Enchilada Casserole

This casserole is one of my favorites and is always a hit when I make it for other people.  I discovered this one day when making one that would freeze well to deliver to a friend that just had a baby.  She loved it so much, I sent her the recipe.
I somehow always have some sauce left over and it make a wonderful "Mexican Spaghetti" sauce that can you can freeze for a day when you have no clue what to serve for dinner.

Serves 6 to 8

10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1 ½ lbs lean ground beef

½ onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground red pepper

salt and black pepper to taste

14 oz diced Mexican style tomatoes

8 oz tomato sauce

4 oz diced green chiles

Juice of 1 lime

1 tsp sugar

10 (6 inch corn tortillas, quartered)

1 stick butter melted

8 oz shredded Monterrey jack or cheddar cheese

1 cup sour cream

Squeeze any excess moisture from the spinach.  Brown the ground beef with the onion, garlic, cumin, red pepper, salt and pepper in a skillet.  Stirring until the ground beef is crumbly; drain. Stir in the spinach, undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, green chiles, lime juice and sugar.  Simmer covered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Dip tortilla quarters in the melted butter and arrange ½ of them in a greased 9 by 14 inch baking. Spread with ½ of the ground beef mixture and sprinkle with ½ of the cheese. Layer with the remaining tortillas, sour cream, remaining ground beef mixture and remaining cheese and bake for 30 minutes. 

NOTE: I thought one time that since I love spinach so much, what harm would some extra spinach do.   Let me tell you that while it was edible, the proportions were not right and it was not as delicious!