The Ultimate Sour Cream Enchiladas: Carol's White Enchiladas

Sometimes when I miss my mom, I make enchiladas.

No, not the red-sauced cylinders with spiced ground beef inside.  They are white. They are ooey and gooey. They are rich and decadent. They just scream out “MOM” from the very first bite.

Carol created this recipe over a period of 30 years, making slow baby-step changes as time went on until they became the perfect creaminess with a spike of green chiles and green onions just to wake up your mouth while you are moaning with pleasure from the sheer rich gooeyness of her signature dish.

When I was tall enough to let my elbows rest on the counters without a step stool, Carol taught me the secrets of her famous White Enchiladas.

Don’t skip frying the tortillas until they’re soft, Carol insisted, or your tortillas will turn to mush when baking. The green onions have to be sliced thin, Carol cautioned. The sour cream must be fresh, Carol warned.

She was right, of course, about all of it: the most perfect comfort foods have a warm, filling feeling, with just a touch of something different to make them your own.

A delicious dish, like a delicious life, has a harmony of sweet, sour, salty and bitter. The joyful as well as the bittersweet, in every bite, in every day life.

This recipe is the one thing my children must help make before taking flight from the Kelly nest. This is the signature recipe from my side of the family, and all children must make it and swear an oath to teach it to coming generations.

The generations to come may not be able to meet Carol, but they will know her a little better through her enchiladas.

– posted by Donna

P.S. from Anne: This was another recipe that Donna emailed to me in our early getting-to-know you, getting-to-know-all-about-you phase, and in that email she had explained the origin of the recipe via her own mother. And as you might well guess, this is now one of my very favorite recipes when I want something savory and indulgent. I use rice flour for the sauce to make it gluten-free, which works very well. It is one of the first dishes Donna and I made together, a nod to my biological family and to my birthplace – Tucson, Arizona.

Make Carol’s enchiladas for a Meatless Monday feast!

CAROL’S WHITE ENCHILADA RECIPE

(also known as Sour Cream Enchiladas)

Prep: time 15 min.  Serves 6 to 8

18 corn tortillas

Vegetable oil

1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced

16 ounces Monterrey jack cheese, grated

4 ounces unsalted butter

1/4 cup flour

1 can (16 ounces) veggie stock

8 ounces light sour cream

1 can ( 4 ounces) diced green chiles

Salt to taste

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Soften the tortillas by dipping them in the oil for only a few seconds on each side.   For faster results, dip two at a time.  This will also prevent the tortillas from getting crisp too quickly.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium high heat.  When it begins to “foam”, add the flour. Stir and cook until the flour is absorbed, but not browned.  Add green chilies and veggie stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until the sauce begins to thicken.  Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.  Thin with a little water if necessary to reach a gravy consistency.  Add salt to taste.

Spread about 1/2 cup of sauce in bottom of a 9 by 13 inch pan. Place about 1/3 cup of cheese and a little onion in the center of each tortilla and roll up enchilada style. Place rolled enchiladas in the pan on top of sauce, completely filling pan. Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas.

(NOTE: YOU CAN EASILY TURN THIS INTO AN ENCHILADA CASSEROLE BY LAYERING THE SAUCE, CHEESE AND TORTILLAS IN A 9 BY 13 PAN INSTEAD OF ROLLING THEM!)

Bake at 350° for about 35 to 45 minutes, until bubbly.

Check out some other food blogger sour cream enchiladas:

Homesick Texan

The Kitchn

In Good Taste

Gimme Some Oven

Recipe Season

Sense and Sensibility

Manger a Trois

– posted by Donna

Who needs hamburger? Try our amazing Meatless Loaf recipe!

For the ultimate Meatless Monday challenge, we here at FFF decided to take on the iconic American comfort food recipe: meatloaf.

June Cleaver made meatloaf, as did all women who dared to call themselves housewives in the 1950s. Each woman’s meatloaf was a yardstick to measure her skill as a home cook. Meatloaf has been made in various versions for centuries, but it was the Americans during the Great Depression who added bread and eggs to the dish to stretch their pennies and added ketchup as a topping.

