#1. It reminded us of an old family favorite, Fireman's Goulash, that we rarely make anymore since Celiac's entered our lives. I personally have yet to discover a really GOOD gluten free pasta. We even renamed it Mexican Goulash. :-)#2. It was voted the #1 Casserole Of The Year at Taste Of Home. (Well, that's not really WHY we liked it, but it's impressive nonetheless!)
and
#3. It was DELICIOUS! A real crowd-pleaser, and one of those dishes that tastes as good or BETTER the next day as leftovers!
Easy Cheesy Enchilada Casserole
adapted from Get Off Your Butt and Bake!
INGREDIENTS
1 pound ground beef
1 large onion, chopped (or season with onion powder or minced onion)
2 1/2 cups salsa (I used Blender Salsa I'd made that day. mmmmm mmmm mmmm!)
1 can (15 ounces) black beans or red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup reduced-fat Italian salad dressing (I didn't have any Italian Salad Dressing, reduced-fat or otherwise, so I improvised and added about a tablespoon of dry ranch dressing mix and a couple tablespoons of oil. Worked beautifully in this dish!)2 tablespoons taco seasoning (Used some of my Homemade Taco Seasoning from a previous post. I love this stuff! So much more flavor than the stuff in the packets.)
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
6 flour or corn tortillas (we used corn, of course)
1 small can of drained corn, or about 1 1/4 cups of frozen corn (optional, but highly recommended!)
3/4 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend or your favorite cheese (used some Colby Jack)
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
DIRECTIONS
In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
Stir in the salsa, beans, corn, dressing, sour cream, taco seasoning and cumin.
Spoon a generous layer of meat mixture on bottom of 2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Place a layer of tortillas on top of meat mixture. (I cut them in half and tried, not too successfully, to fit them together like a puzzle.) Layer with half of the meat mixture, and cheese.
Repeat. The last & final layer should be a healthy dose of grated cheese.
Spoon a generous layer of meat mixture on bottom of 2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Place a layer of tortillas on top of meat mixture. (I cut them in half and tried, not too successfully, to fit them together like a puzzle.) Layer with half of the meat mixture, and cheese.
Cover with foil that has been sprayed with cooking spray (OR use Reynolds non-stick foil. I love this stuff!) and bake at 400° for 25 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
Let stand for 5 minutes before topping with lettuce, tomato and cilantro (I stuck with just cilantro).
Mmmm...looking at this picture makes me hungry for it all over again! The cilantro is such a nice addition to this dish...for both your eyes and your taste buds. :-)
Oh...I just thought of ONE MORE reason I like this dish so much....it's ECONOMICAL and helped me use up some of the stockpile of ground beef I have in the freezer out in the garage. It's not easy coming up with GOOD ground beef casseroles recipes...but this one is a WINNER!
A casserole destined to achieve "family favorite" status is today's.....
Thank you! Thank you! I was just thinking about dinner...I have all of this (well, ground turkey not beef, but it will work!). You saved the day. Off to work with a plan (for once)! Thanks for the save!
ReplyDeleteI apologize for being a pain in the behind, but I've searched both your blog, food.com, and Taste of Home for Fireman's Goulash and can't find the recipe. Could you please post it or a link to it?
ReplyDeleteAlways looking for a good gluten free recipe. =]
ReplyDeleteFound you through Pinterest and really enjoy your blog.
in fact, you might have changed my life. thank you for sharing your testimony girl. you are so brave
I love enchilada casseroles! It is much easier than rolling actual enchiladas. Sometimes I make it with sauteed poblano chiles, bell peppers and onions for a meatless version, or make with shredded store brought rotisserie chicken and frozen corn kernels. Yum!
ReplyDeleteHave you tried Tinkyada brand Gluten Free pasta? I love it and it's never mushy unless you over cook it. To me, it tastes just like regular pasta.
ReplyDeleteDiane....isn't that the BEST feeling....to know at the beginning of the day what you're going to be having for dinner! I hate going all day with that nagging thought...what should we do for dinner! :-)
ReplyDeleteKaren...not a pain at all. I didn't even think to post my recipe for Fireman's Goulash. :-) It's a dish my Dad used to make when he was first married and working as a firefighter. He used to make it for the guys at the station. I grew up on it and then of course started making it for my family when I had one. It's one of those dishes that really isn't written down...but is instead in my head.:-)
But here it is "in a nutshell":
Brown 1 lb hamburger with minced onion and seasoning to taste. (I use my "house seasoning" of garlic powder, onion powder and dried parsley, plus salt and pepper).
Cook/boil a pkg of elbow macaroni and drain.
Add to browned hamburger:
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can tomato soup (or tomato sauce works too)
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
Cooked macaroni. Stir together.
Add shredded cheddar cheese (as much as you like).
You can either mix the cheese into the mixture until melted....or....put the hamburger/pasta mixture in a casserole dish, cover with the cheese and put in oven just until cheese melts over the top.
I hope I'm not forgetting anything. I'm sure my Mom/sisters will correct me if I do. ;-)
Anony...glad you enjoy the blog...thank you for the kind comments!
connie...those variations sound DELICIOUS! Thanks for the suggestions! I'm definitely going to try the rotisserie chicken! :-)
Sherry....I've only tried it once...and I MUST have overcooked it...because it definitely was mushy. I guess I should give it another try! thanks for the suggestion.
Thanks Jill-will be making both these recipes-soon! I also found you through Pinterest, and I don't let a day go by without checking in!
ReplyDeleteI made this the other night. I used chicken instead of ground beef. I put all ingredients except sour cream in crockpot and cooked for 4 hours or so. When it was time to layer with the corn tortillas I added sour cream to mixture and continued with the layering. Topped with cheddar cheese and baked. So yummy! One of mine and hubby's faves. The kids don't count because they hardly eat anything:)
ReplyDeleteWow, this looks delicious!! It is going on the Make As Soon As Possible list!!! :) Thank you!!!
ReplyDeleteIt was sooo good. My fiance is a vegetarian so I made his half with out the meat and he said it turned out great.
ReplyDeleteJillee, I just love your blog. You have inspired me try so many DIY things!! I also suffer from Celiacs, and I find that the DeBoles corn pasta (which you can get at Whole Foods) or the Trader Joes brand corn pasta tastes almost as good as the real stuff! Good luck in your search...
ReplyDeleteWe made this at our house last night and, despite my forgetting the corn, it was DE-LISH! Thanks, Jillee--definately a keeper! :)
ReplyDeleteStephanie...I've heard good things about Trader Joes brand...I wish we had one near us!! thanks for the tip!
ReplyDeleteCharity and Alicia...so glad you liked! :-)