Zucchini Corn Enchiladas

For whatever reason, in the middle of winter, zucchini is abundant (and cheap) at the Mexican market close to my husband's work. And since we love zucchini, he has been bringing it home for me to cook. We've already had stuffed zucchini, zucchini parmesan is on the horizon, and last night I created a zucchini enchilada dish.

Which is muy sabrosa.

Zucchini Corn Enchiladas

• 2 medium to largish zucchini
• 1 small onion
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed
  
• 1/2 of a 16 oz bag frozen corn
  
• 1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles
• 12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
  
• 1 (10 oz) green chile enchilada sauce
• 1/4 cup mexican cheese mixture (optional)
  

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Shred both zucchini.
2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute onions until translucent. Add garlic, corn, and shredded zucchini. Cook until zucchini has released water and water has mostly evaporated. Stir in diced green chiles.
3. Place tortillas on a microwave safe plate and cover with a paper towel. Microwave on high for 1 minute to soften.
4. Place a scant 1/4 cup of filling in each tortilla, rolling up. Place seam side down in 13x9 casserole pan. Sprinkle any remaining filling over the top of the rolled tortillas.
5. Pour enchilada sauce over the top of tortillas, making sure that the sauce covers all the enchiladas. If using cheese, sprinkle over the top of the enchiladas.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until enchiladas are heated through.

The cheese is really an unnecessary addition to these enchiladas. I don't even really like cheese, but my family does. This plays lip service to that want from them...but it really is an unnecessary addition. :)

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Ravioli

It's that time of year again! Pumpkin season. When the leaves are falling and the air is crisp, and every street corner market has an abundance of fresh pumpkins decorating the store front. I recently baked my own pumpkin and froze the pulp for future pumpkin endeavors. There is just something extremely satisfying about using your own baked pumpkin, although there is certainly nothing wrong with using commercially canned pumpkin.

For instructions on how to roast your own pumpkin, Kevin from Closet Cooking has a great technique. Start with the smallest time, though...my pumpkin roasted a lot faster than his. (Same with the seeds if you are roasting them--start with 5-6 minutes. You can always add time, but you can't fix burnt seeds).

Kevin also has some yummy sounding Pumpkin Cream Cheese Raviolis, which were the inspiration for mine. I was looking for something a little less TexMex though, so I started searching for some different variations. Love and Olive Oil has some yummy sounding raviolis too, more in the flavor profile I was looking for, but a little too heavy with the addition of all the cream. I opted for a marriage of sorts between the two recipes, substituting Kevin's cream cheese for the heavy cream, and Lindsay&Taylor's seasoning for the TexMex Cumin flavors. So here is my version, which freezes nicely. Next time I think I will double it, because I really want more in the freezer.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Ravioli

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups pureed pumpkin
• 3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon sage
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1-12 ounce package wonton wrappers

1. Mix together pumpkin, cream cheese, thyme, sage, salt, and pepper. Brush one of the wontons with water. Place a teaspoon of the pumpkin mixture in the middle of the wonton and place another wonton on top. Using a ravioli cutter/sealer, cut and seal the ravioli.


*If you don't have a ravioli cutter/sealer, use one wonton, brush with water, place 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of pumpkin mixture in middle and fold diagonally (so you end up with a triangle shape). Press the edges to make sure they are sealed. You will probably get more raviolis this way--but I like the pretty shape that my ravioli cutter makes.

2. Place on a cookie sheet and freeze. Three or four raviolis per person. Place in freezer bags. Freeze.

3. Cooking instructions: Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Drop in frozen raviolis and cook for 4 - 6 minutes.


The Pampered Chef has some yummy sounding sauces for when you are ready to cook those ravioli. Here are two of my favorites:

Walnut Pesto
Ingredients

• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup fresh Parmesan cheese

1. Place walnuts in a small microwave-safe dish. Microwave on high for 1-2 minutes, stirring after each 30-second interval, until fragrant and lightly toasted. Cool completey.
2. Place walnuts and basil on a cutting board and chop together until finely chopped. Combine basil mixture, oil, garlic, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl. Spoon over pumpkin raviolis.

Sage Brown Butter
This is a winner in any category. Google this recipe and you will come up with thousands of versions. Yum!
Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3 tablespoons snipped fresh sage leaves
• 1/4 cup grated fresh Romano cheese
• black pepper

1. Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sage and cook 1 minute or until butter just begins to brown. Add cooked ravioli. Cook without stirring until ravioli are golden brown on one side.
2. Remove from skillet; spoon onto serving plates. Sprinkle cheese over ravioli. Top with ground pepper.

Tomato Zucchini Sauce

In my quest for a healthier lifestyle, I am moving more towards a vegetarian diet. That doesn't mean I won't share my tried-and-true meat recipes; I still will. Just, most likely my new recipes will be more on the vegetarian side.

This is a wonderful sauce that utilizes summer's bounty. Here in Southern Nevada, we are still in the middle of an extremely hot summer. Our local nurseries are starting to sell plants that elsewhere are spring plants, such as tomatoes, peppers, peas, cole veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage). It is exciting to me to start gardening again, and the thought of fresh veggies is thrilling. I also live a mere two hours away from a much cooler climate (Cedar City, UT--where my daughter happens to live) with a great farmer's market. When I visit my daughter, I can buy some terrific veggies to "put up" for the winter.

Tomato Zucchini Sauce
a great pasta sauce - makes about 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 3/4 cup chopped onions
• 1 small sweet red or green pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped carrots
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• 2 cups crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp crumbled rosemary
• 1 tsp fresh marjoram
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 tbsp chopped parsley
• 1/4 cup water or vegetable stock
• 3 medium zucchini, thinly sliced

1. In a medium stainless steel or enamel saucepan, heat the oil and butter. Add the onions, peppers, carrots, and celery. Saute for 5-8 minutes until soft.

2. Add the tomatoes, rosemary, marjoram, bay leaf, parsley, and stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 25-30 minutes.

3. Stir in the zucchini. Cook, covered, for 5 - 7 minutes. Remove the bay leaf before serving.

To freeze: Prepare the recipe as directed. Remove the bay leaf, then cool and ladle the sauce into freezer containers, leaving 1/2" headspace, and freeze.

To serve, partially thaw the frozen sauce in the refrigerator. Put in a saucepan, cover, and warm over low heat until heated through, stirring occasionally.