Like almost everyone growing up in America in the 50′s, 60′s or 70′s, I ate my weight in meatloaf as a child. To this day, when anyone says “meatloaf,” the smell, taste and texture of this comfort food fills my senses.

So, we said to ourselves, “Could we remake this comfort food classic without meat but with as much flavor and comfort as the original hamburger dish?” Our answer: “Absolutely.”

I made about a dozen versions of this dish and there are two secrets to our final fabulous dish. First, add diced cooked dates. The dates add a rich taste and sticky texture that are necessary to replace hamburger. Second, use the American classic A-1 steak sauce. When I made previous versions of this, everyone wanted A-1 to drizzle on top of their slices. So == light bulb goes on == why not add this raisin-y, flavor-packed sauce right in with the loaf mixture?!

The combination of ingredients and flavors in this final version are astounding. The texture is rich, moist and firm and holds together while cooking and slicing.  This is one of my favorite veggie makeover dishes of all time. Truly remarkable. Please try it – with or without your June Cleaver apron on!

MEATLESS LOAF

Makes 1 loaf to serve 4 to 6 people; Prep Time 15 minutes; Cook time 50 minutes

1 cup dry brown lentils
2 medium carrots, grated
1 cup diced Medjool dates
1 medium onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon cumin
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons A-1 sauce
1/2 cup ground or very finely minced pecans
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook lentils in boiling salted water for 20 minutes, or until very soft. Drain well. Place in food processor and pulse until very small bits.

Saute the carrots, dates, onion, celery in the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat for 6 to 8 minutes, until very soft, stirring frequently to remove moisture. Add in garlic, cumin, A-1 sauce and soy sauce and cook another minute.  Add this skillet mixture to food processor and pulse until very well blended.

Remove from food processor and stir in pecans, rice, bread crumbs and eggs.

Place a tin foil sling into a loaf pan and spoon mixture into pan.  Bake for 30 minutes at center of oven.

OPTIONAL GLAZE:  While mixture is baking, simmer for about 2 minutes in a small saucepan 1 cup ketchup, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 tablespoon vinegar, until thickened slightly.

Remove loaf from oven and spread sauce on top. Return to oven and bake another 20 minutes. Slice and serve as you would meatloaf.

Other Veggie Loafs worth checking out:

Red Lentil Un-meatloaf, Book of Yum
Vegetarian Meatloaf, Branny Boils Over
No Meat Loaf, Expatriot’s Kitchen
Vegan Meatloaf, Iowa Girl Cooks
Vegetarian Meatloaf, Cathy’s Kitchen Journey
Pinto and Red Lentil Loaf, Cate’s World Kitchen

– posted by Donna

Now featured on Nourishing Gourmet’s Pennywise Platters!

One of the ultimate comfort foods – slowly simmered stuffed cabbage rolls – has the power to take me back to the early 80′s  when I was a new bride learning to cook for my little family. So, I wondered if I could make a more enlightened vegetarian version that was just as tasty and comforting for Meatless Monday.

Cabbage seems like it was invented for making cabbage rolls – they have a perfect taste and texture for these. And a huge bonus: cabbage is packed with nutrients. Cabbage is one of the most versatile cruciferous veggies. We use it in so many strikingly different ways and transform it into so many different substances: raw cabbage in slaws, boiled cabbage with sausages, pickled for sauerkraut, and on and on . . . .

The secret to the success of this recipe is in the braising: I used a rich vegetable broth ( I like Kitchen Basics vegetable stock) with a little vinegar and brown sugar and My, Oh My! did my house smell yummy! These turned out glorious: sweet and tart and flavorful – they just melt in your mouth!  I promise you won’t miss the meat – not even a little bit!

Rolling stuffing into cabbage leaves

Simmer rolls in a single layer - a Dutch oven works great!

