Wild Game Recipe: Slow-Cooker Enchilada Casserole

48 Replies

by Texas Homesteader ~

When chatting with our youngest daughter recently about our typical menu here at the ranch she remarked that we eat lots of pork and asked if we ever got tired of it.  I guess I never really thought about it.

RancherMan is an accomplished hunter and we always have pork in the freezer. Sometimes there is other game in our freezer as well, but there’s never a shortage of wild pork.  It’s so lean and super easy to flavor & incorporate into many dishes the same as you would other meats.

I’ve made pork roasts and meatloaf, pulled pork BBQ, pulled pork carnitas tacos, and grilled ribs. There are so many delicious savory recipes to use up our supply of pork.  Today I’m using that ground pork for an easy slow-cooker enchilada casserole.

By using food I'd already prepared this enchilada casserole was inexpensive and environmentally friendly as well. Check out my easy recipe #TexasHomesteader

 

Jump to Recipe

 

I had enchiladas on the menu but my corn tortillas weren’t cooperating and kept breaking instead of rolling up.

(UPDATE: I now make my own easy corn tortillas!)

Homemade Corn Tortillas. By using food I'd already prepared this enchilada casserole was inexpensive and environmentally friendly as well. Check out my easy recipe #TexasHomesteader

Enchilada Casserole In Slow Cooker

I stumbled upon a recipe at A Lavender Life for an enchilada casserole.  Hummm…  I hadn’t thought about a casserole but that might solve some stubborn tortilla problems for me. Since RancherMan & I had an appointment right around the supper hour I decided to make the casserole in my slow cooker.

I used that recipe as a base but c’mon y’all, you KNOW I can’t stick to a recipe as it’s written! I like to amend recipes to suite our tastes as well as be able to use the food I have on hand.

My Version of the Recipe

Here’s how I ended up making my casserole:

I pulled out about 2 lbs of ground wild pork (you can use standard ground beef if you like) and my own homemade mixture for taco seasoning. I also pulled from the freezer the last 3 frozen tomatoes from last year’s garden (my recipe could have used more), a couple of onions and 2 garlic cloves from the garden as well as a can of homemade pintos and a can of homemade chili.

I cooked the garlic & onions first in bacon grease on medium heat until they were translucent.  Then I added the ground meat. When the meat was cooked I drained it of what little fat had accumulated. I returned the meat to my cast-iron skillet & added about 4 tablespoons of my homemade taco seasoning.

I blended my now-thawed tomatoes until they were smooth and poured it all into the skillet.  When all was thoroughly mixed I mashed a can of my homemade pinto beans and mixed it into the meat mixture.

Layering The Casserole

Now I turned my attention to those dang stale crumbly tortillas.  I lined my slow cooker with those ornery corn tortillas, overlapping in several places, and topped them with 1/2 of my meat/bean mixture.

I sprinkled just a little shredded cheese on top and some sliced ripe olives.  Then I added another layer of overlapping corn tortillas and the rest of the meat/bean mixture.  I topped with another light sprinkling of cheese and a few sliced olives.

Then I capped the entire casserole with a final layer of overlapping tortillas, added a container of my homemade chili and a more generous coating of cheese.  I decorated the top with a handful of chopped chives and a few sliced olives.  The ingredients are already cooked so I turned the slow cooker on low. Then RancherMan & I left for our appointment, which took us away from home for about 2 hours.

When we arrived home the house smelled Dee-LICIOUS!  I had planned to serve some homemade Ranch-Style Beans as a side dish but RancherMan said a hearty bowl of this casserole sprinkled with a few sliced jalapenos would fit the bill nicely for supper.  Now that’s quite an endorsement.

And since I’ve once again used the cook-once-eat-twice method of cooking there will be several servings for me to put in the freezer for quick suppers later.  Gotta love it!

By using food I’d already prepared such as homemade pinto beans, chili and taco seasoning this recipe was very inexpensive.  And those containers for leftovers in the freezer are all reusable so it’s environmentally friendly as well.

But even if you have to purchase those ingredients it’s an easy recipe that comes  together quickly.  And really, who doesn’t love slow-cooker convenience?

Print

Wild-Pork Slow Cooker Enchilada Casserole

We use ground pork from a wild hog harvested from our property, but you can use regular sausage or hamburger with the same great results

Author www.TexasHomesteader.com

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs Ground Meat
  • 2 medium Onions, chopped
  • 2 cloves Garlic, pressed
  • 12-15 Corn Tortillas
  • 2 15-oz Cans Tomato Sauce
  • 4 Tablespoons Taco seasoning
  • 1 15-oz Can Refried Beans
  • 1 15-oz Can Chili
  • 1 16 oz Bag Shredded Mexican Cheese (or to Taste)
  • Ripe olive slices & chopped green onions for garnish (Optional)

Instructions

  1. Cook onions & garlic until translucent and add ground meat. Continue on medium heat until meat is cooked and stir in taco seasoning. Add tomato sauce & refried beans to meat mixture

    Line a slow cooker with tortillas, freely overlapping. Spoon 1/2 of the meat/bean mixture over the tortillas and sprinkle lightly with cheese. Repeat tortilla, meat/bean and cheese layer with the other 1/2 of your meat/bean mixture.

    Top this with more tortillas, freely overlapping, and spread a can of chili over the top. Sprinkle with about a cup of cheese. Decorate with sliced ripe olives and a sprinkling of chopped green onions.

    Put lid on slow cooker and turn on low until all is heated through and cheese is melted, about 2 hrs.

