Enchiladas Unwrapped

Motivation, Where Did You Go?

I admit that lately, I've been losing my motivation when it comes to preparing meals for my daughter.  The closer I get to giving birth to my son, the more uncomfortable I become.  The more uncomfortable I become, the less likely I am to want to stand in front of a hot stove for any length of time.  Knowing that I don't want to stand in front of a stove, I think to myself, "What is the quickest, easiest dish I can prepare?"  It doesn't leave a lot of room for imagination.

I've fallen into a rut of simplicity.  I try to create meals that are extremely easy for me but that are still healthy for her.  These tend to be boring, as one might figure.  For example, last night Evelyn had chicken, mixed vegetables (yellow squash, zucchini, peas, carrots and Brussels sprouts) all folded into a creamy mashed potato with Parmesan cheese.  It's not that it tasted bad, but it certainly wasn't exciting in the least bit.  Meals like this have become pretty standard in the past week - protein and vegetables served with a whole grain or a potato, some fruit and milk on the side.

I was looking in the pantry today for something, anything, to inspire me again to make something a little different for my daughter than the boring stuff we've been eating.  I found an unopened container of yellow corn meal, and thought to myself, "Hey, it's not a potato or noodles."

Mexican Monday

Enchiladas are a traditional Mexican dish consisting of a soft corn tortilla wrapped around a variety of fillings and covered in a tomato-based chili sauce.  Enchiladas have always been one of my favorite menu items when I have the rare opportunity of going out to an authentic Mexican restaurant.

Seeing as how I obviously love to take layered or wrapped adult foods and make them baby friendly, why not turn some simple corn meal into a fun Mexican-inspired dish for my daughter?  Well, it turned out so good that I called my husband at work and asked him to pick up some things for us to have tacos tonight.  I wanted my Mexican Monday, too.

Enchiladas Unwrapped


Ingredients

Corn meal, prepared as "polenta" or "corn meal mush" according to package directions
Ground beef
Small bit of chopped onion (get frozen - it's already ready for you!)
Small bit of chopped green pepper (ditto!)
A little bit of spinach (I like to sneak it into everything - it's healthy)
Tomato sauce
Cheddar cheese
Homemade spice blend - Equal pinches of cumin, cayenne and chili powders

Technique

1)  Prepare your corn meal according to package directions.  I had Quaker Yellow Corn Meal - Mix one cup dry corn meal with one cup of water; meanwhile, boil three cups of water.  When the water is boiling, add the corn meal/water mix and stir really well until thick.  Cover it, put it on low and cook for another five minutes.  When it's all done, you'll have a ton.  You only need a couple of spoonfuls; the rest you can put away in the fridge and use for something else.

2)  Cook your ground beef.  Add just a couple tiny pinches of your spice blend.  Don't use a commercial taco blend, as they often contain a lot of unsavory ingredients and a ton of unnecessary salt.  These spices are hot and a little goes a long way.  You obviously don't want to make your child uncomfortable; you just want to introduce flavor with a tiny bit of spice, so keep it light.  Just a couple of little pinches.  Chop your cooked beef nice and small.

3)  Steam your onion, green peppers and spinach together (alternatively, you can boil them - it won't take as long, but you will sacrifice some nutrition).  When these are warm and the spinach is nice and wilted, chop these finely.

4)  To prepare the sauce, simply add a couple of small pinches to about four ounces of prepared tomato sauce and warm it up in a pan.  Add a few cubes or shreds of cheddar to taste (we like to use a lot!) and let it melt down.  Use as much of it as you feel you need on your baby's dish - you'll have leftover.

5)  You can either layer your ingredients for babies who can handle things with a less-than-smooth texture (corn meal on bottom, beef, vegetables, then sauce) and give it a gentle fold, or you can mix it all together (which is what we do).

6)  Serve with some whole milk and some juicy watermelon.  Enjoy!  I know we did!