I made these a couple weeks ago and they are good!  The green sauce is the keeper here.  I think it would go great on chicken enchiladas.  (So much for my foray into vegetarian cooking…)  I should note that we made these lasagna-style, and didn’t bother with microwaving and rolling the tortillas. 

I just looked up “suiza” and apparently it means “Swiss.”  I didn’t know the Swiss had enchiladas, but if Rick Bayless says it, I’ll buy it. 

Enchiladas Suizas

• 1 pound tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed
• 1 medium white onion, sliced ¼-inch thick
• 3 garlic cloves
• 3 serranos, stemmed
• 3 ½ tablespoons canola oil, divided
• 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• ½ cup Mexican crema (or creme fraiche)
• 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
• 1 large red onion, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
• 2 cups cremini mushrooms, cleaned, stems removed, and cut into ½-inch cubes
• 1 butternut squash, peeled and seeds scooped out, flesh cut into ½-inch cubes
• 12 corn tortillas
• ? cup chihuahua cheese (or other Mexican melting cheese)

For Garnish

• ¼ White onion, thinly sliced
• 4 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

1. Adjust oven racks to lower middle and upper middle positions and preheat broiler. Toss tomatillos, onion, garlic, and serranos on large baking sheet and place in oven. Roast for four to five minutes, or until tomatillos soften and start to turn black. Flip everything over with pair of 12-inch tongs. Return to oven and cook for another four to five minutes. Some black is okay, but adjust vegetables if they simply start to burn. Remove and let cool. Adjust heat in oven to 400 degrees.  
2. Transfer all contents on baking sheet to a blender. Process until smooth. 
3. Pour 1 ½ tablespoons canola oil into large dutch oven set over medium-high heat. When hot, dump contents of blender in. It should immediately start to sizzle and bubble. Cook, stirring often with wooden spoon, until darker, about three minutes. Pour in broth and crema, turn heat to medium-low, and stir until mixture is smooth. Partially cover dutch oven, and simmer for 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt.  
4. Toss carrots, red onion, mushrooms, and butternut squash with one tablespoon oil on a baking sheet. Season with a pinch of salt Place on the lower-middle rack in oven and cook for about 25 minutes. Toss with pair of 12-inch tongs after 10 minutes, and after 20. Vegetables, and especially carrots, should be tender. Return to oven for another five minutes if they are not.
5. Pour remaining tablespoon of oil into a bowl. Using a brush, coat both sides of each tortilla with oil. Stack them up, and then place in a large plastic ziplock bag. Do not close bag. Place in microwave and cook for 1 minute.  
6. Pour one cup of sauce into a 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Scoop about two tablespoons of the roasted vegetables into each tortilla. Roll up, and place seam-side down in the sauce on the baking dish. Repeat 11 times. Pour remaining sauce over them, and then sprinkle cheese evenly on top.  
7. Place baking dish in oven and cook for 10 minutes, or until warm. Remove from oven, and using a spatula, transfer three enchiladas to each dish. Garnish with onion rings and cilantro. Eat immediately.

Here’s a good vegetarian meal that I recently made.  If I did it again, I would make half the recipe (it makes a lot).  We really enjoyed it!  Thank you, Tyler Florence!

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 acorn squash, halved and roasted
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 cup lentils, rinsed and cleaned
• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 tablespoon coriander
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 1/2 cups vegetable stock, divided
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
• Fresh flat-leaf parsley and mint, for garnish

Directions:

Stuffed Acorn Squash. Will ate ALL of his. I think it’s safe to say that I have corrected his one major flaw (not liking squash), lol. Thanks Robin Miller.

2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup quick cooking barley
2 acorn squash (about 1 1/2 pounds each), halved crosswise and seeded
2 teaspoons olive or vegetable oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 teaspoon dried sage
Salt and pepper, optional
4 tablespoons crumbled herbed goat cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Heat the chicken stock in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the barley and simmer until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Scoop the seeds from each squash half and place, cut sides up, in a microwave-safe baking dish. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 5 minutes, or until flesh is tender.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add chicken, onion, green pepper and saute 3 minutes. Add sage, salt and pepper, to taste, and cooked barley and stir to coat. Cook, stirring constantly, until chicken is cooked through and mixture is well-combined.

Spoon barley mixture into each halved squash. Transfer stuffed squash to a foil-lined baking sheet or a baking dish and top with goat cheese. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes, or until cheese is lightly browned.

Penne With Butternut Squash. Yum. Yet another recipe proving that squash is indeed good. Yes!

1 medium butternut squash (about 2 lbs), peeled and cut into 3/4 inch cubes
1 large onion cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 small head of garlic, separated and peeled
1 lb penne
8 oz goat cheese
1 c chopped, fresh basil
grated parmesan cheese
1 c chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 425
Put squash, onions and garlic cloves on greased baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until squash is fork tender.
Cook penne, reserving 2 c cooking liquid.
Put paste, goat cheese and 1 c of cooking liquid into bowl and toss until cheese is melted. If cheese is too thick add more of the reserved cooking liquid.
Add squash mixture and basil.
Top with parmesan cheese.

I married Will, knowing full well that he had one major flaw (okay, maybe more, but I won’t throw him under the bus too much…slow Wilbur). His flaw: adamant claims, “squash is the most inedible vegetable known to man.”  So I made this recipe, which is now one of our favorites (take note of the first two ingredients):

Garden Full of Goodness Lasagna

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen, www.foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

• 2 cups thinly sliced zucchini
• 2 cups thinly sliced yellow squash
• 1 cup thinly sliced carrot
• 1 cup thinly sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 (14 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1/2 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
• 1/4 cup sliced fresh basil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cups small cottage cheese
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 8 oven-ready, “no cook,” lasagna noodles
• 12 slices provolone cheese, thinly sliced
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella

Directions:

Combine zucchini, squash, carrot, mushrooms, onion and peppers with water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Drain well, and reserve.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, basil, garlic, salt, and pepper in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, cottage cheese, and eggs. Stir together.

Spread 1/3 of the sauce evenly over bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish. Place 4 uncooked lasagna noodles on top of sauce. Do not overlap noodles. Spread 1/2 of cream cheese mixture over noodles. Cover cheese mixture with 1/2 the vegetable mixture, more sauce, and top evenly with 6 slices provolone cheese and 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers with 4 noodles, rest of the cream cheese mixture, vegetables, sauce, and remaining cheeses. Place in oven for 35 minutes or until lasagna is hot and bubbling

Let lasagna stand for 10 minutes before serving.

 

Now we eat squash often prepared just about any way you can think…except Zucchini Nachos…yuck!!! So last week I had a craving for Spaghetti Squash (strange, I know). I convined Will I thought I could make it really yummy…guess what? He liked it! He even ate seconds! When you doctor it up with a lot of goodness, it can taste really good:

Spaghetti Squash Goodness

Modified from a recipe at allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Directions:

1. To microwave squash, cut in half and seed. Place 1/4-inch water in a microwave safe dish. Place squash in dish, cut sides down — sides will overlap. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high power 13 minutes. 
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute onion in oil until tender. Add garlic, and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, and cook only until tomatoes are warm.
3. Use a large spoon to scoop the stringy pulp from the squash, and place in a medium bowl. Toss with the sauteed vegetables, feta cheese, olives, and basil. Serve warm.

My next quest, butternut squash…