Veggie Fiesta Enchiladas

Happy hump day, y'all!

I am making enchiladas tonight because I'm craving Mexican something serious and these ALWAYS curb my cravings for that cheesy goodness... except for when I'm craving fish tacos. I firmly believe those need to be done by the pros. (Shout out to Dos Palmas and La Fiesta in Athens, GA. Your fish tacos are the #1 reason why I wish I still lived in Athens). This recipe can be made with corn or flour tortillas depending on your preference. You can add meat if you'd like, but maybe use less veggies if you want to keep the amount the same that goes inside each enchilada because it's a pretty exact science at this point. ENJOY!!

Serves: 2
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Total: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 small zucchini, diced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1/2 bell pepper (I used red), diced
- 1/2 C black beans
- 1/2 C corn
- 1 tbsp cream cheese (I used the kind made with Greek yogurt)
- 1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp chili powder **
- 1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp cumin
- lime juice (1/2 lime)
- 1 tbsp cilantro, chopped
- a splash of your favorite salsa
- salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
- 6 taco-sized corn tortillas (or flour)
- 1 10oz can red enchilada sauce
- 1/2 C monterey jack cheese, shredded

** This recipe has a little kick to it. If you would like for it to be mild, lessen the chili powder. You can add some, taste the filling, and then decide how much is right for you!

Instructions:

- Preheat oven to 375 and grease a glass baking pan, I used 7x11
- Heat 1 tsp olive oil over medium-high heat and add your zucchini, onion and bell pepper once hot
- Season with a sprinkle of salt, pepper & garlic powder and saute for about 5 minutes until tender and starting to brown
- While your veggies are cooking, combine cream cheese, chili powder, cumin, cilantro, lime juice and a splash of salsa in a medium-sized bowl
- Add hot veggies to the cream cheese mixture along with black beans and corn
- Stir well
- Add 1/4 C veggie mix to each tortilla (one at a time), roll it up and place seam down in the greased pan
- Repeat for next 5 tortillas
- Pour your 10oz can of enchilada sauce over the pan of enchiladas and cover with your shredded monterey jack
- Bake for 20 minutes at 375 then broil for 5 minutes to brown cheese

I served mine with avocado and pico! Enjoy, friends!!

 

Pesto Caprese Tortellini Pasta Salad

Hello, food-loving friends!

It has been too long. I don't have a good excuse for my lack of activity recently but I will tell you that I know this recipe will make up for it. I made this pasta salad yesterday for a sort-of potluck tailgate situation and it was BOMB. I actually ate it for breakfast as I was making it yesterday morning because I couldn't stop putting it in my mouth. Good news: it's vegetarian, it has lots of fresh ingredients, lots of cheese and you can tell everyone you made homemade pesto. Because that sounds impressive, right? Little do they know homemade pesto actually requires zero-very little effort from you. I offered this dish to my tailgate friends and they wrote it off all unimpressed at first like "Pshh.. pasta salad.. that sounds typical and mediocre... there's pasta salad everywhere." Then I mentioned that it was pesto caprese pasta salad and they quickly changed their minds. We kept getting another little scoop after every glass of wine because CAN'T STOP WON'T STOP. Yes, sadly, that means I ate this for breakfast, lunch and dinner yesterday. YOLO.

Servings: ~ 15ish, this is a batch fit for a tailgate - it fit in my largest mixing bowl pretty perfectly. It can easily be halved.

This is great as a dish to share, as a main dish, or as a side dish to your favorite grilled chicken, salmon or steak!

Ingredients:

For the pasta salad:
- 2 20oz bags of fresh tortellini (from the refrigerated pasta section), I used the spinach and cheese kind, any tortellini will work!
- 15oz grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 lb fresh mozzarella, cubed
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 1/2 C grated parmesan (I used the grated shake kind here- it sticks to the noodles better!)

For the pesto
- 2 C fresh basil leaves
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 3/4 C olive oil
- 2/3 C shredded parmesan cheese (I grated my own here from a block)
- splash of lemon juice (I used one quarter of a lemon)
- salt and pepper to taste (I used 1/2 tsp of each)

Instructions:

- Cook your pasta according to package directions (mine took 4 minutes in boiling water)
- While you're waiting on the water to boil, place all pesto ingredients into a food processor and mix well.
- Drain the pasta, rinse with cold water and transfer to a large mixing bowl
- Pour your pesto sauce over the pasta and gently mix until pasta is well covered
- Add your grated parmesan cheese and stir again
- Gently mix in the grape tomatoes, cheese, and onion until well combined.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours so your flavors can meld.


DROOL EVERYWHERE

** I served mine about 6 hours later and splashed a little italian dressing on immediately before serving to moisten it up.

Here it is in all it's glory...