BRAISED CABBAGE ROLLS

Serves 4 to 6; Prep and cooking time 60 minutes

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 large shallot, diced
6 cloves garlic, divided
4 cups vegetable broth, divided
1/2 cup lentils
1 cup rice
4 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
1 teaspoon cumin
1 large head cabbage (I used savoy cabbage)
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 red bell peppers
2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste

Saute the shallot in 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Mince 3 cloves of garlic and add in and simmer for another minute. Add in 2 cups of broth and lentils and simmer for 5 minutes. Add rice,  2 tablespoons of soy sauce and cumin, lower heat and cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, until all liquid is absorbed.

While mixture is simmering, steam cabbage leaves for about 2 or 3 minutes, until softened. Remove from heat and shock leaves in cold water. Cut the tough stem out at bottom center of each leaf.

Roll 1/2 cup of mixture in each blanched leaf, jelly roll style, tucking sides in as you go. Place seam-side down in a large pan so that rolls are all in a single layer, completely filling pan. Stir vinegar and brown sugar into remaining 2 cups of vegetable stock and pour over rolls in pan so that they are almost covered, adding a little water if necessary. Simmer for about 30 minutes until leaves are soft and most of liquid has evaporated.

While rolls are simmering, cut red peppers into strips and place cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees at top of oven for about 10 to 12 minutes, until softened and browned. Add remaining garlic cloves to baking sheet for the last five minutes of cooking time.

Blend in blender the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil, red pepper strips, garlic cloves, remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, Balsamic vinegar and tomato paste until very smooth.

Remove rolls from liquid and serve on a platter with red pepper sauce drizzled on top.

Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen inspired me on her recent Blogher post about Stuffed Cabbage. Thanks, Kalyn!

Other veggie cabbage rolls out there:
Wild Rice Cabbage Rolls, Seasonal Ontario Food
Vegetarian Cabbage Rolls, Not Eating Out in New York
Stuffed Cabbage Rolls – Not Like Grandmas, Ginger Beat
Vegetarian Cabbage Rolls, Where’s the Beef?

– posted by Donna

Anne's Lentil Bolognese Sauce on Gluten-Free Spaghetti

Donna's Enlightened Bolognese Sauce on Whole Wheat Penne Pasta

We at FFF have pledged to go meatless on Mondays!

The Meatless Mondays Movement is gaining momentum! Eating less meat makes sense in every possible way: health-wise, environment-wise and (note the emphasis of our blog) budget-wise!

We endorse Michael Pollan’s philosophy: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

To do our part, we will feature a delicious vegetarian recipe every Monday that traditionally was made with meat, but we will do a makeover and make it meatless: Meatless Monday Makeovers! Today we feature the classic meat pasta sauce – Bolognese.

Donna’s Sauce

I used to love the rich, meaty taste of classic  Bolognese sauce. But these days, I cook with less meat, especially red meat. So, I took on the challenge of making  a vegetarian version that has the same deep, rich flavor.

When my husband ate this sauce he said “Wow! Great! What’s in this?” I told him, and then he asked “But what meat did you use?” Hoooo000ooo-ray! Success! A rich, savory, and yes – “meaty” taste without meat!

The tricks are 1) grinding dried porcini mushrooms into a powder and adding that to the sauce and 2) adding soy sauce, which always adds richness or “umami.” Those two surprising ingredients add deepness and that “slow-cooked meat” taste. And, oh yes – 3) I threw in the rind of a wedge of Parmesan cheese – adding an extra layer of richness.

DONNA’S ENLIGHTENED BOLOGNESE SAUCE

1/2 ounce dried porcini or shitake mushrooms
1 large white or yellow onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons canola oil
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar
1 cup water
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes in puree
1 2-inch piece of Parmesan cheese, with rind

Pulverize the dried mushrooms in a spice grinder or blender to a fine powder and set aside.

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven to medium high heat. Add onions and celery and carrots and saute 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add in cremini mushrooms and garlic and saute about another 5 minutes, until all vegetables are very soft. Add in soy sauce, vinegar, water and tomatoes. Bring to a boil.

Grate a little of the Parmesan so that you have just the rind left. Add the rind in to the sauce. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 40 to 50 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce is very thick. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with pasta and sprinkled with remaining Parmesan cheese.

ANNE’S LENTIL BOLOGN-EASY SAUCE (Is that too Rachael Ray-ish? Forgive me.)

