Homemade Beef Enchiladas

Will beat restaurant style any day!

Cook Time:

• From start to finish this takes a little over an hour to prepare.
• 25min bake time

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 12 corn tortillas, softened for rolling
• Seasoned salt
• Garlic powder
• 2 cups shredded Colby jack cheese
• 2 diced green onions

For sauce:

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• ½ tsp cumin
• 2 cups warm beef broth
• 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1-2 fresh jalapenos, diced with seeds

Preheat oven to 350▫.

Mix the ground beef in with the onions, seasoned salt and a bit of garlic powder to preference.  Cook together until the beef is no longer pink and the onions are transparent.  Drain fat and set aside for now (but leave it in the pan).

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. When the oil is hot, whisk in flour and chili powder and cook for one minute or so until absorbed but don’t burn the flour.  Whisk in the remaining sauce ingredients, bring to a boil and immediately reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.

Spray a large rectangle pan with Pam and pour just enough sauce in the pan to thinly coat the bottom.  Take about ½ a cup of the sauce and mix in with the meat mixture.  Reserve the rest of the sauce to pour over enchiladas later.

Begin tortilla assembly by putting a thin layer of cheese in a line across the tortilla and two to three spoonfuls of filling on top of the cheese.  Roll up tortilla and put in the pan on top of the sauce, seam side down.  Continue with all 12 tortillas.

Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas, trying to distribute it evenly.  Take the bottom of the stirring spoon and spread out across the top so there is no bare tortilla (you don’t want it to dry out).  Spread the remaining cheese over the top of the enchiladas and top off with the diced green onions.  Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.  Delicious with fresh margaritas to quench the heat.  Makes 4-6 servings.

This has a nice heat and pepper flavor as is, but if you want to make it extra hot, I would recommend adding additional jalapenos or substitute the salt for Smoke Serrano salt from your friendly Central Market.  If you want it a little saucier, increase the broth and tomato by ½ cup or so.  Part of what is so satisfying about this recipe is that the sauce is from scratch and nothing (well except the tomato sauce) came from a can!