"Enchiladas De Casa" Recipe?

Well...ummm. okay, let's see...

Filling:
about 1# lean (I like 15%) ground beef,
brown with 1 lg chopped onion, 2 cloves garlic crushed. Then add 1/2 bag frozen corn, 1/2 bag frozen peppers mix and bring back to temp. Then add 1 sm can chopped black olives, 1 sm can ortega chilies, 1 sm can diced tomatoes, salt, pepper, crushed red chilies to taste, 2 tbls modena vinager, (or red vin w/ a little honey) 2 tbls dried celantro (or fresh, sometimes I just use salsa!) , 1 tsp cumin and a healthy dash of "Pico De Gallo", ( a mexican spice) or even a packet of taco seasoning, (my sister uses it) saute for a few minutes and then thicken with a couple of tsps corn starch in about 1/2 cp water.

1 large can enchilada sauce, we like Med, 1#(+/-) shredded cheese of choice, we usually like co-jack, 14 or so corn tortillas, 1 sm can sliced olives for top.

Start with a couple of spoons of sauce in bottom, layer tortillas, tearing as needed to cover layer completely, a little more sauce, then cheese, then meat filling, cheese, sace, tortillas, sauce, cheese, meat, etc...taking care to spread evenly and smooth into place between each layer, ending with 1 top layer of sauce, cheese, olives, cheese, and a drizzle of sauce from the bottom of the can!

Bake 375* for about 45 minutes until golden and bubbly!  Best if you cook ahead and then let it rest for awhile before serving so it "Stiffens" up, but mine hardly ever waits that long! I do have pictures actually, I just can't get my computer to talk to my camera!

I hope you give it a try, let me know!

There Is Just Something So Special About A Casserole!

I found a beautiful as well as ENORMOUS casserole dish the other day at one of my favorite 3R (Recycle, Reuse, Repurpose) shops here in town for a mere pittance of it's original cost!  So I could hardly contain my excitement long enough to get the ingredients for my family's all time FAVORITE casserole "Enchilada De Casa"!  Oh my goodness, we will be eating this for a week so I'm so glad it came out!

What's To Love About Purple Stains?

Everything!  It means the Boysenberries are ripe!  WooHoo!  We just got back in from a first picking from our "Berry Tunnel"!  Oh, they are MAGNIFICIENT!  Some of the best berries ever I swear!  I did manage to capture some footage when we were "weaving" our tunnel of vines, but unfortunately, I have still not figured out my butt from a hole in the... oh.. wait.. I mean how to operate this computer enough to get any video involved here!  But back to the berries!  Yes we have a wire "Tunnel that is approx. 18-20 foot long and far enough over my head that it requires a ladder for us shorties!  Late winter or so we went out and pruned the growth from last year and wove all the vines up and even a couple over the top of said tunnel.  It is the 3rd year of growth now and it is really filled in substantially!  We will be overwhelmed with berries here in just a few days!

We barely just got over the Cherries!  We have frozen cherries, dried cherries, canned cherries and cherry jam (some cherry syrup too) :) !

EEEWWW Cats Caught A Gopher!

This is a good thing?  Yuck!

Who Knew It Was So Complicated?

The amount of papers that need to be generated JUST TO BEGIN the proccess of ASKING for a loan?  I am going to be oozing brain juice all week!

Thank God I Was Born In America!

I am shaken sometimes when I realize the horrors survived by other humans in other parts of the world! I wish there was some way I could instill that empathy into my grandchildren so that they could understand the significant opportunity they have been blessed with JUST because they were born in America! I want to brow beat them into knowing the sacrifices that our armed forces make to allow them those privileges that they take for such granted as to even show contempt and disdain! How I would love to transport them to live in a remote village in Africa, to China or some other third world low spot and let them hang out there for a month!

Even more appalling is the treatment of women in some of these places! It just makes me angry and wish there was something I could do! I don't mean like vote for someone or send in rice either! I want to pummel someone!
These ladies are doing just that! Check it out! http://gulabi.hautetfort.com/

Donate if it moves you!

PET

Tamale Guiso, My Own Secret Recipe!

A few months ago I stumbled onto an old recipe book with the title "Country Cooking".  As I questioned this title and subjected it to a test of the Index I was pleasently surprised to find a "Tamale Pie" recipe!  I hadn't had one since grade school!  I have shared it and played with it several times now!

So, as I am known to do, I have spent several episodes tweaking and twiddling with this recipe to reflect my own tastes and some modern greats like Home Dried Tomatoes and Roasted Garlic for example.  I also use my homemade salsa, pan fried corn and carmalized onions to set it all up to an extreme flavor extravaganza! I call it "Tamale Guiso"!

 So that is what I am serving today for my family along with some beans I have on the stove now and of course a big pan of Mexican Rice, (my recipe too)!

The original recipe is as follows in case anyone wants to enjoy an old standard for many people.  In this day and penny pinching times it is also very economical!  I remember the book my Dad used to use was called 101 Ways with Hamburger!

Tamale Pie


As published by Time Life Books (70’- 80’s?)



4 tablespoons butter

2 cloves garlic

1 medium onion, chopped

1-pound ground beef

1 large green bell pepper, chopped

1-cup kernel corn

1 can (14 oz) whole tomatoes, drained

1-tablespoon tomato paste

2 tablespoons chili powder

1-teaspoon ground cumin

1 ½ teaspoons salt

2½ cups milk w/*pinch saffron

¾ cup yellow cornmeal

2 cups grated Cheddar (Or) Monterey Jack

¼ pound fresh plum tomatoes sliced thin (or try sun-dried tomatoes)

½ cup chopped scallions

*1 small can Ortega chilies, (chopped)

1 small can sliced black olives



1. Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a 2-quaart casserole dish

2. In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion and the ground beef, cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened and the beef begins to brown, about 10 minutes.

3. Stir in the green bell pepper, corn, canned tomatoes , tomato paste, chili powder, cumin and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for about 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring the milk almost to a boil over a medium heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and1/2 teaspoon salt. Whisking constantly, gradually add the cornmeal. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 cup of the cheese.

5. Butter and then line the sides and bottom of the prepared casserole dish with 2/3 of the cornmeal mixture. Pour in the meat filling spreading evenly and then top off with the remaining cornmeal mixture.

6. Top with sliced ripe olives and arrange the fresh tomato slices, sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of cheese on top. Bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes.

7. Sprinkle the scallions over the top and bake for 5 more minutes longer.



Serves 6, Enjoy!