Cheater Enchiladas + Broccoli Rabe & Sausage Frittata

My food week in words: Fast, Pantry & Leftovers… and I guess GREEN.

Happy Monday!

This week daycare finally opens up again, after being closed for an extended period of time because of a Covid outbreak. (Mommy day care: where pulling mom’s winter hat up and down is the big activity.. see below) If you’re a parent you REALLY feel my pain and then my moment of delight when I got the news that we were back in business - all of us! Needless to say there wasn't a ton of tinkering and leisurely cooking happening in my kitchen this week. I’d say FAST,  PANTRY and LEFTOVERS would be the buzz words of my week. Maybe these are words that are regularly associated with cooking for you because you don’t cook for a living - makes sense! 

What’s up for this week:

1. Cheater Enchiladas Verde + Easy Baby Food 

2. Broccoli Rabe & Sausage Frittata 

3. An oldie but goodie cookbook, a podcast & a mocktail

First up are what I’m lovingly calling Cheater Enchiladas. They are heavily inspired by something I saw a fellow Substacker named Caroline Chambers make. I’m taking hers and putting an OMM spin on it. The “cheater” part is that the sauce starts out with a jar of salsa verde, the cheese is pre shredded and a can of refried beans is the base of the filling. The recipe, which is at the bottom, is intentionally vague on some of the measurements. This isn't to stump you, it’s to EMPOWER you! I don’t want you wasting time and dish soap on measuring spoons, so I am pretty non prescriptive in the ingredient list. My dream is that (well, that you love them) you read and follow this recipe once, see how easy and FAST it is, then the next time you make them you don't need to refer at all to the recipe. And for the tiny eaters, you simply mix some of the refried beans, the meat and a little cheese! Dean went loco when I gave him the first bite… painfully cheesy, omg ok I’ll stop. 

Later in the week I was really craving the flavor combination of Broccoli Rabe & Sausage. We eat it a lot in the form of pasta or a pizza. I also recently read that broccoli rabe is considered a superfood - apparently it’s just jammed packed with vitamins. But between the flour tortillas in the enchiladas and my general ongoing and weak mission to avoid refined flours, I wanted a way to have it without the carbs. Frittata! Which makes great LEFTOVERS. My other (more successful) mission is to inject more greens into everything. Parsley is an easy one because it goes with everything and it is also surprisingly nutrient dense. The step of blending the parsley with the eggs is totally optional, you could just chop the parsley. But the green color of the frittata is fun and eye catching… and I think chopping parsley is really messy and annoying. 

What I’m loving right now:

Polpo: I’ve owned this cookbook for over 3 years now and I’ve never opened it until this week. The cover is absolutely stunning, it sits on my credenza as a decoration. I wish I hadn't waited until this week to open it, because it was SO inspiring. I’m inspired to do a whole newsletter dedicated to my deep love of Italian cooking and culture. This book mainly focuses on Venetian food - a place that I have a love/not so love/have to see once relationship with. Equal parts visually stunning and way too touristy. Venetian food is this beautiful mashup of Northern Italian cuisine, seafood and bites of food you have with cocktails. I mean, come on! 

Joan Podcast: no secrets here, the host Kelly Vittengl is one of my best girlfriends. But don’t let that fact give you any doubts on my recommendation here. The subject is mental health told through storytelling, with a spiritual lens. It’s my feeling that’s a subject we can all relate to - the human experience. Her guests range from well known people in the space like Lacy Phillips of To Be Magnetic to her aunt, Laura Killian, who is one of her personal teachers (this was one of my favorite episodes). My favorite episode is the very first one of season 1, where Kelly talks about, in detail, her own struggle. Listening to her feels like a big sigh of relief - Oh, I’m not alone in this feeling! Oh, you can struggle and be very high functioning at the same time! If any of that interests you I highly recommend a listen. 

Shrubs: They are an old fashioned cocktail or mocktail, in this case, that are made with fruit, vinegar and soda water. Dinner: A Love Story is a blog and now an excellent Substack newsletter that is written by a legit food writer/mom/master of family dinner named Jenny Rosenstrach. She’s who got me turned onto shrubs when she wrote about them in her newsletter. My husband and I are taking a little hiatus from drinking right now so these piqued my interest. I made mine with fresh Raspberries & Apple Cider Vinegar for the added health benefit. I cooked my raspberries down with a big pinch of sugar and some maple syrup and strained to get rid of the seeds. Some fruit syrup, some vinegar, ice and topped off with club soda - very refreshing. Check out Jenny for more details on that one. 

