Almost Like Ginger's Enchiladas

Dine & Dish's Note:

My sister in law Ginger makes the most amazing enchiladas. Her enchiladas are 100% homemade...all the way down to the tortillas (unless she's making them in bulk and then store bought tortillas will have to do). Since Ginger lives over 10 hours away, we don't get to see her very often, and therefore don't get to eat her enchiladas nearly enough. My sister Kathy decided to call her one time to get the recipe from her. This is Kathy's adaptation... not as delicious as Ginger's 100% homemade enchiladas, but a wonderful substitute for the times in between our visits to see Ginger.

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 1 lb lean ground beef, browned and drained
• 3 idaho russet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 3 large carrots, peeled and diced
• 4 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese, divided
• 8 burrito-size flour tortillas
• 2 (14 ounce) cans enchilada sauce (we use mild)
• salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Boil diced carrots and potatoes in water until tender. Drain.
2. In a large bowl, mix together ground beef, potatoes, carrots and 2 cups of cheese. Salt to taste.
3. Place the tortillas in between two damp paper towels. Place in the microwave for 15-30 seconds until soft.
4. With a large serving spoon, place one heaping spoonful of meat/veggie/cheese mixture in the center of each tortilla. Roll each tortilla up tightly and place in a 9 x 13 casserole dish. This will be a tight fit, but squeeze them together so they all fit.
5. Pour both cans of enchilada sauce over the enchiladas, making certain each tortilla is covered in sauce.
6. Place in a pre heated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.
7. Pull from the oven and top with remaining shredded cheese. Place back in the oven and bake an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
8. **These freeze very well and are great to pull out and reheat for a quick and easy lunch**.

Reviews

[Bruce Benjamin]

I can see where the filling for this would be very bland as one reviewer said. Either add a little chile powder and cumin, and then some black pepper to the salt for the filling or at least add some of the enchilada sauce to the mix. All of that beef and potato will absorb a lot of seasoning, more than just salt will provide. I suppose it's just a matter of if you like your food more seasoned or not though. I've seen plenty of recipes for chili where there's only a tablespoon or so of chile powder for the whole batch. I don't think I'd even be able to taste that amount. Also, it's a matter of personal preference but I really prefer to use corn tortillas for enchiladas because I find that the flour tortillas get sort of gummy and sticky when baked with sauce on/in them. Corn tortillas hold up much better to baking, in my opinion. I love flour tortillas for burritos, tacos, and quesadillas but corn are best for me when baked with a sauce. I do really like the idea of adding potatoes and carrots to the filling though. It not only stretches the meat out a little but it adds a different texture and flavor too. You might also try adding some sautéed onion and garlic to the mix and top with some chopped green onion.

[~Robyn~]

I am so so sorry to rate this so low but we did not care for these at all. I spiced them up and they still had no flavor and I have WAY more filling in the freezer, I could have easily doubled this recipe and I folowed the ingredient portions exactly.

[susan_k09]

I don't ususally like enchiladas, but these were great! I doubled the recipe and put one in the freezer. Looking forward to eating them again! I used whole wheat tortillas and "The Last Red Enchilada Sauce You'll Need" The Last Red Enchilada Sauce You'll Need. Thanks for a great recipe. I love trying something new and having it turn out so well! Even my picky SIL ate them.