Recipe of the Week: Butternut Squash Enchiladas

I decided one of my 2011 resolutions is to try one new recipe a week. I like to cook, but I tend to continue using reliable recipes that I have been cooking for years. Sausage and peppers, chili, stir fry, and pasta dishes are staples in my weekly meal planning. I read a ton of blogs so I bookmark recipes on an almost daily basis. I have also been reading a lot of food memoirs so I also gather recipes from there. Add the enewsletters that flood my inbox on a daily basis and I am simply overloaded with recipes. Now, it is my goal to start trying out those recipes. I am going to try at least one new recipe per week and then post it up here at Gluten-Free Fun every Friday.

Sometimes I will follow the recipe down to each teaspoon and each dash of salt. Other times I will modify the recipe based on what is in my cabinets or how I am feeling that day. Regardless, I will post the original recipe as is and then let you know if I made any modifications. Many times I make modifications when I am missing ingredients or short on time so I will include this in my review.

My first recipe of 2011 was Butternut Squash Enchiladas from Allrecipes.com. I love Allrecipes.com because they have a page where you can enter your ingredients that you have on hand and it returns recipes including those ingredients. This is exactly what I did on Tuesday night. I had half of a butternut squash and a ton of spinach in my fridge, hence my first step at accomplishing my food resolution of 2011.

Butternut Squash Enchiladas

Ingredients
8 (5 inch) corn tortillas
1/2 unpeeled butternut squash, seeded
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 onion, chopped
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
4 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1 cup enchilada sauce
1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
1/4 cup crumbled cotija cheese
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves, for garnish (optional)
1/4 cup sour cream, for topping (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Lay the tortillas flat onto a baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until crispy, about 10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool. Meanwhile, place the butternut squash half into a microwave-safe dish cut-side-down, and pour in the water. Cook in the microwave until tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh and dice; place into a mixing bowl and set aside.
3. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic and onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. Continue cooking until the spinach wilts. Gently fold the spinach mixture into the diced butternut squash.
4. Arrange four crispy tortillas on the baking sheet. Divide the squash mixture among the tortillas. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of goat cheese over each tortilla, then top with the remaining tortillas. Pour the enchilada sauce over top, and sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon of cotija cheese.
5. Bake in the preheated oven until hot, about 10 minutes. Garnish each enchilada with chopped cilantro leaves and a dollop of sour cream to serve.

My Modifcations

• Instead of cooking the butternut squash in the microwave, I roasted this in the oven for 40 minutes on 350 degrees. This eliminated the need for 1/2 cup of water.
• I used frozen, pre-chopped onions as well as pre-minced garlic.
• I did not have tomatoes or enchilada sauce on hand, so I substituted with 1/2 cup of salsa. I suggest including some kind of condiment since the general flavor was a little bland without the sauces.
• I didn't have goat or cotija cheeses, so I used mozzarella cheese. 
• I only used 6 corn tortillas.
• I layered one corn tortilla with the squash, spinach, onion, and garlic mixture followed by some mozzarella cheese. Topped that with another corn tortilla and repeated the veggie mixture and cheese topped with one more corn tortilla. Using this method of layering and filling (think Mexican-ish lasagna), I got two servings from my preparation of ingredients.
• Next time I think I might include some chili powder and cumin into the mix because I felt the general flavor was a little bland. This might be because of the missing enchilada sauce. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this dish and would definitely cook it again. 

My first 2011 Recipe of the Week was a success!