Enchilada Stacks

I have been trying to serve more low-meat meals lately, meals that are for omnivores, but contain relatively small amounts of meat per serving, to enhance the taste, rather than serve as the main star.  For these meals, I find it helps to make things really tasty and Mexican food is always a favorite at our house.  I find that the recipe for easy chicken enchiladas almost always receive a thumbs up from my husband and various guests that I’ve served it to.  They have no idea how easy it is.  The hardest part is rolling up the enchiladas, so I decided to try a different approach of stacking the tortillas, rather than rolling them.  These were fantastic and even easier than regular enchiladas.  For the stacked recipe, the better the quality of the tortilla, the better the outcome.  I used handmade corn tortillas from Trader Joe’s that are thicker and sturdier than their machine pressed ones.

To accompany the enchilada stack I served this with Aztec vegetables, a mix of vegetables from the new world including squash, pepper, corn, and beans. Since we like our vegetables, I would have 1/4 of the enchilada stack as a serving, plus unlimited amounts of vegetables.  To top off the meal, serve chilled cantaloupe or watermelon.

Enchilada Stacks
makes 4 small (or 2-3 larger) servings

4 corn tortillas (preferrably thicker handmade style)
1/2 pound ground turkey or ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cup enchilada sauce or chunky salsa
1 can refried beans (or substitute homemade)
1/4 cup shredded cheese

Brown the turkey, onion and garlic in a saute pan.  Drain excess fat if necessary.  Add the enchilada sauce (I used bottled salsa) and stir to heat through.  Spread 2-3 T refried beans on each tortilla. Place one tortilla bean side up in the bottom of a pyrex or corning ware dish with high sides. Spoon 1/4 of the turkey mixture evenly over the beans, spread out to the edges.  Repeat with all 4 tortillas stacking the tortilla spread with beans topped by the turkey and sauce mixture.  Sprinkle the top of the stack with cheese.  To heat through, either bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for about 25 minutes or microwave for about 4-6 minutes on high.  The respective ingredients are cooked, so this just needs to be heated through.  To serve,cut into quarters.

Aztec Vegetables

4 small to medium zucchini, sliced into half-moons
1/2 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1/2 cup frozen corn or 1 ear of fresh corn cut off the cob
1 cup of green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 cloves of garlic, minced
cumin, chipotle chili powder, or oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 T olive oil

Heat a large skillet heated to medium-high or high, saute the onion and garlic in olive oil for a couple of minutes.  Add the zucchini and green beans and stir fry for a couple of minutes.  Then add, the bell pepper and corn.  Season to taste with various seasonings.  I use a sprinkling of salt, about 1/4 teaspoon of cumin and 1/2 teaspoon of chipotle chili powder. Continue to stir fry for about 5 minutes until vegetables are tender crisp.  Turn off heat and cover the pan. Let sit for a couple of minutes to complete cooking.  Serve immediately.

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