Vegetarian Enchiladas

So...I think if I post any more America's Test Kitchen recipes, they are going to sue me for copyright infringement.  But maybe they will forgive me if I also add a shameless plug for their recipes.  I Love America's Test Kitchen Cookbooks.  I have three - the Family Cookbook, the Healthy Family Cookbook, and the SlowCooker Revolution.  Every single one of them is exactly what I think a cookbook should be - not just a compilation of recipes selected because "yeah, I guess it's edible," but a group of people who actually try out a million different versions of things and then tell you what the best ways to cook things are, what the best ingredients are, what is worth the extra effort and what isn't.  Basically, they are amazing.

This recipe is from the Healthy Family Cookbook.  It takes a little bit of work, but I think it is totally worth it.  It's a fantastic tasting sauce with lots of flavor and not too much heat.  And the enchiladas are filling and have an excellent texture so you don't even notice there's no meat.

I'll post the original recipe - the only adjustment I made was to use 1/2 an onion where it called for a whole onion.  Two onions in one pan of enchiladas seemed like a lot to me...

Red Enchilada Sauce: (Makes about 2 1/2 cups)

1 teaspoon canola oil
1 onion, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons sugar
2 (8-oz) cans tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering.  Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
2.  Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and sugar and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3.  Stir in the tomato sauce and water, bring to a simmer, and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Vegetable Enchiladas:


1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 onion, minced
1 red or yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped fine
1 zucchini (8 oz) halved lengthwise, seeded, and chopped small
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 cups enchilada sauce
1 cup finely crumbled queso fresco or feta cheese
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
1/4 cup drained, canned chopped green chiles
salt and pepper
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
vegetable oil spray
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Lime wedges (for serving)

1. Adjust the oven rack to middle and preheat to 350 degrees.
2. Mash half of the beans in a bowl with a fork until mostly smooth.
3. Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering.  Add the onion and bell pepper and cook until softened and lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes.
4. Stir in the zucchini and cook until just tender, 3 to 5 minutes.
5. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
6. Stir in the mashed beans and remaining whole beans and cook until warm, about 2 minutes.
7. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and stir in 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce, feta cheese, cilantro, and green chiles.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, and cover to keep warm.
8. Lightly coat both sides of the tortillas with vegetable spray.  Place 6 tortillas on a baking sheet and bake until soft and pliable (2-4 minutes).
9. Working quickly, spread the tortillas out over a clean counter.  Place 1/3 cup of the vegetable mixture evenly down the center of each tortilla.   Tightly roll each tortilla around the filling and lay seam-side down in a 9x13 baking dish.  Repeat with the remaining tortillas, stacking the second layer on top of the first if necessary.
10. Increase oven temp to 450.
11. Pour 1 cup sauce over the enchiladas, spreading it evenly.  Sprinkle the cheddar down the center of each enchilada.
12.  Cover with foil and bake until heated through, about 10 minutes. Remove foil and bake until cheese is melted, about 3-5 more minutes.
13.  Serve with remaining sauce and lime wedges.

Breakfast Couscous

Couscous has replaced cereal as the breakfast staple at our house.  It's much healthier and sticks with you longer than cereal.  (Except Lydia - she will eat couscous occasionally, but definitely still prefers her Cheerios.)

You need:

Whole wheat (not Israeli) couscous (we buy it at Trader Joe's, but I'm sure you can find it other places)
One individual serving-size cup of diced fruit (4 oz).  We like peaches best, but pears are good, too.  Mixed fruit isn't as good because pineapple or other hard fruits don't work as well.
Water

1. You will use equal parts couscous and liquid.  I use 1/4 of a cup, Daniel eats 1/3 of a cup.  Measure your couscous and put it in a microwave-safe cereal bowl.
2. Drain the syrup from the fruit into the measuring cup.  Fill the measuring cup the rest of the way with water, and stir the liquid into the couscous.
3. Microwave on high for 2 minutes.
4. Stir in the fruit, and enjoy!  Daniel and Lydia prefer it with a splash of milk as well.

When I'm feeling more ambitious, I also like to make apple cinnamon couscous:

You need:

Equal parts water and couscous
1/2 an apple, grated
Brown sugar to taste
Cinnamon to taste

1. Stir all ingredients together.
2. Microwave on high for 2 minutes.
3. Enjoy!

Mango Salad Dressing

So much delicious! I highly recommend this one with baby lettuce, red pepper, and mango.

