Saturday Stirrings - Green Chili Enchiladas

This was one of my son's all-time favorites when he was younger. It's from the Once A Month Cookbook (now expanded and revised) and back in the day I'd spend a day or two cooking up a storm and filling my freezer because life is busy when you've got two kids you homeschool and up to six others that you're houseparenting. I don't do the bulk cooking any more. It's just me and Ivan and we live in South America where there's a more relaxed pace of life (most of the time) and there's also the little issue of no longer having a freezer in which to put all the casseroles. The thing is, this is a great recipe for just any old day, especially if you're having company. You can make it a day or so ahead and stick in the fridge until time to put into the oven. Then you don't have to spend a ton of time in the kitchen when your guests are there, but can instead enjoy their visit.

Although I've never done it, it would seem this recipe could be tweaked to suit those who prefer poultry over beef. Which would make it a good way to use up some of that leftover turkey you'll soon have in your fridge. And a nice change of pace from the Turkey Tetrazzini we usually give our families after the holidays (not that there's anything wrong with Turkey Tetrazzini but year-after-year? Surprise your family with something new!).

GREEN CHILI ENCHILADAS

• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef (3 3/4 cups browned meat)
• 1 1/4 cups onions, finely chopped (3/4 cup sauteed)
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, grated (1 cup)
• 8 flour tortillas
• 1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream or low-fat plain yogurt
• 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies

1. Cook the ground beef, and saute onions until the meat is brown. Drain off fat. Add chili powder, salt and pepper. Reserve 1 cup cheese. Spoon enough meat mixture and remaining cheese on each tortilla to cover a third of it. Roll tortilla beginning at the filled edge. Place seam side down in a 13x9x2-inch baking dish treated with nonstick spray. Combine soup, sour cream, and green chilies to make a sauce; pour over tortillas.
2. Bake uncovered in a preheated 375ºF oven for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and bake an additional 10-15 minutes until cheese is bubbly and golden.

Dee is hosting Saturday Stirrings where you can check out other delicious recipes. Go! Enjoy!

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It rained last night! Not a ton, but any is better than none. Did not really cool things down much. I was up early to clean house (still a work in progress) and by the time I sat down for a break at 10 a.m. to write this post, I was dripping with sweat. What rain we did get was sufficient to soften the ground enough so Ivan could turn the soil. So he's busy doing that and putting in our summer garden! We were wondering if we'd even be able to do a garden this year. The ground was so dry and hard. Very thankful for the rain! And praying for more :-)

Yesterday afternoon there was another big dust storm where the sky turned that weird orange gray color. They had to close the autopista between Carlos Paz and Cordoba for a while because visibility was so low. Hopefully the rain helps keep the dust down now.

We were able to buy some kitchen and other household items from the single missionary lady who's re-locating to Costa Rica. I'm not sure what I'm most excited about, the small tupperware-like containers with lids that actually seal or the supply of hand towels that will come in "handy" for the little house. (Sorry, I've been married to Ivan a long time and they just pop out involuntarily now.)

Back to the grindstone. There's dusting to do as well as some organizing. Now I have to figure out where to put those kitchen and other household items. ¡Hasta luego!