Enchiladas

Since I had some spare time on my hands today and have been craving mexican food I decided that I was going to try to make enchiladas healthier. I know you are thinking that may be hard but I did it. I tried finding how many calories a traditonal Enchilada has and could not find the exact calorie count but its somewhere between 400 to 600 calories. I managed to make mine 289 calories and they are pretty good. I am sure I will do a little tweaking on this recipe next time I try it, but for a first run it's pretty good.

Beef and Cheese Enchiladas
10 Mission Life Balance Flour Tortillas
1 and 1/2 bags of Kraft Fat Free Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 lb Extra Lean Ground Beef
3 Small Cans of Tomatoe Sauce
1 Tablespoon of Tomatoe Paste
4 Tablepoons Chili Powder
1/4 tsp Ground Cumin
1/4 Tsp Garlic Salt

1. Brown Ground Beef in a Skillet,Season lightly with Salt when done browning put into a bowl

2.While Ground Beef is Browning put Tomatoe Sauce, Tomatoe Paste, Chilli Powder, Cumin and Garlic Salt into a Skillet, Stir all together and Turn on Medium Heat.  Heat to a Simmer and Simmer for about 10 minutes stirring occasionaly.

3. Heat flour Tortillas in Microwave for about 45 seconds.

4. Turn off Tomatoe Mixture, dip one tortilla at a time in the tomatoe mix making sure to cover both sides with tomatoe sauce. Wipe the tortilla on the side of the pan to get rid of any extra sauce. Lay them flatly on a plate.

5. When finished dipping the tortillas take one tortilla at a time and  put in the middle 1/4 cup of cheese and 2 oz ground beef. Then roll them up tightly. and put them on a cookie sheet Do this to all 10 tortillas. You will only have enough ground beef for 7 of them. I always make just Cheese for my Daughter out of the other 3.

6. Once done put 1 enchilada on a plate and microwave about 45 seconds til cheese melts. You can also cover with Foil and Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. But if you do this your tortillas may get a little crunchy

This Recipe makes 10 Servings,Serving size is one full enchilada Calories 289, Except the cheese ones they will have less calories 6.2 Grams of Fat 27.5 grams of Carbs

This goes great with my healthy version of refried beans and you can have 1/2 a cup for 110 calories total count 399. Add some lettuce and tomatoes and you have a great healthy meal

Refried Beans

1 can Pinto Beans (Drain the liquid)

Chicken Bouillon to taste

Cooking Spray

Spray a pan with cooking spray turn to medium . Add pinto beans

Using a potato masher mash beans while they are cooking add a 1/4 tsp of chicken bouillon and continue mashing until the look like re-fried beans.. Can add more or less bouilon depending on your taste. Once mashed serve with your enchiladas

1/2 cup equals 110 calories.

I hope you enjoy

Another Idea you can use chicken in place of the ground beef in the Enchiladas it will cut your calories a little as well and they are just as good that way. Also You can adjust the seasonings depending on your tastes. These are just a rough estimate depending on the brand of chili powder you use it could take more or less. So you can always add about 1/2 the Chili powder taste the sauce then add more if needed.

A traditonal Enchilada and Beans are both fried in oil so I am cutting out a lot of calories by not using oil. I am also using fat free cheese and low calorie tortillas this is how I am able to make them lower in calories. The Fat Free Cheese is really good so try it you will be amazed.

You can leave me comments on my blog without being registered so tell me what you think of my recipes especially if you try them. I really want to write a cookbook so I would love your feedback. Also if you dont understand some of my instructions let me know as well. Also if you have a recipe you want to share with me I will be glad to try it out and post it on my blog, or if you have a not so healthy recipe that you want to try to make healthy let me know and I can try to transform it as well..

Hope you Enjoy