Lisa wanted to make dinner tonight, and we had a ton of vegetables to use up from our CSA box, so we came up with these vegetarian enchiladas, filled with summer squash, spinach, and mushrooms, and topped with a green chile enchilada sauce.  Photogenic?  Not so much.  Healthy, full of veggies, and quick?  Absolutely!

Lisa says:

How come all the food I make is ugly?

Chris says:

Hey! All the food you make isn’t ugly; and I think the biggest reason this one isn’t exactly photogenic is because of the blue tortillas.

Lisa says:

Hmm… maybe… I love that enchilada sauce, it’s got a really nice flavor.

Chris says:

I like the creaminess from the creme fraiche.

Lisa says:

The filling is awesome — I don’t miss not having meat in there.

Chris says:

Totally — and I like using up all our CSA veggies from the fridge.

Lisa says:

I can’t wait to have ugly but delicious leftovers tomorrow.

UBD Summer Squash Veggie Enchiladas

1 14-oz can green chile enchilada sauce
1/4 cup minced cilantro
1 tbsp creme fraiche
1 1/2 cups mixed summer squash, cubed
8 oz mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 red salad onions, bulbs and stems thinly sliced OR 1 large red onion, sliced
10 oz spinach
10 corn tortillas
pepper-jack cheese for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the summer squash and mushrooms; cook for a couple of minutes until the mushrooms start to brown.  Add the garlic, about three quarters of the red onion and continue cooking until the onions turn translucent and the squash is crisp-tender.  Add the spinach and red salad onion stems, stirring constantly, until the spinach is wilted.  Season with a teaspoon of salt, and cover to keep warm.
Lay out the tortillas on a baking sheet and spray on both sides with cooking oil, then stack in twos. Bake for 3 minutes or until soft and pliable. Remove and stack in a single pile; cover with a kitchen towel to keep warm.
In a small pot, heat the enchilada sauce to boiling, then lower the heat.  Stir in cilantro and the creme fraiche into the sauce.  Taste and season with salt, if desired.  Hold a tortilla by one edge and dip into the sauce.  Fill the center with 2 heaping tablespoons of the filling, then roll and lay seam side down in a 9×13 baking dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and remaining red onion, and bake for 5-10 minutes, until cheese is melted. Garnish with additional salad onions.

Makes 10 enchiladas.

We received our latest CSA shipment today, and an internet search returned a few promising recipes that would utilize our fresh veggies and wouldn’t require any trips to the grocery store. The Lemon-Pepper Chicken over Garlicky Spinach recipe is slightly modified from this one on RecipeZaar, and the carrot dish comes from Quick From Scratch Herbs & Spices. We really enjoyed this combo!

Chris says:

I love last-minute dinner ideas that don’t require me to go out!

Lisa says:

But you did have to go; we were out of lemons.

Chris says:

Shhhh! Don’t ruin the story! The point is we got to use all our fresh veggies. Anyway, these carrots rule.

Lisa says:

I know it — and I really like this spinach stuff.

Chris says:

I think it’s just a tad sweet… maybe needs a bit more lemon juice?

Lisa says:

Maybe you need to get back to the store?

Chris says:

Funny.

Lemon-Pepper over Garlicky Spinach
One large, or two small chicken breast(s) (about 12 oz)
lemon-pepper seasoning
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 large shallot, chopped
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 small tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 bunch spinach, washed
salt & pepper

Season chicken breast on both sides with lemon-pepper seasoning. Using a little olive oil or cooking spray, heat a skillet over medium heat. Saute the chicken until done (internal temp of about 165-170). Set aside and keep warm. In the same pan, saute mushrooms, shallot, garlic and tomatoes until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the wine, lemon juice, and 1/3 cup of water. Continue to cook until liquid is reduced to a thin sauce. Add in the spinach, folding in as it wilts. Season with salt and pepper. Place the spinach on a plate and top with the chicken.

2 Servings

Sauteed Carrots with Lemon and Marjoram
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 bunch carrots, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch slices
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
2 tbsp lemon juice

In a medium nonstick frying pan, heat 1/2 the oil over moderately low heat. Add the garlic, carrots, sugar, 1/2 the salt, the pepper, and the dried marjoram. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Uncover the pan. Raise the heat to moderate and cook, stirring frequently, until the carrots are very tender and beginning to brown, about 8 minutes longer. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the remaining oil and the lemon juice.

2 Servings

I’ve had this cookbook, “Nuevo Tex-Mex“, for about 7 years now, and amazingly, this is the first time we’ve used it. (How is this possible? I grew up on Tex-Mex and mourn the loss of it constantly!) Lisa was in the mood to make something with mushrooms, and we both love enchiladas, so this seemed to fit the bill perfectly. The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup of oil, which we were able to cut down to about 1 1/2 tablespoons by steaming the tortillas instead of frying them. We weren’t sold on the mole — more so because of the look, rather than the taste.

Lisa says:

Yeah, because it looks like refried beans.

Chris says:

But it tastes a lot better than refried beans… and I love this filling.

Lisa says:

Me too, but I think these might taste even better with a tomatillo sauce or something like that.

Chris says:

Wait, that sounds familiar… didn’t we do a recipe like that already?

Lisa says:

That’s the one! That was pretty similar, except it also had chicken in it, right?