You know me and lentils. It’s a long-term love affair at this point. In fact, when I embarked on Phase One of the South Beach Diet recently, I was bummed out to go without lentils and other beloved legumes – until I learned from Kalyn’s Kitchen that I was actually operating according to the OLDER version of the plan. The new “supercharged” South Beach approach actually incorporates a variety of legumes into Phase One! I was, of course, stoked.

So here we have a lentil bolognese – packed with fiber and protein and all kinds of goodness. You can leave the milk (or cream) out at the very end, and it’s a delicious vegan sauce. I like the addition of milk, but I tasted it plenty of times before adding it in to finish, and it was super-tasty without as well.

1/2 cup red lentils, rinsed and sorted
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 ounce can tomato paste
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (anchovy-free vegetarian versions are available)
1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)
fresh black pepper to taste
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup whole milk (optional) or cream (REALLY optional)

Cover lentils with water and boil for 15 minutes, then drain and set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet, add onions and cook until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and cook another 2 minutes or so. Add tomato paste, mixing in well with the garlic and onions. Stir and scrape the bottom of the pan frequently, so the tomato paste is getting cooked and a bit browned but not burning.

Add balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce, deglazing the bottom of the pan a bit. Add diced tomatoes, spices and broth. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add lentils back in and reduce to a low simmer for about 25 minutes, until liquids are reduced and mixture is thickened, stirring occasionally. Finish with milk or cream, if using, and adjust seasoning to taste. Serve with your favorite pasta (pictured above is Deboles’ Gluten-Free Corn Spaghetti), or think outside the pasta box and try it on rice or quinoa.

Best of all, it passed the toddler test with flying colors – and quite a few flying strands of spaghetti as well.

Other veggie bolognese sauce creations by fellow food bloggers:
Veggie Lentil Bolognese, Feeding Maybelle
Mushroom Bolognese, The Family Table
Vegetarian Bolognese, Pink Bites
Meat Free Mondays Vegetarian Bolognese, Linda McCartney Foods

– posted by Donna and Anne

The Anne half of Fab Frugal Food still has some baby weight left to lose, along with a couple standard holiday pounds. I’ve always found the most success with the South Beach approach to weight loss, as carbs have always been my nemesis. Needless to say, I’m spending a lot of time over at Kalyn’s Kitchen. For those of you who aren’t familiar, she is THE internet goddess of low glycemic living. She posts South Beach-friendly recipes for all phases of the plan, and also provides regular “round-ups” of  phase one recipes in particular; phase one being the most restrictive period (it’s only two weeks or maybe a bit more, depending on your situation). Kalyn makes it a breeze. I’ve already made several total hits, like the Chicken Paprikash and the Asian Lettuce Wraps.

I seriously crave veggies, and one great veggie staple that keeps popping up on Kalyn’s Kitchen is spaghetti squash. She has several recipes featuring this, and I sort of took what I liked from a few of them and created my own. It’s really an homage to her, though. I think you’ll enjoy it whether you’re working on getting fit or not!

SPAGHETTI SQUASH WITH MUSHROOMS AND KALE

1 large spaghetti squash
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 portobello caps, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch kale, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons basil
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400. Cut squash in half lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds and strings, then season both halves with salt and pepper and one tablespoon of the olive oil. Bake for 40 minutes, then set aside to cool. While the squash cools, you can do the rest of the prep!

Once you’ve washed and chopped everything, heat remaining oil in a large skillet. Saute onion over medium-high heat until soft and starting to brown, at least 4-5 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic and saute 2-3 more minutes. Finally, add the kale and herbs. Continue sauteeing until kale wilts. Remove from heat and set aside.

Take cooled squash and run a fork through the flesh, separating it into its spaghetti-like strands. Scrape the strands into a large mixing bowl. Add the onion-mushroom-kale mixture and toss until well-combined. Toss in parmesan, and  add salt and pepper to taste.

By the way, make sure you stop by here on Friday, January 8th. We have a big, BIG announcement, one that I guarantee you will be excited about. GUARANTEED! Yes, YOU!

– posted by Anne