Sunday, March 11, 2012

Beef Enchiladas, Mean Girls, and More Paula

The beef enchiladas were also a big hit at the event I catered last night.  That sounds so official!  Oh wait.  I feel a tangent coming on...  I cannot even say how much I enjoyed doing this party.  I CANNOT get over the fact that people will pay me to go shopping ((my second favorite thing)) and cook stuff for them ((my favorite thing)) and then tell me how awesome it all is ((ALL RIGHT, yes, that is my overall favorite thing ever.))  What a great country.  However, I have to say, if someone with a crystal ball had told me three years ago that people would pay me to cook for them and I would love it, I would have asked if it was a contest for who can mess up a Lean Cuisine the most impressively.  Seriously.  I was tragic.  <End tangent.>

In trolling the internet for sugar daddies enchilada recipes, I saw two words which made me stop in my tracks.  Paula. Deen.  I simultaneously love her and loathe her.  I find her incredibly annoying, I have strong opinions ((shocking, I know)) on her cooking techniques and her undisclosed for two years diabetes, and yet, I can't quit her.  The original recipe was in her magazine and I have slightly modified it.  

Oh Paula.  
What you need:

2 tablespoons butter ((duh, Paula, duh))
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb super-lean ground beef
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cans cream of chicken soup
4 roasted and diced green chiles ((or one can))
18 corn tortillas
2 10 ounce cans of red enchilada sauce  ((I used Trader Joe's))
1 16 ounce can of refried beans
4 cups monterey jack cheese, shredded

What to do:

Start by melting the butter in a saute pan, then add the onion and the garlic.   Cook them for about 5 minutes or until the onion is translucent and soft.  Add the beef, chili powder, and crushed red pepper and brown the beef, breaking it up as small as you can as you go.  

Technically, I suppose you should drain the beef at this point, but if you use a super-lean type, it probably won't be necessary.  I just tilted the pan so any fattiness would run to the side and used a baster to get it out.  There was very, very little and I probably didn't need to worry about it.  

Transfer the beef to a large bowl and stir in the two cans of soup and the green chiles.  ((I discussed roasting green chiles in the previous post.  DO IT.  It is so worth it.))  The original recipe called for chicken verde soup, but I couldn't find anything that even remotely resembled that, so I just used cream of chicken.  Cream of mushroom would probably work well and I seriously considered using that nacho cheese soup that I loved when I was about 9 years old.  I'm definitely doing that next time.  This was perfectly good, but why not have more cheese?  ((Says the woman with lactose intolerance.  Brilliant.))  

Spray an 11 x 17 pan with cooking spray and then layer 6 corn tortillas in the bottom.  

In a medium bowl, stir together the refried beans and one can of the enchilada sauce.  

Spread the bean mixture over the tortillas.  Sprinkle on one cup of the cheese.  Add another layer of six tortillas.  Cover that with the beef mixture.   ((Beef mixture sounds gross.  Sorry.))  Cover that with another cup of the cheese and then add another 6 corn tortillas.  Dump the entire remaining can of enchilada sauce on top and then sprinkle on the two remaining cups of cheese.  

Bake it uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes or until it is hot and bubbly.  

Allegedly, you can make this ahead and freeze it too.  

*****

In honor of all things Mean Girls...


I'd be more of a Paula convert if she swore a lot.  

*****

I suspect the sides are coming up next!  Or they may not.  I can't be boxed in.  Not without serious physical injury.  


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