Homespun Enchiladas

The recipe from Lauras Lean Beef for Enchilada Sauce was made even easier for me since canning my own tomato sauce.  I made 4 enchiladas in an 8 X 5 inch baking dish which served as 4 meals for petite seniors.

Beef Enchiladas with Homemade Sauce

(4 enchiladas)

Enchilada Sauce
Heat tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin and oregano in saucepan.
1 tablespoon & 1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup tomato sauce, no added salt

Whisk flour into stock.  Add to tomato sauce and heat, stirring, until thick.
1/2 cup low sodium chicken stock 
1 tablespoon flour


Beef-Vegetable Filling
Saute onion and garlic in olive oil for 3 minutes.
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup onion, diced
1 garlic clove, crushed

Brown and crumble beef in onion-garlic mix.
6 ounce lean ground beef

Stir in spinach leaves and wilt.  Add corn.
1 cup fresh spinach leaves, stemmed removed
1/2 cup corn


Enchilada Assembly
Grease 8 X 5 inch baking dish with an olive oil spray.
Place 1/2 cup sauce in bottom. 
Fill tortillas with beef-vegetable mix.
4 corn tortillas
Lay enchiladas on sauce.
Top with remaining sauce. 
Sprinkle with cheese.
2 ounce reduced fat cheddar cheese, shredded

Bake at 375 F. for 15-20 minutes.

Since retiring, I taught myself to can.  Applesauce, cranberry chutney and tomato sauce are now on my shelves in 8 ounce Ball jars. I often made this homemade sauce every time I needed it for a recipe.  Now I have the authentic version ready to go!  The recipe was inspired by Vegetables Accidentally.

Homemade Tomato Sauce

(7 cups)

Saute onion in olive oil for 3 minutes.
1 tablespoon olive oil
2/3 cup onion, diced

Add tomatoes and Italian seasoning.  Bring to a boil;  lower heat and simmer 20 minutes.
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste, no added salt
3 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomato, no added salt
2 tablespoon Italian seasoning
Blenderize sauce until smooth.

Canning note:  I added 1 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice to each 1 cup jar of tomatoes prior to canning.