Food Friday: Recipe for Fiesta Beef Enchiladas

I found this recipe in a Diabetic Cookbook from Taste of Home, but I modified it, because I didn't have all the ingredients that it called for--and it was delicious!  So I'm going to share "my" version of this dish, with the original in parentheses, and hope you like it as much as we did!

Fiesta Beef Enchiladas

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

I am including what the original recipe called for, in parentheses, so that you can see what ingredients relate to the nutritional information at the end of the recipe.

1 lb 97% lean ground beef

1 Tbsp minced onion (it called for 1/2 c. sliced green onions)

1 clove fresh garlic (it called for 2 tsp. minced garlic)

1/2 to 1 cup canned diced tomatoes with a little of the juice (it called for 1-1/2 c. chopped, seeded fresh tomatoes)

2 cups cooked brown rice (it called for 1 cup white or brown rice)

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese  (it called for 1 c. reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend or Cheddar cheese, divided)  (I used regular and also added more on top)

3/4 cup frozen corn, thawed

1/2 cup mild or medium salsa (I used medium) (it called for salsa or picante sauce)

10 (6- to 7-inch) flour (or corn) tortillas (it called for 12 corn tortillas)

Additional 1 cup medium salsa (it called for 1 can mild or hot enchilada sauce)

1 cup shredded romaine lettuce

Directions:

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. (I used a glass dish.)

Brown the ground beef with onion and garlic in microwave (or in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat). 

Drain fat often.

Add tomatoes, cooked rice, 1/2 of the cheese, the corn and the salsa to the meat mixture.  Mix well.

Lay out your tortillas, and divide the meat mixture evenly between them, spooning the mixture down the center of each tortilla; roll up each tortilla; (I tucked in the ends, but you don't have to, and I wouldn't next time, and it's ok if some of the filling "spills" out:) and place seam-side down in the dish you prepared earlier and set aside.

Pour salsa over all tortillas, and spread out to somewhat cover, using the back of a spoon, or a spatula.

Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes or until hot in a 375 degree oven.

If using a glass pan, as I did, put it in the cold oven and turn it on to 375 degrees; otherwise preheat the oven.

Remove foil and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.  (If you like cheese, you can add more than the 1/2 cup called for.)  Bake, uncovered, for 5 minutes more or until cheese melts.

Serve with lettuce, tomatoes, plain yogurt/sour cream and tortilla chips.

This was a delicious and easy recipe! I will definitely make it again! I could see this becoming a regular fixture in our home! It would be even faster to throw together if you had cooked hamburger ready to use in the freezer!  In this case, I cooked up a 3-pound log of hamburger, with onion and garlic, and used one pound in this dish, and froze two 1 pound portions for future meals.  This also reheated really well, and tasted just as good the next day, so it would make a great make-ahead dish.  I believe it would also freeze well, already baked, or you could make the filling, freeze that, and then thaw, and throw it together with the tortillas, and then bake, when you're planning to serve the dish.

Nutrients per serving: 2 enchiladas

Calories: 341

Fat: 11g (sat 5g)

Protein: 17g

Carbohydrate: 43g

Fiber: 4g

Cholesterol: 38mg

Sodium: 465mg

Exchanges: 2 starch, 2 vegetable, 2 lean meat, 1 fat

Enjoy!