Amanda's Enchiladas & Mexican Rice

If you were to ask my husband what his favorite dish is that I make, 9 times out of 10 he'll say your burritos! For some reason we've always called this dish 'my burritos' but in truth they resemble big enchiladas more than a burrito. I looked it up on Wikipedia. Either way, this is a simple, filling and tasty dish. (Extras make a great freezer dish, if you can get them to the freezer without eating them all!)

Enchiladas

1- 1 1/2 lbs of ground beef or turkey
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic
1 can of diced tomatoes (I like fire roasted)
1 can of refried beans (I use fat free)
2 ears of corn (or 1 cup frozen or canned)
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp dried oregano (I used 2 sprigs of fresh)
2 tbsp chili powder
Any extra heat you want in the form of jalapenos, dried peppers, canned chilies, ect.
1-2 cups of Mexican cheese
2 cans of green enchilada sauce
8-10 large tortillas

Preheat oven to 375º. Peel corn ears and toss in oven on the rack. While you prepare the meat, let the corn cook. You know its done when you can pierce the kernels with a fork easily.

Sautè onions and minced garlic in a skillet. Add ground meat. Stir until almost cooked through. Add seasonings (salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, chili powder & any additional spice.) Add refried beans mix thoroughly. Partially drain the tomatoes and add them to the meat. When corn is finished, take out of the oven and let cool. With a sharp knife, carefully slice off the kernels. Stir them (or the canned/frozen corn) into the meat mixture.

In each large tortilla add about 1/2 cup 0f meat (okay, I didn't measure, it's usually two big scoops with a big serving spoon.) Roll the tortilla up and place it into a greased baking pan. Do this with the remaining tortillas. Sprinkle with grated cheese and pour the cans of enchilada sauce on top. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is nice and melted.

Mexican Rice

1 cup of white rice
2 cups of chicken stock
1 can of tomatoes
1/2 large onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 can of diced chilies
1/2 tsp turmeric (you can omit this, but it gives it the nice yellow-y color)

Dice onion and sautè in a saucepan. Add garlic. Stir everything else into the saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook covered about 20 minutes. (The extra tomato juice requires it to cook a bit longer than the package directions for the rice.)

Toddler Quesadillas


For my twin toddlers, instead of a big messy burrito, I gave them small messy quesadillas instead. I took some of the meat mixture (before I added extra heat) placed it on a tortilla, added grated cheese and folded in half. I grilled them for a couple of minutes in my cast iron skillet. Served the rice and some fruit on the side. I made these for my toddlers, but I'm sure they would be a good lunch for adults too!
-Amanda