{"id":95,"date":"2013-10-30T21:54:28","date_gmt":"2013-10-30T21:54:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.downdogsaltydog.com\/?p=95"},"modified":"2013-11-25T16:49:13","modified_gmt":"2013-11-25T16:49:13","slug":"green-beef-enchilada-casserole-with-superveggie-sauce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.downdogsaltydog.com\/?p=95","title":{"rendered":"Green Beef Enchilada Casserole with SUPERVEGGIE Sauce"},"content":{"rendered":"

So, last night we were supposed to have a little mid-week family meal.\u00a0 I made this to die for<\/em> enchilada casserole and ended up splitting the meal into 2 batches… more on that later.\u00a0 Anyway,\u00a0they were so fur-reaking good I just had to share!\u00a0 Just as fair warning… my final pic turned out really dark so it does NOT show how lovely this turned out.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Start with the sauce.\u00a0 Not any ole canned crap sauce either!\u00a0 For SUPERVEGGIE Sauce you’ll need:<\/p>\n

all this:\u00a0 \"ench1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

1 stick celery<\/p>\n

4 large white mushrooms<\/p>\n

2 Anaheim peppers (great color, low heat)<\/p>\n

1 Poblano pepper (rich, fruity pepper, some heat)<\/p>\n

1 bunch green onions<\/p>\n

2 cloves garlic (not pictured)<\/p>\n

Finely chop all above ingredients until they look like this:\"ench2\"<\/a>Put it all into your largest skillet and cook over low-medium heat in 2 Tbsp. butter (organic, preferred).\u00a0 It will sweat and release out the liquid and your kitchen is going to start attracting people in wanting to know “when do we eat?”\u00a0 You’ll know you’ve got it going on, then!\u00a0 Add salt (1.5 tsp.), black pepper (1 tsp), 2 pinches Turmeric and, if you have it, 1-2 tsp. New Mexico green chili powder.\u00a0 It’s not a deal breaker\u00a0but it adds a nice *something*.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Do not use red chili powder – it will turn it into *something else* all together.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Let this go for 15-20 minutes, stirring often.\u00a0\u00a0You are not looking for browning here, just reduce the mass by about\u00a0two-thirds.\u00a0 If your skillet will hold it all,\u00a0scooch\u00a0the veggie-deliciousness to one side and add 1lb. ground beef (yes, you can use ground turkey, chicken or\u00a0even venison!)\u00a0 \"ench3\"<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Brown the meat.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ench5\"<\/a>\"ench5.1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Now, to turn this into a sauce, you will need flour.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Add about 2 Tbsp.\u00a0 \"ench6\"<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Incorporate this fully, cooking about 5 more minutes before proceeding.\u00a0 Then, you will add liquid.\u00a0 AND, you have CHOICES!\u00a0 I used chicken stock.\u00a0 You can use milk, chicken broth, beef broth, water or a combo of any of these\u00a0liquids\u00a0equaling about\u00a01.5 cups.\u00a0 Start by adding a cup of liquid.\u00a0 If it’s right, stop there.\u00a0 If it’s\u00a0too thick\u00a0, add some more liquid.\u00a0 Remember, it’s going into a casserole so it’s OK if it’s a little loose here.\u00a0 Let it come up to a bubble.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Be patient and then taste for seasoning correction.\u00a0\u00a0 Turn off the burner.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, you need to cream it up a bit.\u00a0 I used\u00a0Greek yogurt (full fat) but you may use sour cream as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n

About 1\/2 cup.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\"ench7\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Stir it all together and you have *MAGIC*!\u00a0 \"ench8\"<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

NOTE:\u00a0 If you need to cook the meat in a separate pan, no worries, mon!\u00a0 Just layer it all together at the end.\u00a0\u00a0 I just happen to prefer washing one pan \ud83d\ude09\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, you will make the casserole.\u00a0 Into a casserole dish — or 2 in my case– it goes! \u00a0I used a 12 inch round and an 8 inch round with 2 layers each.\u00a0 I suggest a 12 inch round with 3 layers, but any shape will do.\u00a0 Cut or tear corn tortillas into quarters and layer into the bottom.\u00a0 Don’t worry about spraying the bottom, the sauce will keep it from sticking. \"ench9\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0If your sauce is\u00a0on the drier side, use\u00a0fewer corn tortillas, maybe 6.\u00a0 Mine was a little wetter so I used a little more here, about 8 total. \u00a0This is the best part of creative cooking – you get to feel your way!\u00a0 Over this you will ladle the meat sauce.\u00a0 \"ench10\"<\/a>\u00a0Now top with grated cheddar cheese (or a Mexican blend).\u00a0 Real cheese, please\u00a0– none of that processed junk or cheese-product-in-a-jar!\u00a0 Continue layers in this order until you run out of room or supplies.\u00a0 Top with a nice layer of cheese (about 1\/2 cup per layer)\u00a0and a little extra on top.\u00a0 And, into the oven it goes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

350 degrees until bubbly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That’s it! \"enchend\"<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, I have to apologize for the darkness in this pic.\u00a0 That AND the fact that I didn’t get one after oven time.\u00a0 Our family dinner for 6 morphed into a dinner for 4 and a takeout option for 2.\u00a0 But, trust me, the casserole was divine!\u00a0<\/p>\n

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So, last night we were supposed to have a little mid-week family meal.\u00a0 I made this to die for enchilada casserole and ended up splitting the meal into 2 batches… more on that later.\u00a0 Anyway,\u00a0they were so fur-reaking good I just had to share!\u00a0 Just as fair warning… my final pic turned out really dark […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4,8],"class_list":["post-95","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-healthy","tag-mexican"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.downdogsaltydog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.downdogsaltydog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.downdogsaltydog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.downdogsaltydog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.downdogsaltydog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=95"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/www.downdogsaltydog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":120,"href":"http:\/\/www.downdogsaltydog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95\/revisions\/120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.downdogsaltydog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=95"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.downdogsaltydog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=95"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.downdogsaltydog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=95"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}