My mom is from Texas and I’ve mentioned that Jay’s mom was Mexican so we are all about the Tex-Mex cuisine in this household. I would never turn down a taco and basically any combination of beans, cheese and rice equals a satisfying meal. And if you’re a Minnesotan, you know that anything baked in a 9×13 pan is a comforting dinner.

This week on Minnesota Live, I shared my ground beef & bean enchilada recipe. I made these last week and my 7 year old asked for leftovers for breakfast the next day so I figured they were worthy of a television appearance. And amazingly, these come together so fast that you can make them from scratch on a weeknight, no problem.

I told the team at Minnesota Live that I fully support shortcuts here (canned refried beans, jarred enchilada sauce and even a packet of taco seasoning) with one exception: you must grate your own cheese. I like to use a raw cheddar from Organic Valley. The pre-grated stuff has anti-clumping ingredients in it that I’m not interested it. Get out your box grater and take 30 seconds to grate your cheese off the block – you won’t be sorry!

One more ingredient note – I’ve been loving the almond flour tortillas from Siete Foods – I think they give you an almost corn/flour hybrid tortilla texture. A package of 8 of them works perfectly for this recipe but you can also use whatever tortilla you prefer! Hope you love them for dinner and even breakfast the next day.

Ground Beef & Bean Enchiladas

Gather this:

1 lb grass fed ground beef

1 tsp olive or avocado oil

1/2 cup diced yellow onion

1 packet of taco seasoning

1 can refried beans (I use Amy’s Organic Refried Black Beans)

1 package Siete almond flour tortillas (8 count) or your preferred tortilla

8 ounces enchilada sauce (I like Frontera or Siete)

8 ounce block medium white cheddar

cilantro, avocado, sour cream, hot sauce for serving

Do this:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a medium sized skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add onion and ground beef, breaking up with a wooden spoon. When almost completely browned, add your taco seasoning and 1/2 cup of water. Mix together and simmer over medium low heat until sauce is thick. Turn off the heat and set aside to cool. In the meantime, spoon a thin layer of enchilada sauce into a 9×13 pan, just so it coats the bottom. Lay out all of the tortillas on the counter and spread refried beans on them. You will split the entire can among the 8 tortillas. Divide the taco meat mixture among the tortillas, spooning it on top of the beans. Sprinkle about 1 tbsp of cheese over the meat on each tortilla as well. Roll up the tortillas and place them seam side down in the pan. Place six across, arranged so the ends are touching one side of the pan. Place the two remaining tortilla roll ups lengthwise, end to end. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the tortillas (if you’re using Siete – you’ll have some extra. One Frontera package will be the right amount for the whole dish.) Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the entire dish and bake for 25-30 minutes – until the cheese is melting and the tortillas are browned. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes or so. Serve with cilantro, avocado, sour cream and/or hot sauce!