Random recipe of the day

I guess it's not a recipe of the day if I don't post one everyday, huh? Oh well.

All purpose wrap/enchilada/eat it plain mix:
2 cups uncooked rice
3 cans black beans
1 can kidney beans
2 cans pinto beans
1 can rotel tomatoes
1 can whole kernel corn
1 pound monterrey jack or pepperjack cheese, shredded

First, cook the rice. Rinse the beans and drain the corn. Then mix everything together. This is a BIG batch, I have to mix it in my big pasta pot.

TIPS: I use dried beans because they're cheaper, just estimate how many you need, soak overnight, then cook for about an hour the next day. It's not an exact science, if you have a bit too few or too many beans, no biggie. We use to just roll this filling up in flour tortillas, freeze them, and eat them for lunch everyday (literally, every day for a couple years...we just liked it that much). Sometimes we'd have leftover filling and just eat it straight. Lately, I've been using it as enchilada filling--this has turned out to be our favorite and is a great batch cooking recipe because it makes several pans.

For enchilada casserole: one recipe of filling, one pack of corn tortillas, another pound or so of cheddar cheese, two-three 8oz cans of tomato sauce and spices.

First, make up enchilada sauce. There is no recipe here---open up your tomato sauce and add about an equal amount of water. Start adding spices until it smells right. Go really heavy on the garlic powder, also add a healthy shake of chili powder, cumin and oregano. Taste it and add more of whatever you need (the only way to get comfortable in the kitchen is to try and life is so much better when you aren't tied down by recipes). In your pans, layer corn tortillas, then a little enchilada sauce, filling, cheddar cheese, more enchilada sauce, more tortillas. Repeat as necessary. Finish with cheese, then sauce on top to avoid dried out tortillas. Bake at 350 until warmed through. Freezes great.