Cheese Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce

Enchiladas are a favorite meal in our house.  We've tried a whole lot of kinds and ways and sauces, but I think this was the first time I've made them vegetarian.  It's funny, because back in the day when we used to eat at On the Border often, I always ordered cheese and onion enchiladas.

We did miss the "heft" of chicken since I did not make Mexican rice to go alongside these, but they are super tasty, though they do look messy above (I cannot for the life of me figure out how to serve enchiladas in a visually pleasing way; anyone with help on this?).

This Martha Stewart recipe offered three choices for enchilada sauces and I obviously chose the tomatillo, though I seriously cut the amount of jalapeno in it.  I look forward to trying the other sauces on enchiladas sometime soon!

Cheese Enchilada Casserole with Tomatillo Enchilada Sauce Source:  Everyday Food March 2011

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups Tomatillo Enchilada Sauce (see below)
• 8 fajita sized flour tortillas
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• Diced onion, avocado, chopped cilantro, cheese, or sour cream (optional), for serving

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour 1 cup sauce into a wide, shallow bowl. Working with one at a time, dip tortillas in sauce, shaking off excess, then sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese down center. Roll tortilla around cheese and arrange, seam side down, in 8-inch square baking dish. Top with 1/2 cup sauce. Cover tightly with foil and bake until heated through, 10 minutes. Serve with desired toppings.

For Sauce

• 1 pound tomatillos, husks removed
• 1 cup diced white onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 jalapeno, quartered (seeded if desired)
• 1 cup water
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• Pinch of sugar

Directions

1. In a medium pot of boiling salted water, cook tomatillos until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain tomatillos and transfer to a blender; add onion, clove, jalapeno, and water. Puree until smooth. (Use caution when blending hot liquids: Remove cap from lid and cover opening with a dish towel.) Season with salt and pepper. In pot, heat oil over high until shimmering. Add tomatillo mixture and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro, vinegar, and sugar. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
   

Tater Tot Casserole

Sometimes, swapping ingredients for what you have on hand works like magic and sometimes things don't work out well.  For me, choices I make for swaps in this situations don't work well, so I don't know what I was thinking when I tried to make some changes to this recipe for a recent recipe swap.

First, I used shredded potatoes I had in the freezer.  Next, I made my own condensed cream of mushroom and condensed cream of chicken soups. The result was something pretty terrible.  I feel so bad that I bombed a recipe so much for a recipe swap, and I'm really sorry for screwing up Amy's recipe!  It's a definite make another time, THE RIGHT WAY, though, because it sounds like a great recipe, and I'm not really sure why these changes didn't work out

Here's the original recipe, shared by Amy:
Tator Tot Casserole Source:  Amy

1 pound ground beef or ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
tater tots
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
shredded Cheddar cheese

1. Brown ground meat with onion and some salt and pepper
2. Line a 9 x 13 casserole dish with frozen tator tots
3. Mix soup in with the meat and pour over the tator tots.
4. Sprinkle top with shredded cheese.
5. Put in 350' oven for about 45 minutes

BBQ "Beef" and Mashed Potato Pie

Please pardon the horrible cell phone picture, worse than my normal regular camera food photography.

I thought this was really cool because the mashed potatoes used no milk or butter, and my husband didn't even notice.  I made a few modifications, reflected below, but accidentally used too much Dijon mustard, which gave it a little more tang than I'd have liked.

My boys wouldn't try it.  My husband ate it, a little begrudgingly.  But you should try this nonetheless.  I really enjoyed it, even with too much Dijon.  Since I won't be making this for my husband, I think this would be delicious with some kidney beans inside.  Or some green veggies would be good in with the meat too.  Cheese on top!  Garlic!  It seems like a really adaptable recipe, which would really change the flavors.

BBQ Beef and Mashed Potato Pie, No Beef, All Turkey Source:  Adapted from Woman's Day March 2012

2lb potatoes, peeled and cut into 2" pieces

4T olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1lb ground turkey

2 cans diced tomatoes, drained

1/2c ketchup

2T cider vinegar

1T Dijon mustard

1T molasses

1T Worcestershire sauce

1.  Boil a pot of salted water.  Add potatoes and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes.  Reserve a cup of the water, then drain the potatoes and return to the pot.  Mash with 3T oil, 1/4t salt, black pepper, and 2T of the cooking liquid (more if needed!).

2.  Meanwhile, heat 1T oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and some pepper and cook until onions are tender, about 8 minutes.

3.  Heat broiler.  Add turkey to the onion and cook until brown, breaking it up with a spoon, about 5 minutes.  Drain grease.  Add tomatoes, stirring occasionally, and cook for about 4 minutes.  Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl and whisk.  Add to the mixture and cook for about 1 minute.

4.  Transfer the beef and onions to a 2qt broiler proof dish and top with mashed potatoes.  Broil until starting to brown, about 4 minutes.