I strongly recommend the use of Dan’s Prime Smoky Chipotle sauce, even though I try not to insist on specific brand products in recipes.  It’s got the perfect flavor for this recipe, and at only $3 a bottle, it’s cost-efficient.  (The ingredient it replaces is a single chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, which costs $2.49 for an entire can you’d just end up throwing away after, unless you happen to use chipotle peppers in adobo sauce all the time, which I do not.  The Dan’s also has the added benefit of not requiring dicing; w00t!)  Just remember to store it in the refrigerator.  You don’t have to have it, but it really adds a nice savory flavor and reduces the sweetness of the sweet potatoes.  If you know of a chipotle chile sauce that’s very simple and not loaded down with other things, you can substitute it, but I can’t vouch for the end flavor unless you use Dan’s.

Filling Ingredients:
2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch of green onions, diced
2-3 large cloves garlic, pressed
3 cups (1.5 lbs) sweet potatoes, peeled & diced (I use the pre-cubed from Trader Joe’s)
2-15 oz. cans diced tomatoes, one drained (or 1-28 oz. can, partially drained)
2 large (fresh) jalapeno peppers, diced fine or minced
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup water
1-15 oz. can black beans (or 2 cups of homemade, if you have them)
1-1.5 tsp. Dan’s Prime Smoky Chipotle sauce
4 oz. cheddar cheese, grated
6 oz. queso fresco, crumbled

Sauce Ingredients:
1-15 oz. can tomato sauce
1.75 (1-3/4) cups low-sodium vegetable broth, or 2 “sticks” of liquid concentrated broth & 1.75 cups water
1 tsp. ancho chile powder
1 tsp. Simply Organic brand chili powder (I prefer the SO brand, but if you have one you really like, use it)
1 tsp. dried oregano, ground up in a mortar & pestle
1/2 tsp. chipotle chile powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt

Other Ingredients:
16 six inch corn tortillas, kinda thin (do not get the thick ones; they crack apart when you roll them)
2 limes, cut into wedges (optional)
1 avocado, sliced (optional)
sour cream (optional; I strongly recommend Wallaby brand, OMG)

1.  To make the filling:
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add onions and saute until soft, about 3-5 minutes.

Add garlic and saute one minute more, stirring to keep the garlic from scorching.

Add the sweet potatoes, tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, salt, and water, and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 30-40 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are soft.

While the sweet potato mixture is cooking, make the sauce (instructions below).

Finish the  filling:
Mash the mixture with a potato masher until everything is nicely mushed up.

Add the black beans to the mashed mixture and give it all a big stir to combine.  Return to the heat and cook 5 more minutes.

Add the Dan’s Prime Smoky Chipotle sauce,  cheddar and queso fresco and stir well until the cheddar is melted.  Remove from heat.

2. To make the sauce (while the sweet potato mixture is cooking):
Put the tomato sauce in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
Add the spices and stir to mix well.
Stir in the broth (or broth concentrate & water) and bring to a simmer over  medium heat.  Stir in the salt and reduce heat to low.  Simmer for 5-10 minutes and remove from heat.

3. To make the enchiladas:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brush a 13×9″ baking dish with olive oil or spray it with your spray oil of choice.
**If you like, you can use an 8×8″ pan and keep half for dinner tomorrow.  All you have to do is heat the filling and sauce on the stove and then follow the rest of the directions to assemble the enchiladas.  Since I only cook for 2, this is what I do, and it’s even tastier the next day.

If you’re using an 8×8″ dish, split the sauce in half and retain one half for the next day.

Ladle 1 cup of sauce in the bottom of the baking dish (or 1/2 cup, if you use an 8×8″ pan) and spread the sauce across the bottom.

Spoon filling into the center of a 6″ corn tortilla shell, roll the shell, and place it with the seam side down in the baking dish.  Repeat until the dish is filled.  An 8×8″ dish will hold 6-8 enchiladas, depending on how much filling you put in each one.  A 13×9″ dish will hold 12-14, or so.

Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas.  Crumble 3 oz. of queso fresco (1/4 of a 12 oz. round) over the sauce-covered enchiladas, and bake uncovered for 15 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly.  Switch your oven to broil and broil about 5 minutes, until the cheese is brown.

Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Top with squeeze of lime, sliced avocado, and sour cream, as you like, and enjoy!

Regarding the spices in this, one girl’s tarragon is another’s licorice-like hall of horrors.  I love the stuff, but my friend Jon feels a little goes a long, long way.  So if you don’t like tarragon, leave it out.  I don’t like the bitter, medicinal taste of oregano, so I rarely use it, but some people feel it isn’t Italian food if it doesn’t have oregano in it.  If you like oregano, toss about 1/2 a teaspoon in.  Except for sage, the spices marked optional in this recipe are the ones I toss in if I feel like it, or if something else is missing.  For instance, if I’m out of or short on marjoram, I make sure to toss in basil and use a little extra.  I always use sage, but if you don’t like it, it’s okay to leave it out.  You don’t have to use all the herbs in the recipe to get a good sauce out of the deal.  But I have found that the herbs I use routinely produce a great, full-bodied sauce with a well-rounded range of flavors.

Things you might need:
A small mortar and pestle

Ingredients:
1 small head of cauliflower or half of a largish one, chopped
1 largish brocolli crown, chopped
2 large portobella mushroom caps, chopped
1 large, 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce (either plain or seasoned with basil)
salt
sugar (optional)
1 heaping teaspoon dried tarragon
1 heaping teaspoon dried marjoram
1 heaping teaspoon dried chervil
1 teaspoon dried sage leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage, if you have that instead) (optional)
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried savory
1 teaspoon dried basil (optional)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (optional)
2 medium (2″ long) dried bay leaves  (or 3 smaller ones or 1 big one)
1 – 2 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed (I favor pressing, frankly) (optional)
extra virgin olive oil

To make:
1.  Pour a few tablespoons of olive oil into a pre-heated dutch oven-style pot over medium heat.  Press the garlic into it and stir well, so the garlic bits break up and don’t clump together.

2.  When the garlic starts to brown, throw in the chopped cauliflower.  Turn the heat up to medium-high and saute until the cauliflower is a golden-green color, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.

3.  Add the chopped portobello mushrooms and a pinch of salt.  How much is up to you, but I usually toss in about a teaspoon. Stir.  Saute the mushroom/cauliflower mix, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms turn a uniform reddish-brown color, about 5-10 minutes.

4.  Add the canned tomatoes to the pot.  If you like your broccoli well-cooked, add it now.  I don’t, so I add it in the last 5 minutes of cooking.

5.  Toss in a small pinch of sugar to cut the acidity in the tomatoes.  This step is totally optional, and it’s just a tiny bit, maybe an 1/8 teaspoon.  Not enough to sweeten it.  Unless you like sweet sauce, in which case, I guess you could toss in more, but the thyme will sweeten the sauce quite a bit, so don’t go nuts if you’re using thyme.

6.  Add the whole bay leaves to the sauce.

7.  Crush the rest of the spices in the ingredients list in a mortar and pestle*, stirring them into the sauce as you go.

8.  When all the spices you want to use have been added to the sauce, give everything one more big stir so it’s all mixed up nicely together.  Bring to a bubble, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Beyond 20 minutes, dried herbs start to lose flavor, so try not to let it simmer much longer than that.

9. If you prefer your broccoli more crisp than wilted, stir it into the pot for the last 5 minutes of cooking and turn the heat up to medium.

Your pasta ought to be done by now, so ladle the sauce over the noodles of your choice, grate some parmesan over it or sprinkle some on, and enjoy!  Finally, according to my friend Noelle, tradition declares that the person who finds a bay leaf in his or her plate gets out of doing the dishes.  Good luck!

Serves 3 – 4

Ingredients:
1 dozen eggs
2 serving spoons of mayonnaise; about 4 Tbs. I think – start with 3 and see how it goes
2 soup spoons of yellow mustard (the prepared kind, like French’s); about 2 Tbs. maybe – start with 1
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp. or so of fresh ground black pepper
dash of seasoning salt (Bell’ Aroma, preferably)
a little finely chopped white onion
a little finely chopped dill pickle

To make:
1. Hard boil the eggs, about 7 minutes

2.  Cool them in cold water and then peel them.

3.  In a large bowl, mash the eggs with a potato masher.

4.  Mix in the mayo, mustard, salt, pepper, onions, and pickles.

Enjoy!

Sorry about that!