Mexican Layered Ground Beef Enchiladas

Mama Cee Jay's Note:

Authentic Mexican recipe from a friend of the family. Posted for ZWT 3- Mexico.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 50 mins
• Prep Time: 50 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 8 (6 inch) flour tortillas
• 2 lbs lean ground beef
• 1 (1 1/4 ounce) package taco seasoning
• 8 ounces tomato sauce
• 1 lb colby-monterey jack cheese, shredded
• 1 large sweet onion, chopped

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium low heat. Stir in flour until blended and light brown in color. Slowly pour in broth and whisk to make smooth gravy. Add chili powder, cumin, and garlic powder. Bring to boil and reduce heat to low and simmer for 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Pour gravy into a medium size bowl in which to dip tortillas.
2. Brown ground beef in large skillet. Drain excess fat. Add one package of taco seasoning and tomato sauce and stir to combine. Bring to boil and then reduce heat to low and simmer 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside until ready to assemble layers.
3. Spray bottom of 9 x 13 baking dish with non stick spray. Dip two tortillas into gravy and place into baking dish. Cover with one fourth of ground beef, cheese and onion. Repeat 3 times.
4. Bake for 50-60 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Reviews

[Island Girl 525]

This recipe just didn't work for me. The roux was very, very thick and it was difficult to dip the tortillas in without tearing them. It was very messy. The 8 ounces of tomato sauce was not enough liquid to boil and then simmer as the directions stated. I had to add water to it. I used 1.25 ounces of taco seasoning and it was very strong (this may be my fault since I used homemade seasoning, not packaged stuff). Two tortillas in a 9x 13 baking dish did not cover more than half of the surface of the baking dish. A quarter of the meat didn't even make a layer on that size dish either. I ended up using a 8x8 dish and had way too much meat for that. I should have stuck with the 9x13 pan and used more tortillas. I only baked for 30 minutes and the cheese on top was starting to brown. The flavors were very good, so I will be trying this again in the future and hopefully it will work out better! Thanks for sharing.

[Mewnshine]

Wow, the roux really is the secret to a great enchilada casserole! Corn tortillas work as well as flour tortillas, and I've even swapped out the red sauce with mole sauce. Tasty!

[~Leslie~]

Amazing, and oh so easy to make! This was just delicious. I added some fresh chopped cilantro, a mix of red, yellow and green bell pepper and a bit of jalapeno for a terrific meal. I'll make this one again! Thanks for posting Mama! Made for ZWT 5 :)