Vegan Enchiladas & Brownies (recap Days 148-151)

Confession: I haven't felt like working on my blog AT ALL the past few days.  I haven't even felt like cooking or taking pictures!  Do you ever go through specific "modes" or "moods" in life?  I'm in an organizing/cleaning/packing mode.  At least during the day at school.  I just packed up my classroom (I had to switch rooms with another teacher in preparation for the new classroom arrangement for next year) and brought several things home.  I love to organize so I thoroughly enjoyed sifting through papers, separating items, deciding what I keep, what I toss, and what gets passed to my aunt who will start her first year teaching in the fall.  I know, I sound crazy.  I'm well aware that organizing is not a commonly loved activity.  I only wish this stamina would carry itself home.  It's been so beautiful out that I cleaned out our fairly large kiddie pool and filled it.  Now, the first thing I do when I get home with the kids is put on their swimsuits, hand them a freeze-pop, and stick 'em in the pool.  I sit with my feet in and a magazine in hand.  It's bliss!  Randy has also had the past couple weeks off from his night job, so we've had our evenings together.  We're spending that time watching "Lost" on Netflix and drinking wine.  So the time I normally spend folding clothes, organizing the house, writing my blog, and washing dishes, is now spent sitting on the couch.  Needless to say, things are piling up.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the time I'm spending with my husband and children! But with the last day of school tomorrow, I'm hoping that I can keep up my organizing craze and start packing up the house once school is out.  We're supposed to sign our P & S agreement for the new house tomorrow and I will take that as my "greenlight" to start the slow process of organizing and packing.  I am actually giddy at the thought of tossing/donating a whole bunch of stuff!

But back to the actual reason for this blog: food.  My cousin's fiancée just had a baby and they live a few streets away from us.  I wanted to bring them a meal and Jodi is vegan, so I needed to do a little research, first.  I found a recipe for Vegan Enchiladas which I thought would go great with my homemade guacamole.  I think every new mom deserves a sweet reward to help get through those sleepless nights, so I also made Vegan No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Brownies.  But before I get to those recipes, let me catch you up on our week of dinners.

Day 148 (Monday): good ol' spaghetti and meatballs!

Day 149 (Tuesday): I made a big salad for Randy and I with some leftover chicken from Sunday.  We also shared a pizza with the kids.

Day 150 (Wednesday): salmon salad and an arugula salad with a homemade lemon vinaigrette, fresh parmesan cheese, and cracked black pepper.  I only ate the arugula salad and it was so tasty! 

And then there's today (Day 151-Thursday).  When I got home from school, I made the guacamole and the avocado sauce for the enchiladas.  I had already made the enchiladas and brownies the night before.  Abby and I walked down to my cousin's house to meet their beautiful baby!  Here are the recipes:

Vegan Enchiladas with Avocado Cream Sauce
I got this recipe from a vegan blog (http://ohsheglows.com/) that was recommended to me by a co-worker.  The original recipe called for black beans and I used pinto instead.  Also, it gave a choice between using a sweet potato or a zucchini and I used both since I doubled the recipe so my family could try them also.  Instead of doubling the enchilada sauce, I used both enchilada sauce and tomato sauce.  Tomato sauce is cheaper than enchilada sauce, and it allows you to control the seasonings.  I added chipotle chili powder to mine for a more smoky flavor.  This is the single recipe and it makes 4 enchiladas.

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 sweet potato (or zucchini), chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 handful of spinach, chopped
1 can of black or pinto beans, drained
1 32 oz can of enchilada sauce
cumin, lime juice, salt, garlic powder, chili powder--all to taste
4 whole grain tortilla wraps
creamy avocado sauce (recipe follows)

Preheat the oven to 350*.  Pre-cook the chopped sweet potato/zuchini  by boiling in water for just a few minutes.  In a large skillet, cook the onions over medium/medium-low heat.  Add the garlic and cook another minute.  Now add the sweet potato, spinach, pepper, and drained beans.  Cook for 5-7 minutes.  Add the enchilada sauce and seasonings to taste.  Stir well.
Ladle a thin layer of sauce on the baking sheet.  Then fill each tortilla wrap with about 1 cup of the mixture and place them seam-side down on or in the pan (whatever you are using).  Complete each enchilada and the pour the rest of the sauce over the enchiladas.  Bake for 18-20 minutes.  Serve with creamy avocado sauce.

Creamy Avocado/Cilantro Sauce
1-2 avocados (depending on size)
2 TB of water
2 TB lime juice
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup fresh cilantro
salt, garlic powder, cumin, pepper--all to taste

Combine ingredients in the food processor and process until creamy.  Spread over baked enchiladas.

Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies (No Bake!)
At first, I looked at a recipe from the same blog for Two-Layer Raw Chocolate Brownies.  However, I couldn't find all of the ingredients for the homemade vegan chocolate sauce, so I decided to change it to a vegan peanut-butter sauce, which led me to swap out the walnuts in the brownie for peanuts.  I also couldn't find raw cacao nibs, so I didn't use them.  I used a tad more cocoa powder.  Here's my (slightly more "user-friendly") recipe.

1 cup unsalted peanuts
1/2 cup organic, unsalted sunflower seeds
1 1/2 cups dates
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsps vanilla
1/4 tsp kosher salt

Process the peanuts in a food processor until fine.  Add the seeds and dates and process until fine and sticky.  Add the powder, vanilla, and salt and pulse until combined.  Evenly press the mixture into an 8 x 8 baking pan lined with parchment paper.  Place in the freezer while you make the peanut-butter sauce or for 10 minutes.  Remove from freezer and pour the peanut butter sauce (recipe follows) over the brownies.  Return to the freezer for 20 more minutes.  (Overnight is fine, too.)  Remove from freezer and cut into squares.  These are so delicious!  I will most likely make more for myself soon!

Bethany's Peanut-Butter Sauce (vegan)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup vegetable/soybean oil
1/2 cup all-natural peanut butter
1/4 cup almond milk (plain milk is fine if you're not making a vegan version)
1 tsp vanilla

In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, and vegetable oil over medium-low heat.  Whisk until smooth.  Whisk in the peanut butter and almond milk.  Continue to whisk and cook for another minute or until all incorporated.  Remove from heat, add the vanilla and stir. 

I actually sprinkled finely chopped peanuts on top, but forgot to sprinkle them on before I took the picture!