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Friday, September 4, 2009

Food Friday with recipe!

It doesn't seem fair to flash a picture of something I cooked without providing you the instructions to make it yourself. It's like bringing just enough for yourself, and not enough to share with the class. With this in mind, I started dinner the other night using an actual recipe, which normally, I don't. I then made notes of my omissions and additions, so that I could share them here with you.

Monday night, I made chilaquiles.
I love saying that word. "Chee-lah-kee-lehs". I overemphasize because it's fun to me, and I don't proclaim this recipe to be authentic.
I look at it as lazy-ass enchiladas, or Mexican lasagna. Whatever you call it, it's awesome, easy and satisfying. Plus, the recipe makes enough to last you several meals, or to serve a big crowd.
It comes together very quickly (I made them Monday night, when I usually have zero energy).

Veggie Chilaquiles (seen on Culinary in the Desert, originally from Eating Well), modified

Ingredients:
1 T olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 medium zucchini, grated
8-oz. cremini mushrooms, chopped
1 15-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 14.5-oz. can fire-roasted tomatoes
1 14.5-oz. can corn, drained and rinsed (I used regular, but mexicorn would be a good choice)
Small can diced green chiles
Ground cumin (I use this stuff liberally, the original recipe called for 1 teaspoon)
Pinch of kosher salt
Black pepper (again, I use this stuff liberally, so season as you see fit)
1-2 cloves minced garlic
1 14-oz. can enchilada sauce (I used Hatch 5-pepper)
12 corn tortillas, quartered)
Grated cheese (original recipe called for 5 oz, but I love cheese. I probably used a bit more than that

1)Set the oven to 350 and spray a 9X13 baking dish with cooking spray.
2) Saute the onions in olive oil over medium heat. Use a medium-sized skillet/saute pan, as you will be adding all the filling ingredients to this pan. Once the onions start to soften/brown, add the chopped bell pepper. Cook this mixture until it looks sort of like this:

If you need a more exact measurement of time, it's probably about 10 minutes total saute time for the first two ingredients. I toss in the garlic about this point (you don't want it to be too brown).

3) At this point, add all the canned vegetables. Stir occasionally, and I lower the heat a bit here, to medium-low.
4) Season with pepper, salt and cumin as needed. Cayenne pepper or paprika would also work well at this point.
5) When these ingredients are well incorporated, it's time to start assembly.
6) Layer first half the tortilla quarters, followed by your filling, followed by half the enchilada sauce, followed by cheese(!).
Repeat this with the remaining half of all ingredients.
7) Bake for 15 minutes, covered with foil. Then take the foil off so the cheese can get cheesey and bake for another 10-15 minutes.

Serve with sour cream if you like. I like.

This post is long enough, I suppose, but just know that you can modify this based on your fridge/cabinet. You could use pinto beans instead of black beans. You could add meat. You could add grated carrot, squash, or whatever other vegetable strikes your fancy.

I would add more heat next time, as I found this to be a little mild. Some chopped jalapenos or habaneros would be a tasty addition, depending on your heat tolerance.

2 comments:

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