Groovy Recipe: Lentil Enchiladas

I love Mexican food.  Looooove it.  When I was pregnant, it was pretty much all I ate.  Babydoll's DNA is part guacamole.  I don't usually cook Mexican food at home; I tend to leave that to the professionals.  But I love enchiladas, and I especially love my lentil and veggie enchiladas.

Lentil Enchiladas

4-6 servings

Ingredients

8 corn tortillas

2 cups cooked lentils (I use the steamed lentils from Trader Joe's)

1 1/2 cups enchilada sauce (I use the Trader Joe's bottle)

1 cup cooked brown or wild rice

1 medium zucchini, quartered and thinly sliced

1 medium yellow squash, quartered and thinly sliced

1 medium onion, petite dice

1/2 cup shredded or grated carrot

1/2 cup bell pepper, petite dice (any color, though I prefer yellow and orange in this dish)

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar, or Mexican blend cheese

Method

Preheat the oven to 350.

Drizzle olive oil in a large frying pan.  Heat over medium, then add onion and peppers.  Saute them for a few minutes until they just start to turn tender.  Add in the carrots, zucchini, and squash.  Saute just until the zucchini turns bright green, then add in the lentils and rice.  Stir in 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce (more or less - you don't want the mixture runny, but you don't want it too dry).  Remove from heat.

Coat a large casserole or baking dish with cooking spray, then cover the bottom with a thin layer of enchilada sauce (1/4-1/3 cup, depending on the size of your dish).  Lay two of the tortillas side by side on the bottom.  Spread enough lentil mixture over each tortilla to cover it.  Sprinkle each with cheese.  Repeat with the remaining tortillas and lentil mixture.  After laying the top tortilla on each stack, press down lightly with your hand to firm up the stacks.  Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the stacks, then sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.  Remove from oven and let set for 10 minutes.  I use a wide spatula to quarter each stack and serve two quarters per adult.  Grub.

Why do I stack the tortillas, instead of rolling them?  Quite simply, I can't roll corn tortillas to save my life.  No matter how moist I get them, they still crack and break.  Plus, a layered dish like this is super easy to serve.  And it's really easy to freeze leftovers this way.

Fair warning: there is a lot of fiber in this dish.  Things should move, um...smoothly for you after supper.