Red Enchilada Sauce

Here's the recipe for a good, homemade red enchilada sauce.  It's great in the Vegetarian Enchiladas.  I found the sauce recipe here.

This homemade Enchilada Sauce Recipe is easy, authentic, and made from scratch with simple ingredients. It's much healthier and lower in sodium than what you would buy at the store!

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time15 mins

Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 3 Tablespoons oil (vegetable or canola oil)
• 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 1 Tablespoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
• 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
• 2 1/2 cups tomato sauce
• 1 clove garlic , minced
• salt to taste

Instructions

• Stir oil, flour, chili powder, cumin and oregano in a saucepan on low heat until bubbly.
• Add beef broth, tomato sauce, garlic and salt. 
• Simmer on low heat for 15 min, stirring occasionally. 

Storing Enchilada Sauce:

• Enchilada sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 week, or you can freeze enchilada sauce for up to 3 months, in a freezer safe container. Thaw in the fridge overnight before using.
• We enjoy this enchilada sauce with cheese enchiladas, loaded chicken enchiladas, and veggie enchiladas.

Notes

This recipe makes 4 cups of enchilada sauce.

Vegetarian Enchiladas

We really liked these vegetarian enchiladas.  I've not found a canned enchilada sauce I like, so I made her red enchilada sauce.  I recommend it - it was great.  I found the enchilada recipe here.  (The enchilada sauce recipe will be in an adjacent post.)

These Vegetarian Enchiladas are packed with flavor and loaded  with brown rice, sweet potatoes, and black beans. A healthy dinner your family will love!

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time50 mins

Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked brown rice
• 1 batch homemade red enchilada sauce*
• 2 small/medium sweet potatoes , peeled and chopped into small pieces
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic , minced
• 1 bell pepper , diced (any color you like)
• 1/4 cup onion , chopped
• 15 ounce can black beans , drained and rinsed
• 10-12 large flour tortillas (or whole wheat)
• 2 cups cheddar cheese , divided
• fresh cilantro , Chopped (for topping)
• 1 avocado , peeled, seeded and chopped, for topping

Instructions

• Add the chopped sweet potato to a large skillet over medium heat. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. 
• Cook for about 5 minutes, until they begin to get tender. Add 1 tsp minced garlic. 
• Add chopped bell pepper, onions, and black beans and toss to combine. 
• Cook for a few more minutes, until sweet potatoes are completely tender. 
• Add cooked rice and 3/4 cup of the enchilada sauce and toss to combine. 
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Cover the bottom of a large casserole dish with a thin layer of enchilada sauce. 
• Add a big spoonful of filling along the edge of a tortilla and sprinkle with cheese. 
• Roll tightly and place, seam side down, in the pan. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling.
• Pour sauce over the enchiladas (you may not need to use all of it, depending on how much sauce you like). 
• Sprinkle remaining cheese over top. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 20-30 minutes.
• Garnish with chopped avocado and cilantro.

Notes

Vegan enchiladas: leave out the cheese!

Additional vegetable ideas: sautéed broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, spinach, corn, butternut squash, chopped zucchini, or mushrooms would all make great additions.

Green sauce: You can also substitute red sauce for green, if that's what you prefer.

Make ahead Instructions:  Make the enchilada filling and store it separately in the refrigerator up to 2 days ahead of time.  Assemble enchiladas when ready to bake. You can also make the enchilada sauce sauce several days in advance. Store in the fridge in an air-tight container

Freezing Instructions: Make the enchiladas through step 9 (roll the filling in tortillas but don't cover them in sauce).  Cover the pan with a double layer of tinfoil and freeze for 2-3 months.  Allow the enchiladas to thaw overnight in the refrigerator.  Bake as directed.

Baked Tacos

 My family LOVED these the first time I made them and asked for seconds and thirds.  The second time the kids were all content with one.  Such is the case of cooking for kids.  Brett and I really enjoyed them both times.  As we trend meatless, I substituted cooked lentils for the ground beef in this recipe.  It was delicious!  I found the recipe here.

Delicious Baked Tacos include crunchy tortilla shells filled with a seasoned meat and bean taco filling, topped with cheese and then baked.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Total Time35 mins

Servings: 20 tacos

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef (or ground turkey) (or cooked lentils ;))
• 1 small onion , chopped
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 8 ounces tomato sauce
• 16 ounce can pinto beans , or black beans
• 20 hard tacos shells
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese , or your preffered kind of cheese
• 1 romaine heart , chopped
• 2 Roma tomatoes , chopped
• salsa and sour cream , for topping, optional

Instructions

• Cook the ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking it into very small pieces until browned. Remove grease. Add onion and saute for a few minutes. Stir in the dry spices.
  
• Add tomato sauce and pinto beans and stir to combine. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two 9x13'' pans with the taco shells. 
• Spoon taco mixture into tacos. Top with cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes.
  
• Top with a little bit of lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream and salsa, if desired.

Notes

Make Ahead Instructions: The taco meat filling can be made 2-3 days in advance (depending on the freshness of your ingredients), stored in the fridge. When ready to use, fill tacos and bake as instructed. Assembled tacos, in the shells, will keep for a few hours stored in covered in the refrigerator (the taco shells will start to soften too much if assembled for longer than a few hours before baking).

