Sacramento Digs Gardening: These enchiladas have a surprise inside

Ever-versatile enchiladas rank among my favorite ways to use up leftover roast meat. Combining roast pork with black beans and roast pumpkin stretches 8 ounces of meat into a full meal for three or four people.

Skip the meat altogether and increase the beans and pumpkin to 1-1/2 cups each. Or substitute cooked rice or potatoes for the pork or the beans. The idea is to make the most of what you have on hand -- very useful when you're sheltering in place and wondering what's for dinner.

This recipe works great with chicken instead of pork, too. (Did I say versatile?)

I’m still cooking with my fall pumpkin harvest (one left!), so I used fresh roast pumpkin in this recipe. But steamed pumpkin or canned pumpkin will work, too.

Roast pumpkin is the secret ingredient in the enchiladas.
Canned pumpkin also works.

Pumpkin, black bean and pork enchiladas
Makes 6 big enchiladas (3 to 4 servings)

Ingredients:

1 cup onion, chopped
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 cup pork roast, cooked and diced
1 cup black beans, cooked and drained
1 cup pumpkin, cooked
¼ cup mild chilies, seeded and chopped
½ cup salsa (fresh or jarred)
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
6 soft flour tortillas (soft taco size)

For sauce:
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder

For topping:
1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
¼ cup sliced black olives

For serving:
Guacamole
Salsa

Instructions:

Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Butter or grease a 9-inch baking dish; set aside.

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil and sauté chopped onion until translucent. Add pork and brown slightly. Add beans and pumpkin, stir lightly. Add chilies, salsa and pepper flakes; heat filling until warmed through.

Meanwhile, prepare sauce. In a small saucepan, combine tomato sauce, cumin powder and chili powder. Gently warm until almost bubbly.

One at a time, place a generous ½ cup of filling at the center of a tortilla; roll up and place in baking dish. Roll filling in each tortilla until dish is full. Cover with sauce. Top with shredded cheese and garnish with sliced olives.

Bake enchiladas in 350-degree oven for 45 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and cheese starts to brown. (Put a cookie sheet under the baking dish to prevent overflow. If cheese browns too quickly, shield with aluminum foil.)

After removing from oven, let stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm with guacamole and salsa.

RECIPE

A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.

Keywords:

recipes gardening Sacramento vegetables cooking coronavirus backyard produce produce management

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Flowers in My Back Yard Series

April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look

April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower

April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact

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March 24: Azaleas brighten shady spots

March 17: The perfect flower for beginners? Try zonal geraniums

March 10: Keep camellias happy for years to come

March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy

Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?

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Garden checklist for week of April 19

After this midweek storm, start getting serious about spring gardening. Flowers are blooming about three weeks ahead of schedule. That includes weeds!

* Get ready to swing into action in the vegetable garden – if you haven’t already. As nights warm up over 50 degrees, set out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash; wait on pumpkins until May. Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom. Late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Give citrus trees a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants. If leaves look yellow, your tree may need an iron boost -- apply some chelated iron fertilizer.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden needs nutrition. Give shrubs and trees a slow-release fertilizer. Mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost, which helps the soil, but keep it a few inches away from trunks and stems.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event. sacdigsgardening@gmail.com

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