Thursday, April 16, 2015

Enchiladas on the Quick

I was staring at the clock -- an hour before dinner and nothing in the oven. Oh no.

Oh, enchiladas. I grabbed some ingredients and went to it. The verdict -- amazing. Make this again.

So here I am, writing it down:

Spinach and Cheese Enchiladas

2 bags fresh spinach
1/4 cup onion (or omit it -- I did)
1 Tbl. olive oil
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (you can use a Mexican blend if you prefer)
Flour tortillas (I used about nine)

Enchilada sauce (I make my own):
1 can (14 oz or 16 oz) diced tomatoes
1 tsp. chili powder
Dash or two cayenne pepper
Healthy dash of Adobo seasoning (if you have it -- if not, skip it)
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion until clear. Add spinach with a few tablespoons of water and cook until it's reduced. You'll still have water from the spinach itself, but try to keep it to a minimum.

Take off heat and stir in ricotta and one cup of shredded cheese (or more if you want it really cheesy). Next, heat the tortillas for 20 seconds on each side in a hot skillet or griddle. I like to make mine a little brown since they're flour -- makes them a little stiffer after baking.

Spray a lasagna pan with oil. Fill each tortilla with two or three tablespoons of filling, then roll and place seam down in the pan. Then cover them all with your enchilada sauce and the remaining cup of shredded cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the sauce and cheese are bubbly. Keep an eye on it and check it at 10 minutes and 15 minutes.

Note: if you don't like chunky tomato sauce, feel free to use pureed tomatoes or even tomato sauce.