Mexican Enchilada Casserole is a cheesy ground beef dish that is full of fiesta flavor. The delicious cheese sauce is really the star of this dish. I'm sharing all the keys to success for a perfect family meal.
Prep Time - 20 minutes
Cook Time - 25 minutes
Total Time - 45 minutes
Servings - 12 servings
Author - Jennifer
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pkg taco seasoning
- 8 flour tortillas, soft taco sized
- 2 cups Mexican blend cheese, shredded
- 16 oz Velvetta cheese
- 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
- 1 can (10 oz) cream of mushroom soup
- 1 can (10 oz) Ro-tel tomatoes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 9×13-inch baking dish. Set aside.
- In medium skillet over high heat, brown ground beef. Drain beef well. Add taco seasoning. May need to add a few tablespoons of water.
- Place about 2 tablespoons of ground beef and shredded cheese on each tortilla. Roll up tightly and place side-by-side in greased baking dish.
- In large microwave-safe bowl, combine cubed Velveeta, evaporated milk, and mushroom soup. Microwave on high 2 minutes. Stir well. Continue heating and stirring until velveeta is completely melted and sauce is hot.
- Stir in Ro-tel tomatoes. Pour sauce mixture over the tortillas in baking dish, making sure tortillas are completely covered.
- Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes until casserole is hot and bubbly.
This Mexican Enchilada Casserole is one of a handful of recipes that I wrote down when I moved away from home to attend college. I still have the little yellow recipe box with the carefully printed family recipes.
I have loved this recipe for many years. Now my family loves it too and I’m so glad we get to share it with you and your family.
KEY TO SUCCESS #1 – USE LEAN GROUND BEEF AND SEASON IT WELL
This recipe starts with lean ground beef. I like to use 97% lean ground beef if I can find it.
Brown the meat in a skillet over high heat until it is fully cooked through. Be sure to use a wooden spoon or wooden turner to break up the meat as it cooks.
A wooden turner is essentially a wooden spoon that has a flat edge on it. The flat edge is perfect for breaking up meat while it is cooking.
After the beef has cooked, drain it well. I have an over-the-sink strainer that I use when draining meats and many other things. I use this thing all the time and I’ve had it forever.
But I have my eye on this collapsible plastic/rubber over-the-sink strainer because it takes up much less space in the cabinet when it is stored.
After the meat is drained, return it to the skillet and add in a packet of taco seasoning mix. You can make your own seasoning blend if desired!
You might need to add a couple tablespoons of water to make the taco seasoning blend into the meat.
KEY TO SUCCESS #2 – ROLL MEAT AND CHEESE IN TORTILLAS
I use soft taco-sized flour tortillas in this Mexican Enchilada Casserole. The main reason behind choosing this size is that they fit perfectly in a 9×13-inch baking dish.
You can use 8 to 10 flour tortillas, depending on how much meat and cheese you want to put into each one. I generally use 8 tortillas.
Place about 2 tablespoons of seasoned beef and 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese on each tortilla then roll up tightly.
Place the rolled tortillas side-by-side in the greased baking dish.
I like to use Mexican blend cheese that has Monterey Jack, cheddar, asadero, and queso quesadilla cheeses. I have also used only cheddar cheese and it is great as well.
You can use any type of cheese that you like.
KEY TO SUCCESS #3 – MAKE THE CREAMY SAUCE
The sauce for this Mexican Enchilada Casserole is absolutely delicious. It’s a mixture of Velveeta cheese, cream of mushroom soup, and evaporated milk as well as a can of Ro-tel tomatoes with green chiles.
The Velveeta cheese makes this sauce super smooth and silky. Use a sharp knife to cut the Velveeta into cubes so that it will be easier to melt into the sauce.
Cream of mushroom soup adds a nice creaminess to the sauce.
The evaporated milk adds a lot of flavor and richness to the sauce. If you don’t have any evaporated milk, you can use 1 1/2 cups of regular milk instead.
Heat the sauce in the microwave on HIGH power, stirring often. I heat the sauce for 2 minutes then stir it really well and put it in for another 2 minutes.
Continue heating until all the Velveeta cheese is melted and the sauce is hot. Heating the sauce in the microwave reduces the amount of time the casserole needs to heat in the oven.
After the cheese is melted, add in the whole can of Ro-tel tomatoes with green chiles. You will add the juice from the can as well.
You can add the Ro-tel before heating the sauce, but I often find the frequently stirring breaks up the tomatoes into smaller pieces.
Having smaller pieces of tomatoes is not a bad thing, but I prefer to have large pieces.
Pour the hot sauce all over the top of the rolled tortillas in the baking dish. Some of the sauce will get down into the sides of the pan and all between the tortillas.
Be sure to moisten all parts of the tortillas so that they will not dry out while baking.
Since the sauce is hot, you’ll only need to bake the casserole for about 25 minutes, just until it gets all hot and bubbly.
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