Great Grandma Hawk's Enchilada Pie

Michael's grandmother, which is Caitie's great grandmother, that has passed on now, was a wonderful cook. She lived in a small house on a quarter acre of land in central Phoenix. It wasn't the best area of town to live in, and is even worse now, but in her little neighborhood, there were lawns of green grass, irrigation, chain-link fences, of which you could see the neighbors' yards, some had horses and chickens, it was really nice and a great place to visit. One of the things that stands out in my mind when I think back to our visits with Grandma Hawk, was taco night. She made the best tacos, and Michael and I still make them, and we still call it taco night. That recipe is coming soon. Here is another of her recipes, it's a quick and easy enchilada pie. Here is what you need:

Hamburger meat. The first time I made this enchilada pie, I used meat that was 80% lean and 20% fat. When I made it the second time, which is when I took these pics, I used meat that was 90% lean and 10% fat. The first pie had more flavor than the second one, so I would suggest using the meat with more fat in it; it may not be as healthy, but we're goin' after flavor here, not watching our weight(even though I should be. ha).

Seasonings: Kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and minced onion (measure to suit your taste)

Mild Enchilada Sauce (i don't remember the size. i can't tell in the pic and i don't have another can in the pantry at this time, but as you can see in the pic, it's the big can)

7 - 3/4 ounce can of El Pato Tomato Sauce (this is a mexican hot style sauce)

Chopped white onion

2 - 1/4 ounce can of sliced black olives

Mild cheddar and Monterey Jack shredded cheese (as much as you desire)

As you can see in the two pics below, I forgot to include the corn tortillas in the first pic, so my cute little model held them up for me, which is the second pic below. Don't forget the corn tortillas.





Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

It's best to use a large cast-iron skillet, but if you don't have one, any large skillet will do. Put some kosher salt in the bottom of the skillet as shown, and heat up the skillet, then add the hamburger meat. While it's browning, add all seasonings. I don't measure, so put however much you desire to suit your taste. Once the meat is done, set it aside and move on to the next step.





Combine the Enchilada Sauce and El Pato Sauce together in a bowl. I add the whole can of El Pato Sauce, but if you don't like your food spicy, you may want to add a small amount and taste it in order to get it to your liking; you may end up putting only half the can.



Here is my little helper; she's helping stir the two sauces together.



Spoon some of the combined sauces into the bottom of a casserole dish, enough to lightly cover the bottom of the dish. I used a 9x13 casserole dish.



It is now time to start layering: How much you put of each item per layer is up to you. Be sure to leave enough of the combined sauces to top it off, which I have found to be sparse towards the end. You may want to use more than one can each of the sauces; that's up to you.

Dunk a corn tortilla in the combined sauces then place it in the bottom of the casserole dish. Continue doing this until you cover the bottom of the dish. I used five tortillas to cover the bottom; four whole ones, and I split the last one in order to cover the two smaller areas of the dish where a whole tortilla wouldn't fit. (not a bad one-handed camera shot, eh? i took it with my left hand, which is pretty obvious, i guess. ha)





Add some of the hamburger meat on top of the tortillas.



Add some sliced black olives on top of the meat.



Add some chopped white onion on top of the meat and sliced black olives.



Add some shredded cheese on top of the meat, sliced black olives, and chopped onion.



Add some of the combined sauces on top of the meat, sliced black olives, chopped onion, and shredded cheese.



Then repeat all layers, starting with the tortillas dunked in the combined sauces, then the rest of the meat, some(or the remaining) sliced black olives, some chopped onion, some shredded cheese, and some of the combined sauces. The last layer depends on how much you have left of each item, but you should at least include the tortillas dunked in the combined sauces, shredded cheese, chopped white onion, and put the remaining combined sauces on top. You may want to use more than one can of each sauce when making this; both times I made it there wasn't much sauce left to go on top. This makes it a bit crunchy on top, which isn't too bad.

It is now ready to go in the preheated 350 degree oven. I think the first time I made it I put it in for 30 minutes, and the second time I put it in for 45 minutes. I think I prefer 30 minutes; but the main thing to watch for is it bubbling on top; once it's bubbling, it's done. It's good served with sour cream and homemade guacamole(another recipe coming soon).



Ding, Ding, Ding! Hot out of the oven... Come and get it!



You can make 'Caitie's Chocolate Candy Corn-Topped Cupcakes'(this recipe is the previous post) to have for dessert, and you're all set. Bon appétit! :)