Machelle's Easy Enchilada's

Fast, Easy and oh, so good!!
I have had several ladies ask about making enchilada's after trying the "Make Ahead Mexican Meat" and "10 Minute Enchilada Sauce" I posted last time. So I thought I'd send a little follow up to that post and let you know how I make Enchilada's that are moist, yummy and loved by the entire family! Enjoy!

Machelle's Easy Enchilada's

Assemble all ingredients before beginning: plenty of shredded cheese (I like mexican blend), tortillas, enchilada sauce and shredded beef or chicken if you are using any.

Pour about 1-1/2-2 cups of enchilada sauce (store bought or homemade) in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. You can use more or less depending on your preferences, but we like it "saucy". I always double the recipe to the "10 Minute Enchilada Sauce" because we use so much! Next take flour tortillas (I have never had good luck with corn) and coat both sides of tortilla with the sauce from the bottom of the pan. Next, place a few TBS shredded cheese OR meat in tortilla, with a few TBS sauce on top, roll up tortilla, and place in pan. Add more sauce to bottom of pan if you run out as you go.

**I have found that placing the sauce in the bottom of the pan AND coating the tortillas is the KEY to moist, restaraunt style tortillas.**

When the pan is full, pour rest of sauce over top making sure to leave no exposed tortilla, and sprinkle liberally with cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and cheese is melted.  I think it looks nice with a dollop of sour cream, sliced olives, diced tomatoes and diced green onions as a garnish, but alas, the kids would have a coronary if I did that, so it's usually just served with sour cream at our house!


Have a perfectly wonderful day,

Machelle 

"Make Ahead Mexican Meat" and "10 Minute Enchilada Sauce"...Ole!

This Make Ahead Mexican Meat recipe is super fasy, super easy, and definately yum-o ! What I love about it most is that I can make a big batch with hardly any work, feed my starving family til they're stuffed, and still have tons left over to freeze for later!

First off, I have only made this with beef (not pork or a combination of both as called for in the recipe) so I can only vouch for the results with beef. Also, it tells you to cook the roast in a 200 degree oven Now, that's too much work for me. I like the "pull a rock hard frozen roast out of the freezer in the morning and throw it in the crockpot" method. So that's exactly what I do: I throw a frozen beef roast in the crockpot first thing in the morning, with no water or seasonings. Let it cook on high all day until it shreds easily with a fork. Then remove meat, save drippings and follow rest of directions as stated in the recipe.

As an extra bonus, I've included my homeade enchilada sauce recipe. Every time I went to the store to buy enchilada sauce, I just about freaked at the price. It is so stinkin' expensive. I make my own now....my kids prefer the homemade stuff because I can control the heat by adjusting the cumin and chili powder. The homeade sauce is pretty darn easy too, and tastes just like the store stuff (only better!)

Enjoy...



Make-Ahead Mexican Meat
(original recipe from Jenette Burr)

This has become a staple at our house!

5 lbs. beef roast or combination of Beef and pork roasts
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
4 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
4 teaspoons salt
3 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (4oz) can chopped green chilies
Juices from beef roasts
2 (7oz) cans green chili salsa

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Place roasts in large roasting pan or Dutch Oven. Do not add salt or water. Cover with a tight lid and roast about 12 hours, until well done. Drain meat, reserving juices. Cool meat, then remove bones and shred meat, set aside. Melt shortening in large skillet. Add onions and green chilies. Saute` 1 minute. Add green chili salsa, garlic powder, flour, salt, and cumin. Cook 1 minute over medium-low heat. Stir in reserved meat juices and shredded meat. Cook 5 minutes until thick. Cool. Put about 3 cups mix into three 1-quart freezer containers, leaving ½-inch space at top. Seal and label containers. Freeze. Use within 6 months. Makes about 9 cups of Mexican Meat Mix. Use Mix to make, Enchiladas, Chalupas, Chimichangas, Tacos, Etc.

10 Minute Enchilada Sauce
(from Brandi at allrecipes.com)

1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons self-rising flour
1/4 cup New Mexico or California chili powder *I just use regular old Chili powder. I have no idea whether it's New Mexico or California or whatever! ....It's the cheap stuff I had in my cupboard! (use less for milder sauce)
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin (use less for milder sauce)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion salt
salt to taste

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in flour and chili powder, reduce heat to medium, and cook until lightly brown, stirring constantly to prevent burning flour.

Gradually stir in tomato sauce, water, cumin, garlic powder, and onion salt into the flour and chili powder until smooth, and continue cooking over medium heat approximately 10 minutes, or until thickened slightly. Season to taste with salt.

Have a perfectly wonderful day,

Machelle 

(Fast and Easy) Lazy Mom "Almost" Lasagna

Last night at 5 o'clock I found myself standing in the middle of my kitchen, staring blankly at my stove, wondering what I on earth I was going to make for dinner. My kids had to be out the door for a movie date with Grandma by 6:15, and I had nothin'. I knew I had a pound of ground beef defrosted in the fridge, and that was about it. In such a case, I usually go to our old standy, spaghetti, but I'd already made spaghetti this week, so that wasn't going to work. The next thing that came to mind was lasagna, but that just takes too darn long. If only I could make something like lasagna that was fast and easy: no messing with the long noodles and making all those layers and mixing up all the cheeses. I do have a recipe for lasagna that uses uncooked noodles, but at that moment, even that seemed like too much work. I needed EASY!  So I came up with this fast and easy lasagna bake. I call it:

Lazy Mom " Almost" Lasagna
by Machelle Littlefield

makes 6-8 servings

1 lb ground beef
2 jars spaghetti sauce
2 c. cottage cheese
parmesan cheese
2 eggs
shredded cheese
16 oz. noddles (macaroni, shells, penne, whatever)

