Slow-Cooker Enchiladas

Slow-Cooker Enchiladas

The Homemade Version

Tastefully Simple Version

Andy finally talked me into restarting the blog, and I can know there are a couple of people out there that are super excited! First off, welcome back to Taste of Day! I know all five of my regular readers have complained that I stopped writing, so here I am. Back to cooking and trying new things. Only the rules are about to change.

Last week, while grocery shopping, I picked up the new (April, 2016) issue of Woman's Day magazine so I could get started on blog planning. After flipping casually through the magazine twice without finding my monthly menu, I took a closer look at the table of contents, which did not have it listed. I then frantically searched cover to cover, with no luck. OK, maybe they switched it to be an online-only thing. Check the website and, sure enough, there's my "Month of Menus". Click on the link, and the most recent is January 2016. I'm now panicked. What am I going to write about if I don't have a well-planned menu? Am I actually going to have to (gasp!) plan on my own?

On Friday my husband decided that chickens aren't enough so he went out and bought goats. The most expensive goats he could find (apparently they are the "Grade A Angus" of goats. Like I'm actually going to eat a goat steak I raised from a baby). I decided that, in order to save money, I was going to do something unthinkable. I was going to stick to a budget when getting groceries (I can easily drop $200 at the store when I went for a gallon of milk and cereal). And instead of picking a random menu and buying everything I need, I'm going to use everything I have and pick a menu based on that. So, for the month of April I have a $50/week grocery budget (for necessities like milk and lettuce) and the rest I need to have on hand.

To get me through this difficult plan (I have three freezers that are full, along with a pantry and 2 refrigerators), I spent today doing an inventory of everything I have (why do I need 12 cans of green beans?) and decided to start with something super easy: a freezer-meal.

Slow-Cooker Enchiladas

Tastefully Simple

Ingredients:

• 1½ lbs. lean ground beef, browned
• 2 Tbsp. Onion Onion™ Seasoning 
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• 2 (10 oz.) cans enchilada sauce
• 15-16 oz. can chili beans in mild or medium sauce
• ½ jar Corn, Black Bean Salsa 
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• 11 oz. can corn with red and green bell peppers, drained
• 2.25 oz. can sliced black olives, drained
• 3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 8 (7-8 inch) corn tortillas

My friend, Amanda, had a Tastefully-Simple freezer-meal workshop that I attended in January. I made 10 different recipes and have only tried two of them so far (Maxen loved them both, Lila and Andy liked 1, I didn't like either of them). Unlike normal people, who can do a crock-pot meal on workdays, I prefer doing them on my day off (it's kind of hard to adjust cooking times when you have to start it at 6am). I think this one sounds delicious, lets see how it goes.

Directions:

Serve it tonight: Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside ½ cup meat sauce and 1/3 cup cheese. Spoon ½ cup meat sauce into a greased slow cooker. Top with 2 tortillas. Add 1/3 of the meat sauce and 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat layers twice. Top with 2 tortillas and reserved meat sauce and cheese. Cover; cook on low 5-6 hours. Salt and pepper to taste.

Freeze it for later: Combine first 7 ingredients in a gallon resealable freezer bag. Place cheese in a quart resealable freezer bag. Place both bags in a gallon resealable freezer bag. Seal well, label and freeze. Thaw completely. Combine ingredients, except cheese and tortillas, in a large bowl. Layer as directed above.

Serve with steamed green beans. (I served mine with fresh avocado)

Andy didn't really love it (he ate it, but he's not a fan of my moms similar casserole, or enchiladas, so I didn't have high hopes he would enjoy it). Lila took two bites (without whining, score!) but it was too spicy so I made her grilled cheese. Maxen loved it and ate his entire plate. I also enjoyed it (my mom's taco casserole is one of my favorite foods), and even had seconds.

Verdict? Taste of day Pass