Menu tonight: Enchilada casserole!

I've had a hankering for some Tex-Mex lately, and being short on money and reasonably long on pantry/freezer, and time, I decided that this was something I ought to make myself (although going to the best local "Mexican" place sounds wonderful right now...no cooking, no cleanup...siiiigggghhhh).

On a message board I frequent, I found this wonderful-sounding recipe for an enchilada casserole. So, seeing that El Husbando is tired of eating soup (we've had chili, vegetable beef, and chicken noodle, in one week, lol), I am making something more substantial for dinner tonight.

Here's the recipe:

1 1/2 lbs grd beef
2, 10oz cans red enchilada sauce, divided
1 1oz packet of taco seasoning mix
1 4oz can diced green chiles
1 c salsa (to your own taste preference)
4 c shredded Mexican blend cheese (we just used colby jack)
24 6inch corn tortillas
sour cream, avocado, lettuce, tomatoes, and more salsa (condiments for the end)

Preheat the oven to 350. Spray or grease a 9x11 casserole dish.

In a large skillet, brown the ground beef. Drain, and then add 1/2 of one can of enchilada sauce, the taco seasoning packet, the chiles, and the 1 c of salsa. Mix thoroughly, and simmer together for about 5 min.

Assembling the casserole:

Pour the remaining 1/2 can of enchilada sauce from the first can, into a shallow dish (NOT CASSEROLE DISH!). Spread about 1/4 c of the meat mixture into the bottom of the casserole dish. Dip 6 of the tortillas into the shallow pan, covering with enchilada sauce, then layer on top of the meat, making sure that the tortillas overlap a bit. Cover the tortillas with more meat mixture, a layer of cheese, and then drizzle with some of the enchilada sauce from the second can. Repeat process 2 more times, then dip the last 6 tortillas into the remaining red sauce, layer on meat and cheese. :-)

Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil, and bake for about 30min, or until bubbling. Remove foil, sprinkle with more cheese, and bake another 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted. Let casserole stand for 5-10 min before cutting into it.

Note: This is the recipe as it appears on the forum. I have no enchilada sauce, unfortunately. So I just used more salsa. A LOT more salsa (it was homemade, so I'm not too worried about it, lol). I will let you know how that substitution worked out for me, lol.

I will also attempt to post a picture. But we shall see how well that turns out, too. :-)

Hopefully, your weekend has been a nice and slow one, and you are not among the millions on the east coast of the US being slammed by a blizzard. I pray you have power, and water, and food enough to last you until you can dig out.

Many prayers for those trapped in the great white frozen north...