Spinach Enchiladas

The Saucy Sicilians decided to spice up our Sunday afternoon with a little something South-of-the-border. We had some green enchilada sauce on hand, and it does no good just sitting on the shelf. With the addition of spinach and Mexican cheeses, these enchiladas were an amazing meat-alternative dish! Served with Mexican rice and vegetarian beans, we could barely move after two servings. Yes, they're that good! 


Ingredients:

Ingredients for the Sauce:
1 can of green enchilada sauce
1 can of diced green chilies
1 onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 Tbsp of margarine
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup of Half & Half
Sugar
Salt
White pepper (or black fine pepper, if you don't have white)

Ingredients for the Enchiladas:
24 small corn tortillas
Vegetable Oil (optional)
1 package of fresh spinach
1 package of Mexican cheese (reserve a handful to sprinkle over top of dish)
1 small can of diced olives
3 green onions, chopped
Sour cream (as a topping)

Weapons of Choice:
Large sauce pan
9" x 13" baking pan (or dish)
Stir spoon
Paper towels
Fry pan (optional)

Directions for the Sauce:
In a large saucepan, saute margarine, garlic and onions on high for about two minutes. 

Add enchilada sauce, green chilies, and juice of lemon. 

Add half & half and, bring sauce to a simmer. Add sugar, salt, and pepper to taste.


Directions for the Enchiladas:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spread some of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of the baking pan. Have a towel handy, because this next part is messy. ☺

It's your preference if you prefer to lightly fry your tortillas in oil before filling and rolling. We choose not to as a healthier alternative, but this method of frying will make your tortillas a bit more pliable, and may ensure they do not break apart when filling and serving. We microwave ours for a few seconds with wet paper towels. Either method works well. 

Take softened tortillas and fill with cheese and spinach. Carefully  roll each tortilla, and place seam side down into your baking pan (this is where that towel comes in handy). Repeat with 12 enchiladas per row; you will end up with two rows. 

Pour the remainder of the enchilada sauce over your rolled enchiladas, coating each enchilada generously. Sprinkle cheese, green onions, and olives over enchiladas. 

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, or until dish is bubbling. 

Plate enchiladas, and top with sour cream. Serve with rice and beans. 



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Our sides:

Our simmering homemade Mexican rice with green onions, tomatoes, and Spanish rice seasoning.

Vegetarian Refried Beans

Spiralized Zucchini and Squash with Alfredo

Spiralized vegetables are a tasty and healthy alternative to durum wheat pasta, and even whole wheat pasta. Looking for a way to cut carbs and add more veggies to your diet? Want to learn how to make our version of almost-guilt-free Alfredo? Try this amazing recipe! 

Spiralizing: The New Noodle

Just what the heck is spiralizing? A Spiralizer is a simple machine that creates pasta noodles from vegetables. Using a hand crank, fresh vegetables--such as squash and zucchini--are pressed through a blade to create long vegetable noodles. Our spiralizer came with three different blades, so we decided to use all three to try the different cuts and textures: spiral ribbon cuts, shoestrings, and vegetable "noodles". 

Wondering where to buy? We got ours here: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/paderno-sprializer/

You can also find spiralizers on Amazon, but who doesn't like perusing Williams-Sonoma. 

We decided to test run our new gadget by spiralizing summer squash and zucchini. Machine operation is incredibly quick and simple, and the machine itself is easy to clean. 

The different cuts were impressive! The straight blade (left) would be excellent for cucumber salad, and the chipper blade (center) would be perfect for creating curly fries and onion rings. The shredder blade (right) is ideal for creating pastas. 

For our "test run", we decided to try spiralizing our squash and zucchini with the skin left on. This resulted in a crunchy texture to the noodles. We determined we'd like this dish even more if we skinned our veggies first, resulting in a softer texture. Saute time is only 5 minutes, which is just long enough to soften the "pasta", but not enough time to tenderize the skin. No worries--that's what test runs are for, and through trial and error, we save our readers time!  But, if you prefer skin-on, go for it! 

The recipe...

Ingredients for Noodles:

2 large, straight summer squash (peeled) (note: the straighter the veggie, the easier to spiralize)

2 large, straight zucchini (peeled)

1 Tbsp olive oil

Ingredients for Alfredo:

1 tsp of minced garlic

2 Tbsp of margarine

2 Tbsp of all purpose flour

1 Tbsp of olive oil

1/2 cup of chicken broth

1 cup of skim milk

1 cup of Italian cheese (we used a blend)

A dash of Garlic salt and pepper

Weapons of Choice:

Paderno Spiralizer

Large saute pan

Tongs

Medium stirring spoon 

Directions:

Using your favorite spiralizing blade, spiralize zucchini and squash. Place into saute pan and add about a Tbsp of olive oil. Saute on high heat, tossing noodles and olive oil with tongs. Cook for approximately 5 minutes, or until noodles cook down, and water starts to accumulate at bottom of pan. Remove from heat. 

Place noodles in large strainer, and set aside. 

While noodles are straining, make your Alfredo. 

Add garlic, olive oil and margarine to saute pan. On medium heat, saute until garlic is lightly browned. Add flour; stir well until flour is completely saturated. Mixture will be slightly lumpy.

Increase heat to medium-high. Add chicken broth, and continue to stir well until flowery lumps disappear. 

Add milk, and stir until sauce becomes bubbly and takes on a creamy texture. Once sauce bubbles, add cheese, and stir until cheese melts completely. 

Add a dash of salt and pepper to taste. 

After sauce is to desired thickness, add strained noodles, and toss until noodles are completely coated. 

Then serve! 

Healthier Eating:

To be mindful of our hearts and waistlines, we often cook using ingredients which are lower in fats, cholesterol, and sodium. For this recipe, we use skim milk and margarine. If you choose, you can create a richer sauce using cream or whole milk, and real butter. However, once you add cheese to our version, this sauce is so good, you won't be able to tell the difference. And unlike Alfredo made with cream, this sauce does not take on a sticky, pasty consistency when the pasta cools. Take our advice, and give our healthier version a try. We don't think you'll be disappointed.