Healthy food of the week: Beef Enchiladas with Beans and Spanish Rice
Healthy leftover idea: Beef Quesadillas
Here’s a meal idea and leftovers, both with a Mexican flavor that are sure to bring your taste buds to life. For this example, 97% lean ground beef was used, but the beauty of this meal is that you can literally use any type of meat you want to change from beef enchiladas to chicken enchiladas, steak enchiladas, pork enchiladas, or even fish enchiladas if you wish. choose. To be honest, I’ve never tried a fish enchilada, never even heard of one before, but hey, if that’s what you’d like to try, go for it!
Another benefit of this meal is that you will find it relatively easy to load that baking sheet with a number of enchiladas so leftover meals are a breeze and you still have the option to create the meat quesadillas as directed. The choice is completely up to you. Enjoy!
necessary equipment
– 3 pots/pans with lids
– oven tray
– flip flops
– spatula
preparation time
– 10 minutes
Time to cook
– 50 minutes
Ingredients
(6-8 servings)
– 1-2 pounds of 97% lean ground beef
– 1 package of corn tortillas (70 calories each)
– 2 cans of refried beans
– 1 cup of white rice
– 1 can of tomato sauce
– 1 can of red or green enchilada sauce
– 1/4 cup of yellow corn kernels
– 1/4 cup of chopped white onion
– 1/4 cup skim or low-fat milk
– low-fat mozzarella cheese and shredded cheddar cheese
– 1 chicken bouillon cube
– 1 tablespoon minced garlic
– optional: sliced olives and diced green chilies
– 1 teaspoon of seasoned salt
– 1 tablespoon cooking oil
For Meat Quesadillas
– wholemeal flour tortillas
– Tapatio hot sauce (or preferred type of sauce)
Addresses
one. Start with the ground beef. Remove from wrapper and place in a pan and dice with a spatula. Add 1/4 cup chopped white onion, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 1 teaspoon seasoned salt, and a pinch of pepper. Mix well, turn stove to medium heat and cover. Stir again every 5 minutes for about 20 minutes.
two. When the meat is done to your liking, heat the enchilada sauce in a skillet for about 5 minutes. Prepare tortillas, both cheeses, and other extras, like sliced olives or diced green chiles, so that when the sauce is hot, the assembly line can begin.
3. To keep tortillas from cracking when stuffed or rolled, lightly heat 4 to 6 tortillas at a time wrapped in a paper towel in the microwave for 25 seconds. Then dip one at a time into the sauce on both sides, then place directly on the baking sheet. You may need to wear flip flops if the sauce is too hot.
Four. Add some meat, a teaspoon of each cheese, a teaspoon of sauce, and any extras you are using and gently roll up. One method is to try to stack all the items in a line on the left side of the tortilla so you can roll it all the way up and tuck it in nicely.
5. Line up the prepared enchiladas side by side so they are slightly touching each other to maintain good shape. Use a basting brush to coat the tops of the enchiladas with the remaining sauce and lightly sprinkle with both cheeses. Place in the oven at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.
6. For the Spanish rice, add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan and spread. Over medium heat add a cup of white rice and stir for about three minutes to “brown.” Add one 8 oz can of tomato sauce and mix well for two minutes. Add 1 3/4 hot water, 1/4 cup yellow corn kernels, and 1 chicken bouillon cube. Increase the heat and bring to a boil, stirring well so that the bouillon cube dissolves. When the water starts to boil, reduce the heat to medium/low, cover and set the timer for 18 minutes stirring only once halfway through.
7. The refried beans just need to be cracked open and added to a skillet over medium heat along with 1/4 cup milk and 5-7 dashes of Tapatío hot sauce if you prefer your beans spicy. Cover and stir occasionally for 10-15 minutes.
8. When it’s all done, serve an appropriate portion along with a 0-calorie beverage and enjoy. Regarding calories, keep in mind that each enchilada will be around 150-220 calories each, depending on the amount/type of items you put inside, so don’t get carried away. An enchilada with rice and beans will have about 350 calories.
Healthy Leftover Idea: Meat Quesadillas
If you have leftover meat and want to change it up a bit and keep the flavor of a Mexican-style creation, you should try these meat quesadillas. You can use corn tortillas or, as in this example, whole wheat flour tortillas to provide a larger surface area to fit a few more items inside.
Just lightly grease a large skillet (or use non-stick spray) and place a tortilla and turn the stove to medium heat. Spread two tablespoons of beans, then add some cheese, then meat, hot sauce like Tapatio, and again some more cheese. Top with another tortilla and use a spatula to lightly press down on the quesadilla. Let it cook on each side for a couple of minutes using your left hand to help hold the quesadilla together so items don’t fall out. Once each side is lightly browned and the cheese has melted, you can remove from heat, cut in half or quarters, and enjoy.