Hamburger Enchiladas

This recipe comes from the Betty Crocker's Hamburger Cookbook. It's been a great resource to me, especially for back in the day when hamburger was cheap.

MEAT FILLING

1 pound ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup dairy sour cream

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 ounces)

2 tablespoons nipped parsley

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

TORTILLA BASE

salad oil

8 tortillas

HOT TOMATO SAUCE

1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce

1/3 cup chopped green pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon oregano leaves

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

2/3 cup water

Cook and stir meat in large skillet until brown. Drain off fat. Stir in remaining inredients for Meat Filling. Remove from heat; cover and set aside.

Heat 1/4 inch salad oil in skillet over medium heat. Dip each tortilla quickly into oil, turning once with tongs, just until limp; drain on paper towel.

In small saucepan, heat all ingredients for Hot Tomato Sauce except water to boiling, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered 5 minutes. Pour sauce into 8- or 9-inch shallow dish.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Dip each tortilla into sauce to coat both sides; place about 1/4 cup Meat Filling on center and roll tortilla around filling. Arrange in ungreased baking dish, 11 3/4 x 7 1/2 x 1 3/4 inches. Pour remaining sauce and the water over tortillas. Bake uncovered until bubbly, about 20 minutes. If you wish, garnish with slices of ripe olives, avocado, hard-cooked egg or shredded lettuce.

4 or 5 servings

A BIT ABOUT TORTILLAS

The Mexicans know all about the care and handling of the tortilla, their traditional flat, unleavened bread. So take a tip from south of the border. When it comes to making Enchiladas, it's best to dip the tortillas in oil first--it makes them soft and easy to roll. Then drain off the excess oil so that the zesty sauce will cling to the surface. And this holds true whether you have chosen either corn or flour tortillas--canned, frozen or refrigerated.

The tortilla is also the basis for the taco shell, which you can purchase already crisply friend and folded into a half-moon shape--ready for its many fillings.

Okay, now it's me again. I have followed this recipe before, and it is really good. The "bit about tortillas" is right on when it recommends that you really do dip the tortillas into the oil. They are easier to handle and they taste good when you do that. However, as you can probably guess, I do try to avoid having all that oil. So I usually do not do that. Heating them in microwave also softens them so they're easy to handle, or just on a hot ungreased griddle. The sauce does not stick them so well, though, as it does when you heat them in the oil. But I don't mind because I put the sauce on them anyway. Again, though, it tastes really good when you follow the recipe as written.

Tonight I will use the half-pound of cooked hamburger that I already have in the fridge, and add a can of pinto beans. I don't have sour cream, so I will leave that out, although it is really good with the sour cream. Yogurt works too--yes, I've done it with yogurt. And I'll probably just use some salsa mixed with a can of tomato sauce for the sauce, rather than mixing up my own as the recipe says to do.

That's it. Let me know how it works for you.