Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas

When I started my first teaching job, I lived with my friend, Jody in what we dubbed-“The Grotto.” Every Thursday night, the inhabitants of “The Grotto” (aka Jody and I) would meet our friend, Jordan, at a Mexican restaurant-“Monterry’s” for dinner and their trivia night. It was the most fun. Just call me Andy Bernard because those were definitely the good old days.

There was trivia (that I don’t believe we ever won but whatever), the trivia host named “Jack” that referred to himself as “Monterrey Jack”, our favorite waiter, Cheque, the napkin roses that Cheque always made Jody and me to either try and get a date or a big tip, and of course the Mexican food. My meal of choice was always an enchilada. Some trivia, some napkin roses, and a mediocre enchilada made for the best night.

Since I can’t take you all with me to Monterry’s, I’m going to do the next best thing and share an enchilada recipe I love. No offense to Cheque, but these are 100 times better (and better for you). We loved Cheque for the experience, not necessarily the food.

What makes these so good is taking the extra step to roast the vegetables in the oven before assembling. I love these because you can mix and match however you want. You can just whatever vegetables you have on hand.

For this specific one, I used two bell peppers, two zucchini, a sweet potato, and some broccoli. I’ve also used yellow squash, onions, and carrots.

You’ll need:

-your vegetables
-tortillas
-shredded cheese (about a cup)
-oil for drizzling
-1 Tbs. chili powder
-1 tsp. cumin
-1/2 tsp. paprika
-1/4 tsp. onion powder
-1/4 tsp. garlic powder
-1 tsp. salt
-a few dashes of pepper
-enchilada sauce- I love to make this recipe , but if I’m feeling lazy, this is my go-to.

1. Preheat your oven to 425. Chop your vegetables, drizzle with oil, and then season.
2. Roast in oven for 25-30 min until tender.

1. Spread some of the enchilada sauce in bottom of greased baking dish (enough to cover the bottom).
2. Do this extra step makes a big difference in the end product. Drizzle a little oil in a skillet on stove and heat each tortilla one at a time-about 5-10 seconds per side over medium heat. Then dip each tortilla in some of the sauce then place on a plate. Yes, this gets a little high maintenance and a little messy, but it makes them so much better.

1. After each tortilla is ready to go, fill with some of the vegetable mixture and a sprinkle of cheese and then roll up and place seam-side down in baking dish.
2. Once all are done, pour on the rest of the enchilada sauce and sprinkle with any remaining cheese.
3. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Peace, love, and napkin roses,