Enchiladas for Dinner

I made beef enchiladas for dinner tonight. You probably won't believe this...this was the first time I've ever made them. There is a really easy recipe on the back of a can of Old El Paso Enchilada Sauce. I would have made some spanish rice too...I didn't have a recipe and don't really have a clue how to make it. The recipe says it makes 10...I got 6. They were really good...Gerry ate 2 and a half enchiladas and I ate 1 and a half.


Here's the recipe for the Enchiladas:
1 lb lean ground beef
1 can (19 oz) Old El Paso enchilada sauce ( I used mild)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
1 package flour tortillas (6 inch)

Heat oven to 375 deg. Lightly grease 13x9 glass baking dish. Cook beef until thoroughly cooked, drain. Stir in 3/4 cup of the enchilada sauce and 1 cup of the cheese.

Spoon enchilada filling onto tortillas; roll up and place seam sides down in baking dish.

Pour remaining enchilada sauce over top; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cheese. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until hot.

I mixed in mild cheddar cheese in the meat and then sprinkled a whole bag of a Mexican mix of cheese over the top of the enchiladas. I also added a small can of sliced olives.

This was so easy...don't know why I've never made them before this. I'll be doing it again...only will try chicken instead.


Last night I made corn chowder. Mimi's Cafe has a really yummy corn chowder which we really enjoy. I've been wanting to make some so I googled it and found Mimi's recipe. It was really easy too and good.


Here's the recipe for the corn chowder:
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
6 tablespoons chopped onions (I cut up half of a small onion)
3/4 cup celery (I chopped up 2 stalks of celery)
2 1/2 cups hot water
2 cups cubed potatoes (1/2 inch pieces) (I used 2 small potatoes cut in small pieces)
2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed ( I put the corn on a dinner plate, spread out the kernels and microwaved for 2 minutes)
1 can creamed corn (14 oz)
2 T sugar
2 tsp salt
1 dash white pepper (I used black pepper)
3 T flour
1 qt half 'n half cream (3 cups)

Melt butter in large saucepan. Add in flour and whisk until smooth and a roux forms. Add onion and celery and saute for a few minutes, just til they are soft.

Add water, potatoes, corn, sugar, salt and pepper, making sure water covers everything. (Add more water if not completely covered). Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.

Add half 'n half and simmer until soup is thickened to a creamy consistency (about 15 minutes).

Add more salt and/or pepper if needed. Add more milk if too thick...if it is too thin, simmer for 10 minutes or so longer.


I get in such a rut and fix the same things for dinner over and over so am trying to find different things to fix.