Salsa Verde Enchiladas with Sheep Cheese

We love spicy food in this house, and tonight I knew exactly what I needed to give me a kick. Enchiladas! Also be sure to check out Kelly's Real Food Wednesday for more great ideas!!!

Enchilada's are best when topped off with a little cheese. I am sensitive to cow's milk but not to goat or sheep so I decided to try using one of those. Goat cheese would be too strong for these enchiladas so I didn't use it. However there are several sheep cheese varieties that have the taste and texture like cow's milk. At Whole Foods the cheese experts helped me find one that would go well with enchilada's and they were right! The Brigante Pecorino Pinna was perfect for this dish. It melted nicely, and the flavor was somewhere between a mild cheddar and havarti. For those that are sensitive to any dairy then Daiya cheese would also work. 

Ingrediants: sheeps milk, rennet, enzymes, and salt

Also, I have noticed that I can tolerate some cultured dairy (from cows) in small amounts. So tonight I had about a tablespoon of Nancy's cultured, full fat sour cream along side my enchiladas. If I go overboard I will get a stomachache and my eczema will flare up. 

On another note full fat is important because low fat food replacements take out the fat and put fillers and sugar in place of them. Wouldn't you rather eat real food instead of some filler or more sugar? Plus, "those that are on low fat diets for a long time may be at risk for depression, low energy, weight gain, and mineral deficiencies" -Sally Fallon, Nourishing Traditions.

 Salsa Verde Turkey Enchiladas before getting baked

Enchiladas finished baking and topped off with sheep cheese. I didn't bake the cheese because I didn't want to kill the enzymes

Ingredients

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

16 sprouted corn tortillas

1 lb ground turkey or shredded chicken

1 medium onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 carrot, shredded

10 leaves of kale, chopped with stem removed

2 jalapenos, diced

1/2 Tbs cumin

1/2 Tbs chili powder

16 oz salsa verde

1 1/2 cups raw cheese, shredded (I used sheep-Brigante Pecorino Pinna)

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1 avocado, sliced

Cultured, full fat sour cream (optional)

9 x 13 baking dish, greased

Directions

Enchilada Filling: In a large pan sauté the onion, garlic, and carrot in some olive oil. Add it to a large mixing bowl and set aside. In the same pan cook up the ground turkey, jalapenos, and stir in the cumin and chili powder. When the turkey is almost done mix the kale in until it wilts. Add the turkey mixture to the onion mixture and stir together until combined.

Soften the Tortillas: Fry the corn tortillas in a little olive oil to soften them, don't let them get crispy or they won't roll up. Another method is to steam the tortillas so that they become soft. Choose whichever method you prefer. Sometimes it's nice to do half steamed and half fried.

Bake or Freeze: Next scoop some enchilada filling into a tortilla, roll it up and place it seam side down. Do this until the greased baking pan is filled up. At this point the enchilada's could be frozen or baked. If baking, pour the salsa verde over the enchilada's, cover, and bake at 325 for 30 minutes or until they are steaming. At this point sprinkle the cheese over the top of the enchiladas, cover and let them sit in the warm oven for about 5 minutes or until the cheese melts.

Serve: with cilantro, avocado, salsa, and cultured-full-fat-sour cream. 

Meatloaf with lentils and veggies

The secret to my tasty meatloaf is to add in leftovers. I had some organic kale and sausage from the previous day as well as fiber from juicing vegetables for a morning health drink. It proved to be a great way to give my meatloaf a nutritional boost and add flavor as well. 

Instead of using 2 lbs of grass-fed ground beef I used 1 lb and the other lb was replaced with sprouted lentils. This saved money since lentils cost pennies compared to grass-fed beef. Plus Lentils offer plenty of protein, folate, iron, potassium, and fiber. 

 Sauteed celery and onions

 Sprouted lentils cooked with tomatoes, onions, and garlic for 10 minutes.

 Meatloaf is a great way to use up leftovers. I had some sausage and kale that needed eaten up so I blended it up with some garlic. 

