Meatless Monday* - Amanda's Enchilada Bake with Spinach, Mushrooms & Seitan

This is one of those really easy recipes that is great for people who aren't feeling too sure about meatless meals. It's also the kind of recipe where you don't have to be too picky about quantities or amount of cooking time.

Ingredients

• 1 large can of enchilada sauce (red or green, your choice)
• a package of 10 tortillas (flour or corn, your choice). Use a pizza cutter to cut them into strips about 2 inches wide
• Olive oil
• 8 oz. seitan (this is an alternative protein made from wheat gluten. You can usually find it next to the tofu. It behaves a lot like chicken. You could use other alt-proteins if you want, or just skip it).
• 2-4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
• An onion, chopped
• Cumin, red pepper, cayenne, salt and pepper
• A big bunch of spinach, chopped
• Some mushrooms, sliced (I got the spinach and the mushrooms from the Farmer's Market - hooray for locavoring!)
• 1 can black beans
• Shredded cheese (skip this to make a vegan version)

Step 1

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat the bottom of a 9x13x2" baking pan with about 1/3 of the enchilada sauce. Set aside.

Step 2

Chop the seitan into small pieces. I chopped it pretty small for more of a "ground beefish" effect, but you could chop it into larger pieces for a more "chickenish" effect.

Step 3

Add a small amount of olive oil to a skillet and put on medium-high heat. Add the garlic and onion, and saute until soft. Add the seitan and mushrooms. Season with cumin, red or cayenne pepper, salt and pepper until it is how you like it. Stir occasionally.

Step 4

When the mushrooms are soft, add the spinach (I had to saute it separately because my pan wasn't big enough). Saute spinach until just wilted.

Step 5

Layer the tortilla strips on the enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pan. Then cover with about 1/3 of the seitan mixture, and 1/3 of the beans. Cover with tortilla strips and enchilada sauce. Continue layering until all of the ingredients are used up. Finish by sprinkling with cheese (remember, skip that step if you're going for vegan).

Step 6

Bake, covered, for about 30 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted. Uncover and put under the broiler for about 3 minutes to brown the top. Remove from the oven and let the casserole rest for about 5-10 minutes.

* Meatless Monday - a movement to increase awareness of greener eating by encouraging people to eat meatless every Monday.