Terrarium Found and Some Man Food

ame home to find a ridiculously huge pile of catalogs in the mailbox (here come the holidays!) and I nearly tossed the whole lot of 'em before I noticed Viva Terra, in which I've been known to turn down a page or two. I flipped through and found this!

I'm not sure why it has to be pear-shaped, but I can buy an empty one made of recycled glass for $45 and fill it with whatever I want.  Now I just need to go moss hunting.  Have my grandmother and I done that before? Of course! We made terrariums, used a sheet of mica for a pond and made a newt live in it for the afternoon.  Then we put him back under a log when he started to look parched.  Wouldn't want our little amphibious friends perishing, now would we?

Where was I going with this? Oh, right, Man Food.  We had some Lifeline Farms ground beef that needed to be used, so I borrowed a little from Epicurious and a little Rick Bayless to make an enchilada casserole.  The MM sometimes grumbles that we should eat less meat, but he also went back for thirds on this, so I rest my case. 

1 large onion, chopped

1 jalepeno, seeded and diced

2 Anaheim peppers, fire roasted and diced

2 lbs of ground beef

Cumin, Chili Power and whatever other Mexican spices you like, to taste (I used Adobo seasoning from Penzeys thanks to the wonderful Gail and Harry Harris)

Olive oil

10 corn tortillas, thawed

1 15-oz can of chili beans

1 bottle of store bought enchilada sauce.  Find Rick Bayless' Frontera Grill sauce if you can, it's the best!

2 cups of mild cheddar or monterey jack cheese, grated.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Heat 2-3 tbsp of oil in a heavy skillet over med-high heat and saute the onion until it starts to soften.  Add the peppers, cook a few more minutes and then add the meat, breaking up with the back of the spoon until it's nicely crumbled and cooked through.  Add the spices while the meat is cooking.  Remove from heat.

Brush both sides of each tortilla with some olive oil and stack 2 together on a baking sheet. Heat in over for 2 minutes, or just until they become soft.  Remove from oven and layer them overlapping in a casserole dish.  Spread the meat mixture over the tortillas, then the beans, then the next layer of tortillas, sauce and then the cheese!

I let this sit overnight in the fridge and everything blended nicely, but you can also cover it with foil, put it in the oven immediately for about an hour, or until it's heated through and bubbly.  Take the foil off for the last 10 minutes to let the cheese brown up.  

 

 I think this dish has a case of the tastes better than it looks, but trust me, it's a man pleaser.