roasted butternut squash & poblano enchiladas.

earth angel, earth angel.

these are some hearty & earthy enchilaaadaaaaas.

"earthy" in a good way.....

sometimes when people say something tastes "earthy" i feel like its a neutral way of saying it tastes like dirt. 

no dirt tastin' here. just yummy butternut squash, roasted poblano pepper, black beans, onion, and cheeeeeeese. lots of flavor and fall feelz. 

you can use the same method i used in assembling these green & red enchiladas (prob my fave enchiladas to make!).

and you can roast the squash & poblano a day in advance. the roasting factor is really what makes you feel like these take forever to make. but they're truly simple once you break all the steps down.

pepitas optional! but great for crunch factor and perdy color :)

also i found that when reheating these you should deeefinitely put em in a pan with a bit of olive oil and cover til the cheese melts again and the bottom is crispy. pete was not pleased with the results in his communal office microwave, lol. not the most romantic way to prepare leftovers. i ought to send him off with a personal under-desk toaster oven or something...

so these are yum, get to roastin'!

Roasted Butternut Squash & Poblano Enchiladas

Makes 10-12 Enchiladas

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 1/2 of a butternut squash, roasted & cubed
• 1 poblano pepper - roasted, skin peeled, sliced
• 8 oz. monterey jack cheese
• 8 oz. pepperjack cheese
• 1/2 can black beans
• 2 red chiles or jalapeño (or both), seeded & sliced
• 1/2 a yellow onion, chopped
• 8 oz. red enchilada sauce
• 1/2 cup pepitas
• 10-12 medium flour tortillas
• 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
• salt, pepper, & garlic powder

Instructions-

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Carefully cut the butternut squash and poblano pepper in half and remove the seeds. Place them on a baking sheet & rub with olive oil. Roast until the squash is tender and the skin of the poblano begins to blacken, about 15-20 minutes.

Use tongs to place the poblano pepper in a plastic freezer bag to cool & steam. Peel the skin off the squash, cut it into bite sized cubes and add to a large bowl.  Remove the poblano from the ziplock bag and immediately peel off as much skin as possible. Slice the poblano and add to the bowl with the cubed squash. 

You can roast the squash and poblano a day in advance to save time when putting together the enchiladas.

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Grate the cheeses and chop the onion.

Add the black beans and chopped onion to the bowl with the squash and poblano. Add a few good pinches of salt, pepper, and garlic powder to the mixture and stir.

Add a light drizzle of enchilada sauce to the bottom of the baking pan. In each tortilla, add a handful of the grated cheeses, a scoop of the squash & poblano mixture, and a light drizzle of enchilada sauce. Roll it up and place seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat until the dish is packed with enchiladas. 

Drizzle remaining enchilada sauce over the top of the rolled tortillas, a sprinkle of the red chiles or jalapeños, and the remaining cheeses. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the cheese is browned and bubbly. 

Top with extra red chiles or jalapeño slices, pepitas and cilantro. Serve with plain green yogurt or sour cream.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days. Reheat on the stovetop with a touch of olive oil for best results. 

qp

green & red shredded chicken and black bean enchiladas.

there's something so satisfying about dreaming up a specific meal and having it turn out exactly how you wanted it to taste/look/smell. party on, wayne. 

i'd been craving some sort of enchiladas like this since the end of summer and kept thinking about them. now was the time to execute.

perfectly comforting, super flavorful, easy to make, and to top it off - leftovers for days!

i made these on the day of this supposed "seattle windpocalypse/rainstorm of the century" and was fully prepared to live on these enchis for days, wrapping ourselves in blankets and playing cards by candlelight. 

no such wind blew that night. and as strange as it sounds, i was sort of disappointed that the power didn't go out and we weren't able to live as pilgrims for the weekend. 

candlelit pilgrim life is a reeeal freaky deaky modern-day ultra-privileged thing for me to even wish on...believe you me, i'm so so ever grateful for our cozy home and allllll the good things in my life.

so let me show you how to prepare for a "storm" and enjoy some delicious homemade eats at the same time. 

^^^ i don't normally take photos of meat cooking or raw meat in general, but these chicken boobs looked a-ok.

this is really quite simple once you have all the cans opened, cheese grated, veggies chopped, and chicken shredded. 

gently wrap all the filling into the tortillas, roll them up and lay them to rest on their happy little spicy bed of green and red sauce. 

i prefer having both green and red enchilada sauces because sometimes when you have just green or just red enchiladas, its too much! having both sauces meld into one and dance around in each bite is like OOH, AAH, MMMM. OK. NOMS. 

^^^ how cute are those magnetic toucan kitchen scissors pete got me for xmas last year? :)

that bubbly browned cheese & spicy sauces covering those hearty enchilada goods just scream comfort food to me. so good. SO GOOD!

Green & Red Shredded Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas

Makes about 15 medium-sized enchiladas

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded (about 2 cups shredded chicken)
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained
• 28 ounce can green enchilada sauce, medium heat (or whatever spiciness you prefer)
• 14 oz. red enchilada sauce, medium heat
• 2 heaping cups grated monterey jack cheese
• 1 heaping cup sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 small can (7 oz) diced green chiles
• 1/2 a jalapeño, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped
• 12-15 medium-sized flour tortillas

Instructions-

Cook 2 thawed chicken breasts in 1 TB of olive oil in a pan over medium heat, flipping after about 4 minutes and cooking 4 more minutes. Place cooked chicken on a cutting board to rest. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Chop onion, grate the cheeses, and open all cans. Shred the slightly cooled chicken with 2 forks. If the meat is slightly undercooked and pink still, return shredded chicken to the pan or skillet and toss until cooked through. I prefer to let the shredded chicken brown up in the pan anyway.

Add shredded chicken, black beans, chopped onion, and green chiles to a large bowl with a few good shakes of salt and black pepper. Toss to combine.

Add about 1 cup of green enchilada sauce in the bottom of the large baking dish you'll use to bake the enchiladas. Add just a little red sauce as well (maybe 4 ounces). Assemble the enchiladas, adding a scoop of the chicken & bean mixture to a tortilla, a small handful of each cheese, and a small drizzle more of the enchilada sauces. Roll the filling up tightly inside the tortilla and place in the baking dish. Repeat until the baking dish is full of enchiladas.

{We were able to make 2 separate batches of enchiladas with the amount of filling here}

Add about 1 cup each of both green and red enchilada sauce, dispersing evenly over the top of the rolled up tortillas.  Sprinkle some of the thinly sliced jalapeños around and top with the remaining shredded cheeses. Make sure the cheeses are on the top layer so it gets good and browned and bubbly. 

Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until browned and slightly crisp around the edges.

Serve immediately with cilantro and plain Greek yogurt or sour cream. And tortilla chips, if desired!

These refrigerate well and taste just as delicious reheated within the next couple of days, as well.

qp