Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Spinach and Black Bean Enchiladas

Ingredients
{For the sauce}  **Jess: I used a can of sauce b/c I try to make recipes as easy as possible!)
3 cups organic low sodium vegetable broth
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup all purpose flour (or gluten-free flour)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. chili powder
Salt/pepper

{For the enchiladas} 
15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups corn (I used frozen, thawed)
6 oz. fresh baby spinach
6 green onions, thinly sliced
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
2 tsp. cumin
3 cups shredded 3 cheese blend (or pepper jack, etc.)
8 large flour tortillas

Jess: I also added shredded chicken

Directions
Make the sauce: in a saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add tomato paste, flour, 2 tsp. cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and chili powder. Cook 1 minute, whisking. Whisk in broth, bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer, and cook until slightly thickened about 8 minutes. Salt/pepper to taste, and set aside.

Saute the spinach in olive oil over medium heat for 1-2 minutes until slightly wilted.
In a large bowl, combine beans, 2 cups cheese, spinach, corn, green onions, 2 tsp. cumin, and cilantro.
Preheat oven to 375. Lightly spray a 9x13 inch baking dish, and pour a small amount of the sauce to coat the bottom.
Generously fill tortillas with mixture, roll up tightly with ends tucked in, and place seam side down in dish.
Pour remaining sauce over the enchiladas, coating evenly. Sprinkle 1 cup cheese on top.
Bake about 20 minutes, and garnish with cilantro and/or green onions (optional).

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Freezer Instructions
A sweet reader of mine, Kara, tested out this recipe as a freezer meal and found it worked great. Here are her instructions:

"I made the enchiladas as you outlined above, stopping before adding the sauce and cheese to the top. I froze the enchiladas and the sauce separately. Thawed the sauce in the fridge overnight, then when I was ready to bake, I heated the sauce slowly in a saucepan - whisking helped keep it smooth. Then poured the sauce over the frozen enchiladas, added some cheese, and baked @ 400, covered for 30 minutes and uncovered for 15 minutes."



Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops

Ingredients
  • 4 boneless pork chops
  • ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese
  • 2-3 TB Italian breadcrumbs (dried)
  • ⅛ tsp. paprika
  • 1 tsp. dried parsley
  • ½ tsp. garlic powder
  • 2 TB olive oil
  • ¼ tsp. pepper
Instructions
  1. Mix Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, paprika, parsley and garlic powder and place on a plate.
  2. Dip pork chops in the mixture (making sure mixture sticks) and sear in a pan of olive oil on medium-high heat. Sautee for 5 minutes on each side.
  3. Place pork chops in a glass baking dish and cook according to thickness. Ours were an inch thick and we cooked for an hour at 300. If yours are regular thickness, cook at 350 for half hour.


Twice Baked Butternut with Quinoa and Gorgonzola

  • 1 large butternut squash
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 medium shallots
  • ½ cup quinoa
  • 1 cup water
  • ½ cup gorgonzola cheese, plus extra for topping
  • pinch of salt
  1. Preheat oven to 400˚. Slice butternut squash in half and scoop out seeds. Place each half cut side down in a 9x13 pan and pour ½" of water in the bottom. Place in oven and bake until tender, about 45-60 minutes. Once done, remove and set aside.
  2. Rinse quinoa and set aside. In a medium pan heat olive oil over medium low heat. Dice shallots, add to oil, and saute until shallots are fragrant. Stir in quinoa and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer at let cook until water is absorbed, 12-15 minutes.
  3. While quinoa cooks, scoop out butternut squash, leaving a ¼"-1/2" on the sides and bottom. Drain water from pan and return butternut squash to the pan, cut side up.
  4. Mash butternut squash and stir in gorgonzola cheese. Once quinoa is done, add it to the butternut squash. Taste and add salt if need be.
  5. Scoop filling evenly into butternut squash halves. Sprinkle with gorgonzola cheese and return to oven. Let bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese has melted and the tops begin to brown. Remove from oven, cut eat half in half, and serve.
  6. Evenly spread filling back into butternut squash
Notes
The butternut squash can be roasted the day before cutting out a good majority of the time it takes to make this!

I also added about 1/4 cup of Craisins   


Maple Dijon Chicken Thighs

Ingredients
  • ¼ cup Dijon mustard $0.45
  • 2 Tbsp real maple syrup $0.65
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil $0.16
  • 2 tsp soy sauce $0.04
  • 1 clove garlic $0.08
  • ½ Tbsp dried rosemary (or 1 Tbsp fresh) $0.15
  • 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs $4.00
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together the dijon mustard, maple syrup, olive oil, and soy sauce. Mince the garlic and chop the rosemary. Stir both into the marinade.
  2. Coat the inside of an 8x8 inch casserole dish with non-stick spray. Arrange the chicken thighs in the dish so that they are close, but not overlapping. Pour the marinade on top and then spread it around until the thighs are completely covered.
  3. Bake the chicken thighs in the preheated oven for 45-60 minutes, or until they are golden brown on top.
Notes
Use a spoon to drizzle the cooking juices over top of the chicken after baking. Avoid using a brush as this will wipe off the baked on marinade.