Chunky Veggie Enchiladas

Since the beginning of the year (and especially the last few months), I have taken a more conscientious approach to eating and simply paying attention to what I am putting into my body. My goal is to eat more vegetables and no meat. The transition has been slow because I never used to stop and think about how many breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals include meat. Meals take a little more 'prep and plan' time to ensure they are healthy and meat free, but I am up for the challenge. I've been attempting to create new dishes based off of some of my favorite recipes.

Chunky Veggie Enchiladas are a healthy and great for people on-the-go. I made these two days before I actually cooked them. Once they were finished I put foil over the top and stuck them in the fridge for a couple days.

Cutting up the vegetables is the most time consuming part of this recipe.
I started with an array of fresh, clean veggies: zucchini, squash, red onion, tomato, green chili, and jalapeno. I also Incorporated drained and rinsed black beans and corn. I prefer a little spice in my food, so I also included Tapatio and Cholula sauce. I topped it off with Sprouts Green Enchilada sauce. I usually use a similar tortilla, but it has grains and seeds in it to add a bit of taste and texture. Oh, and don't forget the cheese!

Once I got all of my ingredients chopped up, I mixed them up together in a large bowl—and when I say large, I mean it because this recipe makes about 16 enchiladas. I had to use additional generic flour tortillas from the bread box to use the rest of my mixture. I got an assembly line going: lay down one tortilla (feel free to heat them in the microwave for a few seconds to loosen them up), place 1 large serving spoonful of the veggie mixture on the tortilla, then sprinkle cheese on top. I used a blend of sharp cheddar, Monterrey jack, and mozzarella. Then I drizzled Tapatio and Cholula sauce on top of the cheese. I intentionally overfill my tortillas so they are full of veggies even if I lose some during the cooking process. I rolled my tortilla up and placed them inside an aluminum dish. Once the enchiladas were rolled I took my bottle of green sauce and smothered the top of the enchiladas and covered the tray with foil.

When I was ready to cook them, I took them straight from the refrigerator to the oven. I preheated the oven to 375 degrees and popped these in for about 40 minutes with the foil still covering the tray. I did this to ensure the raw veggies had a chance to cook without over-drying the tortillas. While they were baking I put a pot of Spanish rice on the stove. After the 40 minutes were up, I took the foil off and let them cook another 20 minutes to allow the tortilla to slightly brown. This added a nice crunch to the top of the enchiladas. 

This dish is a little messy (as you can see), but very flavorful. I noticed the bottoms of the tortillas did get a bit soggy from sitting in the enchilada sauce, so next time I might choose to use a little less and focus more on the tops rather then drenching them entirely in sauce.