Veggie Enchiladas

A couple of years ago a colleague had some yummy smelling lunch that I just had to inquire about. It turned out to be vegetarian enchiladas. She passed on the recipe to me and I subsequently buried it in my email box and let it sit. From time to time I would eyeball the recipe and think about the idea of making it. After all, it did smell good. I thought it might be too time consuming to make though. I have toughened up since then. I am brave enough to take on more “complicated” dishes now. Last night I prepared my own adaptation of the veggie enchiladas. It was easy and amazing. It also made for wonderful leftovers the next day at lunch. The only shortcut I did was use a bottle of Trader Joe’s Enchilada Sauce, which just happens to be cheap and kosher.

Vegetarian Enchiladas
1 onions, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 green squash, diced
1 yellow squash, diced
1 can of pinto beans, rinsed
1 chile, seeds removed and chopped
2 scallions
8 baby bella mushrooms, chopped
salt and pepper
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1-2 cups of cheddar/monterey jack mix, shredded
olive oil
8 Tortillas
1 bottle of Trader Joes Enchilada Sauce
Sour Cream
Cilantro, olives, chives – optional

Preheat your oven to 350.

Begin by preparing your filling ingredients. Chop up all the veggies.

In a bit of olive oil, saute the onions and the garlic. After a few minutes, add in the chili powder, salt, pepper, and cumin. Next, add in the squash. Saute for 5 minutes. Add in the canned pinto beans. Let that cook a bit. Mash up the beans a bit. Add in the mushrooms, scallion, and the chile. Make sure you have removed the seeds from the chile. Let it cook some more until the liquid evaporates.

In a 9×13 pan, pour some of the enchilada sauce to cover the bottom of the pan.

In each tortilla, place around two tablespoons of the vegetable mixture along with a sprinkle of cheese.

Roll up the tortilla and place seam side down in the pan. Do this 8 times.

When all the tortillas are in, pour the rest of the sauce over the tortillas. Make sure the enchiladas are well covered by the sauce. Throw on the rest of the cheese. Place in oven.

Remove after 25-30 minutes. Garnish with sour cream, cilantro, chives, and olives.

Enjoy! This dish is great the next day. It might also work well frozen.