Spinach Enchiladas. Serve with "WATER"

My niece is visiting us.  She is quite talented.  One of the things she can do is name all the types of trees we have in our neighborhood.  She can also give our Oldest Daughter practice at having a roommate, and practice at how to drive while being distracted by another teenager in the car.

Since the household is now overrun with females, it was a good time for my son to go to the Scout Jamboree.  We dropped him off at the local rendez-vous point on Sunday evening.  The drop-off was executed with military precision – his luggage was unloaded from the car and put onto the truck in less than 30 seconds.  All the luggage looks the same, though, so I have to wonder if he will ever be reunited with it.  The contingent from our area numbers 323 people, and there supposedly will be a total of 43,000 people (most of them male) converging on Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia.  Talk about yer tent cities.  There might be some photos here:  Boy Scout Jamboree

At least now that he’s there we will stop getting e-mails instructing us to make our son drink water.  Here is what the Scout Master wrote:

I have told your parents; starting July 1, 2010 that you are stop drinking  POP, sugared drinks and start drinking "WATER"!!!!! We need to TRAIN  our bodies for the "ADVENTURE".

Is “water” different from water?

Oldest Niece claimed that she didn’t know how to cook anything, so I bestowed on her the title of Cooking Assistant.  Today we made spinach cheese enchiladas, which is a vegetarian recipe and, oddly enough, loved or at least tolerated by everyone in the Common Household.

When I was pregnant with Oldest Daughter, we went to visit my brother.  He made spinach enchiladas, and we loved them.  My husband raved about them.  A week later, we asked my brother for the recipe, but he had thrown it out.  Alas and alack! Seventeen long years went by, with my husband occasionally mentioning the Tragedy of the Lost Spinach Enchilada Recipe.

This year I realized that – glory be! now we have the internet! –  and with it thousands of unproven and possibly mistyped recipes.  I googlized and revised a recipe I found, and came up with one that even Youngest Daughter will eat without thinking about all the spinach she is consuming.  I put a LOT of shredded cheese on top.   The really good news is that my husband can stop referring to his tragic life without spinach enchiladas.

I make a fairly mild version, but wouldn’t mind adding some extra chili peppers.  I guess that will have to wait until Youngest Daughter goes away to college.  So here is how gringos make Spinach Cheese Enchiladas.  Don’t forget to drink your “WATER.”

SPINACH AND CHEESE ENCHILADAS

Preparation time: 30 minutes.  Makes 8 servings.

Baking time: Bake enchiladas at 450 degrees for 30 minutes.

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 lg. onion, finely chopped

4 to 5 cloves garlic, minced

10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. oregano

If you want it spicier, you can add extra chilies if you like.

8 corn or flour tortillas

1 (10 oz.) can mild enchilada sauce

1 c. cottage cheese or ricotta cheese

1 c. shredded Cheddar cheese

2 egg whites (or 2 whole eggs)

1/2 tsp. salt

Additional shredded Cheddar cheese; chopped chives, for topping (optional)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Heat oil in medium size skillet over medium heat. Add onion, saute 3 minutes. Add garlic, saute 1 minute. Add spinach and spices, and cook, stirring, until mixture is dry. Set aside.

Warm tortillas for 10-20 seconds in microwave. (Or wrap tortillas in aluminum foil. Place packet on oven shelf. Bake 5 minutes at 450 deg to warm tortillas.) Pour half of enchilada sauce into 11 x 7  inch baking dish. Set aside.

Combine cottage cheese, Cheddar, egg white and salt in medium bowl. Stir in spinach mixture.

One at a time, remove warm tortillas from foil packet. Spread 1/4 cup cottage cheese mixture in center. Roll tortilla up and place seam side down in baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas and cheese mixture. Cover enchiladas with remaining enchilada sauce. Sprinkle additional shredded cheese and chives on top, if desired.  Cover tightly with aluminum foil.  Bake enchiladas at 450 degrees for 30 minutes.