Butternut Squash Enchiladas

subheading: Ingredients:

1 Tbs. olive oil

1 butternut squash (1½ lb.), halved and seeded

1 medium onion, diced (1 cup)

1 to 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, drained and diced, plus 1 Tbs. sauce

1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp. )

3 oz. reduced-fat cream cheese

1 tsp. ground cumin

½ tsp. ground nutmeg

3 green onions, chopped (⅓ cup)

1 16-oz. can enchilada sauce (recipe follows)

8 whole-wheat or corn tortillas (recipe follows)

1 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese

subheading: Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place squash cut-side down on baking sheet. Roast 45 minutes, or until soft. Cool until easy to handle. Scoop squash into bowl, and mash.

Heat oil in saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, and sauté 5 to 7 minutes, or until soft. Add chipotle, adobo sauce, and garlic. Cook 1 minute, stirring often.

Stir in mashed squash, cream cheese, cumin, and nutmeg. Cook 3 minutes more, or until heated through. Remove from heat, and fold in green onions.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread 1 cup enchilada sauce over bottom of 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Lay tortillas on baking sheet, and warm 3 minutes in oven to soften. Divide filling among tortillas, and roll loosely. Place filled, rolled tortillas in baking dish. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and Cheddar cheese. Bake 30 minutes, or until top begins to brown and sauce is bubbly.

subheading: Homemade Enchilada Sauce:

subheading: Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 Tbsp chili powder

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 cup chicken stock or water

1 tsp kosher salt

subheading: Directions:

Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute for a few minutes, until starting to brown on the edges, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, and cumin. Cook for an additional minute to toast the spices.

Add in the tomato sauce, as well as the chicken broth. Stir to combine, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove from heat, and pour the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl. Using a rubber spatula, push down on the onions, forcing as much sauce out as possible. I like to just toss the strained onion mixture into whatever enchilada filling I’m making, but you can discard it if you like.

Season sauce to taste with salt and black pepper before using. Will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Makes about 2 cups enchilada sauce.

Homemade Texas Corn Tortillas

subheading: Ingredients:

2 cups masa harina (Do not use cornmeal!)

1 ¼ cups of warm water

subheading: Directions:

Cut from a freezer bag two circles of plastic, the width of your tortilla press.

Mix the masa harina and warm water until a dough is formed.

Knead dough for about five minutes until smooth.

Divide into 12 equal-sized balls.

Heat an un-greased skillet, griddle or comal until very hot.

Place a piece of the cut plastic on the press, put a ball of dough on it, and then lay the other piece of cut plastic on top.

Press out the tortilla.

Take the tortilla wrapped in plastic off the press, gently peel off the two pieces of plastic and place tortilla in hot skillet.

Cook thirty seconds on one side, flip it, and cook a minute on other side. It should start to puff a bit. Flip it again and cook thirty seconds on the first side.

Place cooked tortilla in a basket lined with cloth or, if you have one, a tortilla warmer.

Repeat process for remaining balls of dough.

Note: If you don’t have a tortilla press, you can pat the balls into flat discs or roll them out with a rolling pin. You can also place the balls (with the plastic) between two very heavy books and press them out that way.

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