Hi Everyone and Happy Friday!
So, so, so happy the weekend is here. Is it just me or did the week go kind of slow? It seemed insanely slow for me. Just glad today is Friday, and only 8 hours of work to get through. Today I have for another quick recipe for you that takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish. I love quick meals, especially during the week, when your feeling lazy from having such a LOOOOOOONNNNNGGG day at work.
On today’s menu I have Lentil Enchiladas. This is the first time I ever really made anything with lentils besides my Cucumber and Tomato Lentil Salad. I have fallen for Trader Joe’s Steamed Lentils (click the cucumber and tomato lentil recipe to see the pkg. of the lentils), and I couldn’t get the idea out of my head to make enchiladas with them. So glad I did! Personally I like beans and lentils, so I don’t have an issue using these ingredients instead of meat, however my Husband may beg to differ. This was the first time he ever had lentils and he is NOT good at trying new things. He gave me that disgusted look and said what is that? I told him it has just as much protein as meat, now just try it! He did, and he at one. He said my dinner would have been of the hook if I used ground beef. Sorry, but I wanted to try this with lentils. After he ate his one enchilada, he just sat there staring at my over-loaded plate that was filled with enchiladas and hot sauce. He broke down and said I’ll have one more. See, he liked them, but just doesn’t want to admit it. If he really didn’t like it, he wouldn’t have finished his first one. Trust me, he would rather starve then eat something he simply didn’t like. He is so old school. But one thing he didn’t notice is that I used whole wheat tortilla shells. That’s another thing he hates, wheat! I’m laughing. I personally think he just likes to be difficult! He ate two enchiladas and honestly, normally I could have put away 3 enchiladas, but I was stuffed and just managed to finish my second one. So I think that is why he only had two.
I should tell you that these enchiladas are most excellent, and I would make these again for sure!! I honestly didn’t miss the meat at all. Actually I think the lentils tasted between a cross of beans and ground beef. They are a great sub for meat and are loaded with protein and fiber. Matter in fact this dish has so much fiber in it, that you don’t need to eat anything else with fiber for the rest of the day. It has 27 grams of it!!! That’s a lot. Also the high fiber count also because I used La Tortilla Factory low carb, high fiber whole wheat flour tortilla shells (50 calories). I’m not the biggest fan of them, I like Mission better, but they weren’t bad, plus they are extremely healthy and work great with enchiladas. I didn’t notice the difference in this dish!
For the enchilada sauce I made homemade. Trust me, it takes 3 minutes to make and doesn’t require to be heated up, it’s quick and easy. It’s the same sauce I used when I made Skillet Enchiladas. The sauce is phenomenal! It’s got a slight smoky taste from the chili powder and has a nice Mexican flair from the cumin. My Husband actually loves my sauce. It was one of those wing it recipes I made once and now whenever I need enchilada sauce I make that. It’s quick, easy and low in calories and beats store-bought!
- 2¼ cups lentils, cooked (I used Trader Joe's Steamed Lentils)
- 1 tsp. olive oil
- ¼ cup onion, diced
- ½ tbsp garlic, minced
- 4 oz can fire roasted green chilis
- ½ cup lite shredded Mexican cheese, divided
- 8 8"whole wheat flour tortilla taco shells
- **Enchilada Sauce**
- 1 15oz can (1¾ cup) tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- Preheat oven to 350F
- To make enchilada sauce: In a medium bowl, add tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and salt. Mix until combined; set a side.
- In a skillet add olive oil, onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add green chilis and lentils, cook until warmed. Add ¼ cup of cheese and mix until cheese is mostly melted.
- Spoon a little bit of the sauce into a 9 x 13 baking dish. Evenly distribute lentil mixture to tortilla (about ¼ cup), place tortilla seem side down onto baking dish. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese.
- Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, until cheese has melted
- Optional: Top with tomatoes, jalapenos and greek yogurt
I know a lot of you are meat eaters, hey I am too, but if your up for trying something new, give this dish a try. It just may surprise you on how good it is. Even though my Husband moaned and groaned and said he didn’t like it, he did because he ate two and these bad boys are so filling you couldn’t eat more than two. This is really a good for you recipe and will keep you filled for hours. No night-time snacking for me. I was even to full to eat tortilla chips with dinner and that’s amazing!!
