Enchilada Soup

Winter storms are approaching. My rural, southeast Kansas location is to receive a wintery mix in addition to a large quantity of snow. When the weather outside is frightful, I turn to comfort food. I get tired of chili. I suppose I have yet to find a chili with enough flavor. Every chili I've encountered has left something to be desired. I still eat chili, but I prefer it atop a hot dog on a bun, covered with melted, shredded cheese.

A few years ago, a great friend of mine introduced me to a wonderful concept she read on a Kansas family's cattle blog. Beef Enchilada Soup. I love enchiladas and this intrigued me from the get-go. I read the originally posted recipe found here. I've since adapted it to my family's liking, after making it several times.

We're a hunting family. We rely on deer meat to get us through the winter months. We shoot our deer, process and package it ourselves. Saves loads on meat at the grocery store. I know what you're thinking, deer is "game-y" tasting. I agree, to an extent. Another one of those things that has to be prepared correctly. I don't want to bite into a deer cheeseburger and I don't like deer steak, but ground deer burger is able to be  substituted in most recipes calling for ground beef. It's lean and it's cheap! We don't buy ground beef when we have deer in the freezer. So this recipe is loaded with venison.

First things first, thaw your frozen venison, if not using ground beef.

I make my own enchilada sauce. The canned stuff is fine, but expensive. Here is my version of homemade enchilada sauce. In a small saucepan heated to medium-low, add 1/3 cup of vegetable oil, 3 tablespoons of flour, and homemade taco seasoning (recipe to follow). Wisk until smooth. Pour in 2 cups of tomato sauce.

Heat until bubbly. Add a slight amount of water to reach desired consistency. Turn off heat and let rest.

Brown ground meat until cooked through. Season with homemade taco seasoning (or use a packaged seasoning mix). Add cooked meat, 1 small can of sweet corn, 1 can of diced tomatoes with green chiles, 1-2 cans of beans and remaining tomato sauce to a large crockpot. I use kidney and black beans, use what you wish. Add enchilada sauce, stir to combine. Add enough water to reach desired consistency.

Let simmer in the crock pot until supper time. Serve with crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheese, sour cream, and any other thing you can think of. You can also make fresh tortilla chips, which are so much better than the store bought varieties. Take flour or corn tortillas (your choice), using a pizza cutter, slice into triangles. Pop them in a heated deep fat fryer until crispy. Dump onto paper towels and add desired salt. Super fresh, crunchy, and deliciously simple!

Homemade Taco Seasoning (for 1lb of meat):
1 Tbl chili powder
1/4 tsp each garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper, oregano, cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Double, triple or quadruple this recipe for bulk. Store airtight in a dry location.

Frugal Facts:
Ground venison $0.00
1-30 oz can Tomato Sauce $1.39
2 cans of beans $1.00
1 can of corn $0.69
1 can of diced tomatoes with green chiles $0.50
Tortilla Chips $2.00
Shredded Cheese $1.50
Sour Cream $0.99
Seasonings $1.00

Total--$9.07 

Want a printable version?? Check ZipList.