Beef Enchiladas with Red Sauce

Welcome to another Monday, and yet another fabulous week, Folks! I hope you enjoyed the weekend and had plenty of time to rest and enjoy yourself.

B and I spent a little time apart over the weekend as I traveled back to my Alma mater for some meetings. It's always great to go back "home" and enjoy the comforting feeling of being back where you belong. My time there is never enough, though. 

But, we are traveling back again this weekend for a very important celebration. My honey graduates with his Master's degree!! whoo hoo!! A week long celebration is in store beginning today until his commencement this weekend. I am such a proud and happy woman - Way to Go B!

Before I left town last weekend, I wanted to make something delicious and hearty since I knew I was leaving the house with hardly any groceries in our pantry. I know. I know. Bad wife award right here.

B wanted enchiladas and I thought it was a great suggestion. I fired up the stove top. Put some red enchilada sauce on to simmer. Then, made these delicious beef enchiladas. 

The house smelled amazing and I got to let my Mexican flag fly!  

I have to preface this and say: it is extremely difficult to capture an appetizing photograph of enchiladas. Please do not mistake my poor food photography skills for taste. I can guarantee the photos do not do these beefed up enchiladas any justice. They are so ooey gooey GOOD!

Beef Enchiladas with Red Sauce

You'll Need:

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 packet of your favorite Taco Seasoning
• 1/2 cup finely chopped white Onion
• 1 tablespoon chopped Garlic
• 2 cups Shredded Cheese
• 5-6 Flour Tortillas
• 1 tablespoon (or less) Extra Virgin Olive Oil (optional)

Red Enchilada Sauce (adapted from Recipe Girl) 

• 2 cups Chicken Broth
• 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 (8 oz.) can Tomato Sauce
• 2 tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
• 2 tablespoons Chili Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Onion Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon of Garlic Salt

What You'll Do:

• Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees and lightly grease a casserole dish with cooking spray.
• Begin by heating a large skillet over medium heat. Place a small amount of Olive Oil in the skillet until heated. Add garlic and onions to the skillet and cook until fragrant and soft. 
• Next, add ground beef and cook until brown. Once, brown, drain fat and add taco seasoning and water - according to package directions. Allow to simmer for at least 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, begin making the Red Enchilada sauce by adding vegetable oil to another large skillet and heat over medium heat. 
• Next, whisk in flour and chill powder. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to whisk until lightly brown. Gradually whisk tomato sauce, chicken broth, garlic powder, onion salt, cumin, and garlic salt. Stir until smooth and simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until thickened. 

To Assemble Enchiladas:

• Using one flour tortilla at a time, dip tortilla in the Enchilada sauce ensuring both sides are covered.
• Place on a flat plate and fill the middle with 1-2 heaping tablespoons of beef. Sprinkle with cheese and roll into an enchilada then place seam side down on casserole dish
• Continue with the next four or five tortillas. Once the casserole dish is full evenly pour the remaining enchilada sauce over enchiladas. Sprinkle with any remaining cheese and place in the oven
• Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly. 
• Serve immediately
• ENJOY!

Topping suggestions: freshly chopped cilantro, avocado slices, sour cream, queso fresco, and/ or salsa. 

Five Friday Faves

Image via// Eat & Relish

Disclaimer: The opinions and products reviewed and expressed below are chosen solely by me. I do not receive compensation to review these products and the products and services are simply ones in which I favor. My opinions are solely my own. If you’d like to be featured on FITO Blog please send me an email to arhicks0427@gmail.com


Happy Friday, Party People!!

I hope everyone enjoyed their week, and you are all looking forward to a fabulous weekend. 

I know we are!

Like I previously mentioned in my post last week here, I am was  going to share with you FIVE of my favorite things from each week to week.

Weellllllllllllll, {as I'm sure you're aware} I've been a little out of the blog world for a minute. To say that the hustle and bustle, and the overall craziness of life has gotten the best of my free time, would be a HUGE understatement.
But I'll spare you all the deets. 
(Like how my beloved doggie lost an eyeball over spring break, or that we BOUGHT A HOUSE, or that I am in wayyy over my head with Grad School and a million other things - I am sure you can relate)

So I am picking up where I left off, and decided to pick back up with my weekly top-picks, and I'm not looking back. 

Feel free to join in on the fun and comment with some of your week's faves.

Are you ready?
Let's Go!

