Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Freezer Meal: Enchilada Casserole

We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Mexican food in my house.  It is probably one of the cuisines most often prepared at home.  Today's Freezer meal is Enchilada Casserole.  This is one meal that is devoured almost instantly and my friends and family cannot get enough of it.  The best thing is that it is quicker and easier than rolling out enchiladas individually.

Ingredients

1 large can of  Mild Enchilada Sauce (I use Old El Paso Brand)
1 regular can of  Medium Enchilda Sauce
2 packages of Shredded Cheese (Can be Cheddar, Cheddar Jack, Mexican Style or Taco Seasoned Cheese, I've used all of them before and tend to use whats on sale or what I have on hand).
1 can of diced green chilis
1 pound of ground beef or turkey
14 corn tortillas (May vary depending on the size baking dish you use)
1 package of taco seasoning
4-5 diced green onions
cooking spray


Directions: 
  1. Spray a casserole dish, cake pan, or foil pan (depending on what you are using) with the cooking spray.
  2. In a large skillet brown the meat and drain.  Once drained add the taco seasoning and cook according to the directions. Set aside when done.
  3. While the meat is cooking, pour enchilada sauce into a large bowl that you can dip the tortillas in to coat.
  4. Cut 10 of the corn tortillas in half.  These will form the outer edge of the casserole.
  5. Dip the tortillas into the enchilada sauce and place into the baking dish lining the outside.  (See photo).
  6. Dip 2 of the uncut tortillas in the enchilada sauce and fill in the middle covering the bottom of the entire dish. (See photo). 
  7. Cover the tortillas in the dish with the seasoned meat evenly.
  8. Next spread the green chilies over the meat evenly.
  9. Top the chilies and meat with on package of the shredded cheese.
  10. Spread the green onions over the top evenly.
  11. Spoon remaining enchilada sauce over the top reserving enough to coat the remaining tortillas
  12. Now repeat the steps to cover the top of the layers with the coated tortillas (steps 6 & 7).
  13. Pour any remaining enchilada sauce on top of the tortillas
  14. Top the casserole with the other package of cheese.


Line the pan with the half tortillas like so
Fill in bottom with whole tortillas
It is coming together!  It's soooo yummy!
Cover the pan with heavy duty foil and pop in the freezer.  To cook.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 35-45 minutes!  Voila!


The same recipe can be used to prepare them for dinner that night.  Just bake at 425 degrees until the cheese is again melted and bubbly for about 15-20 mins.


4 comments:

  1. hello,
    this looks yummy. do I need to thaw the casserole before I bake it?

    also how many layers did you have when you made it? thanks so much

    ReplyDelete
  2. I don't thaw mine before I bake it. I do use a cooking themometer to make sure the center has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees. It only ends up being one layer. If you had a deeper pan you could certainly add another layer.

    ReplyDelete
  3. What is on the bottom of the pan? it looks like sour cream?

    ReplyDelete