Enchilada Stacks

… in which 3 layers of corn tortillas are covered with ground meat, cheese, enchilada sauce and onions. The whole thing, as you can see gets topped with sour cream, some olives, sliced avocado and a sprinkling of green onion, if you like. Or, if you’re otherwise inclined, forget the sour cream and top it all with a fried egg.

If you’re like me (and I like to think that you are), you love enchiladas, but just don’t have the time or inclination to make them as often as you’d love to be eating them.  Not to worry, I think I’ve got you covered.  This version, which I’m told is a traditional Tex Mex version of enchiladas, takes only minutes to assemble, yet exudes all the flavors of the enchilada we all know and love.

Right now you probably have everything you need to make these.  All it takes is corn tortillas, enchilada sauce, cheddar or jack cheese (or both), a little chopped onion, some ground beef or turkey and some sour cream and avocado if you have them.  That’s it.  And all you’re going to need to do is soften those tortillas in the oven for like 2 minutes, then make little layered stacks with the tortillas, cheese, onion, meat and sauce, bake until bubbly for about 5 minutes, then top it with some sliced olives, a little sour cream and avocado. In minutes you have the excellent experience of eating a perfect enchilada, without all of the rolling and dipping, etc. Bonus #2 is that if there are only 2 or 3 of you, you can just make the pertinent number of stacks relative to eaters. Line your baking sheet with foil and you won’t even have any clean up. Have I convinced you yet? I’m doing my best here.

An even easier version that we also love is one in which we leave out the meat, sour cream and avocado and top our little stack of sauce, onion and cheese with a fried egg. So delicious and also very traditional. You could also keep the meat AND top it with an egg. You do you!

If you want to elevate these stacks to rock star status, you can make your own tortillas and/or enchilada sauce, but you don’t have to do either of those things.  The whole idea is to have enchiladas for dinner without all the fuss of rolling and stuffing and baking without sacrificing any of the flavor or enchilada experience. If you have some rice and beans to throw on the plate, all the better. Here’s the recipe…

Enchilada Stacks

These stacks are part of our regular meal rotation here in the Circle B Kitchen. And not just because they're so amazingly good, but also because they're so easy to throw together. Note that when assembling for 2 people, you will only be putting ground meat on two layers, which means that you will need 1/4 of the meat on each layer. Whether you top the whole thing with a fried egg is up to you, but ever so good. But equally as good with lots of cheese, sour cream, onion and avocado on top.

Recipe adapted from Bobby Flay

Serves 2

6 corn tortillas
3/4 lb ground beef or turkey
1 1/2 tablespoons taco seasoning (here's our recipe)
2 cups red or green enchilada sauce (here’s my recipe for homemade)
2 cups Jack and/or cheddar cheese, grated
1/3 minced white onion
1 or 2 fresh eggs per person (optional)
sour cream, sliced black olives and avocado for serving

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place the ground meat in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Break up the meat with a wooden spoon and cook until browned and cooked through. Set aside.

Place 6 tortillas on a sheet pan, spritz with a little oil and heat for 2-3 minutes or until nice and soft (they should just be heated through - don't let them harden). Remove from the oven and turn the oven up to 450.

Remove all but 2 of the tortillas from the baking sheet. Drizzle each with a little of the sauce and then spoon some of the meat on top. Add a little of the shredded cheese and sprinkling of onions. Top that with another tortilla, and add the same amount of sauce, cheese and onions. Add the third and final tortilla, and top with sauce, cheese and onions.

Place in the oven and cook enchiladas for five minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbling.

If topping with a fried egg, while enchiladas are cooking, fry up the eggs to your preference.

When enchilada stacks are done, place fried eggs on top of each stack. If not topping with an egg, we like to top with sour cream, sliced black olives and avocado Serve with rice and beans if desired.