Red Lentil Enchiladas with Tomatillo Green Sauce

It has been a month, and I have totally missed blogging. So I decided just because I finished Crazy Sexy Kitchen doesn't mean I can't still blog occasionally.  I am going to try and post something from time to time.  I will pick a recipe, make it and pass on my experience to you!  Now that I am done with CSK, I can post from any cookbook I darn well feel inspired by, or I can simply give you one of my own creations!  Plus I can blab about all the happenings in my life.  Which is really like therapy for me, and you would be doing me a huge favor lending me your ear as I ramble about this and that:)

So where have I been since my last blog?  Initially, I was totally loving not having to cook and take pictures all the time.  I left the project and it felt like being on vacation.  It also felt weird having so much free time.  I got bored.  I got bangs!  Bad call there...  Turns out I don't look as cute as Jessica Beil does with her bangs.  WTF?!

What else did I do?  I waited on pins and needles for my big major  congratulatory award from Kris and Chad for finishing their cookbook.  Let me just say I am still waiting... Tick tock...  Oh Chad did send me some totally awesome t-shirts.  They say "Wickedly Healthy - Plant Pushers".  Kris and Chad signed my cookbook, and sent me another CSK book.  So now I have 2!  Whoo Hoo!

Chad asked me to go to his cooking class in Atlanta, but I live in CA.  It would have just been too expensive to fly out there so I passed.  I thought it was really sweet of him to ask though and would have loved the experience!  So there ya have it in a nut shell.  Maybe my gift got lost in the mail.  Kris could still send me Hay House tickets right?  "I Can Do It" tickets for me and my hubby! Hint hint! I am sure they are on the way;)  Yeah I know I am not holding my breath, but really you never know, anything is possible!  I am not delusional don't worry, just trying to be optimistic (and a little funny!)!

So back to the real world! I decided to share with you one of my family favorites: Red Lentil Enchiladas with a Tomatilla Green Sauce. This recipe is vegan (although you could make it vegetarian depending on whether you use real cheese or not), and I must say these enchiladas are pretty fabulous!

Here is what you will need to make this yummy meal:

Tomatillo Sauce Ingredients

Enchilada Ingredients

Here is the recipe for the Tomatillo Sauce:

8 tomatillos

3 cloves garlic

1/2 white onion

3 cups vegetable stock

1/2 cup cilantro

2 Anaheim peppers

1 teaspoon olive oil

Boil tomatillos for 10 minutes.

Tomatillo Sauce:

Scrub tomatillos clean.

Chop onion.

Warm teaspoon of olive oil in pan and cook onion until translucent.

Add crushed garlic and continue to cook a couple of minutes.

Add vegetable stock and tomatillas once boiling cook for 10 minutes.

While tomatillos are boiling roast Anaheim peppers until blackened. Blanch in cold water and peel off skin of peppers. Take the seeds out of peppers and set aside.

Once tomatilos are cooked put all tomatillo ingredients in blender and blend. (Don't burn yourself!)

Red Lentil Enchilada:

2 cups red lentils

4 cups water or vegetable stock

1 teaspoon oil

corn tortillas

1/2 white onion

1 cup cilantro

1 jalapeno seeded

1/2 cup cilantro

1 can black olives

Daiya Cheese

Cook your red lentils until tender.

Red Lentil Enchiladas:

Rinse lentils

Pour oil in pan and cook onion until translucent.

Add water (or stock) and lentils to pan boil lentils until cooked (about 10 minutes). You may need to add water to lentils if water is soaked up.

Drain excess water when lentils are cooked.

Add jalapeno, 1/4 cup cilantro and 1/2 cup to a cup of green sauce to lentils.

Preparing enchiladas:

Pour a layer of tomatillo sauce in the bottom of a casserole pan.

To soften the corn tortillas take 5 or 6 at a time.  Wrap in a damp paper towel and microwave for 1 minute.  Carefully take each tortilla and fill with a scoop of the red lentil mixture. (The tortillas will be hot so use an ovenmit to prevent a burn.) Continue heating tortillas and filling until finished.

Pour sauce over enchiladas. 

Sprinkle with Daiya Cheese, remaining cilantro and olives.

This meal is a family favorite.  My kids love it, and are always so excited when I make it.  I hope you like it!

I guess I will need to change the description of my blog. 

"This was the Vegan Challenge:  which was mostly Crazy and a little Sexy. I learned to cook Vegan with Kris Carr and Chef Sarno! It was kinda like Julie/Julia without the meat or butter... I finished the cookbook, read about it here! Now I cook whatever my heart desires, and share it with you!

 What do you think?  Suggestions...