What to Make & Eat This Week

For the busy week before the holidays, let's go with super-easy

‘Tis the week before Christmas and Hanukkah, and while some dedicated cooks are already prepping for holiday meals, many of us are doing so more last minute. If you belong to the latter group, I’ll be sending out lots of holiday-oriented vegan recipes and roundups for Christmas and Hanukkah in next Sunday’s edition.

For a lot of people, this is the week to be preparing for the holiday week other than in the kitchen — getting gifts, preparing to travel, preparing for guests, winding up the work year.

No matter which camp you belong to, this will likely be a busy week; the fancier festive fare will wait until closer to the holiday. We’ve still gotta eat, though, so we’ll focus on the simplest recipes and meal plans.

This week, we’re going to be making …

• Easy Stacked Vegan Cheese Enchiladas

• Easy Chickpea Curry (Chana Masala)

• 5-Ingredient Baked Polenta & Zucchini Casserole

• 5-Ingredient Hungarian Cabbage Noodles

Your bonus of the week — a spread from the updated, 2021 edition of Vegetariana featuring Walnut & Maple Baked Pears, and Almond Jam Bars — complete with illustrations from the original edition …

Easy Stacked Vegan Cheese Enchiladas

Few preparations are as fundamental to southwestern cuisine as enchiladas, so they’ve evolved to being made with countless variations and embellishments. For this super-easy variation — stacked vegan cheese enchiladas — we’re going to stick with the basics.

Complete the meal: Enchiladas are traditionally served with frijoles refritos (refried beans) and/or a simple rice dish.

Use your favorite recipe, or ours for Quick Vegan Refried Beans) or a prepared brand. Or go up a notch with Frijoles Borrachos (Beer-Stewed Pinto Beans).

For a bigger meal, consider roasted or baked potatoes or sweet potatoes or the equally easy to prepare Mexican Yellow Rice (Arroz Amarillo).

This recipe makes 12 enchiladas. For more tips and the printable recipe card, see the full post.

Ingredients

• 12 good-quality corn tortillas

• 15-ounce can or jar all-natural red enchilada sauce
  (see Note for brands) — mild, medium, or hot, as you prefer

• 2 cups (1 package) vegan cheese shreds (any variety —
  cheddar, mozzarella, or pepper jack)

• 3 scallions, thinly sliced

• Shredded lettuce as needed

• 1 cup or so halved cherry or grape tomatoes

• 1/2 cup or so pitted and sliced black olives

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375º F.

2. Arrange 6 tortillas on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Spread a bit of sauce over each, then sprinkle with the half of the cheese shreds and all of the scallions.

3. Top each tortilla with another. Spread with more enchilada sauce, and the remaining cheese.

4. Bake for 10 minutes, or the cheese is nice and melty. Garnish each enchilada with lettuce, tomatoes, and olives.

5. Transfer the enchiladas to plates, allowing two for each of 6 servings, to plates. Serve at once. If any enchilada sauce is left, pass it around.

Note: A few good-quality brands of enchilada sauce are Hatch®, Siete®, 365®. Read the labels to ensure you're getting a variety with recognizable ingredients. Bonus if it's organic.