OMG I want to eat these for dinner every night. They were good the first time, and they were just as good reheated. The BF had some and we decided they are restaurant good (though I’m sure, much healthier). These are excellent for serving to dinner guests — they can be completely finished and in the oven, so you have time to clean the kitchen before they arrive and then enjoy a glass of wine with your guests. And, if you’re looking for recipes to introduce skeptics to vegetarian dishes, this is it. It’s so delicious and filling, they won’t miss the meat at all. I very slightly edited the original recipe from Sweet Happy Life, just small things for the sake of convenience.
I actually only made the sauce at first. I spooned a little on top of lunchtime veggie & rice bowls for a few days. It wasn’t until later in the week that I got around to making the enchiladas. So fyi — make a ton, freeze it, and then you can use it for enchiladas (the best option) or to add a little flavor to pretty much any Mexican-style dish.
FYI, I think the enchilada sauce on its own is kinda spicy, but is not spicy at all when baked on top of the enchiladas. I guess the bread and cheese and veggies balance it out. If you’d like a bit more heat, just add the whole chipotle chili instead of the half, and add another teaspoon of adobo sauce.
The original recipe also said to use an immersion blender to puree the sauce. I thought that was totally unnecessary and therefore a waste of my time (especially since I don’t have an immersion blender, which would mean using my food processor, which is a pain to clean, and the BF wasn’t home to clean it for me). But, you know, to each her own.
These make EXCELLENT freezer meals. I doubled the sauce, and after using what I needed for dinner that night, froze the rest in a couple ice cube trays. (After they froze completely, I dumped them out of the tray to store in a large zipper bag.) For the tortilla rolls, I rolled individual enchiladas up in foil and then froze them in a large zipper bag. For lunch, I grab one foil-wrapped roll, a few sauce cubes, and I’m good to go. I sit my lunch box on my desk so it thaws throughout the morning, then unwrap and heat it up in the microwave. Presto lunch-o.
Enchilada sauce (adapted from Sweet Happy Life)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 an onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon oregano (I used Wildtree Hearty Spaghetti Sauce Blend ’cause that’s what I had)
1 cup cooking sherry
1/2 diced chipotle chili
1 teaspoon adobo sauce
1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 cup vegetable (or chicken or beef) stock
Heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic for 4-5 minutes.
Add brown sugar, cumin, and oregano. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
Add sherry, chili, adobo sauce, tomatoes, and stock. Mix well and reduce heat to low. Simmer until desired consistency (20-25 minutes if you plan to pour it over the enchiladas and bake, where it will thicken; 40-45 minutes if you plan to use it as a condiment.)
BONUS RECIPE!
For dinner that night, I stir-friend some extra firm tofu, about 5-6 minutes on each side in olive oil, added some zucchini slices and corn sliced off the cob. I cooked up some brown rice, mixed all that together in a bowl, and topped it with a little of the sauce and some cheddar cheese. Delicious and easy.
A couple nights later, I invited a couple friends over for dinner, and decided to make the full recipe. I had been craving enchiladas since I had made the sauce.
Enchiladas (adapted from Sweet Happy Life)
1 package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 15-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 14.5-oz can corn, rinsed and drained
1/2 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper
1 package tortillas (I used 8-10 whole wheat flour tortillas)
Shredded cheese of your choice (I used a combo of cheddar and monterey jack)
Make sure your spinach is well drained. Squeeze out excess water. Mix well in a large bowl with the beans and corn. Add cumin, a dash of salt, and a dash of pepper, and mix well.
Spoon a little enchilada sauce on the bottom of a greased baking dish.
On each tortilla, spread a few spoonfuls of the filling, and add shredded cheese on top. Roll tightly, tucking the ends in, and lay seam-down in the pan.
Add more sauce on top of all the enchiladas. Cover with foil and baked at 350 F for about 35 minutes.
Enjoy!
Really, these were so good. Just writing this makes me want to make more. We spent lunch today discussing what other things we could put inside these enchiladas. We decided we can’t wait till fall to try sweet potatoes and black beans… Mmm.
I know I didn’t get too detailed on the amounts when I talked about assembly, but all that is really up to you and your personal preference. This made about 8 enchiladas. I would guess that kids and people with light appetites such as myself would eat just one, but adults with normal to hearty appetites would probably eat two. I served these with brown rice, salsa, and guacamole. Chips and queso wouldn’t hurt either.
Halfway through (approximately 15 seconds after beginning).
Tags: Black beans, Cheese, Corn, dinner, Enchilada, Mexican, Recipe, spinach, Vegetarian
