Freezer Beef and Bean Burritos, Pt. II

Yesterday I shared how I made Freezer Beef and Bean Burritos for my Sweet Hubby.  Today I'll share the recipe I used to make the enchilada sauce AND homemade taco seasoning!  I started by looking for recipes online.  As usual, I ended up  making up something based on what I had in the house.  This is probably not even in the ballpark of "authentic enchilada sauce", but I loved the flavor it added to the burritos so I'm completely happy with it!  I didn't think to take a during photo (forehead slap), but just imagine red stuff in a pot.  : ) 

Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce

1 cup olive oil

4 Tbsp. flour

3/4 c. chili powder

29 oz. can tomato sauce

1-1/2 cups water

3 Tbsp. homemade* OR 1 packet of store bought taco seasoning

Salt to taste

In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add flour, stirring to keep it from browning.  Stir in chili powder.  Slowly add tomato sauce, water and taco seasoning.  Simmer 10-15 minutes or until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.  Reduce heat if mixture sticks to pan.  Remove from heat and allow to cool. 

Place 2 cups of sauce into quart-size freezer storage bags and freeze flat. I found the easiest way to do this is to place the (labeled) storage bag in a 16-oz plastic container, turning the zipper over the edge.  You can measure your sauce into the bag, remove from the container and seal without getting sauce into the zipper. When needed, thaw and use as you would cans of enchilada sauce.  (I had enough to use 1-1/3 cups in my burritos and two 2-cup bricks for the freezer.)

Homemade Taco Seasoning

I wish I could remember where I got this recipe...I know it was online, so if you have seen this before, please let me know and I will edit the post to give proper credit!

1 Tbsp. chili powder

1 Tbsp. cumin

2 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. salt

Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container. (Take an inordinate amount of photos of the pretty spices in a bowl. Or is that just me?) I store in empty spice jars (washed, thoroughly dried and labeled with use instructions; this was a .87 oz. container; I doubled the recipe and it filled it up.)  One store bought packet of taco seasoning is equal to 3 Tbsp. of this mixture.  I use it to flavor taco meat (directions below) or for any recipe that calls for Tex-Mex spices, like the enchilada sauce above.

To use for taco meat, brown ground beef with chopped onion and minced garlic; drain meat and place back in skillet.  Add 3 Tbsp. of taco seasoning and 1/2 cup of water, stirring to combine meat and spices.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer meat for 10-15 minutes.

Buon appetito!