Freezing Instructions: You can freeze taco meat filling in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, fill tacos and bake as directed.

Mexican Sweet Potato Skillet

This was an easy, delicious, one-pan dinner.  I found the recipe here.  

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp coconut or avocado oil
• 1 1/2 lbs sweet potato, cubed
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 large red bell peppers, diced (I ninja'ed frozen red/yellow/green peppers from TJ's)
• 14 oz can low sodium black beans, drained & rinsed
• 1 cup corn (frozen or canned)
• 14 oz can diced tomatoes, low sodium
• 1 tbsp cumin, divided
• 1/2 tbsp taco seasoning
• 3/4 tsp salt, divided
• 1/2 lime, juice of (I forgot this - still yummy)
• 1 cup (4 oz) Tex Mex cheese, shredded (delicious without cheese ;))
• 2 medium avocados, diced
• 2 green onions, chopped (I didn't have these)
• 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped (I didn't have this)
• Greek yogurt and salsa, for garnish (optional) (I didn't use this)

Instructions

1. Preheat large deep skillet on medium heat and swirl oil to coat. Add sweet potatoes, 1/2 tbsp cumin, 1/2 tsp salt and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add onion, garlic, bell pepper and cook for another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add black beans, corn, diced tomatoes, remaining 1/2 tbsp cumin and 1/4 tsp salt, taco seasoning and pepper (wasn't sure what this indicated, so I just dashed in some black pepper); then stir. 
4. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
5. Turn off heat. Add avocado, green onion, cilantro, lime juice and stir. Sprinkle with cheese, cover and let stand until cheese has melted.
6. Serve hot with Greek yogurt and salsa if desired.

Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Notes

You could add some ground turkey, diced chicken breast or tofu for extra protein. Cook it in the skillet first and then proceed with the recipe.

Use less salt if your canned beans or tomatoes are not low sodium.

Bean Burritos

You can't go wrong with a yummy freezer burrito!  The recipe is from here.

YIELD: 20-30 BURRITOS

PREP TIME 1 HOUR

 

COOK TIME 20 MINUTES

 

TOTAL TIME 1 HOUR 20 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS

•  1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (or ground turkey) (I usually omit the meat, but if I have pinto beans, I'll add them for texture)
•  1 cup chopped onion
•  1 teaspoon salt (I use coarse, kosher salt)
•  1/4 teaspoon black pepper (I use coarsely ground pepper)
•  3 cans (16 ounces each) refried beans
•  3 cans (4 ounces) green chiles (mild, medium or hot, depending on preference)
•  1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) green taco sauce or green enchilada sauce
•  1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) red taco sauce or red enchilada sauce
•  1/2 cup (4 ounces) salsa, green or red
•  1 teaspoon ground cumin
•  1 teaspoon chili powder
•  1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
•  1/2 teaspoon onion powder
•  6 to 7 cups shredded cheese (a mix of cheddar and Monterey Jack) (I omit the cheese, and my family adds it later)
•  20 10-inch tortillas or 30 8-inch tortillas

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large saucepan, brown the ground beef and onion with the salt and pepper until cooked through, breaking the meat into small pieces as it cooks. Drain excess grease.
2. Add the remaining ingredients (except for the cheese and tortillas) and mix to combine. Heat through, stirring often to prevent sticking. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
3. Let the mixture cool slightly. Spread about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the filling on each tortilla (depending on the size of the tortilla and how stuffed you want them). Sprinkle about 1/4 cup cheese (or so!) on the filling. Fold in the sides and then roll the burrito closed (see pictures in the post for a visual).
4. I roll all the burritos and place them on a large sheet pan. After they are all rolled, I wrap each one individually in plastic wrap and then put them in gallon size ziploc bags and freeze. (That's Mel's advice.  I actually immediately wrap each burrito in parchment paper, then freeze in a gallon-size Ziploc bag.)
5. To reheat, unwrap burrito from plastic wrap and microwave for one minute. Poke holes in the semi-thawed burrito with a fork or cut the burrito in half and microwave for 1-minute intervals until heated through. They'll be piping hot! Eat carefully. :) (Because I wrap the burritos in parchment paper, I reheat them in the microwave directly in the paper, turning the burrito over at each one-minute interval.)

NOTES

Ingredients: the success of this recipe relies heavily on using brands/flavors you like for the refried beans, taco or enchilada sauce, green chiles, spices, etc. (I'm in search of a good, mild enchilada sauce...please tell me if you have one!)

Beans/Chiles/Sauce: I almost always use the La Victoria brand of taco sauce, Old El Paso or Hatch brand of canned green chiles, homemade refried beans or Trader Joe's, Old El Paso or Rosarita traditional refried beans.

Salsa: my favorite salsa is this homemade stuff or Trader Joe's chunky salsa or salsa verde. (I've used Costco's Jack's salsa, as well as Herdez or Trader Joe's salsa verde.)

Chili Powder: my preferred chili powder is Penzey's but I've used McCormick in this recipe many, many times. (I use whatever I have...typically McCormick.)