Part-time Vegetarians: Spinach Enchiladas with Green Sauce

Hello 2012! I hope everyone made a boatload of new years resolutions and are at least attempting to follow through with them (at least finish the week people!).

Clint and I made a list of 2012 goals in lieu of a traditional resolution. I'm loving it right now, because we posted the list on the refrigerator, and every time I open the door (which is a lot), I see our list. We included small things like visiting certain restaurants we've been neglecting, and bigger things like lose 5 pounds every three months. In fact, the biggest challenge on our list of goals for 2012 is go semi-vegetarian. We both love meat (and food in general) too much to make a full-time commitment to that kind of lifestyle, but for health and sustainability reasons, we've decided to eat meatless 3 days a week.  I know that doesn't sound like a huge undertaking, but if you've never done something like this, I can tell you, it definitely takes some effort, especially because we are trying to make those nights pretty healthy, so replacing meat with a bunch of cheese and potatoes (something I normally would totally be ok with) is not our goal. Our meatless days are Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday, just because those days seem to work well with our schedule. I encourage everyone, especially if you're in search of a thoughtful new year's resolution, to consider undertaking a semi-vegetarian diet. Even if you only do it one day a week, I think it's important to take those steps.

I have to say though, as challenging as this will be, it's already pushed us to get creative with our recipes, instead of relying on our old standbys (boneless chicken breast anyone?). Yesterday, we make a delicious, fresh tomato basil pasta. I'm hoping to post that recipe soon, but tonight's dinner needed to be posted immediately. For one thing, I don't want to forget it, and since we made it up, that's a real possibility. Furthermore, it was absolutely delicious. Perfect for a vegetarian night, or even just a Mexican fiesta night. I promise, you will not miss the meat in this dish. Nonetheless, if you really feel like you need it, this could easily be turned into a chicken enchilada recipe with the addition of seasoned, pre-cooked shredded chicken. I'm telling you, try this. Please! I promise, you will not regret it...unless of course you have terrible taste, in which case, I don't take any responsibility for your response ;-)

The base of the enchilada comes from a filling of mushrooms, onions, and spinach, while the sauce is an guacamole inspired green sauce. Absolutely delicious!

Spinach Enchiladas with Green Sauce

Ingredients
1/2 white onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup chopped fresh button mushrooms
1/4 dry white wine
1/2 cup cream cheese (approximately 4 oz)
1 small box frozen spinach, thawed and drained 
1 TBSP butter
1 TBSP olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp Texas Seasoning Salt (previous recipe here) 
a few squirts of lemon juice
8 flour tortillas


for the sauce:
1 cup water
1 vegetable bouillon cube (or half if you use the large ones)
1 tub of Zesty Guacamole dip (I don't remember the brand--usually found with the salsas/quesos)
1 can Ro-tel tomatoes (use whichever ones you have on hand--spicy, chunky, etc.)
1/2 cup finely grated Mexican blend cheese
sour cream (for topping)


The Tools
1 wooden spoon
1 9" inch saute pan
1 sauce pan
knife (for chopping onions/onions/garlic)
cutting board


The Process
1. Heat olive oil and butter in saute pan on medium

The finished product. Not the best picture, but it's from my iPhone.

heat, once melted, add chopped onions and garlic. Go ahead and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Season onions with salt, cumin, and seasoning salt.
3. Once the onions are translucent, (about 3-4 minutes) add the chopped mushrooms and the white wine. 
4. Cook down until mushrooms are tender and wine is absorbed. 
5. Add the spinach and the cream cheese stirring frequently until mixed through. 
6. On a microwave-safe plate, heat tortillas briefly (20 seconds) with wet paper towel placed in between every 2-3 tortillas to prevent drying out. 

The sauce before topping the enchiladas

7. Using a casserole dish in which the enchiladas will fit snugly, fill the tortillas with about 2 Tbsp of filling per enchilada. Roll the tortilla, and place them folded side down in the dish. 
8. In the sauce pan, add the bouillon cube to the water and heat on medium/high heat until incorporated. 
9. Add tub of Zesty Guacamole dip to stock (I told you it was easy!)
10. Stir quickly until the sauce is smooth. 
11. Add the Ro-tel tomatoes, along with about half of the liquid from the can.
12. Once heated through, pour sauce over enchiladas in casserole dish, and top with shredded cheese. 
13. Place in oven for approximately 15 minutes. 
14. After removing from oven, plate two enchiladas with rice (we just do boxed Spanish rice topped with leftover green sauce), beans (I don't like beans, so no beans for us). Finally, sprinkle a little extra cheese and a dollop of sour cream on top of the enchiladas and enjoy! 


Truth--this is one of the best things I've made in a long time. These are pretty hearty; even without beans, Clint was stuffed with three enchiladas and the rice.