Quasi Mexican...Creamy Seitan and Spinach Enchiladas

Monday nights are pretty much always enchilada night at my house.  I often make vegan enchiladas with seitan and vegetables, but tonight I was feeling like some hard core comfort food with cheese...something very creamy, so I wanted to come up with a creamier enchilada than I would normally make.  I had some neufchatel in the fridge, so I thought, hey, what the heck I can incorporate it into the enchiladas to make a tasty filling!  It is lower fat than regular cream cheese afterall, so it won't be completely gut busting...

I had some spinach as well, so I thought why not make a creamy spinach and seitan filling!  I had made something similar before in my lasagna, but this time I would give it a mexican flavor, since I was making enchiladas afterall.  I used my usual corn tortillas, since I prefer corn to wheat when it comes to tortillas.  For the sauce I used a fire roasted tomato base with cilantro and mexican spices, slightly milder than my usual mole style sauce that I make for enchiladas.  I prefer to stack my enchiladas like a lasagna rather than rolling them because I am a bit lazy sometimes, and they taste just as good.  This time I topped them off with some chihuahua and mozzarella cheeses. These were becoming sort of quasi Mexican enchiladas, sort of like Mexican Italian fusion...wierd sounding combo, but very tasty it turned out when all was said and done (eaten), since the plates were completely clean!  Need some comfort food?  Whip up a batch, you will be glad you did!

Creamy Seitan and Spinach Enchiladas

Serves 2 generously

Filling:
1 Tbsp olive oil

4 cloves garlic
1 fresh jalapeno, seeded and diced
5 scallions, sliced
16 oz chicken style seitan, cut into small pieces
3 cups fresh spinach
8 oz neufchatel, softened to room temperature
1/4 cup grated chihuahua cheese
1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese

juice of one lime

1 tsp ground cumin
sea salt to taste

Sauce:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small red onion, diced
4 garlic cloves

1 Tbsp chili powder

1/4 tsp ground chipotle pepper
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp smoky paprika
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
sea salt to taste
juice of one lime
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped

6 6 inch corn tortillas
1/2 cup grated chihuahua cheese
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
sour cream
cilantro

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large non-stick pan, and add garlic, jalapeno, scallions, and seitan.  Saute until onions and garlic are fragrant, a couple minutes, then add spinach, and cook until wilted.  let cool while you prepare the sauce.  In a meduim stockpot, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat.  Add onions, and saute until softened, about 5 minutes, then add garlic, and spices, and cook another minute until fragrant.  Add tomatoes, and sea salt and simmer while you prepare the filling.  When the spinach has cooled to room temperature, add neufchatel, chihuahua, mozzarella, lime juice, cumin and a bit of sea salt to taste.  Mix well and set aside.  To finish the sauce, add the lime juice, and cilantro and remove from the heat.  To assemble enchiladas, spray 2 large shallow bowls or plates with non-stick spray.  Put a little sauce on each, and top with a tortilla.  Spoon half the filling onto the tortillas, dividing evenly between the two.  Spoon a bit of sauce over each, and top with another tortilla.  Spoon the rest of he filling onto each, dividing evenly between the two, spoon a bit of sauce over each, and top with a tortilla.  Spoon the remaining sauce over each enchilada, and top with the cheeses.  Place in the oven and bake until the cheese is bubbling and the enchiladas are hot.  Serve with a bit of sour cream and fresh cilantro!