Spinach & artichoke enchiladas

One ingredient, or the mere mention of said ingredient, and dinner is almost ruined. I'm preparing dinner tonight, and I am thinking of all the possible things that my daughter could have instead, because as I am prepping, I KNOW that she won't be eating any of it. This recipe called for onions, and I don't chop onions. Ever. I am out of my stash of pre-chopped onions, so I ask my onion chopper to get one ready for me. While he's at it, I asked him to shred the cheese for me, and chop the garlic I needed. My husband usually chops 1-2 onions, and we store them in a glass container for the week, so I don't have to chop any when I need them. Imagine if I am working a split shift, and I come home mid day to fix dinner and I need to chop an onion...No one wants to be trained by someone who reeks of onion.
I digress, as David is doing the prep work for me while I prepare the sauce, he asks what we're having for dinner. I tell him Spinach and artichoke enchiladas. He replies with, "leave out the artichoke, and it sounds delish." He's not a very picky eater, but the items he doesn't like, he really doesn't like. I didn't tell him that I was also using whole wheat tortillas, and I hoped that he didn't walk into the kitchen as I was assembling the enchiladas. Maybe I could disguise that part, I thought. Everything was fairly easy to prepare, and while dinner was cooking in the oven, the kids helped me clean the kitchen.

Tonight's dinner was meatless. I don't do "meatless Mondays," but I do try to throw a meatless dish into our weekly menu, sometimes more than once each week. Tonight's dinner was a bit more on the processed side than I'd like, but on the whole, it was alright.

David actually had seconds on this dish, as did I. I served the kids each one whole enchilada, and I could have split one between them. Not because they were big, but rather the kids didn't care for them. I usually ask for a rating of up to 4 stars (4 people in our family) or a rating of OK, good, or make-it-again-good.  3/4 of us rated it 2 stars, and the other one gave it 0 stars; she ate the tortilla, and that's about it.

Like yesterday, this recipe came out of, "Taste of Home A+ Recipes From Schools Across America" or www.tasteofhome.com

Prep: 30 minutes Bake: 20 minutes Makes: 8 servings

3Tbsp butter
3Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) vegetable broth
1 can (8ounces) tomato sauce
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp ground cumin

Enchiladas
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves
2Tbsp olive oil
1/2 lb medium fresh mushrooms, quartered
1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach
1 can (14 ounces) water-packed artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed, and chopped
1 carton (15 ounces) ricotta cheese
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Monterey jack cheese, divided
8 whole wheat tortillas (8 inches), warmed

1. In a small sauce pan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour until smooth; gradually add broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the tomato sauce, chili powder and cumin. Simmer, uncovered, for 6-8 minutes or until slightly thickened. Spread 3/4 cup sauce into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Set aside remaining sauce.

2.  In a large skillet, saute onion and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in mushrooms; cook 3 minutes longer. Add artichokes and spinach; cook for 4-5 minutes longer. Remove from heat; stir in the ricotta cheese, sour cream and 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese.

3. Place 2/3 cup mushroom mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in prepared dish. Pour reserved sauce over the top; sprinkle with remaining cheese.

4. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.

I did not use frozen spinach. I used a 5 ounce pack or fresh, pre-washed baby spinach. I also don't like an over bearing onion taste, so I used about 1/3 cup of onions, and only 1 clove of garlic. Those were the only changes I made to this recipe.