Dinner Divas: Creamy Spinach and Mushroom Enchiladas

I was lucky enough to pick out some of the recipes for Dinner Divas this month, and my first thought was to find a recipe for a lightened version of something that usually isn't that light. When I normally order spinach enchiladas at a restaurant, they usually come swimming in a cream sauce. I am definitely trying to watch what I eat after the holidays, so I appreciate a recipe that feels good on my tongue and in my mouth but that doesn't land on my hips afterward.

Joe was a big part of making sure this dinner got on the table because I suddenly didn't feel too well and had to lie down in the middle of making dinner. These were a great dish for leftovers, though I would've preferred a little more spice in the spinach and mushroom mixture. It was a good weeknight meal too and came together easily.


Creamy Spinach and Mushroom Enchiladas

adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients

Sauce:
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (10-ounce) can condensed reduced-fat cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 (8-ounce carton) fat-free sour cream
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, undrained

Enchiladas:
Cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
10 (6-inch) corn tortillas

Garnish:
1/2 cup chopped seeded plum tomato (I omitted.)
1/4 cup chopped green onion tops

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare sauce, combine first 4 ingredients; stir well.

To prepare enchiladas, heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion and jalapeño; sauté 5 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add mushrooms; sauté 3 minutes or until tender. Stir in garlic powder, cumin, salt, and spinach; cook 5 minutes or until heated. Combine spinach mixture and 1/4 cup cheese in a large bowl; stir to combine.

Spoon 1/2 cup sauce into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Warm tortillas according to package directions. Spoon about 1/3 cup spinach mixture down center of each tortilla; roll up. Place filled tortillas seam sides down in the baking dish. Spread remaining sauce evenly over tortillas; top with 3/4 cup cheese.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Top with tomato and green onion.

Sauteed Corn and Salsa

Most of the time when I make Mexican food, I don't have a lot of energy or time to put into side dishes, and cans of refried beans kind of gross me out. So this was the perfect option for a quick healthy side dish to go with the enchiladas I made Monday night. I could throw it together while the enchiladas were in the oven. Browning the corn really brought out its sweetness which was nicely balanced by the heat and smokiness of the salsa I used.

Sauteed Corn and Salsa
source: Everyday Food via Cooking This and That
Makes 2 servings

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
10 ounce package frozen corn, about 2 cups
1/3 cup jarred salsa or 1/2 cup fresh salsa
kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh chopped chives and/or cilantro

Heat olive oil in medium saute pan over high heat. Add corn and garlic, cook until corn begins to brown, stirring occasionally, 5-10 minutes.Remove from heat and add salsa and salt and pepper to taste. Top with chives or cilantro.

Easy Sausage "Gumbo"

One of my favorite ways of making sure we get all of our vegetables in the winter without it costing an arm and a leg is to use packages of frozen vegetables. Often they are flash-frozen at their peak without a lot of additives like sodium and other preservatives. At our Kroger, they also conveniently have packages called Recipe Beginnings with frozen stir-fry vegetables, mirepoix, and vegetable soup vegetables. When I saw this Recipe Beginnings with gumbo vegetables, I immediately picked one up knowing it would be a super-easy weeknight meal with the addition of some pre-cooked sausage.

Easy Sausage "Gumbo"

Ingredients

1 14.5 can diced tomatoes
16 oz pre-cooked sausage, sliced (I used Hillshire Farms Spicy Chipotle Sausage)
1 package Recipe Beginnings Vegetable Gumbo Mix (contains okra, corn, onion, celery, and red bell pepper)
Cajun seasoning and Tabasco Sauce to taste
2 cups cooked brown rice

Preparation

Heat a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat. Cook sausage in pot until heated through and browning. Add the tomatoes and vegetable mix to the pot, adding Cajun seasoning to flavor. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 25-30 minutes. Taste occasionally and add Cajun seasoning or Tabasco sauce as desired. Serve over brown rice.

Yield: 4 servings

Pasta with Prosciutto and Spinach

This meal was so easy even Joe was amazed and so good that the 4 servings turned into two. I put the chopped up prosciutto in with the garlic to allow it to heat up and crisp up a little bit. If you're looking for a < 30-minute meal, this is the ticket. I also omitted the pignolis because I failed to pick them up at the store. I'm sure they would add a whole other dimension to the dish!

The other bonus was that I used the rest of the prosciutto to make a prosciutto and Brie sandwich on homemade French bread for lunch the next day.

Pasta with Prosciutto and Spinach
source: Sweet Savory Southern

Ingredients

1 (9-ounce) package fresh cheese tortellini (such as DiGiorno)
1 tablespoon pine nuts (I omitted)
1 teaspoon olive oil
6 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 (6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach
1/4 cup (1 ounce) preshredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced

Preparation

1. Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain. Transfer pasta to a large bowl.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add nuts to pan; cook 1 1/2 minutes or until toasted, stirring occasionally. Add nuts to bowl.
3. Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add garlic to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add spinach to pan; cook 2 minutes or until spinach wilts, stirring constantly. Add spinach mixture, cheese, and remaining ingredients to bowl; toss well.

7 Interesting Facts About Me

I've been tagged by a couple of people to complete this meme, namely Erin at Erin's Food Files and Kristen at Le Petit Pierogi, so I suppose I'd better do it.

1. I'm currently in the process to be ordained an Episcopal priest, which is why I went back to school to get my M. Div. It was pretty complicated just to get to this point and involved several bishops in Tennessee and Texas.

2. I got my Bachelors of Music degree in vocal performance and performed the role of Hansel in Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel when I was a junior in college.

3. My senior year of high school I had to write a paper/story about my life up to that point and continue it to my death in the future. In the paper, I ended up marrying a jazz pianist. In real life, I ended up marrying a jazz pianist who also happens to be a doctor (but I was more interested in the jazz pianist part).

4. I went to a boarding school for the arts in Michigan for the last two years of high school.

5. I'm taking Koine Greek in school to read the New Testament in its original language.

6. Joe and I are planning not to have kids due to our demanding careers and our desire to be able to spend time together with our time off and travel.

7. I have a weakness for pure-bred cats with which I've infected Joe. I grew up with Maine Coon cats, and now we have two Ragdolls.

I don't want to tag anyone and force them to do this, so if you feel so inclined, please be my guest.