I know we’re all running up to Thanksgiving, so most of us are thinking about turkey, potatoes, and cranberries but last night we kicked off the week with the Greenbean’s favorite, taco night. My oldest sprout was home from college and she is sick of bland cafeteria food so she wanted some tex-mex.
In addition to yummy guacamole and homemade tacos I made one of my favorite dishes. I call it lazy enchiladas. Other people might call it that too, but I don’t really know. However it is not really an enchilada at all but it is the easiest and tastiest tex-mex that a person can make. Active prep time is about 10 minutes and the total cook time is only 50 minutes. Maybe tonight you’ll want to make it before you have to get all serious about Thanksgiving food.
Ingredients: 1 package of 8 frozen burritos (beef and bean is what I get, but the cheese ones are good too), 3 cans no beans Wolf Brand Chili (yes, it does matter), 1 can Rotel tomatoes, 1 large chopped onion, 2 cups grated cheddar cheese.
pic from texmex.net
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a saucepan, combine the chili and Rotel and heat. Place the frozen burritos in a baking dish (I use a stoneware dish). Pour the chili mixture over the top of the burritos. Layer the onions on top of the chili and put in the oven for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, remove and cover the top with the cheese and put back in the oven. After five minutes, or until the cheese is melted, remove from oven and let set for 10 minutes. Serve with salsa, guacamole, sour cream and hot tortillas. It can be a side dish like it was for us last night or you can serve it stand alone with a tall glass of ice tea.
The Beaning of Life–Some people assume that beans have to be in chili. Of course, these people are wrong, but if these misguided souls want beans then I suggest using 1 can of Ranch Style beans as a substitution for one of the cans of chili. Never, ever buy chili with beans in it. It’s just plain wrong.
Spice Me–If you like more spice, then put some chili powder, cayenne powder, cumin, and fresh ground pepper in the chili mixture when you heat it. You could also chop up some fresh peppers and add to the mix or even put in some red hot sauce. Be warned, though, this heat can sneak up on you and steamroll quickly.