Shredded Beef Enchiladas

Ingredients:

• 2 T Shortening
• 3 T Flour
• 2 T Chili powder
• 1 t Cumin
• 1 t Garlic powder
• 2 C Water
• 4 oz Tomato paste
• Beef (such as Country Style Beef Ribs)
• Tortillas
• Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Heat and blend shortening and flour in sauce pan.  Add chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, water, and tomato paste.  Stir until blended and cook another 2-3 minutes.  If you start early enough in the day, you can put the sauce and the beef in a slow cooker/crock pot on low for 5-8 hours.  This variation makes the beef easier to shred (plus the house smells like Mexican food all day).  If you don’t have all day, however, you can add the beef to the sauce pan and let it simmer for 1.5 hours.  Remove the beef and shred it using two forks.  Wrap the shredded beef in tortillas.  Top with enchilada sauce and shredded cheese and warm in the oven.  I like to serve this with refried beans and Mexican rice.

 

Chili

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 C diced onion
• 3/4 C diced green pepper
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 14.5 oz can pinto beans
• 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 t salt
• 2 t chili powder
• 1 bay leaf

Brown beef in large pot.  Add onion and green pepper (cook until tender).  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Cover and simmer for approximately 1 hour, stirring every 15 to 20 minutes.

 

Nacho Bites

Doesn’t take much more work than regular nachos.  Less mess to serve.  Also fun as a party appetizer.  A family favorite!

Ingredients:

• Tostitos Scoops Tortilla Chips (or any bowl shaped tortilla chip)
• 1/2 lb Ground Beef
• Taco Seasoning
• 1 can Refried Beans
• Finely Grated Cheddar Cheese
• Avacado, Peeled and Cut in Small Pieces
• Sour Cream
• Salsa

In frying pan, combine ground beef and taco seasoning (an arbitrary amount according to your taste buds) and brown beef.  Set out individual chips in rows on a cookie sheet (we fit about 30).  Add a small amount of beef to each chip.  Next add a small amount of beans and top generously with cheddar cheese.  Turn oven on broil and put in the oven until cheese is melted.  Remove from oven and top with sour cream, chunks of avocado and salsa.  Use your own favorite nacho toppings!

 

Taco Soup

Recently, my mom gave us the left over carcass of a BBQ flavored chicken.  She said I could boil it down and make soup out of it.  ‘What kind of soup can I make with BBQ chicken?’ I thought.  Taco soup seemed the only solution.  While it turned out that the chicken was not BBQ flavored, the taco soup turned out amazing.  We did some taste tests to see if it was better straight or creamy and what one should add to make it creamy.  Matt preferred it straight but liked the sour cream version, too.  Both my sister and I liked it best with cream cheese.  Everyone agreed, however, that half and half was just bad!  (Pay attention to the recipe for those options, don’t just put it all in).  It’s cheap, too.  We calculated it out and discovered that, after the donated chicken, we spent more on the tortilla chips than the rest of the meal.  If you add in the cost of the meat, you can make it for under $6–that’s 6 portions!  You don’t have to have a chicken carcass, either.  You can use any kind of meat (chicken, pork, ground beef, beef roasts).  I’ll make notes of where the recipe might be different.

Ingredients:

• >1 lb meat (chicken, pork, ground beef, or roast beef)
• 1 medium sized yellow onion, minced
• 1 package taco seasoning (we like Lawry’s b/c there isn’t any MSG)
• 1 package Ranch dressing mix (Hidden Valley is our favorite)
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 six oz can tomato paste
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 can pinto beans, drained
• 1 can chicken broth (unless boiling down a chicken carcass)
• Water (Water + chicken broth = 4 C liquid)
• Salt and Pepper
• Grated Cheddar
• Guacamole
• Sour Cream
• Possibly Cream Cheese
• Blue Corn Tortilla Chips

Cook meat in crock pot w/ minimal water until tender (a few hours for most meat, but at least overnight if you are cooking down bones).  Combine meat, onion, taco seasoning, ranch mix, tomatoes, tomato paste, black beans, pinto beans, chicken broth, and water (the water that you cooked the meat in counts!) in crock pot.  Cook on low >6 hours, stirring occasionally.  If a creamy soup is desired, stir in 4-8 oz cream cheese or 1/2 – 3/4 C sour cream for the last 15 minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Top with grated cheddar, sour cream, and guacamole.  Serve with tortilla chips.