Garbage Rolls

Y'all, we had something new for dinner last night. And they were so good (and Jon liked them so much) that I'm putting them in the blog, if only so I have somewhere to look to remember how I made them for when I want to make them again! Anybody else out there do that? Seems like it happens to me all the time. You make something for dinner, and you didn't use a recipe. Maybe (like me) you were trying to use up leftovers by turning them into something else, or maybe you were just creating dinner out of what you had on hand. And it. was. AWESOME! But then a couple weeks (or months) later when you want to make it again, you can't remember how! So frustrating. One of the biggest lies I tell myself is, "I don't need to write that down; I'll remember it." Haha, yeah, right. Once upon a time, I had a mind like a steel trap. Now, it's more like a steel sieve.

And so, even if you never make these enchiladas (because that's what they are, but "Leftover Enchiladas" sounds too much like enchiladas that were left over, not enchiladas made from leftovers), I'm going to share with you how I did it, and in so doing, share how to do it with my future self.

The first thing you're going to need is some specific leftovers. The first is taco meat, which we've been making recently with a ratio of 3 pounds of hamburger to 2 cans of small red beans, and 4-5 packets of taco seasoning (I don't remember, ok? Use what suits you.), because it saves money by stretching the meat, and the family still likes it fine. In fact, I have one son who actually prefers it this way. But I digress. The second leftover you're going to need is some ham and beans, though not necessarily the ham part. Say 3-4 cups, though I really just scooped some out of the bowl until it suited me. If you don't have the leftovers, but you still want to make these rolls, I'd recommend using 1-2 pounds of ground beef, a can of red beans, and 2-3 cans of pinto beans, plus a couple envelopes of taco seasoning (and the water called for on the taco seasoning packet). Just brown the meat, drain the grease, add the beans and the seasoning, and smush the beans up a bit with a potato masher. Voila, that should do it.

 Next, you need tortillas. I like to make my own when I can, using this recipe I found courtesy of Pinterest. If you've never made your own tortillas, I highly recommend giving it a go. It's pretty easy, and fresh tortillas are better than store-bought any day. Plus, it hardly costs anything and uses ingredients I pretty much always have on hand. Win. If you'd rather buy yours, you'll need about a dozen soft taco size flour tortillas. They come in packs of 10, if I'm not mistaken, so that'd probably do. Don't overthink this and buy 2 packs of tortillas, ok?

To finish it off, you need some shredded cheese (probably 2 cups; cheddar, mexican blend, or colby jack are all good choices) and a large can of red enchilada sauce.

Got all that? Is your beef and bean mixture warmed up in a pan somewhere close by? Good. The next thing you want to do is pour a little of the enchilada sauce in a 5 quart glass baking dish (or a couple 9x13 cake pans; really, work with what you have). Just use enough to make a thin layer on the bottom, and spread it out with a spoon. Now take a tortilla, and put a line of cheese down the center, then spoon your beef and bean mix down the center on top of the cheese. Roll up the tortilla around the filling and put it in the dish. Repeat with the rest of your tortillas, and then pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the rolls. Bake at 350℉ for 30 minutes, then sprinkle the cheese you have left over the top and put your garbage rolls back in the oven for about 10 minutes or so--just long enough to melt the cheese.

Sorry I didn't get pics of the process, but you're going to end up with something that looks kind of like the picture on the right. Of course, this was taken after my family had devoured half of them, lol.

Now, for most of you folks with normal, average-sized families, this is going to be a "potluck" type dish. Feel free to cut it in half if you feel that will work better for you. Or, make the entire thing, split it between 2 (or more, depending on the size of your family) pans and freeze the extras.

If you do decide to make it, I hope you like it as much as we did!

Ingredients:

Leftover taco meat and ham and beans

OR

1-2 pounds ground beef, 1 can red beans, 3 cans pintos, and 2 packs of taco seasoning

plus:

10-12 flour tortillas

2 cups shredded cheese

Large can of red enchilada sauce