1. Checkout51 app. - If you’re anything like me, you understand the feeling of running to the grocery store countless times on the fly during the week. Even if you can't relate, this App is for YOU! This App. is for everyone! Bye, bye to the days of coupon clipping. Or remembering to bring those pesky little sheets of paper with you to the grocery store. Oh, and, hello, clutter town. Ugh, I just hate, yet love coupons. I always wonder if it is really saving me any money to actually clip the darn things and then try to remember A: that you have a coupon for an item, or B: to bring your coupons with you to the store. Now, with Checkout51 you can literally EARN money as your grocery shop. Here’s how it works:

1. Browse through the weekly offers on the app

2. Purchase the products at ANY grocery store

3. Upload your receipt in the app, and claim your offers!

Easy, peasy. Once you earn $20.00 in your account Checkout51 will send you a check for the amount. Yeah, it's pretty awesome! Available on Apple and Android devices, and can be found in your app store.

2. 14 Hands Chardonnay - wow, I think it took me to write this blog post to realize that Chardonnay is spelled with 2 “N”s (World’s worst speller right here, ask my best friend). Anyway, I LOVE this Chardonnay wine from 14 Hands! It’s amazing how quickly one bottle of 14 Hands can disappear. Especially while you’re doing things like: chatting it up with your hubby on your blow-up mattress, in the middle of the living room, because you have yet to go pick out any furniture. OR during a Blogger Happy Hour (see below). OR while you’re chatting it up on the phone with your Momma for hours one evening. Then Poof it’s gone! Just like that! It really is that good!. So, do yourself a favor and go pick up a bottle (or 2, or 3) at your nearest Walmart… Yes, I DO buy my wine at Walmart. And, YES, you can buy your wine at Walmart too. And, pretty dang good wine at that! Plus, I wouldn't want to get too fancy on ya, and it’s reasonably priced.

3. The Crockpot - What a glorious device! With moving, being in between two residences (yes- we just bought our first home!! Whoo Hooo!), and the crazy schedule that is the end of the semester for teaching and Grad School, I have never needed, or loved, my crock-pot more than right now. And, let's face it, there are only so many times during the week that you can eat Subway or Taco Bell for lunch and dinner. A home cooked meal always hits the spot, especially if you've been having to grab meals on the go. So here’s the deal, I love to put stews, roasts, and other hearty meals in the Crockpot. You can prepare the dish in the Crockpot in the morning, then set the temp and let the Crockpot do all the work for you. Then, when you come home from a long and exhausting day you already have a delicious meal waiting, and typically your house smells pretty amazing too.

Easy, Hearty & Delicious

4. Blogger Happy Hours - So, I know lately it seems like I am obsessed with Erin, over at Living In Yellow (well, I guess I'm kinda am a little obsessed). Anyway, she is fabulous and you should definitely go check her blog out. Now back to the Happy Hour part. Erin (being the genius blogger that she is) put together this completely awesome idea called a “Blogger Happy Hour” (BHH). Once or twice a month she and another blogger host a Google+ Hangout with other like minded bloggers, including newbies (like myself) to chat all things Blog related. When you attend BBH you bring your questions, your favorite drink (for example, a bottle of 14 Hands Chardonnay, like yours truly), and pull up a chair. To your computer screen, that is. This month, Erin teamed up with the Hilarious, Taylor from The Daily Tay. BTW, Taylor has the most adorable dog, named Harlow. Which he joined in on our BHH, and all the girls swooned over him. Plus, those of us that join in were able to have Taylor and Erin's undivided attention for an hour or so. This past Tuesday I joined in on my first BHH with Erin and Taylor, along side some other awesome bloggers! It was so FUN, COOL, AWESOME, & totes AMAZING! Erin is hosting another BBH this month, you can check out all the deets here.

Cats & Dogs are welcome at this Happy Hour

5. Soft Cheese Tacos - WARNING: the following picture may not look appetizing. AT. ALL. But I don't care. These smothered, cheesy, Soft Cheese Tacos are the BOMB.com. I swear I think I could eat these every. single. day. Breakfast, lunch, AND dinner. When we began our move, the first night we stayed at our new house we decided to go out to eat to grab some dinner. We stopped in at a little Mexican food restaurant right off of the lake. One of many in the area, I might add. It looked very promising due to the fact the entire parking lot was full. So, we decided what the heck !? Gave it a shot. And, thank goodness! That evening I was introduced to my newest food love. This is the food you dream about and crave every single day. Seriously, I crave these on a daily basis. Thank goodness I don't eat them on a daily basis, but heck, I probably could! For reals. Every time we come up to the new house, our first stop is to get a whole platter full of soft cheese tacos. The rice and beans are a nice touch too. The restaurant also has this amazing dip they call “Crema”. Which is basically a mix of guacamole and sour cream - perfect to pair with their amazing tortilla chips and salsa. Next time you visit us at the new casa, I will be sure to take you to get a platter of soft cheese tacos. I don't know what more can I say - they’re simply AMAZE!

Ooey Gooey Cheesy Deliciousness

There ya have it folks, my top faves from the past week.

Feel free to join in on the fun and comment with some of your week's faves. I'd love to hear what you've been enjoying this week!

oxox, 
Amanda