Toss-Together Enchilada Salad

This recipe was inspired by a need for a dinner made only with what was on hand at home. As such, I have tried several different variations of this recipe. The instructions below show how to make the basic Toss-Together Enchilada Salad for 4 full servings.

Materials:

• 1 large skillet
• 2 small saucepans with at least 1 lid that fits
• At least 4 bowls, sizes small or medium, to hold prepared ingredients
• A plate per serving (4 for everything)

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of ground beef, or other preferred meat
• 2 small sweet onions
• 5 large romaine lettuce leaves
• 4 eggs
• 1 can (10 oz) of enchilada sauce
• 1 can (4 oz) of diced jalapeno peppers, or other peppers
• 1 can (16 oz) of refried beans, or other bean styles such as pinto beans
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup water
• Approximately 80 saltine crackers
• Olive oil (for greasing)

Ensure that the ingredients you will be cooking with are available, either as listed above or with an appropriate substitution.

1. Heat the enchilada sauce to a boil.
2. Once the sauce starts to boil, reduce heat to a simmer and keep warm, stirring occasionally.

1. Dice the sweet onions and set aside in a bowl.
   • If unable to stomach raw onion, fry the onions in olive oil until translucent.
2. Prepare the lettuce.
   • Wash the lettuce.
   • Dry the lettuce by patting down each leaf with a clean kitchen towel.
     Dry lettuce is necessary as wet lettuce will cause the crackers to become soggy in step 6.
   • Cut the lettuce into strips about 1/4 inch wide and 1-3 inches long.
   • Set the cut lettuce aside in a bowl.

1. In a saucepan, mix the refried beans, diced jalapenos, and ¼ cup of water.
2. Cover the mixture and heat on medium-low heat for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.

1. While the bean mixture is cooking, in a skillet cook the ground beef until browned through.
2. Remove the cooked beef from the skillet into a bowl or directly into the bean mix. To avoid bringing excess fats with the beef, use a spoon to remove the beef from the skillet.
3. Dispose of any leftover grease and fats.

Note: The images in these instructions use a small plate for showing serving sizes, it is highly recommended to use a large plate. Prepare as many plates as servings that are going to be eaten immediately. This dish is best when assembled directly before consumption. The following steps are for 1 serving each.

1. Using about 20 saltine crackers, create a layer of lightly crushed crackers as bedding on a serving plate.
2. Add 1/4 of the dried lettuce strips on top of the bed of crackers.
3. Add a 1/4 of the diced onions on top of the lettuce layer.
4. Add a 1/4 of the beef and a 1/4 of the bean and jalapeno mix on top of the onions.
5. Sprinkle a ¼ of the shredded cheese over the whole dish. The warm bean mix will start to melt the cheese into itself.

1. Prepare the eggs in your preferred fashion. While cooking the eggs, add as much salt and pepper as preferred, the recommended amount is a dash of each. The style of cooked eggs in this recipe is over-medium.
2. For each serving, place the equivalent of 1 cooked egg on top of the prepared layers done in step 6.

Remove the enchilada sauce from heat. Pour a 1/4 of the warm sauce over each serving.

This dish can either be eaten as is in layers or scrambled up into a mix, however you prefer!