Ingredients

150 g Flesh of about one mango
1/2 cup Water
1 tsp. Red wine vinegar
2 tsp. Rice vinegar
2 tsp. Extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Onion powder
1/2 tsp. Basil, dried
1/8 tsp. Cayenne pepper (optional)


Instructions
1. Puree everything, except half the basil, in a blender until super smooth.
2. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
3. Add the rest of the basil and mix.

Cholent

Cholent is a Jewish beef stew that's typically served on Sabbath. It is great because it is loaded with fresh vegetables and it has a really different flavor than you would taste elsewhere. It is also a good way to use some strips of TVP is you happen to have a large bag of them. I will own that the ingredients are a little harder to come by, but it is worth it. From the Veganomicon.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, cut into medium-size dice
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon tarragon
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon salt
Several pinches of freshly ground black pepper
½ cup red cooking wine, water, or vegetable broth
2 bay leaves
½ cup French lentils, rinsed (Whole Foods has them in the bulk section)
1 cup peeled, sliced carrorts (about ½ inch thick)
4 medium-sized potatoes (about 1 ¼ pounds), peeled and cut into ¾ inch chunks)
1 (15 ounce can) tomato sauce
3 cups water
1 cup TVP chunks ( not granules or crumbles, if you use Mom’s TVP chunks, you may want to cut them a little)
1 cup frozen or canned and drained lima beans or green peas
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Preheat a large soup pot over medium heat. Sauté the onions in the oil until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic, tarragon, caraway seeds, salt, and pepper. Sauté until the garlic is fragrant, about a minute more.
Deglaze the pot with the red wine. Add the bay leaves, lentil, carrots, potatoes, tomato sauce, water, and TVP chunks. Mix together. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the potatoes and carrot are tender.
Add the lima and kidney beans and cook until heated through.

Quinoa Radish Salad

Until they showed up in our produce box for the first time, I really thought radishes were one of those gross things that Mom and Dad grew in the garden (because they will grow in Idaho clay) but no one actually ever intended to eat.

Then I found this salad recipe. This is seriously one of my favorite salads that I have eaten ever. It has an incredible mix of flavors and is healthy and filling. I don't really know where the recipe came from anymore, but trust me - it's worth eating!

½ cup uncooked quinoa
1 cup water
3 tablespoons butter (but that's a lot of butter, so I usually only add 2 tablespoons)
1 ½ cups spinach chiffonade (I usually do this in about 1/2 inch strips)
½ cup thinly sliced French breakfast radishes
2 tablespoons fresh basil chiffonade
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp lemon juice
¼ tsp flaky sea salt, (Not table salt)

Rinse quinoa thoroughly with cold water and drain.

Place quinoa in small saucepan with water and butter. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes, until liquid is absorbed.

Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork and let cool completely.

Toss all ingredients together. Taste and add more salt if desired.

Serve by itself or on a bed of lettuce. (At least that's what the recipe says - if you want more greens, I recommend just adding more spinach and upping the lemon juice and salt a little bit.)

Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes

Adapted from Pillsbury.com

These are the delicious potatoes we ate at our Christmas Barbecue!

5 lb baking potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 ½ cups chicken broth
¼ cup butter or margarine, cut into chunks
1 cup onion dip
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup or more milk, warmed, added until you reach desired consistency - I have never needed it.

1. In 4- to 5-quart slow cooker, place potatoes, chicken broth and butter.
2. Cover; cook on High heat setting 4 hours to 4 hours 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
3. Add remaining ingredients except milk. Mash potatoes with a potato smasher in crock pot (although they usually mash with just stirring). Stir in enough milk for desired creamy consistency. Cover and keep warm on Low or Warm heat setting until serving time, up to 2 hours. Stir before serving.

*You can make more traditional mashed potatoes (to go with gravy) by using sour cream instead of onion dip (and maybe leaving out the garlic powder and onion powder, depending on the flavor you want.)

Creamy White Chili

Creamy White Chili
serves 7

1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 TBSP vegetable oil
2 cans (15 1/2 oz each) great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (14 1/2 oz ) chicken broth
2 cans (4 oz each) chopped green chilies
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whipping cream

In a large saucepan, sauté chicken, onion, and garlic powder in oil until
chicken is no longer pink. Add beans, broth, chilies, and seasonings. Bring to
boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in
sour cream and cream. Serve immediately.