happy 5th!

SO, happy cinco de mayo! every year in arizona the pinata's come out and so do the corona's on the 5th of may. this was my favorite time of year, not because of the pinata's and corona's but because i got to eat yummy mexican food in a very festive atmosphere. anyway, i've since heard rumors that mexican's don't even celebrate cinco de mayo or that it's not really their independence day but whatever, i guess there had to be a holiday in between st. patricks day and memorial day. so, in honor of a great tradition i made enchiladas. i was inspired by the {THIS} recipe. when i say inspired, that really means that i took the chickpeas and the word enchiladas from the recipe and that's about it. because one, if you cut up tortillas that doesn't make them enchiladas. that makes it a casserole. second, you can not use mozzarella cheese and still call it mexican. that's italian. and lastly, how boring can you get with just tortillas, cheese and chickpeas? bleh.

okay, so on to my version....

CHICKPEA ENCHILADAS
(lucky you, i really paid attention to the quantities this time. you're welcome.)

filling:
1 onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 1/2 handfuls baby carrots, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
6 cloves garlic, sliced
3 green onions, sliced
1/2 packet taco seasoning mix
generous amount of salt and pepper
12 ounces cooked chick peas
2 tablespoons sourcream
2 tablespoons cream cheese
large hand full of white cheddar cheese

sauce:
red sauce enchilada seasoning packet
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup tomato sauce

tortillas
cheddar cheese
3 green onions, sliced
sour cream (optional)
fresh salsa

for the filling:
take the onions, garlic, peppers, carrots, salt and pepper and saute in a large heavy bottom pot with a little bit of oil until very tender. add the sour and cream cheese and seasoning and stir until evenly combined. toss in the chick peas and stir thoroughly. finally add the cheddar cheese and stir until completely melted. turn the heat off and leave to cool slightly.

for the sauce:
combine all ingredients in a sauce pot and bring to a boil. stir for one minute then take off heat.

to assemble:
put one cup of the sauce mixture on the bottom of a baking dish. smooth out to cover the entire bottom of the dish. take each tortillas, add filling and roll up. place tortillas seam side down in baking dish and repeat until all the filling and tortillas are used. pour the remaining sauce over the tortillas and cover with cheddar cheese ( pepper jack, a combo of the two or the mexican equivalent can be used). bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. turn the broiler on and broil for 3 minutes until the cheese is nice and bubbly and crispy. add the green onions and leave to cool for 10 minutes, then enjoy with salsa and sour cream.

happy cinco de mayo everyone!