Enchiritos

I have been thinking about doing a section geared towards cooking and baking with kids and I think the time has finally come! My 6-year-old daughter absolutely loves helping me make dinner and dessert, so I thought this would be an awesome way to teach her to cook and also provide some easy recipes for those of you with children who love to help or even if you're just looking for something simple to make for dinner!

I can't tell you how happy it makes me that my daughter loves to be in the kitchen! I love when she wants to come help and I love even more when she wants to serve it to everyone! I was never interested in cooking as a child and I had never made anything other than Macaroni and cheese until I got married! Well, maybe I made some scrambled eggs... But, it wasn't until after I said 'I do' that I actually took an interest in cooking. My first dishes were simple meals that I had grown up eating (like rice-a-roni with chicken and spaghetti) and crockpot meals, of course! Really, though, it just warms my heart to see my little daughter working hard to create something and to see her face and hear her excitement when everyone goes on and on about how delicious it was! I hope that you, too, can experience this with your child and that you can inspire them to come and cook with you, because it really is a wonderfully rewarding experience for the both of you! Now, get your aprons on and get to cooking!

*Please excuse the picture, my camera battery was dead and I had to use my iPhone! ;)

Enchirito Recipe:   

{Print Recipe}

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 package taco seasoning
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 16 ounce can Rosarita refried beans
• 10 flour tortillas
• 1 28 ounce can La Victoria red enchilada sauce
• 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

The first step (which requires adult supervision) is to cook the ground beef. Once it is fully cooked, add your taco seasoning and 1/4 cup of water. Cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes or until water is gone.

The next step is to set up a production line for your little cook. Open your beans, place your ground beef in a bowl, set out your cheese, tortillas, sauce and your baking dish.

Next, give your child the assembly instructions:
1 large scoop of beans, spread down the center of the tortilla.
1-2 large scoops of meat spread over the beans
Fold one side of the tortilla over the meat and beans then roll away.
Place it in the baking dish with the seam side down.

Once they have assembled all of the enchiritos they can pour the sauce over them and sprinkle the cheese all over the top.

Now, you can bake it in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly.

Once dinner is ready, your child will feel so proud that they were able to make an entire meal all by themself and chances are... they will want to do it again and again and again!