Layered Enchilada Bake--$2.25

This is my Layered Enchilada Bake

Okay, this is just one of those recipes that fell together for me. I've done it with chicken and with ground turkey with equally good results. It's cheap and delicious. Tonight's version is with ground turkey and chili sauce. I'll share the chicken one next week when I make it.

1/3 lb. ground turkey

1/2 packet of taco seasoning

1 can chili sauce (I used Texas Pete because that's what I had)

4-5 corn tortillas

1/2 bag Mexican shredded cheese

Okay, first of all, I browned a pound of ground turkey. I scooped out 2/3 of a pound, that will go in the Baked Rotini for lunch tomorrow. I added 1/2 a packed of taco seasoning, some water and the can of chili sauce. Once that had thickened up a bit, I put a scoop in the bottom of a round casserole dish. I topped that with some cheese and a corn tortilla. Repeat until you run out of chili sauce. Top with cheese and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Easy peasy. I served this with chopped iceburg lettuce and sour cream.

Okay, now for the whys. Why did I use chili sauce? 1) Had it on hand, 2) It helped to stretch my meat, and 3) I didn't have enchilada sauce. Why corn tortillas? Because they were significantly cheaper than flour tortillas at Aldi. I'm sure flour tortillas would work just as well. Why bagged shredded cheese? It was on sale. I prefer to shred my own. But I got this on a great deal (buy 2 get 3 free).

Now for the cost breakdown.

I got the ground turkey at Aldi for $1.20/lb. So, 1/3 of a pound would be $.40. The chili sauce I got on sale with a coupon for I think $.33. A packet of taco seasoning at Aldi costs $.33. I used half of one, we'll call that $.17. The tortillas were 36 to a pack for $1.69. That makes each tortilla around $.05. I used 5 tonight, so that $.25. The shredded cheese was on sale buy 2 get 3 free, working out to be about $1.20 per bag. I used half a bag, so that's $.60. The iceburg lettuce was on sale for $.97 per head. We used about a quarter, so that's $.25. The sour cream is $.99 for 16 ounces at Aldi. We used a quarter of that, so $.25.

Ground Turkey $.40

Chili Sauce $.33

Taco Seasoning $.17

Corn Tortillas $.25

Shredded Cheese $.60

Iceburg Lettuce $.25

Sour Cream $.25

Total $2.25 for a complete meal for a family of 3 (that's $.75 per serving)

We ate brunch today, so by the time we had supper, we were hungry. We don't have any leftovers. But this easily could feed 4 people. Ideally, I would like to serve another vegetable, which would add approximately $.75 to the total. But our options are green beans and peas at the moment, neither of which do I feel really goes with Mexican food. And we are strapped, so there was no running out for something different.

This is a very tasty dish, and we had plenty to eat. Hope you enjoy it! If you decide to try this recipe, or have any other suggestions for cheap ways to make this better, or better ways to make this cheaper, please leave a comment. I am always looking for new and better ways of doing things!