Beef Enchiladas

Today is my freezer meal exchange, and I made beef enchiladas... my strong silent mysterious mans favorite food (well he prefers just cheese, but he will do beef and he is getting beef!).

.

Each person makes one recipe each month and makes enough for each family in the group, ours fluctuates between 4 and 6 each month. And then we meet together and everyone gets one of each recipe to take home and use for meals during the month. I thought it would be really hard to make that much food all at one time. But it really isn't any harder to make 6 enchilada casseroles as it is to make one.

.

It has been fun to try new recipes, get to know these ladies in our group better, and since my family is really picky eaters I am loving that it is getting them outside of their comfort zone once a week.

.
I used a recipe in our freezer meal book we created when we started, and it isn't too much different than my own enchilada recipe I have developed over the years, except I make my own sauce now instead of the canned stuff. I have never mixed the canned enchilada sauce with tomato sauce until today, it seems like it will cut down on the edge of the canned sauce. We will see if my food critics like it.

So this time I had enough for the freezer group and a big ol' batch for dinner tonight... I know this looks like it would feed an army, but I have a growing teenager that is eating us out of house and home, and my strong silent mysterious man swears these are better the next day for lunch. It is the only left overs he will eat, so I always make plenty.

.

Enchiladas was the first thing I ever learned to make him that he liked. We were dating and went to his sisters house for dinner and she made them for us and he raved and went on about how good they were. So before we left I made her show me how to make them... she took me into the kitchen alone, and much to my surprise it was pretty easy, opening a couple of cans of enchilada sauce, browning hamburger and just knowing how to put them all together... once I got the hang of it (okay this took me a while before I got the raves he gives about his sisters) they have been a staple in our house ever since and now I can make them in all his favorite varieties and combinations. Thanks Johnna... I think this is why I finally landed him!

----------------------------------------------------------

Freezer Beef Enchiladas

16oz. Tomato Sauce

2 cans Enchilada Sauce

1lb hamburger

onion chopped

1/2 cup olives

2 cups grated cheese

12 tortillas

Brown hamburger with onion. Drain and add olives to meat mixture (I add taco seasoning to my meat and some water according to the directions to make it saucy). Mix together enchilada sauce and tomato sauce. Spread some sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan then spoon sauce, meat and cheese on tortilla (I like to heat tortillas in a pan with a little oil to get them really flimsy, or heat them in the microwave wrapped in a damp paper towel). Roll and place seam side down in pan. Cover with remaining sauce and cheese (I reserve some olives to put on top I think it looks pretty).

You can cover and freeze at this point, or bake at 350 for 30 min until bubbly.

Bon Appetite!