Hello, friends. It’s Fat Tuesday. Let’s get fat together by eating a generous portion of delicious Mexican melting cheese.
Today I made my Layered Potato and Spinach Enchiladas for you. Why layered, rather than rolled? To cram in as much food as possible into a single baking dish. More food means more cheese. More cheese means more happy. Unless you’re lactose intolerant, in which case our definitions of true happiness likely differ a great deal. I’m a healthy eater, but, dude, I like cheese.
OK, I have a trick to make this not fattening at all, but you’ll have to watch the entire video to learn the six steps involved in getting there.
Layered Potato and Spinach Enchiladas
Layered Potato and Spinach Enchiladas
- 2 lbs. red, fingerling or purple potatoes (or a whimsical combination)
- 20 oz. fresh spinach or 2 10 oz. packages of frozen spinach, thawed and drained
- 1 can of black beans
- 1 can of corn
- half an onion, diced
- 1 T olive oil or vegetable oil
- chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (optional)
- serrano pepper (optional)
- love (optional)
- 18 corn tortillas
- 2 10 oz. cans of enchilada sauce (I grab a 28 oz. can just to play it safe)
- 4 C Chihuahua cheese
- 2 T cumin
- 2 t chili powder
- sour cream
- green onions, diced
- tequila
- Peach Fresca
- sea salt
- single tortilla chip
First things first. Make your Tequila Fresca.
Boil the potatoes, whole and unpeeled, about 25 minutes.
Heat the oil and sauté the onions until glistening, about two minutes. Add the spinach and, if fresh, toss with tongs until wilted.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Chop one chipotle pepper and add to spinach mixture, as well as some of the adobo sauce. Slice the serrano pepper and add as well. Stir. If you’re feeling brave, add one more chipotle pepper. If you’re trying to impress someone with your heat tolerance, add the whole can. I will miss you.
Coat the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish with enchilada sauce. Layer six tortillas evenly. Coat lightly with more enchilada sauce.
Drain the potatoes and cool slightly. Either cut into 1-inch cubes or just break them up with a spatula. Throw them in a mixing bowl. Add the black beans, corn, cumin and chili powder. Stir well.
Add the potato mixture to the baking dish. Smash it in. We need room for a lot of food. Add cheese. Be generous.
Check your Tequila Fresca. Are you 1/3 of the way through? Try to keep up.
Add six more tortillas. Coat lightly with enchilada sauce. Layer the spinach mixture evenly on top. Smash it down. Add more cheese. Yes, be generous again.
We’re going into the later layer. Is your Tequila Fresca 2/3 gone? Go on. Catch up.
Add the last six tortillas. Tuck them into the dish if necessary. Coat with enchilada sauce. Don’t let any part of the tortillas remain exposed. Add the rest of the cheese. If you have extra cheese, reward yourself with nacho.
Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for another 10 minutes, ensuring cheese has had appropriate time to melt and hug other ingredients. Now you’ve got 40 minutes. Make more Tequila Fresca. Make more nacho. But only one at a time! You don’t want to fill up.
Let the enchiladas cool about 10 minutes. Slice into 8 pieces, equally are according to how much you enjoy the company of those you are serving. Garnish with sour cream and green onions. Serve with Tequila Fresca.
You're In My Kitchen 
You are so my kind of cooking buddy! lol The cheese eating, tequila drinking, and telling me I could stand to put on a few pounds so “go ahead” – you’re my bkf (best kitchen friend). Great job, Cavan!
Thanks so much, Emily! I really appreciate it. BKF. I can do that.
Where do you find your Chihuahua cheese in the cities? The closest I’ve seen around town is Oaxaca, which I’ve been using as a substitute, but it melts kind of funny.
Thanks for the post! I laughed a lot 🙂
Hi, Katy! I get Chihuahua cheese at Costco. I am a bit of a Costco fanatic, which explains things like having that much fresh spinach on hand at all times. I highly recommend a visit if you aren’t a member. I make up the membership cost in cheese and wine alone. But you can also get it at El Burrito Mercado in St. Paul, I believe. It’s worth a stop in to see what else you can find!
I absolutely love this blog. I love the video and the Layered Potato and Spinach Enchiladas recipe doesn’t sound complicated at all. I will have to save this. Great post.
Thank you! If you give the enchiladas a try, let me know how you like them!
Wow, these sound awesome! I am not a canned corn fan – don’t like the texture. Think I could swap hominy instead?
Hi, Megan! Yeah, I bet hominy would be delicious! If you give it a try, let me know how it turns out!
I love this blog! And by the way, are you single? I’m happy to provide as much tequila and spinach as required.
Aw, why thank you, Jordan. I am actually married. To a dude. But the blog is single, and hopes you visit it frequently. Rumor has it, even, that it thinks you’re cute.
Yes, well, my partner and I will be searching for Chihuahua cheese soon! He’s skeptical of the whole not-rolled-up enchilada’s and not-as-stringy cheese, but we’ll try it!
Yum. I will make these, but I’d rather you make them for me. Chihuahua cheese is one of the few cheeses I can say I don’t think I’ve ever had. Unless you fed it to me at some point! I think I should remedy that and have some right away. LOVE the blog – and you. Keep it up!
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Totally want to make this, but also couldn’t find Chihuahua cheese. I did, however, find all the other stuff, so I’m not completely incompetent.
Mr. Kitchen Owner, is there a suitable substitute for the Chihuahua cheese? I’m going to check some of the stores nearby to see if they carry the stuff, but trekking to that part of St. Paul is… we’ll go with not pleasant (I live a sans-car existence).
Hi Dom Dom Nom Nom! Any melting Mexican cheese should work, and the label should say that in addition to whatever actual type it is, like queso blanco or Chihuahua.
Now, clearly, I love Chihuahua cheese. But if you have everything else already and can’t find a Mexican melting cheese, grab Monterrey Jack or something similar. It will still be delicious. But you’ll have to get in the oven and hug all the ingredients yourself.
That… that doesn’t sound as happy as I want it to be. It sounds hurty.
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