Vegetable Enchiladas

Our days are so long lately I need dinners that come together in a snap. Well, Scarlett can’t snap, but as quick as it takes her to ignore my plea to hang up her coat after we’ve come through the front door. Mexican food is my favorite, but I don’t like making those kinds of dishes at home. I guess I’m not confident in my abilities. I don’t think I can live up to my favorite restaurant’s yumminess. I figured it was time try and decided to tackle two recipes this week that satiate my desire for anything lovingly wrapped in a tortilla. Scarlett suggested that we make the quesadilla she favors. I liked the idea of my favorite margarita, but remembered this was a blog about cooking with kids. We settled on this vegetarian enchilada. Not sure if it’s a compromise but it works.  

This is stretch it week so we’ll be taking the leftover bean mixture from this meal to create a Tamale Casserole for tomorrow, so be sure to come back.  The prep time for this meal was really fast so I was digging it but Scarlett was a little dubious.  She didn’t like the way the beans looked in the bowl. In fact, she told me to keep any and all beans away from her tortilla. However, when we sat down to eat the meal, she ended up cleaning her plate completely. Afterwards, as we were clearing the table, she told me her “encheladi was super duper yummy.” My mom was present so she can attest to Scarlett’s total turnaround.

As I managed the stove, I put Scarlett in charge of the beans. She blended them and then handled the seasoning. My mom also helped. A black bean lover, she couldn’t keep her fingers out of the bowl. I think her enthusiasm for black beans encouraged Scarlett’s interest.

As we layered the tortillas, Scarlett requested we go easy on the beans for hers – at least she’s now willing to have them touch her tortilla. She loved the layering stage and was in charge of the cheese and capping each with a tortilla. We used Food For Life Organic Sprouted Corn Tortillas. I have to say, a great tasting tortilla will really make the difference in this meal. If you can use a true corn tortilla instead of a wrap, I recommend it. You could also easily sub in other frozen greens like spinach. Some frozen corn wouldn’t hurt either.

I may have gotten over the cooking-Mexican-at-home hump, but we’ll see how tomorrow’s tamale casserole goes. If you don’t hear from me, I’m out to dinner.