culinary adventures

I've had the same package of corn tortillas since I honestly don't know when. I know they sat in the fridge at school for quite some time, because I talked for a long time about doing something with them, but I never did. And then they came home with me and sat in the fridge at Mom's all summer. At any rate, they're old. But they're still okay. No mold or anything. So today, I went to the grocery store with Dad, and he wondered aloud what we ought to have for supper this evening (since I have today off and won't be bringing anything home, it's a nice opportunity for us to have a nice, non-pizza meal), and a sudden flash of inspiration hit, and I exclaimed, "Enchilada bake!"

So we bought a can of enchilada sauce and that's what we had, and by gum, it was delicious. And I'm not just saying that. I mean, usually I like what I make, but this was unusually good; Dad and Michael both agreed. And the coolest part was, I didn't have a recipe or anything; I just made it up off the top of my head, and it was sooo good. Really. I can't describe to you how wonderful it was. So I'm going to put the recipe here, in case I want to make it again, so I remember what all I put in. And in case anybody else wants to try it. Because really, it was heavenly.

Andrea's Excellent Enchilada Bake (a.k.a. Mexican Lasagne)

INGREDIENTS:
1 sm. red bell pepper
1 sm. green bell pepper
1/2 medium white onion
6-8 small corn tortillas
1 10 oz. can red enchilada sauce
1 15 oz. can refried beans
2 c. shredded cheese

PREPARATION:
Finely chop peppers and onion and mix together. Put a layer of tortillas in the bottom of a 9-in. square glass baking dish and cover with enchilada sauce. Cover with a layer of refried beans. Sprinkle 1/3 of peppers and onion mixture evenly over beans. Sprinkle 1/3 of cheese on next. Repeat for two more layers (or more, if you have extra ingredients).

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake 15 more minutes, or until thoroughly hot in center and cheese is melted.

Optional (I didn't do this, but I might next time): After baking, add a layer of sour cream on top and sprinkle with chopped green onions.

Deee-lish. And to top things off, I made a peach pie, which is due to come out of the oven in about five minutes. It smells delectable.

It's been a good day.