Being and LA girl, when I travel for extended time, the food I miss the most is enchiladas. So much so my mom shipped a box of tortillas, refried beans, and enchilada sauce to me when I was an exchange student in Japan. Mind you that was in 1981 when snail mail was all there was. She shipped it air mail which cost a whole bunch more than the ingredients. THANKS MOM! I did my best to create enchiladas for my host family but the cheese was the biggest challenge. I'm not sure they found the same pleasure I did from that meal, but man it hit the spot!
Now, being a woman of a certain age, I am always trying to find ways to enjoy the flavors I love but lightening up on fat and calories in general. Now I'm not saying one shouldn't eat any fat, one should, but its a matter of managing one's consumption. But enough of lecturing one! And being a woman of a certain age, that management gets more refined each year. Or if I get lazy, my girth matches my calorie increase...you know the drill. SOOOOO, onto a more enjoyable subject. I find an easy way to reduce calories is to eat less animal product which is what I have done here. The filling is a very small amount of cheese and lots of veggies which can be easily subbed out for the veggies you have in the fridge. I think any combination of the following is excellent in enchiladas:
peppers of any color, squash both winter and summer, corn, chayote squash, beans, sweet potatoes, potatoes, onions, leeks, corn, mushrooms, greens ...you might find others you like but I do warn you against broccoli, turnips, brussel sprouts and other really strong flavored vegetables that will compete against the enchilada sauce.
Tonight I used pepper jack cheese because that is what I had in the fridge, but there are many others that work well; queso fresco, ranchero, jack, Colby, goat cheese in moderation, anything melty and mild.
Tonight I made 8 enchiladas so this recipe is for that quantity
Veggie enchiladas:
8 corn tortillas
1-2 T. olive or veg. oil
1 can 28oz. mild enchilada sauce
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. mild chili powder
1 small sweet potato
1/2 white onion
3 cloves garlic
1 chipotle chile (smoked jalapeno in adobo sauce)
1 small zucchini
1 small yellow summer squash
1C. pepper jack cheese shredded
Heat your oven to 350F. Heat a skillet to med/high. Add 1-2 T. oil. One at a time, soften the tortillas by placing them in the oil in the skillet and flipping them after about 10-15 seconds. You just want to soften them, not fry them to crispy. Drain the tortillas on paper towels to absorb as much oil as possible. Dab the tops of the tortillas with another paper towel to remove more oil (aka calories).
Chop all your vegetables into 1/2 inch pieces. Mince your garlic and chipotle.
Heat a skillet to high. You can use the one you just used for the tortillas. If all of the oil is gone, add another tablespoon of oil. Put the onions and sweet potato in first (because it needs to cook longer). Saute those for 3-4 minutes until they begin to soften. Add the squashes and garlic and chipotle (if you don't like spicy either reduce the amount or withhold the chipotle altogether) and continue to saute' for another 2-3 minutes. Add in the cumin and chili powder and allow them to saute' a little to release their oils. When the zucchini has a little color, add 1/4 c. water to the pan and cover so the sweet potatoes cook all the way through. Turn the heat to low and leave the lid on for 3-4 mins. Check a sweet potato piece to make sure it is soft all the way through. Salt to taste.
Spray a 9x12 casserole with non-stick spray. Pour 1/4 c. of enchilada sauce into the bottom of the 9x12 casserole. Fill one tortilla at a time with about 1/2 c. of the veggie filling and a sprinkling of cheese. Roll the enchilada up and start to lay them side by side in the casserole. You can tuck them in tightly and also lay a couple along the side if needed.
Once you have filled and rolled all of the tortillas, pour the remaining sauce over the top and top with the remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 30-40 mins. until bubbly around all edges.
I like to serve them with a little chunky avocado salsa. Just chop up some tomatoes and avocado and a shallot or red onion and mix with a squeeze of lime juice and a small sprinkling of salt. The Producer likes to pour more hot sauce on top but I think the chipotle makes them just spicy enough!
Tonight I served them with a simple salad with butter lettuce and grapefruit...more about that tomorrow.
Enjoy!
xo MamaP
Now, being a woman of a certain age, I am always trying to find ways to enjoy the flavors I love but lightening up on fat and calories in general. Now I'm not saying one shouldn't eat any fat, one should, but its a matter of managing one's consumption. But enough of lecturing one! And being a woman of a certain age, that management gets more refined each year. Or if I get lazy, my girth matches my calorie increase...you know the drill. SOOOOO, onto a more enjoyable subject. I find an easy way to reduce calories is to eat less animal product which is what I have done here. The filling is a very small amount of cheese and lots of veggies which can be easily subbed out for the veggies you have in the fridge. I think any combination of the following is excellent in enchiladas:
peppers of any color, squash both winter and summer, corn, chayote squash, beans, sweet potatoes, potatoes, onions, leeks, corn, mushrooms, greens ...you might find others you like but I do warn you against broccoli, turnips, brussel sprouts and other really strong flavored vegetables that will compete against the enchilada sauce.
Tonight I used pepper jack cheese because that is what I had in the fridge, but there are many others that work well; queso fresco, ranchero, jack, Colby, goat cheese in moderation, anything melty and mild.
Tonight I made 8 enchiladas so this recipe is for that quantity
Veggie enchiladas:
8 corn tortillas
1-2 T. olive or veg. oil
1 can 28oz. mild enchilada sauce
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. mild chili powder
1 small sweet potato
1/2 white onion
3 cloves garlic
1 chipotle chile (smoked jalapeno in adobo sauce)
1 small zucchini
1 small yellow summer squash
1C. pepper jack cheese shredded
Heat your oven to 350F. Heat a skillet to med/high. Add 1-2 T. oil. One at a time, soften the tortillas by placing them in the oil in the skillet and flipping them after about 10-15 seconds. You just want to soften them, not fry them to crispy. Drain the tortillas on paper towels to absorb as much oil as possible. Dab the tops of the tortillas with another paper towel to remove more oil (aka calories).
Chop all your vegetables into 1/2 inch pieces. Mince your garlic and chipotle.
Heat a skillet to high. You can use the one you just used for the tortillas. If all of the oil is gone, add another tablespoon of oil. Put the onions and sweet potato in first (because it needs to cook longer). Saute those for 3-4 minutes until they begin to soften. Add the squashes and garlic and chipotle (if you don't like spicy either reduce the amount or withhold the chipotle altogether) and continue to saute' for another 2-3 minutes. Add in the cumin and chili powder and allow them to saute' a little to release their oils. When the zucchini has a little color, add 1/4 c. water to the pan and cover so the sweet potatoes cook all the way through. Turn the heat to low and leave the lid on for 3-4 mins. Check a sweet potato piece to make sure it is soft all the way through. Salt to taste.
Spray a 9x12 casserole with non-stick spray. Pour 1/4 c. of enchilada sauce into the bottom of the 9x12 casserole. Fill one tortilla at a time with about 1/2 c. of the veggie filling and a sprinkling of cheese. Roll the enchilada up and start to lay them side by side in the casserole. You can tuck them in tightly and also lay a couple along the side if needed.
Tonight I served them with a simple salad with butter lettuce and grapefruit...more about that tomorrow.
Enjoy!
xo MamaP
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