from my kitchen to yours

Since there are a few of you who were interested in my fantastic enchiladas casserole recipe, I decided to share it with everyone.  Its kind of high in sodium because of the canned goods, but otherwise actually lowish calorie wise.  I figured out the calorie content to be around 430 calories a serving, and that's with making 7 portions out of this dish.  

Leslie's Fantastic Enchiladas Casserole:

1. 4 1/2- 5 cups of cooked rice (I like to mix white and brown rice in my cooker for a little extra nutrition)
2. 2-3 cups (or more :) ) of shredded cheddar cheese or one bag of Italian cheese mix from the store
3. 1-2 pounds of cooked ground beef or shredded chicken (I only use 1 lbs but I know Josh would rather have more meat lol)
4. 2 cans of pinto beans drained and rinsed
5. 1 1/2 of the large green enchiladas sauce cans
6. 1 med onion chopped

(Josh likes to also add tortillas in the layering process, but since I dislike soggy tortillas and I make the casserole, I leave it out.  It is so lovely to scoop the casserole into a warm tortilla like a burrito though!)

Grease your large pan (9x13) and evenly spread half your rice on the bottom.  Then sprinkle about 1/3 of your cheese over the rice.  Evenly spread meat, onions and beans over the cheese.  Pour about half of your sauce over the layers and add another 1/3 of cheese.  Then smooth out the rest of your rice and add remaining sauce over the top.  Finally add the last of your cheese.  Bake in 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes to maybe an hour.  Basically you want the cheese browned and the sauce bubbling up around the edges.  

If you like the taste of enchiladas but not the work, I'd recommend this casserole as a quick substitute.  Josh used to always beg me to make enchiladas but I hated how much time went into making a dish that would be gobbled up so fast, so I came up with this idea and now he asks for this instead!