Shredded Beef and Swiss Enchiladas

We have this recipe for enchiladas that we use all the time, and we never end up making it the same way twice. We've come close a few times, but always vary it enough that it's an entirely new dish every time we make it. The original recipe calls for a filling of ground beef, cottage cheese, olives, and parsley, and a sauce made of dressed-up tomato sauce. We've substituted chicken for the beef, done fillings with crab and cream cheese (oh, that one was good!), and this one has shredded beef. I had to completely change the sauce on this one when I realized that we had no tomato sauce in the house (at least, if we do, it's hidden extremely well behind all our other canned foods and is currently unavailable). Here's how I did the enchiladas tonight:

Shredded Beef and Swiss Enchiladas
1/2 pound shredded roast beef (great use for leftovers)
2 oz. shredded swiss cheese
2 oz. shredded colby jack cheese
1 (6.5 oz) can mushroom pieces, drained
1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes and green chilies (This makes it pretty spicy. If you're sensitive to hot foods, just use plain diced tomatoes instead.)
1 (10.5 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
12 corn tortillas

To make filling, combine beef, cheeses, and mushrooms. Mix well. Set aside.

To make sauce, combine tomatoes, soup, cumin and chili powder. Mix well. Stir about 1/2 cup of sauce into meat and cheese filling. Set sauce aside.

Assemble enchiladas: Heat one tortilla in microwave, about 15 seconds (it takes longer, but if you do more than one, they don't get soft enough and they'll tear. Mine did.). Spoon about 2-3 tbsp. meat mixture onto tortilla, roll up, and place seam-side down in 9x13 pan sprayed with cooking spray. Repeat with remaining tortillas and meat mixture. Use as many tortillas as necessary to use up meat filling and fill pan. Spread sauce over enchiladas.

Cover pan and cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with cheese. Return to oven, cook 5 minutes more until cheese is melted.


Here is the original recipe that we love just as it is, but rarely make just as it is, because we almost never have all of these ingredients at the same time. Give it a try! As you can see, I changed it so much tonight that it's not really even recognizable. Oh well, both recipes are great.

Beef Enchiladas
1 pound ground beef (we usually use 1/2 pound and it comes out fine)
1 cup cottage cheese
1 can (4.25 oz) chopped ripe olives, drained
2 tbsp. minced fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
8 flour tortillas (7 inches)
SAUCE:
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 medium green pepper, chopped
1 tbsp. cooking oil
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 cup (4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese

In a skillet, brown the ground beef. Drain. Combine with cottage cheese, olives, parsley, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Place about 1/3 cup filling on each tortilla; roll up. Place tortillas, seam side down, in an ungreased 9x13 pan. For sauce, saute the onion and green pepper in oil until tender. Add tomato sauce, green chilies, chili powder, sugar, and garlic powder. Pour over tortillas. cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and return to the oven for 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

To make it with crab and cream cheese:
Substitute 1/2 to 1 pound shredded imitation crab meat for the ground beef, and 8 oz softened cream cheese for the cottage cheese. Do everything else just the same. I highly recommend this one for anyone who likes the crab/cream cheese combo.

To make it with chicken:
Substitute 1/2 to 1 pound shredded chicken (white meat tastes best) for the ground beef.

If you don't have canned chilies:
Substitute several dashes hot sauce for the can of green chilies. This is what we usually do, since we almost never have green chilies.