COMMENTS: I love them! Keep them coming. There is a little speech bubble icon, next to the heart, at the bottom of each newsletter. That's how you can leave a comment. I am so into hearing from you guys. Something you have to add, you made the recipe and it was great, you made the recipe and it didn't work out for you… I’m here for all of it. As a fellow newsletter subscriber, I love reading the comments other readers leave because there’s often some great info in there. So, chime in! 

There are some new followers this week, to whom I say THANK YOU! And hopefully you found yourself to the first newsletter, so you can catch up. If not, here's a LINK. 

Be well, get cooking and let me know how it’s going. 

XO Olivia 

Cheater Enchiladas

Serves 2 (you can easily double this)

• 1 (12 ounce) jar of salsa verde (I use Trader Joe’s Hatch Valley Salsa)

• ½ of a large bunch of cilantro 

• 2 cloves of garlic

• 1 Tablespoons oil, ghee, butter (any fat)

• ½ pound of ground beef, cubed up chicken breast, roasted veggies if you want to go vegetarian

• A big pinch worth of spices (this could be taco seasoning or a mix of smoked paprika, garlic powder, chili powder, onion powder, anything in the mexican/taco family)

• Big pinch of salt

• 1 (16 ounce) can of refried beans

• 1 (8 ounce) bag of shredded cheese (i like white cheddar)

• 6 (just not the giant ones) flour tortillas (I love using Vista Hermosa or Trader Joes mini flour tortillas) 

• Sour Cream for serving, if you like that!

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. 

2. In a blender combine the jar of salsa, cilantro and garlic. Blend until very smooth and set aside. 

3. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat and brown the meat. Season the meat with a big pinch of salt and your choice of spices. I’m being purposely vague about the spice measurement - i don’t want you dirtying a measuring spoon here. Use your intuition! It will be great! Transfer the meat to a bowl and set aside. 

4. Without cleaning the pan out, warm your refried beans up in the pan. 

5. Pour half your green sauce into the bottom of a baking dish big enough to fit your enchiladas so they are snug with each other. 

6. Fill each tortilla with a schmear of refried beans, a scoop of meat and a sprinkle of grated cheese. Roll the tortilla up and place in the baking dish seam side down. Continue with all the tortillas. Pour the remaining green sauce over top the rolled tortillas and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese. 

7. Transfer the dish to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. 

8. If you’re feeding a baby at this dinner: Mix a scoop of refried beans with a little meat and a little cheese. If you need to, you can pulse this all in a mini food processor to get it even smoother. This is a BIG hit with my 9 month old son. 

Broccoli Rabe & Sausage Frittata

Makes 1 (10”) frittata, enough for 4- 6 - excellent as leftovers

• ½ lbs. bulk italian sausage

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 bunch broccoli rabe, chopped into small pieces

• 4 cloves of garlic, minced

• A pinch of red pepper flakes

• 12 eggs

• ½ cup of full fat dairy (cream, half and half, whole milk or sour cream)

• Half a bunch of parsley 

• 1 ½  teaspoons salt 

• A few grinds of black pepper

• About 1 cup of shredded cheese like fontina, mozzarella, cheddar or even ricotta)

• A few grates of fresh parm for the top (don't worry if you don't have it)

1. Heat your oven to 400 degrees. 

2. Cook the sausage: Heat the oven safe, 10” skillet you are using for the frittata, over medium heat. Crumble in your sausage and cook, breaking it up with the spoon, until it is well browned, about 6-8 minutes. Remove the sausage to a bowl and set aside. 

3. Add the oil to the pan followed by the broccoli rabe (this will wilt down), garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring often for 6 -8 minutes, until it is well sautéed and smelling good. 

4. Blend the eggs: Meanwhile, combine the eggs, cream, parsley, salt and pepper in a blender. Blend until very smooth and green. 

5. Add the sausage to the broccoli rabe. Sprinkle in the cheese. Pour in the egg mixture and sprinkle some grated parm on top, if using. 

6. Let the frittata cook for a minute or two over medium heat on the stove. Just until you see the eggs on the edges of the pan start to set. Transfer to the oven and cook for 20 minutes or until the whole thing is set. You can tell it’s set when it doesn't jiggle in the middle when you gently shake the pan. 

7. If you’re feeding a mini mouth at this dinner: Smush the frittata up with a fork and remove any large chunks of sausage or broccoli rabe for an older baby. For a toddler you could just cut into big squares . Dean eats this frittata right up.