Secret BS Enchiladas (Make It!!!)

Overview
If you want to sneak a heap of spinach into your family's meal, serve them these tasty Secret (B.eef & S.pinach) Enchiladas!

Recipe Source 
I LOVE cooking with spinach because I know how incredibly healthy it is. Problem is, that I do not like the taste of spinach. I am always looking for recipes that blend it in to pack a healthy punch while hiding the strong flavor. http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/spinach-and-beef-enchiladas/a5991a2c-f22e-4867-a65a-36aa1bef90db#?st=6&term=spinach enchilada&ps=9&pi=9&fv=AND(HasGridViewImage%3ATrue) BINGO! I found one such successful recipe at bettycrocker.com that is loaded with flavor, SPINACH and fiber. Where does the fiber come from, you ask? I did what I do best and stretched our dinner budget by replacing half of the meat with a can of beans. Now you not only have a ½ pound of beef to start your next week's dinner meal planning, you also add another layer of texture to this dish while enhancing the nutritional quality of the meal. My customized recipe is listed below.

Recipe

Meaty Version:

½ Pound Lean Ground Beef (at least 90/10) and

1 Can Beans (black or pinto), rinsed and drained

or

Veggie Version:

2 Can Beans (black or pinto), rinsed and drained

½ Cup Onion, diced

1 Box Frozen Spinach, thawed

1 Can(4.5 oz) Chopped Green Chiles, undrained

½ Teaspoon Cumin

½ Teaspoon Garlic Salt

¼ Teaspoon Pepper

½ Cup Sour Cream

2 Cups Shredded Colby- Monterrey Jack Cheese

1 Can (14 oz) Enchilada Sauce

1 Package Whole Grain Tortillas (8 tortillas)

½ Cup Chunky Salsa

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9x2 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

In a deep large nonstick skillet, cook beef and onion over medium-high heat 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is browned. Stir in spinach, beans, chiles, cumin, garlic salt, pepper, sour cream and 1 cup of cheese.

Spread 1 Teaspoon of enchilada sauce in each tortilla. Top with ½ cup beef mixture. Roll up tortillas; please seam side down in backing dish.

In small bowl, mix remaining enchilada sauce, salsa and spoon over enchiladas. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup of cheese.

Spray sheet of foil with cooking spray. Cover baking dish with foil. Bake 40-45 minutes until thoroughly heated.

Complete Protein= Beef.  (Meaty version)
Complete Protein=  Beans + Cheese. Whole Grain Tortilla + Beans. (Veggie version)

Tips 

• In any recipe replace a portion of the meat with beans, beans, beans to stretch your dinner budget and improve nutritional quality.
• When using canned beans, always try to find low or no sodium varieties.
• I use lots of beans in my Veggie dishes and try to add them to most meaty dishes. Canned beans can cut into a $50 per week dinner budget. To stretch my budget, I buy dried beans and soak/cook them in large quantities according to package direction. I store them in the fridge and then when it's time to cook, I have them ready to go and can just toss them into my recipe. Baby also loves to snack on cooked dried beans of any variety. Dried beans are much more budget friendly than canned beans.
• I used more tortillas then the recipe called for. You may want to have an extra package on hand, just in case.

Possible Side- We served this dish with a package of Mexican rice that we had in the cupboard and steamed frozen corn. You might also consider serving this dish with corn bread and a fresh salad.

Reviews

Veggie-  Part of the reason I called these BS enchiladas is that after serving them to your family and telling them they just ate spinach, a family member may just call "BS" on your claim. A second reason is that I used BS in the title is that BS could stand for Beef and Spinach (meaty version) or Bean and Spinach (veggie version). Regardless of the version of the recipe you make, you will like these enchiladas. They have quite a lot of flavor and pack a hidden nutritional punch.

 Meaty- Meaty's first reaction to this dish was, "These are really good. I could eat a lot of these. If I had a large enough stomach, I could eat 25." Let me tell you a little something about Meaty; he loves mealtime variety and hates leftovers. Leftovers have been a battle in our refrigerator and family for nearly the entire 11 years we have been married.  To express how much Meaty enjoyed this recipe, he eagerly reheated and ate this dish. No leftover drama at our house with this recipe.

Baby-  I am beginning to think Baby (18 months) has an aversion to spinach. Baby loved trying all flavors and varieties of jarred baby food, except any variety containing spinach. I simply figured he didn't have a taste for the strong spinach flavor like Veggie Mama. I assumed that since I enjoyed this secret spinach dish, he would too. That was not the case the several times we offered this meal to him. He took a bite both times but that was it! He wasn't too interested in this meal. He didn't want the enchilada, the  rice or the corn on his plate which is a bit unlike him. I'm not convinced yet that he doesn't like it. I figure I will let some time pass, revisit this recipe and see how it handles it next time. The jury is still out with baby.

Veggie, Meaty, Baby!  wants to hear from you. Please post comments as you try and customize these recipes to fit your family. Let me know how this dish turned out and what your family thought of this dish.