“If you are chilly, here take my sweater. Your head is aching, I'll make it better”

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Cuz I love the way you call me baby.
And you take me the way I am.
I'd buy you Rogaine if you start losing all your hair.
Sew on patches to all you tear.
Cuz I love you more than I could ever promise.
And you take me the way I am.

DC is experiencing the first snowfall of the season and I gotta admit…I LOVE IT!! I mean I’m not really a fan of the cold winds and winter blues but there’s something quite delightful about snow. Snow brings me thoughts of hot chocolate, laughing over a small pot of fire and smores at Cosi, snow fights when we found out that there would be no school and old Hindi or English movies with loved ones. I wish I was with Bhatji in NJ sharing a blanket on and taking our nth nap together. Speaking of Bhatji…he has been extremely sick and actually decided to take off work. This is another reason I wish was with him so I could take care of him. I cant wait till tomorrow when we can be together again…5 days is long enough ;o) Ok enough of my sappy chatter.
Bhatji loves Mexican food….I think it’s got a lot to do with his days in Houston. TX does have amazing Mexican restaurants; come on this is the land that came up with the phrase “Tex Mex”. In fact I think that you could probably go to a Chinese restaurant and manage to order at least one Mexican dish hehe. So preparing a “really delicious” Mexican meal for me has always been a daunting task. I mean who wants to please a Tex Mex tasting expert. Unfortunately even though I would express my nervousness of making Mexican food for him but Bhatji would still request quesadillas, enchiladas etc. So I started slow with simple quesadillas that he would wolf down and shower me with compliments. Well this gave me the motivation to try other Mexican treats. While I was on my cooking binge last week…I came up with a yummy recipe for veggie enchiladas. It took a while to make but it was worth it to see the face on a satisfied Tex Mex fan ;o) so here is the recipe for” Vegetarian Enchiladas with green sauce.

Ingredients:
8-10 wheat tortillas
1 cup low fat ricotta cheese
¼ cup sour cream (or as per your taste)
Store bought Salsa
One can of refried beans
One can of green enchilada sauce (divided)
1 cup of shredded 4 cheese Mexican cheese
1/2 cup of red onions diced
½ cup of bell peppers diced
1 tbl spn of olive oil
1 tbl spn of cumin powder (divided)
1 tsp of chili powder
A few jalapenos (optional)
Salt to taste

To Make:
Preheat the oven at 375 degrees. Heat the oil and cook the onions and bell peppers until browned. Add 1 tsp of cumin powder, mix well and take off heat. In a large bowl add the following: Ricotta cheese, ½ cup of salsa, the remaining cumin powder, red chili powder, ¼ can of enchilada sauce and mix well until it is all integrated well with each other. On a large baking pan covered with foil, lay each tortilla out and in the middle start the stuffing process. First take a large spoon of refried beans and spread thoroughly on the tortilla. Then add little of the onion and bell pepper mixture and spread well. In the center of the tortilla add the ricotta/salsa mixture in a straight line. Add a dollop of sour cream and a few jalapenos on top of the ricotta mixture. Roll the sides of the tortilla into the center and repeat with other tortillas and line them on the baking pan. After you have filled the pan with 8-10 stuffed tortillas, pour the enchilada sauce evenly on top of the tortillas and add the shredded cheese roughly as much as you like on top as well. Bake in the oven for 20-25 mins until the cheese melted and the stuffing is warm. Serve hot.

I can’t say that this was as good as an authentic as a Tex Mex restaurant but it was very tasty and healthy since a lot of the ingredients were low fat. Give it a try! Until the next the scrumptious entry…..enjoy the snow with a bit of fiesta on the side ;o)

PS (I heart Ingrid Michaelson's song....All warm and fuzzy sounding ;o)