Speedy, Spicy Enchilada Casserole

Dinner time.  One of my favorite things to cook is Mexican food.  Always tasty and there is always enough leftover for lunch the following day.  I found a quicker version of enchiladas, minus all of the portioning and rolling, on a blog that I frequent.  Shrinking Kitchen - Enchilada Casserole in a Hurry.  The casserole I made was adapted from Christy's version.

I didn't have a pie tin handy, so I used my spring form cheesecake pan.  This is the final version.  You cut it into 4 equal pie pieces.

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef or turkey

1 cup chopped red peppers

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 1/2 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 cup fat-free, lower sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon hot taco seasoning

1/3 cup pickled jalapeno slices

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

4 (8-inch) flour tortillas

1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) shredded Pepper Jack cheese

Step by step

1. Heat large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef and peppers to pan; cook 6 minutes, stirring to crumble.
2. Preheat oven to 400˚.
3. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Sprinkle with flour; cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add broth, taco seasoning, and tomato sauce to pan. Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1 1/2 cups tomato mixture to beef mixture; reserve 1/2 cup tomato mixture.
4. Place 1 tortilla in a 9-inch pie plate. Top with 1 cup of beef mixture. Place all of the jalapeno slices evenly on the first beef mixture layer.  Repeat layers (minus additional jalapenos), ending with tortilla. Spread reserved tomato mixture over tortilla and top with cheese. Bake at 400˚ for 10 minutes or until cheese melts. Cool slightly. Cut into 4 wedges.

Options:  Add a can of corn to the beef mixture for added crunch.  Substitute shredded rotisserie chicken instead of beef/turkey.   

Layer of jalapeno slices for the spicy kick.

PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED

Question:  What do I do with the extra chicken broth?  It always goes bad in the fridge before I use it again.

Solution:  Pour into ice trays and freeze. Then just grab cubes as needed.  Ignore the fact that it looks like urine.

Question:  How do I get the rest of this tomato sauce out of this skinny can without adding water?

Solution:  Purchase a skinny spatula from Amazon.  Utilize the boyfriends Prime account and get it by the next time I cook with skinny can ingredients.

Cute Red Skinny Spatula from Amazon