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48 thoughts on “Wild Game Recipe: Slow-Cooker Enchilada Casserole”

    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      Anne, it’s so good! RancherMan typically eats whatever I fix for supper without complaint. He’s usually complimentary of the meal. But when I serve THIS – he raves over & over again about how I can make this whenever and as often as I like! LOL ~TMH~

      Reply ↓
  3. elaine

    Yum!! Make anything Mexican Flavors and I’m in!! Thanks for linking up on My 2 Favorite Things on Thursday!! Hope you come back this Thursday and share some more!! I love having you! Pinned!

    Reply ↓
  7. Corinne

    Chicken Enchilada Casserole is one of my family’s favorites. Thanks for sharing your recipe at This Is How We Roll Thursday. Can’t wait to try this!

    Reply ↓
  8. Free

    I travel a lot with my husband and I’m always on the look for new crock pot recipes. Looks good. Thanks for sharing on the Oh My Heartsie Girls WW

    Reply ↓

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  12. Amy M

    Oh my goodness, that looks good! We don’t have wild pork so much here in Virginia, but I will have to try this with the farm-raised pork.

    Reply ↓
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      Wild hogs are outta control here in NE Texas and they’re destructive little beasts, quickly rooting deep tractor-jarring holes in the pastures overnight. So we harvest them as often as we can for double-benefit – delicious low-fat protein and to reduce their damaging numbers. But farm-raised pork or even ground beef would be great in this recipe. Give it a try Amy. ~TMR~

      Reply ↓
  13. Julie

    Yum this look delicious. I love mexican food.
    Julie
    Thank you for linking up with #wordlesswednesday
    co-host – http://www.julieinthemaking.com/

    Reply ↓

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  17. CJ

    A secrete I found to make corn tortillas “behave” is to nuke them in the microwave for about 30 sec. working with 3-4 at a time. They moisten up beautifully. CJ

    Reply ↓
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      I think these corn tortillas had pretty much done their tour of duty in my fridge and they were just a bit too dry & brittle to roll like I wanted them to. I even tried adding a damp cloth in the microwave to steam a little moisture into them but with no luck. BUT they worked beautifully in my casserole so I was happy I could get them used up. ~TMR~

      Reply ↓

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  19. Jamie @ Love Bakes Good Cakes

    Delicious! Pinned and scheduled to share on FB! Thanks for linking up to Freedom Fridays! 🙂

    Reply ↓
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      Well that’s just awesome Jamie – thank you! RancherMan & I really, really loved this recipe & it all came together quickly & made enough to freeze for later. Gotta love it… ~TMR~

      Reply ↓
  20. Kathy

    This looks awesome! I’ll share the recipe with my daughters! I am delighted that you shared with Home and Garden Thursday,
    Kathy

    Reply ↓

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  24. April

    Thank you for sharing your recipe at Meal Planning Monday Recipe Link-Up. 🙂 I hope you stop by and join us again this week. http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2014/03/meal-planning-monday-recipe-link-up-4.html

    Reply ↓
  25. Angela Parker

    I loved this recipe so much! I thought it was the perfect meal for the busy mom. We are going to feature this recipe this Sunday at the Sunday Social! Go grab a button if you like : )

    Reply ↓
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      That’s awesome Angela – Thank you! RancherMan & I really did love this recipe and it makes enough to enjoy again and then freeze some for later. Gotta love Cook-Once, Eat-Twice (or more) suppers! ~TMR~

      Reply ↓
  27. April

    I love crockpot recipes, your enchilada casserole looks like a great family meal! I would love to invite you to share your recipe at Meal Planning Monday Recipe Link-Up. 🙂 http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2014/03/meal-planning-monday-recipe-link-up-3.html

    Reply ↓
  28. Texomamorganlady

    I am making this right now, with ground turkey rather than pork though (I do look forward to fresh wild hog meat in my near future). I used half the recipe and it pretty much filled up my large crockpot, yours must be huge! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply ↓
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      Yes ma’am, the slow cooker my sister gave us years ago was huge, it had to feed six of us! Even now with only 2 of us here I pull it out & use it often for the cook-once, eat-twice method of cooking. Hope you love this casserole as much as RancherMan & I did! ~TMR~

      Reply ↓
  29. Judith C

    I love food like this!

    Off subject question, do you have anything listed on ebay? I’m bidding on somethine from a Taylormade 2400 at the time. Just asking.

    Reply ↓
  30. CTY

    Now this is a dish I can get behind! I was just wondering about the tortillas (figuring you used soft tortillas) how did they serve up. Did they form a lasagna noodle like layer or was it more like tomalito (wet corn muffin) ? Also, like you I think of recipes as guidelines & suggestions. I do not have a slow cooker so I’ll use one of my many Dutch ovens (why have a slow cooker when you can have an excuse to collect Dutch ovens?).

    Reply ↓
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      I love dutch ovens! I only have 1 but I envy collections. The corn tortillas stayed the same consistency they would if they had been made into enchiladas – they held together fine, I’d guess like you described as “lasagna noodle-like layer”. I thought my casserole could have used just a little more tomato but it wasn’t dry, just not as moist as I would have preferred, so I added some tomato in the actual recipe that I shared. Let me know how you enjoy it! ~TMR~

      Reply ↓
  31. KarenLynn@Lil'SuburbanHomestead

    Taylor this looks delish and like a meal my guys would love! You know they are both hunters and I am hoping this next hunting season will be the big year for them! Thank you so much for linking up to the “From The Farm” Blog hop too! Hope to see you next week!

    Reply ↓
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      Hi Summer, thankfully getting on the mailing list is easy. At the top of the right-hand column under “FOLLOW US” there is an email icon. Just click that icon and enter your email address. The program will send you an email to confirm your wishes and after you respond to that you’ll be enrolled to receive an email each time a new post is out. So glad to have you following along! ~TMR~

      Reply ↓

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