Sunday, August 18, 2013

Easy Beef Enchiladas

So continuing the freezer meals.... we made beef enchiladas too. I again used the easy Ortega recipe which is the same recipe listed on the back of the El Paso can (except for some of the measurements.)
 
Ingredients:
  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1 can (19-oz.) ORTEGA Enchilada Sauce, divided
  • 1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
  • 6 (10-in.) flour tortillas
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F.

In a large skillet, brown ground beef over medium-high heat until thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in 3/4 cup enchilada sauce and 1 cup cheddar cheese.

Spoon meat mixture into tortillas. Roll up, burrito-style, and place seam-side down in a 9-inch baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until hot. Serve warm.
 
Again - great for one! And Beef Enchiladas really are easy to make. I used to make them all the time in college and Richmond! A huge time savor is to keep cooked ground beef on hand. That saves around 20 minutes of prep time if you want to throw them together after work.
 
IN BULK
I had approximately:
7-8 pounds of ground beef
4 pounds of cheese. We had some leftover shredded cheddar and bought a large bag of Mexican Shredded blend.
Bunch of Cilantro
6 29-ounce cans of Enchilada Sauce (I used Old El Paso)
3 Packets of Enchilada Seasoning
50-60 8-inch white flour tortillas
 
We cooked the ground beef with the enchilada seasoning to flavor it. Drain it, let it cool.
On a scale - measure:
1 lb cooked ground beef
8 ounces of cheese
 
Add:
1-2 Tbsp of chopped cilantro
1.5 cups of enchilada sauce (about half a 29-ounce can)
 
Mix together well.
Pour a little enchilada sauce into the bottom of a 8x8 or 9x13 pan.
Using a 1/2 measuring cup, scoop mixture into tortillas. Roll, place in pan.
We were able to fit 6 enchiladas in the 8x8 and 10 fit in a 9x13.
Top with remaining enchilada sauce and shredded cheese.
 
We made a total of 56 enchiladas. 6 8x8 pans, 1 9x13, and enough mixture & (10) shells to make another 9x13 at a later date.
 
I estimate the total cost of these to be almost $84. Because of the leftover cheese, and fact that I used two very large packages of ground beef from Sam's Club to make both sloppy joes and enchiladas, it's a slight estimate.
 
Estimated Cost:
$84 total
56 enchiladas = $1.50 each
9 casseroles with 6 each (even though I have 2 "tens"), is $9 each casserole, plus $2 container = $11 for a 2 person meal. (Because 3 enchiladas is a nice serving.) This is a little more expensive than my Tater Tot Casserole or Chicken Enchiladas, but it's still better than eating out. 

2 comments:

kerwin said...

ok, super dumb question here, but if you freeze, should you just not bake them and then bake when needed? Or are you baking and then freezing? I seriously am kitchen-disabled. These look yummy though!

Meg said...

It's not a dumb question. I do not bake any casseroles before freezing.

The important thing about freezing casseroles is to cook the meat first. So in the Lasagna, Chicken Enchiladas, Tater Tot Casserole, and Beef Enchiladas, all the meat is cooked. So is the meat in the beef/turkey chili and black bean soup (ham).

(For lasagnas, cook the noodles.)

The other ingredients do not need to be cooked, they will cook when you bake the casserole. My casserole directions are simple - defrost for 24 hours, bake at 370-400 for 30-40 minutes.