Vegetable Enchiladas

Get a freezable Mexican meal rolling in no time with a no-cook filling and a sauce made from pantry ingredients. Jack cheese and a combination of black beans and corn tortillas give this meatless dish complete protein.

Vegetable Enchiladas



Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for baking dishes
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium vegetable broth
Coarse salt and ground pepper
3 cups grated pepper Jack cheese (12 ounces)
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 box (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 box (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels, thawed
16 corn tortillas (6-inch)

To Prepare

- Make sauce: In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add 1 teaspoon cumin, flour, and tomato paste; cook, whisking, 1 minute. Whisk in broth and 3/4 cup water; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook until slightly thickened, 5 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.

- Make filling: In a large bowl, combine 2 cups cheese, beans, spinach, corn, scallion whites, and remaining 1 teaspoon cumin; season with salt and pepper.

- Lightly oil two 8-inch square aluminum baking dishes; set aside. Stack tortillas, and wrap in damp paper towels; microwave on high for 1 minute. Or stack and wrap in aluminum foil, and heat in oven for 5 to 10 minutes. Top each tortilla with a heaping 1/3 cup of filling; roll up tightly and arrange, seam side down, in prepared baking dishes.

- Dividing evenly, sprinkle enchiladas with remaining 1 cup cheese.

To Freeze

Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Place sauce in an airtight container. Freeze enchiladas and sauce for up to 2 months.


To Serve
- Thaw sauce in refrigerator overnight (or microwave on high 2 minutes, stirring once halfway through). Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove foil and plastic wrap from baking dishes, and pour sauce over enchiladas; cover with foil.

- Bake 30 minutes; remove foil, and bake until bubbly, about 15 minutes more. Cool 5 minutes before serving.


*recipe and photo from Everyday Food

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Crock Pot : Creamy Italian Chicken

As you know, I think freezers are a staple of quick and easy cooking. But let's talk about the other champion of stress free cooking...the crock pot (AKA slow cooker). If only there was a way to combine the two? Hmmmm......

But there is! And it's easy as pie. With recipes like this one, you can combine ingredients ahead of time and freeze. Then thaw in freezer overnight and pop into your slow cooker in the morning. You'll come home from work and be ready for the easiest and tastiest meal around!

Creamy Italian Chicken
3 pounds of boneless skinless breasts
1 stick (or 1/2 c) butter, cut into 1" cubes
1 pkg. dry Italian salad dressing
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
8 ounces cream cheese, cut in 1" cubes
1 tablespoon minced onion


To Freeze
- Place all ingredients into a gallon ziplock bag. Label and freeze.

To Cook
- Thaw completely in refrigerator
- Cover and cook on low for 6 – 7 hours.

To Serve
- Serve over *rice or pasta.


Healthy Additions:
- Add frozen or fresh brocolli flourettes 45 minutes before finished cook time.
- Add frozen peas 10 minutes before finished cook time.
- Add 10 oz frozen spinach (that has been thawed and squeezed dry) 10 minutes before finished cook time.

*Click to read recipe for pre-cooking and freezing rice.
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i'm baaaaack!

After almost 3 weeks without internet connection I am back online.
It's interesting how dependant I have become.
Sometimes I get all romantic about the Amish and claim I would want to live like them?
Not anymore.



This time without internet almost killed me.
Earlier today I dimmed the lights and slow-danced around the living room with my new modem to Mariah Carey's "Can't Live...if Living is Without You."

Hello Blogging.
Hello Facebook.
Hello Twitter.
Hello The Scrap Review.
Hello online friends.
Hello Google Reader.
Hello Freeze Happy.
May we never be apart again.

Recipes resume this coming Monday.
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