Beef Enchiladas

Periodically I decide to make some meals and sauces and prepare some meat to stock the freezer. It's usually when we've been busy and I decide we've had too much "ordered" pizza or Chinese. I made a double batch of enchiladas yesterday and a triple batch of sauce, so I wanted to share this recipe.

Enchiladas are time-consuming, but they freeze and reheat well, so they're worth it. Traditionally, they are made with soft corn tortillas which have been fried, but *other people* in this family prefer flour, so that's what I'm using in this recipe. Corn is a whole grain, but you fry them, so nutritionally it's probably a wash - just use whichever you prefer. If you do use the corn tortillas, you'll get close to twice as many enchiladas. Heat an inch or so of vegetable oil in a heavy bottom pot and fry tortillas one at a time on each side (30-60 seconds each); drain on paper towels.

Beef Enchiladas

Makes 6-8 large flour enchiladas.

3 T. butter
3 T. flour
2 T. chili powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. oregano
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. cumin
3 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
1 14 oz. can low sodium beef broth

1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 onion, diced

3 cups cheddar or Mexican cheese, shredded

Brown ground beef with onions until done; drain.

Melt butter in a deep skillet or sauce pan. Add flour slowly, stirring constantly until mixture is thickened and golden brown. Add spices and cook for 1 minutes, stirring constantly. Add tomato sauce and broth and simmer, stirring frequently, until mixture is smooth and thickened. Add 1/4 c. water if it is too thick.

Ladle some sauce into the bottom of a 9X13 pan, just covering the bottom. Put the meat mixture in a bowl and add a little sauce, stirring it in. Put a flour tortilla on a plate and scatter about 1/2 c. of meat mixture and a sprinkling of cheese on one side; roll up tortilla. Place in pan seam side down.

When pan is full of enchiladas, pour the rest of the sauce on top and cover with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Serve with sour cream and hot sauce.