Spinach Enchiladas

Once upon a time, in 2011, it was Mother's Day, and I was pregnant with my first (and thus far, only) child.

Yes, go right ahead. "You glowed!" "So radiant!" I'll take it. I have not glowed or radiated since, and I suspect I won't glow or radiate through any subsequent pregnancy, because I will have a little person (or persons) I have get to take care of, whilst pregnant. 

That first pregnancy is where it's at.

So what I'm trying to say is, my sweet husband, Ryan, cooked for me that Mother's Day, and it was delicious, so without further ado:

Spinach Enchiladas

(This is the first thing that pops up when you google "spinach enchiladas." They'd go to the ends of the earth for you, they say...and then they only get as far as the top of the search results list.)

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/spinach-enchiladas/

Ingredients:

1 tbs butter

1/2 cup sliced green onions 

(If you don't have enough green onions, it doesn't matter.)

2 cloves garlic, minced 

(Does anyone ever really stick to the recommended garlic amount? Can you really have too much garlic?)

Spinach 

(Recipe calls for 10oz frozen, thawed, drained and squeezed dry, but we have only ever used fresh spinach, and it's delicious. As I've said before, you weren't going to get through that Costco bag in time anyway. And we always add more than we think we'll need. Just chop up a bunch of fresh spinach, and then you don't have to squeeze it dry or anything.)

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

 (Or whatever you have. I think we used cheddar last time. A friend once told me: cheese is cheese. I have found that in most recipes, you can just use whatever cheese you have on hand.)

10 (6-inch) corn tortillas

1 19oz can enchilada sauce 

(If your can is smaller, like the classic 15oz variety, that's fine, you don't need a whole 19oz.)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C).

2. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and onion; cook for a few minutes until fragrant, but not brown. Stir in spinach, and cook for about 5 more minutes. Remove from the heat, and mix in ricotta cheese, sour cream, and 1 cup of Monterey Jack cheese (or whatever cheese you use). 

3. In a skillet over medium heat, warm tortillas one at a time until flexible, about 15 seconds. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the spinach mixture onto the center of each tortilla. Roll up, and place seam side down in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Pour enchilada sauce over the top, and sprinkle with remaining cup of Monterey Jack.

4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until sauce is bubbling and cheese is lightly browned at the edges.

If you want a yummy side dish to go with it, we always have Near East Mediterranean Curry Couscous when we have this dish.

Yes, you might think that "Mediterranean curry" and "enchilada" don't belong on the same table spread. Totally different ethnic flavors. But it works. Or maybe I just think it does, because that's what hubby made for me that Mother's Day, and sometimes food becomes sentimental. Regardless of the why, we only ever eat these enchiladas with a side of this particular couscous. And it works. And we love it. And I've never actually cooked these enchiladas. It's sort of a tradition now that when we have them, Ryan makes them. Which makes them taste that much more delicious. 

I posted this recipe because we just had it this week. It literally just struck me this very moment that Mother's Day is this weekend. So maybe pass this recipe along to your hubby with a wink and a nudge.