 1 lb of grass-fed ground beef, 1 lb of sprouted/cooked lentils, tomatoes, onions, celery, kale, organic sausage, garlic, and fiber from juicing carrots/summer squash. 

 Instead of doing the typical meatloaf in a bread pan I baked them in a greased muffin pan. 

 After they have baked for 45 minutes they are ready to eat. Not the prettiest picture (I'm not a photographer by any means) but they tasted great, in fact we didn't even use ketchup!

Meatloaf

1 lb grass fed ground beef

1 lb of  sprouted lentils

15 oz diced tomatoes

2 Tbs ghee

1/2 onion, diced

2 garlic bulbs

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 cup kale, chopped

2 carrots, shredded (in this case I used fiber from juicing veggies)

1 oz Italian sausage (optional)

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp of dried basil

1 tsp of fresh rosemary, diced

4 Tbs of Flax meal + water

1 1/2 cups gluten free bread crumbs (I used roughly blended oatmeal)

Directions

Soak the lentils for 12 hours. Drain and rinse 3 times over 24 hours or until they have sprouted.

Cook the lentils with 15 oz of diced tomatoes. Since they are sprouted it should only take 10 minutes.

Sauté the onion, celery,  garlic, and kale in 2 Tbs of ghee. Place in a food processor and blend so it is chunky. Don't puree it.

Preheat oven to 350

In a large mixing bowl  combine all of the ingredients.

Grease muffin tins and scoop the meatloaf into each cup and shape the top smooth. Bake for 45 minutes or until the temperature reads 170. 

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

My parents came up to visit and attend the 2011 Herb Fair at Bastyr with me. They also brought me items some butternut lettuce and rhubarb from their garden. Butternut lettuce isn't like your typical romaine or leafy green, it literally melts in your mouth with each bite you take. I made a wonderful salad with tomatoes, red onion, celery, sugar snap peas, and avocado. Then topped it off with *crispy walnuts and a dijon mustard vinaigrette. Lettuce grows really well in Seattle, so I'm thinking that after I harvest my spinach I'm going to plant some butternut, because it is just wonderful.

*Sally Fallon has a wonderful recipe for crispy nuts in her book Nourishing Traditions. It takes out the phytic acid and allows the body to absorb more nutrients. Basically by soaking the nuts and then making them crispy in a food dehydrator or the oven on a low temperature.

Recently, I was asked to teach a gardening 101 class at church. I grew up helping my parents garden but I am not a master gardener or even close to being one. In fact I could probably benefit from attending some gardening classes. Overall I think it went well, the women told me afterwards that after my presentation they felt they could try growing an herb garden or make some sprouts in their kitchen. Most of us are students here and don't have room for anything but a few planter boxes so I think it went well.

To thank the women that came to the class I made a strawberry rhubarb pie, using the rhubarb my parents had brought me from their garden. The pie turned out delicious, especially after it was topped off with whipped cream made from coconut milk.

I couldn't do a nut based crust like I usually do since one of the girls there has nut allergies. This one is a mix of ground oatmeal, brown rice flour, quinoa flour, vanilla, and organic palm shortening. I didn't measure it out so I don't have an exact recipe.

I didn't have 2 pie pans so I decided to make it in a large dish. The crust got a little over cooked this way but it still tasted great. However next time I'll make sure to use 2 pie dishes if I double the recipe. 

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

FILLING

• 3 cups chopped red rhubarb, fresh
• 3 cups largely chopped strawberries
• 1/2 cup organic Turbinado sugar
• 1/2 cup organic brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons minute tapioca
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 dashes of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil or ghee

Mix the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, tapioca, zest and juice of lemon, dash of cinnamon, and vanilla. Mix well in a large bowl and pour out into chilled crust. Dot the top of the filling with the ghee or coconut oil.

 Roll out the other pie dough and cover the top or cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Crimp to seal edges.

 Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. Decrease temperature to 375 degrees F and bake for an additional 45 to 50 minutes, or until the filling starts bubbling. Higher altitude will take 450 degrees F and 400 degrees