     Put your noodles onto boil. I used Penne Rigate. Don't let the fancy name fool you...It was a $1.00 box of noodles from Walmart. Anything would really work here...macaroni, shells, whatever. Brown 1 lb of ground beef. Pour the 2 jars of sauce in with the cooked beef. We like it pretty saucy, so two may be too much for you.
     In a separate bowel, put about 2 cups cottage cheese and blend until smooth. I use a stick blender for this. Throw in 2 eggs, and about 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, and blend well. I added some italian seasoning blend, onion salt, and parsley flakes. Grate some cheese. I used colby jack, because that's what was in the fridge. Something with mozzerella or jack melts best, but whatever you have on hand will be perfect.
     Once your noodles are done, drain them, and pour half of them in a 9x13 pan. Top with half of the meat sauce, and all of the cottage cheese mixture. Add the rest of the noodles, meat sauce, and top with the shredded cheese. Throw it in to the oven at 350 for 20-30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is melted.
     The kids loved it and my picky hubby had about 4 helpings.  He actually said he better not have more because "his stomach felt like it was going to explode."

Now, as I'm typing this recipe, I realize that in this version I DID make a cheese mixture and create layers (so I don't know what all my complaining was about earlier. ) All I know is that I avoid making regular lasagna because it just feels like too much work, but this recipes really felt like I threw it together in a jif. So give it a try, and let me know what you think!

Lil' Cheddar Meatloaves and O'Henry bars...Fast, easy, and sure to please!

Finally, I'm worth my beans!!

Pretty much as soon as I started collecting recipes, I started looking for a really yumalicious meatloaf recipe, because, after all, every self respecting Mom worth her beans can make a decent meatloaf, right? Over the years I've tested many different combinations of breadcrumbs, beef and spices...some called for oatmeal, others used cracker crumbs, even cornflakes. Some were slathered in a carpet of ketchup, others were stuffed with things that gave my picky children heart attacks...one even called for "wheat berries" and flaxseed, but that's a story for another time. When I found this recipe for Lil' Cheddar Meatloaves, I knew my quest was complete. This fast and easy recipe is a keeper, the kids love it,  and they are moist and flavorful every time (the meatloaves, not the kids....)! So with this fast and easy meatloaf recipe in my collection,  I am even closer to my goal of being a "self respecting Mom who is worth her beans!". Pair this with an easy dessert like Fast and Easy O'Henry Bars, and all you need to do is throw together a green salad and maybe cut up some fruit or something, and dinner's on!

Lil' Cheddar Meatloaves
original recipe by Marina Crowther, revised by Machelle Littlefield

makes 8 servings

1 egg
3/4 c. milk
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c. quick cooking oats
1/2 c. chopped onions (or 1 tsp. onion powder for kids prone to freaking out over actual onions)
1 tsp salt
1 lb ground beef
2/3 c. ketchup
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp prepared mustard

In bowel, beat eggs and milk. Stir in cheese, oats, onion and salt. Add beef and mix well. Shape into 8 mini loaves. Place in 13x9 pan. Combine ketchup, brown sugar and mustard, and spoon over loaves. Bake uncovered at 350 for 45 minutes or until meat is cooked through.


Fast and Easy O'Henry Bars
recipe by Carolyn Rowley

4 c. quick oats
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. maple syrup
1 stick melted butter
6 oz. chocolate chips
1 TB vanilla
1/2 c. peanut butter

Mix together oats and brown sugar. In separate bowel, combine butter, syrup and vanilla. Stir these 2 mixtures together. The longer you mix it, the better it will be. This is a great job for little hands! Pat into greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 about 15 minutes, just until it firms up and is golden. Do not over cook! When cooled, top with peanut butter and chocolate chips that have been melted together. YUM-O with a capital YUM!



Have a perfectly wonderful day,

Machelle 

Easy Sloppy Joe Pizza....being "too tired to cook" never tasted so good!

Here's a super easy recipe. My Sloppy Joe Pizza won't win any nutritional awards but the kids absolutely beg for it. My family inhales this, and it is my stand-by "no nutritional content" weeknight dinner when I am too pooped to make anything else!

So here's what you'll need:

2 cans refrigerator cresent rolls OR refrigerator biscuits
1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce (We love Sweet Baby Rays Honey BBQ)
1 can of corn
1-1/2 lbs ground beef
shredded cheese (I've used monterey jack, colby or cheddar)

If using cresent rolls, you unroll the triangles of dough onto a jelly roll pan and arrange the pieces to fit together so they create a "solid" crust and squeeze the seams together. If using biscuits, separate each biscuit and slice in half lengthwise so they are half as thick. Position biscuits on jelly roll pan or cookie sheet.  Go ahead and brown the beef (1-1/2 lbs) and when it's done add your favorite BBQ sauce (we use pretty much the whole bottle)and a little water (Maybe 1/4-1/2 cup) just so it's not too thick or dry. Then add a can of drained corn. Mix well and spread over unbaked crust or spoon onto each uncooked biscuit. . Top with shredded cheese and bake at 375 for 30 minutes or so, until the crust is golden and cooked through.  
You can also place each uncooked biscuit in the cups of a greased muffin tin, shaping to create a little cup and making sure the dough isn't too thick. Then fill the cup with the filling and top with cheese. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes otr until the crust is done and golden.  My kids REALLY love the BBQ cups!

I have had people ask if this would work on regular pizza dough. It would work, but the cresent rolls or biscuits add a special flakey, buttery crust which makes this dish so wonderful.

I hope your family loves this as much as my family does!

Have a perfectly wonderful day,
Machelle