Beef & Black Bean Enchiladas

Although I live by myself, most of my recipes can be doubled or tripled: enough to feed a crowd or to last as leftovers for several days. This Beef & Black Bean Enchiladas recipe serves as a perfect example.

Using simple ingredients, you can make a hearty meal that takes minutes to put together and can be served for lunch or dinner. If you have kids in your household, I'm sure they'd be more than happy to help you assemble the enchiladas.

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
lime salt to taste (thanks Marx Foods!)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
19 ounce can enchilada sauce
1 cup brown rice, cooked according to directions on the package
14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 green chili pepper, minced
8 flour tortillas
15.5 ounce can black refried beans
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
extras: sour cream, cilantro, salsa, guacamole

Directions

1. Brown the ground beef with lime salt, chili and cumin. Add 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce. Mix.
2. Add drained tomatoes and diced chili pepper to the rice. Mix.
3. To assemble the enchiladas, spread refried black beans on a tortilla. Top with rice and ground beef mixture. Top with cheddar cheese. Roll.

4. Preheat the oven to 375.
5. Add enough enchilada sauce to cover the bottom of 9x13 Pyrex dish. Once the enchiladas are rolled, put them into the sauced dish seam-side down. Top with the remaining enchilada sauce and cheese.


6. Bake for 20 minutes.

7. Serve enchiladas with sour cream, salsa, cilantro and guacamole (I wish I had guacamole, but I did not).

Variations: the beauty of this dish is how versatile it is. You can substitute ground beef with ground turkey or chicken, or use leftover pulled pork. You can make the entire dish vegetarian! Of course you can also use any type of cheese you want and add regular black or pinto beans instead of refried beans.

What's your favorite way to make enchiladas?