Enchilada Pasta Hotdish

Here we are all, our FIRST recipe!

As of recent, I have been picking out recipes from pinterest and making sure we pick up majority of the ingredients when we’re out doing our grocery shopping. I have to admit, it is too much fun for me to be able to cook full course meals for the three of us ( E, her boyfriend-C, and myself J ). For the past four years at school I had been so used to cooking only for myself. It gets quite expensive to experiment and make such new big meals when you’re only one person. Not only is it too much to eat but paying for it stinks too! Finally here we are, our first posted recipe that turned out so fantastic and E & C LOVED it! ( Or at least they gave me the impression that they had )

The idea of this recipe came from tablefortwoblog.com. I, of course, had to change the title of it being a casserole, because in Minnesota it’s a hotdish not a casserole! One thing I’ll make sure to note is that I rarely stick true to recipe’s exact details. If you want the exact original recipe feel free to click on the link to see Table For Two Blog’s recipe. I am not one for measuring things like seasonings or spices. When it comes to baking I am a bit more strict on actually taking out measuring utensils for just about everything, but otherwise I go by what tastes right or even feels right. This of course means that I may occasionally over or under season things, but that’s how I learn to know what is “about” right.

For this recipe I altered a few things. That is what is so phenomenal about recipes like this one, they’re so easy to manipulate and put your own twist on! When I made my hotdish I added 1: lemon zest to my beef, 2: lemon juice from one lemon to my sauce, and 3: hirachi sauce to the sauce and beef. Seriously LOVED the addition of these items! You could really use any hot sauce too and what was awesome about adding this was that it just bumped it up the spiciness level and as a Mexican dish, it totally is called for! Adding the lemon to the recipe was also a brilliant idea. From the first to the last bite of my meal I could honestly taste the bit of lemon flavor throughout the entire dish. It really brought out a twist of flavor to the meal and honestly it was my favorite part. That and how cheesy it looked when it came out of the oven. Something I missed was apparently adding the cream cheese, whoops! Next time though, I would love to try it with the cream cheese, so I’m going to keep that ingredient in the recipe. I hope you enjoy this one, because it is so easy and again so much fun because it offers that bit of creativity to add your own things! I really recommend NOT skipping out on the lemon though. Enjoy!

Enchilada Pasta Hotdish

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound ground beef
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp lemon zest
5 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup light sour cream
1 can (10 oz.) enchilada sauce (I used the red sauce)
1 Lemon juiced or about 2-3 Tbsps lemon juice
2 Tsp Hirachi sauce, divided, add more if desired
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese, divided
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 can (4 oz.) diced green chilies
12 ounces egg noodles
Salt & pepper, to taste

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large pot, bring water to boil and cook the egg noodles accordingly.

In the meantime, in a very large skillet, brown the ground beef and drain the fat. Add the chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, and 1 tsp hirachi sauce and stir to combine. Add in the cream cheese until melted and combined.

In a large bowl, mix together the sour cream, enchilada sauce, half the cheddar cheese, half the Monterey jack cheese, corn kernels, lemon juice, 1 tsp hirachi sauce and diced green chilies. Stir to combine. Pour mixture over the beef and let simmer for 2-3 minutes.

While the beef mixture simmers, drain your pasta. Place and mix the pasta and beef mixture in a 9×13 casserole pan. Once the mixture has been well mixed top with the remaining cheeses. Then bake the dish for 15 minutes or until cheese has completely melted.

The hot dish is finished and ready to eat! Enjoy!