Tex-Mex Beef Enchilada Casserole

Obviously enchiladas contain at least corn tortillas: a sometime food in my opinion. The real problem here is what to thicken the sauce with since I am trying to avoid wheat flour. I tried coconut flour, but it's a little gritty. I'll keep this updated when I try something else. For now I've left the recipe as-is with the flour, feel free to substitute and experiment on your own.

Servings: 4        Prep Time: 1 hour         Total Time: 1 hour 20 min.

o   1 small onion, finely chopped

o   2 garlic cloves, minced

o   1 pound ground beef

o   Coarse salt and pepper

o   4 6-inch corn tortillas cut into small pieces (optional, but I've found you need a thickener of sorts or this becomes more of a soup)

o   3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

o   Chipotle chile enchilada sauce (recipe follows)

o   ¼ cup fresh, chopped cilantro (optional)

Preheat oven to 450

Make filling: In a skillet, cook ground beef until no longer pink, transfer to a colander set in a larger bowl lined with aluminum foil, drain completely. Cook onion and garlic until soft, about 8 minutes. Add beef back into skillet and season with salt and pepper.

Mix in enchilada sauce (below) and tortillas.

Spread evenly in a casserole dish and top with cheese.

Bake uncovered until hot and bubbly, 20-25 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving. Serve garnished with cilantro.

Chipotle chile enchilada sauce; (recommend 1 cup per 3 enchilada serving)

makes approx 4 cups sauce

o   1 ½  tablespoons olive oil

o   ¼ cup all-purpose flour, coconut flour, etc... ???

o   1 can (14.5 ounce) reduced-sodium chicken broth

o   1 ½ tablespoons chili powder

o   1 small canned chipotle chile pepper in adobo sauce, minced.

o   1 tablespoon adobo sauce (from canned chipotle)

In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add flour and cook, whisking, for 1 minute – to cook out “flour” taste. Add broth, chili powder, chipotle, adobo sauce, and ¾ cup water; bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to a simmer until lightly thickened, about 10 minutes.

To bake from frozen:

Cover with foil,* make sure foil does not touch cheese or sauce. Bake, at 450, for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake additional 15 minutes, until browned and bubbly. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Fish Tacos

o    4-6 tilapia fillets (depending on their size – enough for 2 people)

o    Lime juice

o    Olive oil

o    1 head of Napa Cabbage

o    4 large carrots

o    8 corn tortillas

o    Powdered garlic, cayenne pepper, cilantro, radishes, scallions - all optional

Clean, but don’t peel all carrots and cut into evenly sized strips. If you are going to grill them they will need to be larger pieces so they don’t fall through the grill. Toss in olive oil and season with salt and the optional powdered garlic and cayenne pepper. Bake: Heat oven to 425 and bake for about 25 minutes, tossing at least once. Grill: Over medium heat until just starting to blister. Remove as soon as they start to brown as they can go from “brown” to charcoal “black” very quickly.

I like to toss my carrots in a plastic bag and then re-use the bag to marinade my fish. Use residual oil in bag and add about ¼ cup of lime juice, enough so that it covers all your fish. Set aside and let sit for about 30 minutes.

Now for the napa cabbage: shred and put in a large bowl. Toss with 3 T lime juice, olive oil and about 1 t of kosher salt and let sit for at least 30 minutes. Toss occasionally – you want it to wilt by about 1/3. Then you can also add scallions, radishes, cilantro, etc.

Once the carrots come out of the oven it’s time to cook the fish: Place in a rimmed baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Cook time will vary depending on the size of your fish but at 425 you can bake for 20-25 minutes or grill over medium low heat for about the same.

Meanwhile warm your tortillas either on a stovetop or on the grill until they are just starting to “rise” and get brown spots.

Top each tortilla with cabbage, carrots and fish as well as a salsa of your choice for heat. Enjoy!

*Can also be eaten as a salad by eliminating the tortilla.