Sunday, January 14, 2007

Wugh. A whole week since my last post. School is seriously kicking my butt y'all. Not to mention this cold that doesn't seem to want to leave me alone. Ever.

I threw together some vegetarian enchiladas last night, and they were so good I thought I would share the recipe. I started out looking for someone else's recipe to follow, but nothing I found sounded like quite what I wanted, so I made up my own.

Vegetarian Enchiladas

  • 1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice (you could use any type of rice, and just modify the cooking times, of course)
  • 2 cups cold water
  • 1 package taco seasoning (or homemade, but I'm lazy)
  • Canola oil
  • 1 can corn nibblets
  • 1/2 can refried beans
  • 1 can chopped green chilies
  • 8 tortilla shells (I used flour, but you could use any variety)
  • 1 jar enchilada sauce (again, you could use homemade, but I've never tried to make it)
  • Cheddar cheese (to sprinkle on top - vary amount depending on your tastes)

Mix a couple of tablespoons of canola oil with the taco seasoning in a large coverable pot until well combined, then add the uncooked rice. Mix the rice with the seasoning mixture until well combined, and then cook on high(ish) heat until most of the rice has started to turn from slightly translucent to opaque white. Add the water, stir, cover, and turn the heat down to minimum. Let the rice cook for about 20 minutes - until all of the water is absorbed.

When the rice is done, mix in the corn, refried beans, and chilies.

While the rice is cooking, prepare a 9x13 casserole dish by lightly greasing and then covering the bottom of the dish with a layer of enchilada sauce.

Warm the tortilla shells however you prefer. I use the "low-fat" technique outlined at Simply Recipes.

As the shells become ready, spoon some of the rice mixture onto each one, roll the shell around the filling, and place the finished roll into your casserole dish, seam side down. There's great pictures at Simply Recipes that demonstrate how to lay your rolls in the casserole, just remember that whether you lay them widthwise or lengthwise depends on the starting diameter of your tortilla shells. I usually use the large size, and the best way to fit those is widthwise.

When all of the tortillas are filled and in the casserole, pour the rest of your enchilada sauce over the top, and then sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese. Bake in oven @ 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes (until cheese is browned and bubbly).

I served these with green salad tossed in salsa and sour cream, with some crushed plain tortillas and a little shredded cheese on top.

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