Happy Cinco de Mayo!

This is one of those holidays that’s like St. Patrick’s Day where it doesn’t matter what your heritage is, you celebrate the day because it’s fun. And in this case, the food is delicious and wonderful. Now for those of you who really Italian fun and maybe want to combine Italian with Mexican, I ran across this recipe for Italian Enchiladas. Why not? It combines two terrific food cultures and it tastes great. I adapted the recipe for my low carb lifestyle and I’m happy to share it. Viva la Enchilada!

Italian Enchiladas with Pumpkin Pasta Sauce

6 low carb Tortillas
3/4 cup Ricotta Cheese
1 Chicken Breast baked or roasted and chopped
3/4 cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 cup chopped Baby Spinach
1 Egg
1/2 teaspoon Seasoning Salt
1/4 teaspoon Red Pepper
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/4 cup Salsa
3/4 cup Pumpkin Chipotle Pasta Sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, mix ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, egg, and spinach.

Add 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon chile powder to a small bowl and mix together. Sprinkle over the chopped chicken and mix together.

Heat tortillas in a package in the microwave for 1 minute or warm individually on the stove. Wrap in a towel or foil to keep warm.

Spoon 1/4 of the ricotta mixture down the middle of the tortilla, top with seasoned chicken and roll up.

Spread 1/4 cup of the pasta sauce on the bottom of the baking pan or a stove-to-oven skillet, such as a cast iron or copper clad one. Place the rolled tortilla into the pan, seam side down. Prepare the next one and place it into the pan until all are done. Pour the remaining pasta sauce over the enchiladas and top with the rest of the mozzarella cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes until the cheese is lightly browned and it bubbles around the edges. Let cool for about 15 minutes, then serve garnished with chopped scallions and sour cream, if you wish.

Makes 4 servings: (one enchilada per serving)

Nutrition Information:
Calories: 178.2 Fat: 10.7 g Net Carbs: 4.0 g Protein: 14.4 g

For this recipe, I used a very tasty Pumpkin Pasta Sauce from Cucina Antica. It is lower carb’d than others that I looked at although I also like Raley’s Pumpkin Chipotle Pasta Sauce as well. You can use a regular pasta sauce if you prefer rather than going with the pumpkin one.

Are you going to give this recipe a try? Let me know what you think.