Mushrooms are one of the so-called super foods. They are very good for you, fat free and contain compounds that may help ward off cancer. Plus, they’re relatively inexpensive and they taste delicious. So lately, I’ve been experimenting with mushrooms and have come up with some tasty recipes. I was craving Mexican food today, so this is how the Spicy Mushroom Enchiladas came into existence.

Ingredients

• 4 cups sliced white mushrooms
• 2 tbls extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ cup finely chopped red onion
• 20 ozs prepared enchilada sauce
• 4 ozs chopped green Ortega chilies
• 2-½ cup shredded pepper jack cheese
• 6 medium-sized flour tortillas

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Open the can of enchilada sauce and pour enough sauce into the bottom of an 11 by 7 inch glass baking pan so that the sauce is about 1 inch deep. Set aside. Coat the bottom of a large sized skillet with 1 Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Place the sliced onions into the skillet and cook on medium heat for about two minutes, stirring constantly to make sure the onions don’t burn. Then add the mushrooms to the skillet and drizzle the other remaining Tablespoon of olive oil over the mushrooms. Sprinkle the dried oregano over the mushrooms, and then stir for about 3 minutes. Open the can of chopped green chilies and drain off the excess juice. Add the chilies to the mushrooms and onions and heat through about 2 more minutes. Remove skillet from heat. The mushrooms should be slightly browned and thoroughly mixed with the onions and chilies. Don’t over cook the mushrooms, because they will continue to cook in the oven. Separately fill each of the tortillas with a sixth of the mushroom/onion/chili mixture and 1/3 of a cup of shredded pepper jack cheese. Roll up and fold over the ends of each tortilla and place them tightly next to each other, seam down, in the baking dish. After all of the tortillas are filled and placed in the baking dish, pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top and into the crevices between the enchiladas, making sure to cover all of the exposed tortillas with the sauce. Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup of pepper jack cheese over the top of the enchiladas. Put the pan of enchiladas into the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Serve with a salad of spring greens, toasted pumpkin seeds and a sprinkling of Mexican Cotija cheese. Dress the salad with a simple drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lime juice.

Added Monday, June 22, 2009