Ground Beef Enchilada Casserole
Ground Beef Enchilada Casserole is easier on your waistline. It gets a lot of flavor from dried chili pods, fresh corn, and the leanest ground beef.
Calories per serving: 371kcal
Ingredients
~~ -- For the Sauce -- ~~
- 4 California Dried Chili Pods
- 2 cup Water
- 1 tablespoon *Olive oil
- ½ Onion, chopped
- ½ Bell pepper, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon *Beef base
- 1 tablespoon Tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon Chipotle powder
- 1 teaspoon New Mexico chili
- 1 tablespoon Cumin
- ½ teaspoon Fresh Jax Peppered Habanero Spice
~~ -- For the Filling -- ~~
- 1 tablespoon *Olive oil
- ½ Onion, chopped
- ½ Bell pepper, chopped
- 1 pound Ground beef, leanest possible
- 2 ears Corn, fresh
- 1 cup Pepper jack, shredded
~~ -- For the Casserole -- ~~
- 12 Corn tortillas
- ½ cup Pepper jack
- ¼ cup Cilantro for garnish
Instructions
For the Sauce
- Mise En Place
- Bring the water to a boil. Put the chilis in a heat-proof bowl. Pour the hot water over the chilis. If they are not entirely submerged, weigh them down. Let them sit undisturbed for about an hour.
- Heat a saute pan and put the olive oil in it. When the oil is almost smoking, add the chopped half onion. Saute the onion and half bell pepper until the onion is translucent. Next, add the garlic and saute until the bell pepper is soft.
- Put the vegetables, chili pods, beef base, tomato paste, New Mexico chili, cumin, chipotle powder, and peppered habanero into a blender and thoroughly blend, about 20 seconds on high. Do not clean the pan.
- Set the sauce aside.
For the Filling
- Shuck the corn and remove the kernels from the cob. Set them aside.
- Add the remaining olive oil to the pan and saute the remaining onion and bell pepper until the onion is translucent. Add the beef and saute it until it is cooked through. Remove as much fat from the pan as possible.
- Add the corn to the mixture and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- When the corn has softened, add the cheese. Stir to combine.
- Put the tortillas in the tortilla warmer with a damp paper towel. Put the cover on and heat them in the microwave for 1 minute.
- Using a spoon, put some of the sauce on the bottom of the 9 x 12 casserole.
- Put a layer of tortilla on the sauce.
- Spoon the filling on the tortillas. Then, spoon some of the sauce on the filling.
- Cover with the remaining tortillas.
- Pour the remaining sauce over the tortillas.
- Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the casserole.
- Bake in a 350° F / 176° C oven for 45 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling.
- Remove the casserole from the oven and let it sit for about 10 minutes to cool.
- Sprinkle cilantro leaves on before serving.
- Enjoy this with guacamole, sour cream, and chips.
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