Pie-Pan Enchiladas

This is my favorite kind of recipe. I took a little bit of this (sauce inspired by Amanda) and a little bit of that (enchiladas inspired by Barbara who was inspired by Katy who was inspired by the Pioneer Woman) and eliminated the time-consuming stuff (because I'm LAZY) and I really loved the result! (With all this great inspiration, how wrong could I go?)

So here you go. All in one place, my simple "enchilada" recipe from start to finish.

First, make the sauce. This makes just under 3 cups--almost twice what you need for the recipe. I like to double or even triple this sauce as it freezes well.

ENCHILADA SAUCE
2 8-oz cans tomato sauce
1/4 cup chopped green chilies and 1 tbl juice (I buy the chilies in a jar)
2/3 cup water
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 heaping TBL garlic, minced
2 TBL minced onion, mixed with 2 TBL water and allowed to sit 15 minutes

Place all ingredients into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 5-7 minutes.

ENCHILADAS
5 "fajita size" (8-inch) flour tortillas
3/4 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, chopped fine
1/4 teaspoon adobo without pepper
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can (10-oz) Rotel
1 1/2 cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese or a Cheddar-Jack combo (like it spicier? Use pepper-jack!)
3 black olives, sliced (optional)

Brown ground beef, onion, adobo and pepper in skillet. Drain. Stir in the Rotel.

Brush some enchilada sauce all over the bottom of a deep-dish pie pan.

Place one tortilla in the pan. Brush enchilada sauce all over it. Add 1/4 of the beef-and-onion-and-Rotel mixture. Top with cheese. Add another tortilla and repeat these steps until you have four layers. Top with the last tortilla and pour remaining sauce over that. Add more cheese to the top and olive slices (if desired.)

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until heated through. Slice like a pizza and serve.