Marriages and Casseroles

Last week the very first of our friend’s children got married.  The bride would have been three back when Rick and I got married and was not quite six when we moved to this house and met her as I was having my first child.  It has been fun watching her grow up over the years and her family has been more than wonderful and generous to us in their friendship.  We’ve gone on apple picking outings together, made pizza together, cleaned basements on Sunday in an emergency together, waited for our teenagers in a parking lot past midnight together,  gone on evening trips to the temple after work together and they’ve been there for us without complaint supporting us when we really needed help most.  The list could go on but in fact her parents have treated us like family and we love them so of course we looked forward to attending their daughter’s reception two days after they were married in the Washington D.C. Temple.  One of the things that their daughter asked for was a favorite recipe that we could share with her for her future meals.  I’ve done this several times for other brides over the years and think it’s a brilliant idea because I remember how overwhelming it felt to suddenly be responsible for all those meals realizing that the days would turn to weeks that would turn to months and years!!!  That’s a lot of meals to be in charge of that a family depends on.  My own repertoire was severely limited and I wasn’t a very good cook when I first got married.  I’ve given out a few different recipes to the brides that I’ve known through the years but this time I decided to give an easy favorite casserole recipe out.  Many friends have asked me for this recipe after I’ve made it for them or had them over to dinner (back when the family was smaller and we still had room to entertain on occasion).  Casseroles seem to go hand in hand in my culture of sharing and giving service, from having babies or assisting at funerals to the daily task of feeding large families.    I brought this recipe with me into my marriage from my Mom.  It had been given to her by a good friend toward the beginning of her marriage.  At this point I have taken liberties with it and tweaked it from it’s original directions to make it my own though it’s simple enough that I really haven’t strayed far.  I made this dish for my family yesterday in the spirit of “Meatless Monday” once again and it is so good that I thought I’d share it here too.  I do make this with beef sometimes when I have it around but I find I really don’t miss the meat by using pinto beans.  Guess what we’re eating tonight… LEFTOVERS!  And looking forward to it.

Enchilada Casserole

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can mild enchilada sauce (red, not green)

1 pound of hamburger or 1 can pinto beans (I soaked two cups dried pinto)

1 pound refried beans

1 onion

1 clove of garlic (or its equivalent of minced)

12 flour tortillas

2 cups grated cheddar

9 x 13 or 2 8x8 pans

Fry hamburger (or prepare beans).  Saute onion and garlic with it.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Mix cream of mushroom soup, enchilada sauce and refried beans together with meat/beans.  Put a little meat/bean mixture into each flour tortilla.  Roll each and line in a greased pan.  Put remaining meat/bean mixture on top of rolled tortillas and sprinkle with grated cheese.  Bake 30 minutes at 325.  Sprinkle top with sliced black olives as desired and sour cream on the side optional.  Serve with corn or salad and applesauce or apple slices (or cantaloupe).  I think rice might work well with this too either in the tortillas or as a side dish depending on how far you are trying to spread your meal, but it is already very filling serving half of this recipe to six (or seven if you have some light eaters still). 

Enjoy

Since this makes such a lot it is one I like to make for my family and give away the other half to a friend OR make one for now and save one for later.  This dish freezes great with the dish wrapped in foil to make some dinner down the road easier for yourself.  I’ve done a lot of this for myself for future busy weeknights or as I’ve prepared the household for a new arrival.  You can never have too much help with a new baby around and I’ve found it very helpful to help myself as much as possible there.  Pull this dish out to thaw in the refrigerator two evenings before you want it for dinner and it will be ready to bake and serve as directed.