Mayfly

When N was born, J's preschool director sent us home with a pan of delicious chicken enchiladas with her recipe attached. I've been using that recipe ever since; it still says "Welcome to the world, Baby N!" at the top. A few weeks ago I substituted rice and shrimp for the chicken and also made them headache approved. I hereby claim that they are in no way authentic or gourmet, but they were well received by kids and husband, so here you go:

Shrimp and Rice Enchiladas

Filling:
1 cup brown rice
3 or so tbsp canola or light olive oil
3 green onions, chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 can diced tomatoes (I used fire roasted)
1 diced red pepper (I would add a jalapeno too if I wasn't cooking for kids)
2 cups peeled shrimp (I used frozen)
2-3 cups Mexican blend shredded cheese (NOT the headache approved option)
OR 2-3 cups grated high-quality American cheese* (the headache approved option!)
flour tortillas (corn are yummy too)

Sauce:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 finely chopped green onion
3 small finely chopped tomatillos
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 1/2 tsp chili powder (make sure it's MSG free)
a couple of grinds of black pepper
a couple of large pinches of kosher salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried parsley
1 6 oz. can of tomato paste
2 c chicken (or vegetable) broth

Cook the rice (according to the package) but only until slightly undercooked. Drain off any excess water. Dump it into a big mixing bowl to start the filling.

Start the enchilada sauce: Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients (except the broth) and cook a few minutes more. Whisk in the broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes until slightly thickened.

Continue the filling while the sauce is cooking down. In a large skillet over medium heat cook onions, pepper and spices in the oil until the peppers are tender. Throw in the thawed and drained shrimp at the last minute and saute for a few more minutes. Stir the shrimp/pepper mixture into the rice and let cool. Stir in 1/2 the shredded cheese.

When the sauce is done, spread about 1/2 cup on the bottom of a casserole dish. Spoon generous amounts of filling into the tortillas. Roll and line them up seam down into the dish. I can usually fit in about 8-10. Top with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese. (The original recipe calls for SO much more cheese. Too much cheese. It also calls for canned enchilada sauce which is extremely iffy in the MSG department.)

Bake at 375º F for 30 minutes until hot and melty and bubbly.

I highly recommend serving with a margarita on the rocks (not headache approved) or a very cold bottled light beer (sort of headache approved.)

*I know that American cheese is barely real cheese, which is why it works as a stand in. Cheese is a potent migraine trigger for many. I buy it at the deli at Whole Foods in big chunks so I can grate it for recipes like this.*

SO there you go. I'm bad at the recipe writing so let me know if something is confusing.

Enjoy!