ENCHILADA CASSEROLE

Ingredients

2 doz Corn tortillas
1 lb Hamburger, (you may also use pork, lamb or turkey)
1 ea Onion, finely chopped
3 ea Cloves of garlic, or use more to your taste
4-5 cups Grated cheese, (I like a mix of cheeses. Try Muenster, cheddar, Swiss, etc.)
2 qts Enchilada sauce, see my enchilada sauce recipe
1-2 tsp Cumin powder, (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 ea Casserole pan, about 9in. by 14in.

Directions

Place the meat in a pan on the stove with the onions, cumin, salt and pepper and stir over medium heat. When the meat starts to brown, add the garlic and continue cooking until there are no red spots in the meat and the onion is translucent. Place the meat it a wire strainer placed over a dish and drain all of the fat from the meat. Discard the fat and allow the meat to cool.

Cut about half of your tortillas in half, leave the others uncut. DO NOT DIP THE TORTILLAS IN THE ENCHILADA SAUCE. Place enough of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of the pan to coat it and spread it around on the bottom of the casserole.

Using a combination of whole and cut tortillas, place them in the casserole dish to cover the bottom. Break some or bend a few if you must. Next put a layer of the meat, (slightly less than 1/3 of what you have), and a sprinkling of cheese. You will be doing three layers plus the top, so go accordingly.

Add two or three spoons of the enchilada sauce. You want a good sprinkling, but don't completely saturate it.

Do a second layer of tortillas, meat and cheese with a little more enchilada sauce, and then make a third layer of tortillas and add most of the rest of your meat and cheese.

Add another layer of tortillas and push everything down in the pan at this time with your hands. Then add a sprinkling of meat, a little of the cheese and a little more enchilada sauce on top of it all.

Cover the dish with a piece of aluminum foil and bake in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for forty minutes. Remove the foil and bake ten more minutes or until the casserole is bubbling up in the middle.

Allow to set for about ten minutes before serving. Serve with shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes and refried beans on the side. Serves 6 - 8.

For a recipe which is more traditional, try the enchiladas.

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