Enchilada Casserole

This is based off a recipe my mother in law Terry gave us a couple years ago. It's a pretty simple, throw-together kind of meal. And kind of like stew or soup, it seems to get better the day after baking.

Enchilada Casserole

6" round corn tortillas

1 pound hamburger

1/2 an onion, diced

packet of taco seasoning

olive oil if needed

can of corn

can of pinto beans

can of enchilada sauce (I think in the past I forgot to buy enchilada sauce and used salsa instead.)

can of cream of mushroom soup

can of nacho cheese soup

shredded cheddar

Terry also includes a can of sliced black olives. 

Preheat the oven to 350. 

Brown the hamburger in a skillet. Drain the grease, then add the onion and saute until tender. (I didn't have any onions, so I used a shallot.) Mix in the taco seasoning and the water per the package directions.

Spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick spray. (I use olive oil in the spritzer I have from Pampered Chef.)

Arrange a layer of corn tortillas in the bottom of the 9x13.

Layer half of each can of the corn, pinto beans, mushroom soup and nacho cheese, half the hamburger, a handful of shredded cheese and 1/3 of the can of enchilada sauce.

I usually make two layers. Then for the top I put another layer of tortillas, the last 1/3 of the can of enchilada sauce and another handful of shredded cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes or so, until the cheese is melted. Baking it is really just to warm it through since the hamburger was cooked prior to it going in the oven. Serve with a dollup of sour cream.

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A couple recipes to share

I've started making big dinners twice a week, so the Hubs and I both have leftovers to eat for lunch and dinner throughout the week. I make one on Sunday night, and then one about midweek, or whenever I've gotten tired of the first dinner. I need variety, and if I eat the same thing for lunch and dinner for more than 2 days in a row I get bored with it and tend to eat out at lunch. Eating out costs more (about $10 per lunch rather than $2 or less if I eat leftovers), and it's also not as good on my waistline. Basically, eating out is a lose-lose situation.
Since reading Michael Pollan's Food Rules book, I did self-impose a rule that if I could only eat out for one meal a day, a maximum of twice a week. So if I get coffee on the way to work on Monday, I have to eat leftovers for lunch and dinner that day, and I only have one more meal to "spend". I try to keep one meal for lunch with coworkers toward the end of the week, when I need a break from my desk.

The lunches I made for this week are Jenny's (my favorite engineer coworker) enchilada casserole (not to be confused with my mother-in-law's casserole, which I'll post some other time), and deer roast. 

Jenny's Enchilada Casserole (tweaked a little)
9x9 glass baking dish, greased (I use a Pampered Chef Spritzer that I fill with EVOO) (Jenny uses a pie pan)
Oven set to 350 degrees

About 6-10 tortillas, depending on the number of layers desired. I use corn because the Hubs and I like the texture of corn tortillas better, but flour would work, too.
About 1 lb of hamburger, browned, drained of grease and seasoned with taco seasoning (see note) and 1 can of Rotel
Half a large onion, diced. I use yellow or red onions
Several peppers, diced. I had several banana, anaheim and marconi peppers that were ripe from the garden. If I didn't have fresh from the garden peppers, I probably would omit them. (I don't think Jenny uses peppers)
1 can of refried beans
1 jar of salsa verde (Jenny uses enchilada sauce)
8 oz package of shredded cheddar cheese

After draining and seasoning the ground beef, stir in the onions and peppers and cook until tender, a few minutes.
Cut two tortillas in half and use to edge the bottom of the baking dish. Use a full tortilla to line the middle bottom of the dish.
Spread about half the can of refried beans on the tortillas.
Spread about half the meat/onion/pepper mixture over the beans.
Sprinkle about half the cheese.
Repeat the layers, except spread the salsa on top of the meat, and then sprinkle the top with cheese.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Note:
I don't typically buy taco seasoning in a packet. I use, to taste, salt, pepper, cumin, garlic powder, chili powder (sparingly) and red pepper flakes (sparingly).

I ate this with avocado slices. I'm sure the Hubs had a side of sour cream as well.

Deer Roast
This recipe is a lot simpler, because it all gets thrown in the crockpot and cooked overnight. Which means I wake up starving at 4 am because the house smells so good!

1 deer roast. The one I used tonight was at least 2 pounds if not more
half an onion, diced (the other half of the onion was used in the enchilada casserole)
About half a dozen large mushrooms, cut in half and then in bite-sized chunks. The mushrooms at Dillon's this time were about 3" in diameter
4 Yukon Gold potatoes (fresh from the Farmer's market last weekend!), cut into bite-sized chunks
1 clove of elephant garlic, minced
Water
Salt and pepper

We have a rather large Crockpot, similar to this one. The crock part comes out and goes into the fridge once it cools. Anywho...

Put the thawed deer roast in the bottom of the crockpot. Put the onions, mushrooms, potatoes and garlic on top. Season with salt and pepper, and then put about 1-2 inches of water in. I've discovered the kitchen sink sprayer comes in handy for putting water in the crockpot. I don't have to hunt down the largest measuring cup, I just bring the crockpot within reach of the sprayer!

I cook the roast overnight, on the 10 hour setting. I think by the time the Hubs gets home (it's been cooking for about 4 hours), he is able to stir it and break up the roast a little. He might even re-start the cook timer.

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