I had the urge to make beef enchiladas, but could not locate a recipe that used the majority of the ingredients I truly desired for them to include. I decided to take a chance and do a little experimental cooking of my own. I am happy that I did. They turned out just lovely and exceptionally tasty.

The final result was 2 pans full of scrumptious ground beef enchiladas. There are 4 extremely big enchiladas in each 9x13 baking pan. I covered one of them snugly with foil and set it in the freezer. It should be easy to reheat for a simple dinner for another day. If 8 extra-large enchiladas are too much for you to use up within a short period of time, you may easily try cutting the recipe in half.

2 pounds hamburger

1 large yellow, chopped

1 packet taco seasoning mix

2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup water

2 cups cooked rice

10 ounces of red enchilada sauce

2 cups of mild salsa

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 package softened cream cheese, 4 ounces

1 15 ounce can kidney beans, drained

4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided

8 10 inch tortilla wraps

small carton sour cream, optional

In a large frying pan, brown hamburger until nearly cooked. Add the chopped onion and keep cooking until the onion is transparent. Drain well.

Add the package of taco seasoning, chili seasoning, pepper and water into the ground beef mixture. Continue cooking over low to medium heat until slightly thickened, approximately 5 minutes. Turn down heat to low. Stir in cooked rice and salsa to the skillet and simmer slowly until almost all the water is absorbed. Put aside.

In a medium sized bowl, mix together enchilada sauce, condensed soup and cream cheese. Mix until smooth. Move to one side.

Set up two 9x13 inch glass baking pans. There is no need to grease or use cooking spray on the pans.

In the center of each tortilla wrap, put around 1/2 to 3/4 cup of meat mixture. If you've an excess of ground beef mixture, simply add some more to every tortilla. Add approximately 2 teaspoons of kidney beans as well. Add 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese. Roll up tortilla and place seamed side down in the baking pan. It'll take four of these to fill each pan.

Once all eight tortillas are stuffed, rolled and put in the baking pans, put 1/2 of the sauce mixture over the center of both pans. Scatter remaining cheddar cheese over the top of both pans of enchiladas. Place in 350 degree oven and bake 15 to 20 minutes, until shredded cheese has melted and golden browned. Serve with a little sour cream, if preferred.

This recipe produces very large sized enchiladas. It might sound like too much of the sauce mixture, and an excessive amount of cheese, but I guarantee they turn out extremely well. I used flour tortillas just because that is all I had at hand. I'm certain the recipe should work just as well using corn tortillas.

If you do not have two 9x13 inch glass pans, three 9x9 baking dishes might do just as well. I can't recommend utilizing metal pans, as the food might start to taste like metal if it remains in the pans for very long. Certainly do not use metal pans if you ever need to freeze one of the pans of enchiladas.

If you do not wish to use kidney beans, you can turn to pinto beans, black beans, chili beans or re-fried beans. I wager hot chili beans would give them an extra boost. I merely opted for kidney beans since I really enjoy them.

In case you are a lover of olives, I'm confident black or green would be a superb addition. Unfortunately, I seem to be the only olive lover in my family, so they aren't an possibility for me. Some chopped sweet bell pepper scattered on top of the cheese layer would enhance the attractiveness of the meal. Do a bit of guesswork and add your preferred ingredients as you wish.

Of course, this dish would be just right for supper with a green salad on the side. Enjoy the meal!