Mexican Spicy Beef Tortilla

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins Preparation Time: 35 mins Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and thinly sliced (or other chili)
• 12 ounces round steaks, cut into cubes
• 1 (16 ounce) can pinto beans (optional if using less meat, could also use black or kidney beans)
• 1/2 cup corn (optional)
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 2 cups cooked rice
• beef stock (to moisten, if needed)
• 3 large flour tortillas
• 2 (14 ounce) cans chopped tomatoes (i used one can with jalapeno peppers mixed in)
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 onion, quartered
• 1 -2 fresh red chile, seeded and chopped (or other chilis, i used a large anaheim)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• tomato juice (or water, if required)
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• salt
• pepper

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 350.
• 2 make the salsa picante:.
• 3 place tomatoes, garlic, onion and chiles in a blender and process till smooth. (i just chopped everything and didn't run through a processor).
• 4 pour into a small pan and add spices and oregano and season with salt.
• 5 bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. boil for 1-2 minutes, then lower heat and simmer gently for about 15 minutes.
• 6 the sauce should be thick, but of pouring consistency.
• 7 if it is too thick, dilute with a little fresh tomato juice or water.
• 8 make the cheese sauce:.
• 9 melt the butter in a pan and stir in the flour. cook, stirring, one minute.
• 10 add the milk, stirring all the time, till sauce boils and thickens.
• 11 stir in all but 2 t of cheese and season to taste.
• 12 cover the pan with a lid and set aside.
• 13 mix onion, garlic and chili in a bowl. add the steak cubes and mix well.
• 14 heat the oil in a frying pan and stir fry the meat mixture for about 10 minutes, till meat cubes have browned and the onion is soft.
• 15 stir in the rice (and corn and/or beans if desired) and enough beef stock to moisten.
• 16 season to taste with salt and pepper.
• 17 pour about a quarter of the cheese sauce into the bottom of a round, ovenproof dish (will need about a 2-qt sized dish - i tried a deep pie plate it wasn't big enough).
• 18 add a tortilla and then spread over half the salsa, followed by half the meat mixture.
• 19 repeat these layers, then add half the remaining cheese sauce and the final tortilla.
• 20 pour over the remaining cheese sauce and sprinkle the reserved grated cheddar on top.
• 21 bake in a preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or till golden on top and heated through.