'll thaw a quart of
homemade chicken broth and use a coupla cups of fake made with bouillon
powder. I don't like to put chicken meat in it, though I have some in
the freezer. When I think about it, about the only soup I like meat in
is vegetable. :-/

--
-Barb
http://jamlady.eboard.com Updated 3-27-2006 It Can Can!

"If it's not worth doing to excess, it's not worth doing at all."

In article ,
wrote:
(snippage)

: You clearly have this all under control. It would be typical of
: Mexican cooking to add cumin and oregano to the chili powder, and of
: course you can always use minced garlic with the onion instead of the
: garlic powder.
(snippage)
Chili powder already has cumin and oregano in it. Don't confuse chili
powder with ground red chile - the two aren't the same thing. If using
ground red chile, then you'd need to add cumin and mexican oregano.

1Tbsp simply isn't enough spice either - bump it up to 2 or 3 Tbsp.

I've cooked the meat -- used about 2/3# of 93/7 ground beef. Threw in
"some" Chili Seasoning (Penzeys stuff), "some" cumin (probably not a
half teaspoon), and "a little" oregano, crushed in my palms as I dumped
it in the pan with the meat and onions, etc.

Supper's about an hour away. The soup is made and I thought I'd
assemble the enchiladas. Bzzzztt! Thank you for playing, Barbara!!
I've got some Cruz brand "authentic" corn torts - about 7" diameter. I
dipped them into the ench sauce in a pie plate and dumped a big spoonful
of my ground beef mixture on top and tried to fold/roll it. No dice.
Drat!

PLAN B in place: I yam now making an Enchilada Torte. :-) Stacking
these suckers is the only way it's going to work tonight. ¡Que lástima!
They're ready for the oven; I've shredded the Chihuahua (I love to say
that) cheese and sprinkled some of the fatfree Fake Cheddar on half for
Rob.

I've got some of these dog torts baking in the oven, spritzed with olive
oil and sprinkled with some sea salt, so's I can crumple them into our
soup in the bowl.

Beans are rinsed and ready to heat and smash.

Oh, cripes! ¡The arroz! ¡Se me olvidó el arroz! ¡Ay caramba!
--
-Barb
http://jamlady.eboard.com Updated 3-27-2006 It Can Can!

"If it's not worth doing to excess, it's not worth doing at all."

In article ,
(Steve Pope) wrote:

Melba's Jammin' wrote:

What about my can of pinto beans? Just smash them and heat them?

If you want to refry them, the following works. Heat a few
tablespoons of onion in 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil in a saucepan.
After they have sizzle a few minuts, start adding the beans
gradually, smashing them as you go. I use a plastic kitchen
spoon, but you could use a fork if you don't care about scratching
the saucepan. By the time you've added the entire can, you
will be stirring them more than smashing them. The final result has
some intact beans, but mostly smashed.

Bien. Yo tengo cebollas. Muchísimas gracias, señor Papa. "-)

Tangentially, flat enchiladas are my favorite. If you have a ristra


No la tengo. :-(

you can try replacing the canned enchilada sauce with
homemade.

Steve


--
-Barb
http://jamlady.eboard.com Updated 3-27-2006 It Can Can!

"If it's not worth doing to excess, it's not worth doing at all."

In article ,
Melba's Jammin' wrote:


We usually have an enchilada when we go to our favorite Mexican
restaurant nearby. Seems like the filling isn't much but fried or
boiled ground beef -- it's pretty fine (texture).

I bought a small can of Old El Paso mild enchilada sauce. My plan was
to brown a half pound of ground beef with some onion and then maybe whiz
it in the food processor to make it fine, dip a corn tort into the ench
sauce, put some ground beef in it, fold it over a bit and lay it in a
casserole dish and then pour the rest of the ench sauce over it and bake
until hot -- maybe put some Chihuahua cheese on my two, and some
fat-free fake Cheddar on Rob's and heat 'em up.

As somebody else also suggested, try 'em flat. Put down some meat on
the plate. Cover with a moistened tortilla. Repeat once or twice,
depending on appetite. Add more sauce on the top and some cheese. If
you have ovenproof plates you can cook them in the oven (mostly warm
them and melt the cheese, everything is cooked already) or just put in
the microwave. Each person gets one plate full.


I also bought a can of pinto beans and plan to smash them up and call
them refritos. :-) I don't have any pork fat for them, but I do have
some schmaltz. Fusion beans - Mexican Jewish. :-)

If God wanted you to eat smushed beans, they would grow that way. Try
'em whole sometime. A little garlic is good, but otherwise plain.

--
Dan Abel

Petaluma, California, USA

(snipped)

I am an enchilada virgin no more.
They were very good * Rob had a second helping, which surprised me a bit
and he even had some of the refritos.
Thanks to all for your advise. There are three pictures on my website.
View at your own risk and if you think my photography sucks, tell it to
someone who cares. "-)
--
-Barb
http://jamlady.eboard.com Updated 3-30-2006 Enchiladas for Two

"If it's not worth doing to excess, it's not worth doing at all."