Chris says:

Yep — hm, maybe this book goes back on the shelf for now…

Lisa says:

Maybe the Tex-Mex recipes in this book are a bit too “Nuevo”.

Wild Mushroom Mole Enchiladas
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb assorted wild mushrooms, sliced (we used oyster, shiitake, and portobellos)
1 cup chopped scallions
2 tsp marjoram
1/4 cup minced cilantro
1 cup crumbled fresh goat cheese
3 tbsp roasted garlic puree
8 corn tortillas
2 cups refried bean sauce mole tejano (recipe follows)
1/4 cup sesame seeds

Preheat an oven to 350. In a medium-sized skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and saute for 3-5 minutes, or until they start to wilt. Add the scallions, marjoram, and cilantro and saute for 2 minutes, or until the mushrooms are tender. Transfer to a bowl and add the goat cheese and garlic puree. Mix well and set aside.
Steam the tortillas by wrapping them in a wet kitchen towel and placing the wrap in a microwave-safe plastic bag, end folded over, but not closed. Microwave at 50% power for 4 minutes, then let sit for 3-4 before removing.
Divide the mushroom stuffing evenly among the tortillas, roll them up, and place seam-side down in a greased baking dish. Pour the mole sauce over the top. Place in the oven for 10 minutes or until bubbling hot.
Remove from the oven, transfer to plates, and garnish with sesame seeds.

Makes 8 enchiladas

Mole Tejano
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 onion, sliced
2 tomatoes, peeled and quartered
1 ancho chile, stemmed, seeded
1 pasilla chile, stemmed, seeded
1 oz semi-sweet chocolate, broken into pieces
1/4 tsp sesame seeds
1/4 tsp chopped almonds
1/2 tsp sugar
1 cup chicken stock
salt

In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and saute for 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 5 more minutes.
Transfer the mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Season to taste with salt.

Makes 2 cups

For Taste & Create VIII, Lisa and I were paired with Sathya & Elizabeth from The Baker and The Curry Maker: our second Aussie pairing! After scouring through a bunch of delicious sounding posts, I decided to make this mushroom curry that Sathya made back in October. Lisa and I are huge mushroom fans (wait — does that mean we love huge mushrooms?) so this recipe sounded just right. It went paired well with a mushroom rice pilaf — the more shrooms the better!

Lisa says:

I love mushrooms.

Chris says:

That’s pretty obvious — I was just checking out our tag list, and mushrooms clock in at number 2.

Lisa says:

Seemed like this was pretty easy to make compared to our previous T&C events.

Chris says:

Yes — very easy and really healthy! The only difficult part, if any at all, was converting from grams to ounces.

Lisa says:

I’m glad to see that people around the world share our love for all things mushroom and cilantro…

Mushroom Curry
————–
10 oz button mushrooms, halved
5 oz oyster mushrooms
1 onion, chopped
1 tomato, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small piece Ginger, grated
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground coriander
Salt
Oil
3 tablespoons yogurt
Fresh cilantro, chopped

Place the ginger, garlic, and onion into a food processor and grind until it makes a smooth paste.
Add a little oil to a pan over high heat and stir-fry the mushrooms for a few minutes until they decrease in size and start to give off their liquid. Set aside.
Turn the heat to low, add some more oil to the pan if needed and stir in the onion paste. Add the yogurt one tablespoon at a time, and cook for two minutes.
Add the tomatoes, ground coriander, chili powder, and salt, and cook for another minute.
Add the mushrooms, along with 1/2 cup of water and stir well. Adjust the heat and let thicken, stirring occasionally.
Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves and serve.

Lisa made this excellent vegetarian stir-fry tonight, based on a recipe in the always wonderful Fitness Food. Tofu is cubed and marinated in a mix of sauces and spices, and then quickly stir-fried with a plethora of veggies — we altered the recipe to suit what we had on hand — and thin egg noodles. This one will definitely make it into the regular rotation.

Chris says:

Ooooh, now this is a good stir-fry!

Lisa says:

Of course it’s good, it’s from Fitness Food — I love that book.

Chris says:

This might be one of my favorites — even though it’s meat-free…

Lisa says:

I obviously feel the same way — I inhaled!

Chris says:

You might want to retract that if you ever want to run for President.

Lisa says:

Totally worth it. I’ll even admit to “doing shrooms”, as long as people realize it’s in the context of this dinner. Tofu with Greens & Noodles in ‘08!

Chris says:

Gets my vote!

Tofu with Greens & Noodles
—————————
Marinade
3 tbsp spicy oyster sauce
3 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
3 tsp grated ginger
3 cloves garlic, crushed

Stir Fry
10 oz firm tofu, drained and cubed
10 oz dried thin egg noodles
1 tsp canola oil
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 leek, thinly sliced
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
4 oz green beans, trimmed
4 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 bunch broccolini, trimmed
1/2 cup veggie broth

cilantro leaves to garnish

Combine the marinade ingredients in a non-metallic bowl, add the tofu and gently stir through. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Cook the noodles according to the package and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large wok. Add the shallots, red pepper, and leeks and stir-fry for 2 minutes, or until lightly softened. Add the rest of the vegetables and broth. Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the vegetables are just tender, stirring occasionally.
Add the tofu with the marinade and the noodles. Gently combine and stir until heated through. Garnish with the cilantro and serve.

4 Servings

This obviously needs to go to Presto Pasta Nights!