Lupita's Cheezy Spinach-Onion Enchiladas

My husband used to LOVE spinach enchiladas, so I came up with this recipe & made them yesterday. They rock! BTW, I decided to make my own enchilada sauce cuz they were $3 per 15 ounce can!! Gasp!

Lupita’s Cheezy Spinach/Onion Enchiladas

– makes approx 20 enchiladas

1 batch of Cheeze Sauce

1 tub regular tofu, drained, pressed & cut into small chunks

½ pound fresh spinach, chopped (food processor works well)

1 small onion, diced

4 -5 cups red enchilada sauce

Corn tortillas – not the kind that are already fried. These are soft & pliable.

Cheddar & mozzarella vegan cheese, grated

In a blender, make the cheeze sauce. Add the tofu a few chunks at a time, blending till smooth & repeat as necessary. The mixture should be the consistency of frosting. Scrape into a bowl & add the chopped spinach & diced onion to the mixture, stirring well.

Spoon some enchilada sauce in the bottom of your baking dish, enough to cover. Take a tortilla & spread the filling on 2/3 of the tortilla. Starting at the edge with the filling, roll the tortilla into a pinwheel & place it on the pan, edge down. Repeat till your pan is filled. Pour more enchilada sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Sprinkle with grated cheese.

Bake at 350° for about 30 minutes. Turn on broiler & broil till cheese melts.

The tofu filling freezes very well, as does the cheeze sauce.

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Enchilada Sauce

– approx 5 cups

½ cup Earth Balance or oil

½ cup whole wheat flour (or any flour)

4 Tablespoons chili powder

4 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons salt

5 cups water

2 six ounce cans of tomato paste

¼ cup ketchup

Melt the Earth Balance in a pan. When bubbly, add flour, small amounts at a time, whisking each addition into the oil. When all the flour has been integrated into the oil, start adding the water, ½ cup at a time, mixing the roux thoroughly with the additional water. Repeat until all the water is added. Bring mixture to a boil & add the tomato paste, mixing well with the water/chili powder sauce. Add spices, salt & ketchup, stir well & simmer for about 5 minutes.

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Cheeze Sauce

7 oz. jar roasted red pepper, drained

1 1/2 cups raw cashews

3/4 cup water

2/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes (or savory yeast)

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce or Braggs amino's

1 1/2 tablespoons tahini

Put all ingredients in a blender & blend till smooth.

This makes more than I usually need at one time, so I freeze half of it & it defrosts just fine. A friend on another forum made it with no water & used it as a spread to make grilled cheese sandwiches.

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In honor of Vegan Madre & little Sofia, here's a photo of the finished product.

Lupita's Rockin' Enchiladas

http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL728/2745263/8695785/118614080.jpg

I was called Lupita in Spanish class.

That looks unbeleivably amazing!!