Enchiladas Verdes (Vegan)

After many attempts, I might have perfected my vegan enchiladas.  First I make a homemade tomatilla sauce. Totally worth the effort.  I haven't found any canned green enchilada sauce that even come close.  I got this recipe from a good friend of mine that lived in Chiapas.  She made the sauce, but used it for something else(with meat).  I switched up the recipe a little and I really like it because it has alot of flavor, unlike canned green sauces which seem bland to me.  The filling is adapted from Fat Free Vegan's "cheese sauce" recipe.  


Enchiladas Verdes
Ingredients:
20 corn tortillas
1/2 onion, chopped
1 zuchini, diced 1/2 in cubes
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch spinach, chopped
1 portabella mushroom, chopped 1/2 in. cubes
1 bag monterey jack soy cheese


Cheezy Sauce:
1/2 cup extra-firm silken tofu
1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 tbsp. tahini
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. white pepper
2 tsp. corn starch

Sauté the onions, zuchini,and portabella in a non-stick skillet until the mushrooms begin to exude their juices. Add the garlic and sauté for one more minute.

Add the spinach, and sauté until it is wilted and tender. Add the cheezy sauce and cook, stirring, until thickened. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed. Remove from the heat.  It needs to cool off so it is easier to work with when you are rolling your enchiladas.  
After your sauces are cooled, pour about 1/2 cup of tomatillo sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 in. pan.  Heat up the tortillas a little in the microwave so they are softened and easier to work with.  OR if you are not worried about fat then you can heat them up in a little oil.  Pour in 2 tbsp. of cheezy sauce filling and roll up.  You should have 18-20 enchiladas from this recipe.  Then pour more tomatillo sauce over all your enchiladas.  Top with the bag of soy monterrey jack cheese and put into oven for 25 min.  Take out of the oven and let them "rest" for 5-10 min before serving.

Tomatillo Sauce

 Ingredients:

1 lb. tomatillos

2 zuchini, cubed

1 bunch cilantro

1/2 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic

1/2 c veg broth

salt

Just throw everything into a blender or food processor and then pour in a pan on the stove and let simmer for 30 min.

Roasted Vegetables

I wanted to make an easy dinner so I grabbed all the veggies in the produce drawer and a couple of red potatoes.  Chopped them up and stuck them in the oven.  When my hubby walked in the house he said, "Something smells good!"  I think the Pampered Chef stoneware helped...




Ingredients:
1 large portabella mushroom
1 large zuchini,
1 med. eggplant
2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes
1 bunch asparagus, woody ends removed
1 small red onion, chopped 3/4 in. pieces
1 small white onion, chopped 3/4 in. pieces
3 red potatoes, cubed
4 tbsp. olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp dried parsley


 Preheat oven to 425.  Cut the eggplant and portabella mushroom into pieces approximately 3/4-inch.  Zucchini are quartered lengthwise and sliced.also 3/4 in. pieces.  Cherry tomatoes are left whole.

Spray an extra-large baking dish with olive oil and add all vegetables. Toss them with the parsley,olive oil,  and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spray the top lightly with olive oil and place in the oven. Put potatoes and onions in the oven first.  Let them cook for 15 min, take out of the oven and stir. Then add the other dish of veggies to the oven.   Bake for 20 minutes and stir. Bake for about 20 more minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. (If you are using Pampered Chef stoneware you don't have to stir every 10 minutes, only if using a glass or metal pan.)  Cook until vegetable are tender but not dried out.  You could try combining the veggies and potatoes all in one dish.  The reason I didn't was because I knew the potatoes would take longer and I didn't want to over cook my vegetables.  Mushy asparagus grosses me out.  I wish I had yellow squash when I made this.  

My husband really did like this and I am planning on making it again soon.

Nopalitos

I stopped by the local grocery store a few days ago and picked up a bag of nopalitos.  They have ladies there in the store cleaning and dicing the cactus pads daily.  Lucky me!  Some people are put off by the sliminess of them but I think they are delicious!  They make a delicious and healthy side dish for a Mexican meal. They have Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium and Iron.

I just saute them with onion, garlic,  zuchini,  jalapeno and tomato. I forgot to take the picture before we ate, so this is what was left...

Stirfry... My Way

After making Fat Free Vegan's Ginger Garlic Bok Choy, I decided to add some more veggies to it and make it into some type of Oriental stirfry.  I am not sure if it is Korean or Chinese or what.  All I know is that my meat-eating husband really liked it.  It was absolutely delicious!  On a side note, I only post dishes here if he gives them a thumbs up.  This is a nice dish to make when you have friends over.  Get them to help out by washing  and chopping the vegetables.  The prep is the most time-consuming part of this meal.  It is easy to sit and eat.  Just put it in a bowls over short-grained brown rice.  

Ingredients:



4 baby bok choy (about 1 pounds)

1 zuchini, chopped 1/2 in. pieces

extra firm tofu, baked

1/2 bunch aspargus, chopped 1/2 in. pieces, tough ends snapped off

1 portabella mushroom, chopped 1/2 in. pieces

1 small can bamboo shoots

1 can baby corn

4 green onions, chopped 1/2 pieces
1 tablespoon garlic paste
1 tablespoon ginger paste
1/4 cup water
1 tsp. dark sesame oil
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. rice wine or sherry (optional)

 Prepare the baby bok choy by washing it well and chopping it into bite-sized pieces. Chop all other vegetables. Splash a little of the water into a wok or deep skillet, heat, and throw in the chopped vegetables.   Sauté for about 3 minutes and then add the cubed tofu, ginger and garlic.  Cook until bok choy is bright green, the mushrooms have exuded their juices and the zuchini is still slightly crisp.  Try not to over cook.  Some people prefer Napa cabbage.  It has a lighter flavor and texture than baby bok choy, but I feel like baby bok choy holds up better in a stir fry.  I prefer my vegetables on the crispy side rather than the mushy side.

Make sure you add some kochu chang.  That is the secret ingredient.  It adds a kick to this dish.  You can get it at a good Oriental Food store.  We have to travel and hour to get it, but it is definitely worth the drive.