Intro to Cooking: Veggie Enchiladas

By Michelle

I love spicy food. Okay, that’s kind of a lie; I’m a bit of a wimp when it comes to spicy foods. I’m that person who gets teary-eyed and needs milk present at all times. Needless to say, my “spicy” or Mexican-inspired dishes are rarely all that spicy, but they are easy to customize, so you can always add more of your favorite spice (or hot sauce, or whatever you love).

Why am I talking about spicy food? I’m currently lying in bed with the flu and there’s nothing like spicy food to clear up the sinuses. I have a voice like a miniature frog; aches and pains like I’m about to give birth; and it feels like there is a small balloon locked up in my head that won’t deflate. I made spicy enchiladas to help — and of course to get some veggies in me.

Veggie Enchiladas

You’ll need…

• 3-6 small tortillas (not the burrito size – fajita size or smaller if you can find them) (the amount of rice you use in each enchilada will change how many you’ll need!)
• 1 cup of rice
• 3/4 cup of water, plus 1 cup of chicken stock
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 can of black beans, drained
• 1 can of corn, drained
• 1 can of fire-roasted tomatoes, partially drained (just open the top of the can halfway and pour out a bit of the liquid)
• about 1 handful of spinach
• 1 small can of green chiles
• about 2 tablespoons of adobo sauce or hot sauce, depending on what you like
• about 1 tablespoon of taco seasoning
• about 1 cup of cheese, shredded (I like cheddar but use your favorite!)
• about 1 cup of red sauce (you can buy canned enchilada sauce that is pretty good!)

How to make it…

In a small sauce pot, bring the chicken stock and water to a boil. (Cover it with a lid to hurry this along!) Add your 1 cup of rice and stir once. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover with a lid. Keep an eye on this, but don’t stir. It can take anywhere from 8 to 18 minutes for rice to be done.

In the mean time, saute your minced garlic in a little bit of cooking spray in a large pan (if your pan doesn’t have high sides, use a large pot to be safe). When the garlic is just starting to brown (you’ll smell garlic throughout your whole kitchen), add the drained beans, corn, chiles and tomatoes. Add the spinach and allow to wilt. Stir to combine. Add the hot sauce or adobo sauce and taco seasoning. Stir.

Check on the rice. When it’s done, add to the veggie mix. (This is why using a large pot comes in handy!) Stir to combine thoroughly. Spoon some of the rice onto a tortilla and roll. Place in a baking dish spray with nonstick cooking spray. Repeat until you’ve used all the rice.

Once the baking dish is full and you’ve used all your rice, top with enchilada sauce and cheese. Put in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.

Enjoy! I like to serve these with a bit of sliced avocado (my favorite food ever) and some chips.