What's for lunch 1/16/13

Applegate®
The Great Organic Beef Hotdog
Long Island Roasted Potatoes
Sauerkraut ~ Baby Carrots

Fresh Fruit 

Gluten Free when taken without the bun

The hot dogs are from Applegate Farms - so they are far better than many hot dogs but are hot dogs nonetheless. They have 8g of fat and 330mg of sodium. The ingredients are just: beef, water, sea salt, less than 2% of the following: celery juice, sodium lactate (from beets), lactic acid starter culture (not from milk), onion powder, spices, garlic powder, paprika. They have 6g of fat(2.5g saturated) and 380 mg of sodium. They are dairy-, casein- and gluten-free. They promote it as nitrate-free but this NYT article indicates the nitrate issue is tricky - andcites the company saying their bacon has the same level (naturally) of cancer-causing nitrates as conventional brands.  You may also not want your kids growing up thinking hot dogs are a good lunch given the potential link between processed meats and cancer. The bun is whole wheat.  

The potatoes are local but not organic roasted with herbs.  Still need more details on the sauerkraut.  The fruit is fresh as are the baby carrots.  Again, not organic but better then canned or frozen.  

Since my daughter is gluten free and corn free and I am gluten free and dairy free this recipe works for us. We omit the corn. It is delicious. 

Vegetable and Black Bean Enchiladas 

Tools:
Large casserole dish
Chef’s knife
2 large skillets/pans
Blender

Ingredients:
Try to buy everything organic. Here’s why.1/2 batch of Ancho Chipotle SauceDaiya Mozzarella Cheese (optional)
Fresh cilantro leaves
Gluten-free brown rice tortillas (thawed if frozen)

Enchilada Sauce
3 tbsp unrefined coconut oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced (here’s a tip)
2 tbsp gluten-free all purpose flour
3 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp cocoa powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander
3 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp fine ground sea salt
2 large tomatoes
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 cup vegetable stock (make your own)

Veggie Filling
1 red pepper, ribs removed, seeded, diced
1 yellow pepper, ribs removed, seeded, diced
1 yellow onion, diced (here’s a tip)
2 large Portobello mushrooms
3 leaves kale, stems removed and chopped
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans (start with 1/2 cup dry and make your own)
1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh sweet corn
2 tsp unrefined coconut oil
1/4 cup fresh, chopped cilantro leaves
2 tsp fresh lime juice
Fine ground sea salt to taste
Fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Let’s get started.
In a large skillet or pan, place 2 tsp coconut oil, peppers and 1 onion. Heat to medium-high and stir often for about 10 minutes.

In another skillet or pan, place 3 tbsp coconut oil and add the other onion. Heat to medium-high and stir often for about 5 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes (I had a few cherry tomatoes from the garden, that’s what you see in the mix below) and cook down, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes.

Stir in remaining Enchilada Sauce ingredients…

… bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for 10 minutes.

In the other pan, add remaining Veggie Filling ingredients (except corn and beans) to your onion, stir together for about 7 minutes.

Now add corn and beans and stir together for about 1 minute. Season to taste with sea salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

Place Enchilada Sauce in the blender and mix until smooth. Transfer to a small glass bowl. Rinse the blender, and mix your Ancho Chipotle Sauce until smooth. Transfer to a bowl.

Create an assembly line by laying out all your ingredients—Enchilada Sauce, Ancho Chipotle Sauce, Veggie Filling, Daiya if using and Tortillas.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Spread some Enchilada Sauce into the bottom of your casserole dish.

Take a tortilla and spread a bit of Ancho Chipotle Sauce in the center, lengthwise. Add some veggie filling, some Enchilada Sauce and sprinkle with some dairy-free cheese if you like. Now, make sure that you leave about 3 1/2″ on either side of your filling so you can roll ’er up.

Take one side of your tortilla and wrap it over the filling. Tuck a bit, then roll the entire thing until tight. Place into your casserole dish. Repeat steps until you fill your dish with enchiladas.

Top all tortillas with remaining Enchilada Sauce. Sprinkle with dairy-free cheese if you are using. Set aside any leftover Ancho Chipotle Sauce for anyone who want extra heat when serving. If you have a sensitive bunch of folks at your table, you may want to use only 1/2-1 tsp of this sauce per enchilada and leave the rest for those who like it hot, to add later—Ancho Chipotle Sauce has some kick. You can always leave it out, too. But I recommend using it.

Bake enchiladas for 25 minutes. Serve topped with fresh, chopped cilantro and maybe a squeeze of fresh lime. Yum!

See… I guess the “beauty” in that beauty shot is that they are all gone. That one left was for me. Whew.