Beef Enchiladas with Red Sauce

I am fairly confident that this is not an authentic Mexican recipe. But I was sick for a while, so my husband bought flour tortillas and salsa to make snacks with. They had to be used so I went ahead and combined them. I know, I make everything from scratch, but I'm not about to throw anything in the garbage either. Next time I make this, instead of store bought salsa, I will just make my own. I've made salsa many times and it's easy, especially if you're going to add it to other flavors. Just chop up a tomato, some onion, jalapeno, 1 garlic clove, salt/pepper, some cilantro, 1/4 teaspoon or so of cumin, drizzle on a small amount of oil and vinegar. Mix and set aside until you're ready to add it to the mix (should have roughly 1/2 cup). Now, if I were going to place this out for guests I would work a bit harder on the flavors, but again, it's mixed with sauce so you don't really need to shoot for perfection.

And please ignore the huge chip in my plate. I seem to be running out of dishes. Yesterday my toddler threw a cup across the house and it shattered into a million pieces. I think a trip to Target for dishes will be in my future within the next month or two.

Beef Mixture

Red Sauce

Remove from the oven once the cheese melts

To time everything out correctly, I recommend starting with the rice, then the red sauce and while that thickens start the beef.


Red Enchilada Sauce

Serving Size = 3 cups

Original Recipe

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon onion, minced (I reserved onion from the rice and beef)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• Salt/Pepper to taste (not too much salt, just a pinch)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 tablespoon or so of fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup of salsa (I used 1/2 cup because it wasn't thick enough)
• 1 (6 ounce) can of tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 cups water

1. Add the oil to a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, minced onion cook for a few minutes. Add all of the spices, mix, then add the tomato sauce, parsley, salsa and water. Cook over medium or medium low heat (keeping a simmer) until it thickens (roughly 20 minutes).

Beef Filling
Serving Size = 4 large tortillas

• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 1/2 an onion or so, chopped (the rest of the onion when towards the sauce and rice)
• Peppers, chopped (I used pepperoncini peppers from the garden, 5)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1/2 tablespoon paprika
• 1/2 tablespoon cumin
• 1/4 tablespoon of garlic powder
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• Salt/Pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup or so of cilantro (optional)
• 1 cup of water
• 1/2 cup or so of cheddar cheese (I used sharp)
• Large flour tortillas (I used 4, but you could stretch it to 5 or 6)

Topped With:

• Fresh cilantro
• Green onion
• Lettuce

1. Saute the beef in a large skillet over medium heat. When cooked through, drain the grease and then add the onion and pepper. Saute a few more minutes until they soften a bit. Add 1 cup of water and all of the spices. Mix well and cook until all of the water is gone (the onions and peppers will cook better once the water is added). Add the cilantro (reserve some for later). Check seasoning and adjust.
2. Preheat oven to 350F.
3. Place some beef mixture into a tortillas, add the rice and roll up. Place into a casserole dish, keep doing this until everything is used up. Pour the red sauce over the top, sprinkle on the cheese and bake until the cheese melt completely.
4. Remove from oven and plate, top with green onions and fresh cilantro and serve with lettuce.

Rice Recipe (I added about 1/2 cup of peas and I did have some leftover rice)

Linking to: Friday Potluck, Foodie Friday, Weekend Roundup