Have a great weekend and stayed tuned for what I am calling my jar weekend!! I have some fun treats planned, but I can’t tell you too much about it because I haven’t made them yet, but the recipes are in my head! Hopefully they turn out. Eck…
Have a great weekend everyone!
Toodles,
Jennifer
Classic Macaroni Salad
Strawberry Chicken Salad
Caramelized Herb Roasted Carrots
Brussels Sprouts with fresh Cranberries
Jennifer – Would your enchilada sauce have less calories than most canned enchilada sauces? Thanks.
Beth
Hi Beth! I compared the same portion amount with Trader Joe’s Enchilada Sauce. Trader Joe’s for 1/4 cup is: Calories: 30, Fat: 1.5, Sodium: 220, Carbs: 3, Fiber: 0, Sugar: 0, Protein: 1
Mine is: Calories: 20, Fat: 0, Sodium: 310, Carbs: 5, Fiber: 1, Sugar: 1, Protein: 0
If you have a no sodium or a low sodium tomato sauce, the the sodium level will be a lot lower then mine. Plus my enchilada sauce is all natural, no preservatives or funky ingredients added to it. Sometimes it’s about what’s in it, rather than how many calories are in it. Next time your at the store check out the ingredient label. Trader Joe’s is forever long. Hope this helps! Have a great Friday!
I’m not a meat eater and I’m super excited to try this recipe! I never thought of using lentils in Mexican-themed dishes, but you’ve convinced me 🙂 And staying full after dinner is certainly a good effect.
I think I can make anything into a Mexican dish! lol I love Mexican style foods!!
What a great vegetarian idea for enchiladas – these look so delicious!
Thank you Georgia!
I’m so excited for these fun veggie enchiladas!! Totally making it onto my menu plan!
Thanks Joanne! Hope everything goes great at your dinner tonight! Enjoy the wine!
Jennifer, I am really impressed that when you said these were loaded with protein, they really are! Most people seem to underestimate our need for protein. So I thank you for your accurate description. I may try this as a lunch, since I also have a carnivore husband, who would be better with vegetarian for lunch than for dinner.
As for tortillas, I would probably make these with corn tortillas, because the only commercial flour tortillas I like come from a local market that has its own tortilleria, where you can watch them being made and buy them hot. Usually I make my own, but I make them too big to use for enchiladas. Corn tortillas would also keep the calorie count the same, at least with the ones I buy. I’m really looking forward to trying these.
Corn tortillas would be great!! Ones from your local market sound amazing!! I just love anything that is homemade and local!! Great way to support the community!
This is genius Jennifer! Seriously! What a great idea! I am not vegetarian, but totally digging on plant protein since it is so much healthier! You knocked another one outta the park! AMAZING!
You are too sweet! I’m not vegetarian myself, but I have fun experimenting with different things.
What a delicious dinner! Love your quick enchilada sauce.
Thank you Chris!
I made these last night and we had them for lunch today – I used whole wheat tortillas (instead of the corn I proposed before) because that’s what we had. They were a resounding success – my husband and I both enjoyed them, and he usually takes more than one try to decide something is good. They went very nicely with Natty Greene’s Southern Pale Ale, too. 🙂 I am delighted that something that sounded good turned out to be as good as I thought. My husband agrees that this can be a regular lunch for us. Thank you for a great recipe. If you had a rating system I would give his 5 stars!
Yah! I am so happy that you and your Husband liked them. Thank you so much for telling me! You made my Saturday when I read your comment to my Husband! 🙂
What a great idea! I love having alternatives to meat in typically meat-heavy dishes. This one looks fantastic!
Thanks Ashley! I really love this dish! It’s even good for meat eaters too!
This dish is one i now make pretty regularly for lunch, because it so good. When I made it again a couple of days ago, I tried a little experiment that worked very well, that I thought you might find interesting. When I made the enchilada sauce I added a generous teaspoon of cinnamon (I used Korintje cinnamon, which is fairly strong). It made the sauce very mellow and even tastier than usual. This recipe has been a great way to introduce some vegetarian entrées into my menu plans – I’m really glad I found it.
Oh my gosh Susan! I LOVE the idea of cinnamon! I am trying that next time I make the enchiladas. I haven’t had them in forever, but it seems like the perfect dish to make this weekend and have it for lunches next week. Thank you so much for sharing this with me. I am so excited to try the cinnamon!! Haven’t heard from you in a while, hop all is well! 🙂