Veggie Burritos with Spinach-Green Chile Sauce

Tonight I felt like Mexican food... or at least "mexicanish" food.  We didn't have any cheese around but had a ton of spinach so I made spinach burritos.  These took a bit of time to make (good thing it's the weekend!) but were delicious.  As is, this recipe is vegetarian.  You could easily make it vegan (if you wanted...) by switching out some vegetable stock for the milk.  It wouldn't be quite the same but probably still delicious

The burritos had a nice spicy flavor in both the sauce and the filling (although the sauce was kind of sweet from the spinach and onions).  If you want a more mild dish, cut back on the chipotles in adobo, chipotle tabasco, and cayenne pepper.

These would be easily adaptable if you wanted to add meat or cheese or any other veggies.  I was a little low on ingredients because tomorrow is grocery day.  If I'd had them I probably would have added some bell pepper and possibly some fresh jalapeño.

This recipe made 5 nice size burritos.  (Not the huge mission style burrito but a more mexican style burrito -- closer to an enchillada.)  Jeremy ate 3 of them topped with a little bit of raw onion.  I had two as is.  You could swap corn tortillas for the whole wheat but I used the wheat because it was what I had on hand.  This recipe could easily be scaled up if you needed more food.  I still have about 3/4 c. of the sauce leftover.  I'll find a use for that somewhere.  

Recipe:
4 cups of fresh spinach, divided (2 cups can be left whole, 2 cups should be chopped finely)
1 large onion, 1/2 sliced, 1/2 chopped
2 tbs. minced garlic, divided
1/4 c. skim milk
2 4.25 oz. cans of green chiles
1/2 c. frozen corn kernels
1/2 c. brown rice (uncooked)
2 chipotle peppers in adobo, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin, divided
1 tsp. chipotle tabasco sauce
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. black pepper, divided
1/2 tsp. salt, divided
5 whole wheat flour tortillas

1.  Cook the brown rice according to package directions.  Set aside until you're making the filling.
2. Heat a medium sauce pan over medium heat.  Add 1 tbs. olive oil.  Add sliced onion and 1 tbs. garlic with 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. black pepper.  Saute until the onion starts to become tender.  Add the whole spinach and saute until wilted.  Add the green chiles and milk.  Turn off heat and place ingredients in a blender.  Blend until smooth.  Stir in 1/2 tsp. ground cumin and 1 tsp. chipotle tabasco sauce.  Set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat.  Add 1 tbs. olive oil.  Add onion, 1 tbs. garlic and saute until tender.  Add chipotle in adobo and stir to combine.  Add chopped spinach and saute until wilted.  Add corn, rice, 1/2 tsp. ground cumin, cayenne pepper, paprika, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. black pepper.  Add water and stir to distribute the spices.  Turn off heat as soon as the water disappears.
5. Place approximately 1/4 c. of the spinach sauce on the bottom of an 8x8 inch glass baking dish.  Place approximately 1/2 c. of the filling in each tortilla, roll the tortilla and place seam-side down in the baking dish.  After all 5 are rolled, spoon about 3/4 c. of the sauce on top.
6. Bake, uncovered, in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the sauce is bubbly and the tortillas are hot through.