Amazing vegetarian Enchiladas
So I have had a butternut squash in my cabinet for months. Long enough that I can't remember when I got it but I'm sure it was before Christmas, probably sometime in October or November. I love how with winter squash you can get it and you have plenty of time to use it. I probably bought it to make a soup with but I'm kind of tired of soups.
I found this recipe for butternut squash and black bean enchiladas on the Edible Perspective website. There are some great recipes on there. I like how butternut squash and sweet potatoes are pretty interchangeable. A few years ago I discovered the great combination of sweet potato and black beans and Mexican seasoning. So I figured butternut squash would be a decent substitution.
We go through a lot of beans around here, especially black and pinto, so when I can I try to buy dry beans and cook them myself. I was glad when I came across this method of cooking beans in a slow cooker (and without having to soak them first!). I'm terrible about thinking ahead with soaking and cooking beans. So, while home sick the other day, I cooked up a batch of black beans. I froze some and kept out the rest so I could make this recipe.
Now I should warn you. This recipe takes some time. It's not a quick weeknight meal. It could be, if you did some prep in advance (had the beans, squash and sauce cooked) but the only thing I had made was the beans. So this was a weekend meal for us. Also, you spend a lot of time with the oven on so colder days are good for this.
First, you'll need to peel the squash and dice it up. I diced mine fairly small and fit all of it on one pan. It was not all nice and flat in one layer, it was a little crowded on the pan but it worked out fine. Roast at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes. I overcooked mine a little bit but it worked out fine.
While the squash was cooking, I made up this enchilada sauce. I tried some store-bought enchilada sauce before and it just didn't taste right to me. A friend of mine made this recipe up so I thought I'd try it. I didn't have the full amount of tomatoes (only about 1 can amount) and they were whole tomatoes but it worked out fine. I just pureed them a bit after getting everything together. If you like things spicy, feel free to add a bit of cayenne pepper to the mix.
So, once that was simmering, I got the enchilada filling together. Saute the onion, garlic, seasonings, then I used a bit of the stock that I had left from the enchilada sauce. Then you add the beans and cooked squash. I had some extra cooked squash, which was awesome because I used it to make a soup a couple days later.
Once that was all ready to go, I followed the recipe - half the sauce on the bottom of the pan. I only had 12 corn tortillas but that worked out fine. I used a 9x13 inch baking dish and after we laid 8 of them out in a row, the other 4 went across the top. The warming up of the tortillas didn't go so well, warming them up on a cast iron skillet works best but I didn't have time to do all 12 individually. They curled up while in the oven but it was fine.
Once we got them filled (about half a cup of filling in each), the rest of the enchilada sauce went on top. Then, cover it with foil and bake it for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. We shredded some cheddar cheese and put it on top (after taking the foil off) and melted it under the broiler.
Then we diced up some avocado for the top and used some plain yogurt in place of sour cream.
Yum! It was really good. There was some sweetness and some spiciness and great flavors.
I would love to make this again but it will be an occasional thing just because it was complicated. What I haven't mentioned is that I made this with the help of my sweet hubby. His help kept things somewhat under control. But there were a few tense moments as I tried to figure out how to warm up the tortillas and get things together before they got cold again. But, as usual, it all worked out in the end! And the leftovers were just as good!
Hope you enjoy!
So I have had a butternut squash in my cabinet for months. Long enough that I can't remember when I got it but I'm sure it was before Christmas, probably sometime in October or November. I love how with winter squash you can get it and you have plenty of time to use it. I probably bought it to make a soup with but I'm kind of tired of soups.
I found this recipe for butternut squash and black bean enchiladas on the Edible Perspective website. There are some great recipes on there. I like how butternut squash and sweet potatoes are pretty interchangeable. A few years ago I discovered the great combination of sweet potato and black beans and Mexican seasoning. So I figured butternut squash would be a decent substitution.
We go through a lot of beans around here, especially black and pinto, so when I can I try to buy dry beans and cook them myself. I was glad when I came across this method of cooking beans in a slow cooker (and without having to soak them first!). I'm terrible about thinking ahead with soaking and cooking beans. So, while home sick the other day, I cooked up a batch of black beans. I froze some and kept out the rest so I could make this recipe.
Now I should warn you. This recipe takes some time. It's not a quick weeknight meal. It could be, if you did some prep in advance (had the beans, squash and sauce cooked) but the only thing I had made was the beans. So this was a weekend meal for us. Also, you spend a lot of time with the oven on so colder days are good for this.
First, you'll need to peel the squash and dice it up. I diced mine fairly small and fit all of it on one pan. It was not all nice and flat in one layer, it was a little crowded on the pan but it worked out fine. Roast at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes. I overcooked mine a little bit but it worked out fine.
While the squash was cooking, I made up this enchilada sauce. I tried some store-bought enchilada sauce before and it just didn't taste right to me. A friend of mine made this recipe up so I thought I'd try it. I didn't have the full amount of tomatoes (only about 1 can amount) and they were whole tomatoes but it worked out fine. I just pureed them a bit after getting everything together. If you like things spicy, feel free to add a bit of cayenne pepper to the mix.
So, once that was simmering, I got the enchilada filling together. Saute the onion, garlic, seasonings, then I used a bit of the stock that I had left from the enchilada sauce. Then you add the beans and cooked squash. I had some extra cooked squash, which was awesome because I used it to make a soup a couple days later.
Once that was all ready to go, I followed the recipe - half the sauce on the bottom of the pan. I only had 12 corn tortillas but that worked out fine. I used a 9x13 inch baking dish and after we laid 8 of them out in a row, the other 4 went across the top. The warming up of the tortillas didn't go so well, warming them up on a cast iron skillet works best but I didn't have time to do all 12 individually. They curled up while in the oven but it was fine.
Once we got them filled (about half a cup of filling in each), the rest of the enchilada sauce went on top. Then, cover it with foil and bake it for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. We shredded some cheddar cheese and put it on top (after taking the foil off) and melted it under the broiler.
Then we diced up some avocado for the top and used some plain yogurt in place of sour cream.
Yum! It was really good. There was some sweetness and some spiciness and great flavors.
I would love to make this again but it will be an occasional thing just because it was complicated. What I haven't mentioned is that I made this with the help of my sweet hubby. His help kept things somewhat under control. But there were a few tense moments as I tried to figure out how to warm up the tortillas and get things together before they got cold again. But, as usual, it all worked out in the end! And the leftovers were just as good!
Hope you enjoy!
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