Easy Enchiladas

We love these because they're SUPER easy, quick, and good!... Also great, because you can easily tweak it to whatever sounds good to you.

Ingredients:
1 lb. extra lean ground beef
2 (10 oz.) cans enchilada sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (you can also do mozzarella too)
1 pkg. tortillas
1/2 chopped onion
1chopped tomato
olives
sour cream for topping
*can also switch this out with chicken or beans
*I slice olives in half (long-ways) and lay one piece cut-side-down in center of each enchilada, just because my favorite Mexican restaurant (La Casita in Springville, Utah) always does that. :)

Directions:
Heat oven to 400°F. Brown ground beef over medium-high heat until thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in 3/4 cup enchilada sauce, onions, tomato and 1 cup cheese. Spoon enchilada filling onto tortillas, roll up and place seam-side down in lightly greased baking dish. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over top; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 15 to 20 minutes.
*I usually serve with Mexican rice (from a box) that Ive added salsa and/or tomatoes to.

Homemade Tortillas

*The ingredients and amounts were given to me by Lori Sanchez -whom I met while visiting New Mexico (where Dan served his mission) when we were engaged. The directions are just what I was able to find elsewhere.

Ingredients:

4 cups all-purpose flour

3 tsp baking powder

2 tsp salt

cup oil

3 Tbsp oil

gradually add warm water.... about 3/4 cup

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt.
Using your hands, mix the cold butter into the dry ingredients until a coarse texture is formed.
Add the water to the dry ingredients, creating the dough.
Using your hands, incorporate the water fully with the dry ingredients, creating a dough. Once the dough is formed, turn it out onto a floured surface. Knead the dough until a soft, elastic dough is formed.
Pinch off eight to ten golf ball sized dough balls.
Place the balls on a cookie sheet and cover with a damp cloth. Allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes.
After the dough balls have rested, take one and roll it out into a disc. Do this with the rest of the dough balls.
Warm a griddle over medium heat and then place one dough disc on it. Wait about 30 seconds before flipping it for the first time.
Using a spatula, gently press the sides of the tortilla to encourage it to puff up a bit. After about a minute, flip the tortilla again.
Allow the tortilla to cook for about 20 more seconds and then place the tortilla in a basket lined with kitchen towels. Immediately cover the tortilla before starting on the next tortilla.

2 Ways To Make Homemade Tortilla Chips

Ingredients:

4 flour tortillas
Olive oil (for frying)
Course Salt

*I like to sprinke with lime juice as well... some people do other toppings like adding garlic/herbs to oil, or sprinkling with ranch(powder mix)/parmesean/etc after finished.

Directions:

Option #1-

Cut each tortilla into 8 wedges with scissors or a knife. Fill a frying pan with 1/4 inch of olive oil and heat to high. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, reduce to low. Fry 6 wedges at a time in the oil until they puff up and darken slightly on both sides, about 1 minute per side. Place on paper towels to soak up any extra oil, then dust with salt.

Option #2-

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Lay the tortillas out on a cutting board, spray with the nonstick olive oil spray on both sides. If using a seasoning, sprinkle on both sides now. Stack the tortillas and using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut through the pile of tortillas, cutting into 4 equal triangles.
Arrange tortilla triangles in a single layer on baking sheets. Bake for approximately 6 to 7 minutes until crisp and the edges start to curl and turn lightly brown. Watch the chips carefully after 5 minutes, as they can burn easily. Once the chips are done, remove from the oven to cool. Chips will continue to crisp as they cool.

Makes 24 tortilla chips/ 1 serving.

Mexican Lasagna

**Another from NieNie's 'CuisineNie' blog...

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves

4 scallions, coarsely chopped

Coarse salt and ground pepper

10 ounces fresh baby spinach

Nonstick cooking spray

8 (6-inch) corn tortillas

1 (15.5 ounces) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup prepared salsa (mild or medium)

8 ounces Pepper Jack Cheese, grated (about 2 cups)
* we liked it this way, but we also like adding ground beef to it

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a food processor, combine cilantro, scallions, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper with as much spinach as will fit; pulse, adding remaining spinach in batches, until coarsely chopped.Coat an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Lay 4 tortillas in bottom of dish (they will overlap slightly). Layer with half of beans, salsa, spinach mixture, and cheese; repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with cheese and pressing in gently.Cover dish with foil; place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes; remove foil, and continue baking until golden, 15 to 20 minutes more. Cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving.