Mexican Casserole

Stacked Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas

Photo and recipe from twopeasandtheirpod

This is SO good- Gary and the kids loved it, and it's vegetarian and gluten free!  It's great because you can assemble the casserole ahead of time and put it in the fridge to bake later.

1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 yellow squash, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
2 garlic cloves, minced (or 1 tsp crushed)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 jar red enchilada sauce (I used the trader joes brand)
8-10 small corn tortillas
about 2 cups shredded cheese (I used Mexican blend)

Preheat oven to 400.  Place the vegetables on the baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and toss until coated.  Season with salt and pepper.  Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes.  Let cool. Reduce oven to 350.

In a medium bowl, combine vegetables, beans, spices, garlic, cilantro and S&P.  Spread some enchilada sauce on the bottom of a baking dish (I  used one slightly smaller than 9x11) and cover with tortillas (I did 2 whole tortillas then I broke some more to make it fit without overlapping a lot because I didn't want a ton of tortilla).  Top with half the vegetable mix and then cheese.  Do another layer of tortillas and then sauce.  Top with remaining half of vegetables and more cheese.  Do another layer of tortillas then sauce and top that with cheese.

(At this point, I put the entire casserole in the fridge ready to bake at dinner time!)

Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Cool for 10 minutes, cut into squares and serve.

Homemade Vegetarian "Chipotle" Bowls

Ok, it really has nothing to do with Chipotle other than being rice and beans in a bowl, but we tell the kids they are Chipotle bowls to make them like them more. ;)  One of our favorite meals.  Healthy and flavorful. 

2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, divided
1 bag frozen brown rice (I use the TJs kind that comes 3 bags in a box)
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 heaping tsp. ground cumin
2- 15 oz. cans black beans, rinsed
1 cup vegetable or chicken broth (but if you use chicken, it won't be vegetarian)
chopped cilantro
chopped fresh avocado
crumbled feta (and/or shredded jack or cheddar for the kids)

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a saute pan over medium heat.  Add about 1/2 the onion, cooking until softened.  Add rice and saute a few minutes.  Remove rice from pan and set aside.

Using the same pan, heat remaining 1 tbsp oil, add remaining onion and cook until softened.  Add coriander and cumin, stir 1 minute.  Add beans, broth; season with salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, occasionally mashing beans, until thickened, about 8-10 minutes.

Either scoop rice into separate bowls and put a large spoonful of bean mixture on top OR, what we always do, just mix the rice into the bean mixture.

Top each bowl with chopped cilantro, chopped avocado and crumbled feta.

Warm Bean Dip

Photo & Recipe from here

I made this for NYE, and it was a HUGE hit- it is so delicious!

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 cup sour cream

2 cans (16 ounces, each) refried beans

1 packet taco seasoning

2 cups cheddar or colby jack cheese, shredded (original recipe calls for 4 cups- that is way too much)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together cream cheese and sour cream in a large bowl. Mix in refried beans until combined. Stir in taco seasoning.

Spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray. Spread mixture evenly into the bottom of the baking dish. Sprinkle the top with both cheeses.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese in melted and slightly browned. Serve with tortilla chips.

Cheesy Enchilada Casserole

Photo & Recipe from Six Sisters

I made this the other night, and it was really tasty- Gary loved it!  Ella liked it to, but of course, she wouldn't touch it until you picked out each and every tiny piece of shredded lettuce.

Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef (90% lean)
1 large onion, chopped
2 1/2 cups salsa (I think I used 2 cups)
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup reduced-fat Italian salad dressing
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium taco seasoning (I used about 3 or 4 tbsp.)
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
6 flour tortillas (8 inches)
1 1/4 cups of frozen corn (I forgot to add the corn, and it was still delicious!)
3/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

Directions
In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
Stir in the salsa, beans, dressing, sour cream, corn (optional), taco seasoning and cumin.
Spoon a generous layer of meat mixture on bottom of 2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
Place a flour or corn tortilla on top of meat mixture. Layer with half of the meat mixture, and cheese. Repeat as many layers as you like.
The last & final layer should be a healthy dose of grated cheese.
Cover with foil that has been sprayed with pam or other and bake at 400° for 25 minutes, or until hot & bubbly.
Let stand for 5 minutes before topping with lettuce, tomato and cilantro.

La Bamba Casserole

1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chilies  
1 lb. ground turkey                                     
1 cup chopped onion
2 tsp. chili powder                                                         
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. salt                                                      
2 cloves garlic, minced                                                       
1 (10 oz.) can diced tomatoes with green chilies
2 cups frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
1 (16 oz.) can fat-free refried beans
1 1/2 cups (6 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup chopped tomato                      
1/2 cup chopped green onions

Preheat oven to 375.  Arrange chilies in a single layer in a 9x11 baking dish coated with cooking spray.  Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add turkey, onion, chili powder, cumin, salt and garlic; saute 5 minutes, stirring to crumble.  Add diced tomatoes, cook 5 minutes or until liquid evaporates.  Spoon turkey mixture over chilies.  Top with corn.  Carefully spread beans over corn.  Sprinkle cheese over beans.  Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.  Let stand 5 minutes; top with chopped tomato and green onions.

                                Turkey mixture

                                 I served it with tortilla chips

Cilantro Lime Rice

Original Recipe from Skinny Taste

• 1 cup extra long grain rice or basmati rice (I use white basmati rice from Trader Joes)
• juice of 1/2 lime (I use 3-4 teaspoons)
• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
• 2 + 3 tsp vegetable oil 

Heat 2 tsp. oil in a small heavy pot and saute rice for about 3 minutes.  Add water and salt and boil on high until most of the water evaporates.  When the water just skims the top of the rice, reduce to low and cover about 15 minutes.  Shut off flame and keep covered an additional 5 minutes.

 In a medium bowl, combine chopped cilantro, lime juice, rice and remaining 3 tsp oil and toss until completely mixed.  I added additional salt to this mixture.

Chicken & Vegetable Enchiladas

After looking at about 50 enchilada recipes, I gave up and decided to make up my own recipe because I wanted them to be healthy and full of vegetables...they turned out delicious!!!
 

2 tbsp vegetable oil

½ red onion, finely chopped

1 chopped yellow squash

1 chopped zucchini

2 garlic cloves, crushed/chopped

1 bag fresh baby spinach

1- 4 oz can fire roasted diced green chile (you can get these at trader joes)

1- 28oz can diced tomatoes

Shredded chicken from rotisserie chicken (about 2 cups)

2 tsp cumin

½ tsp chili powder

1- 8 oz can enchilada sauce

Shredded Mexican blend cheese (about 2 cups or as much as you like)

1 small can chopped black olives

12 corn tortillas

Sauté the onions, yellow squash, zucchini and garlic in the oil and season with salt and pepper.  Add the cumin and chili powder.  When the onions begin to get translucent, add the spinach, chicken, diced tomatoes and green chilies.  Simmer on low for 5 minutes.

*Optional: In the meantime, spray each tortilla with olive oil spray and heat on the grill for about 30 seconds per side and lightly salt.  This isn’t necessary, but we always do this when we make tacos, etc. because it makes the tortillas so tasty!  If you don't do this, microwave the tortillas for a few seconds so they are more pliable. 

Spread about ¼ cup of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9x11 casserole dish.   Place a couple spoonfuls of the chicken mixture onto each tortilla, roll and place very close together in the casserole dish.  Top with remaining enchilada sauce.  Top with shredded cheese.  Top with a handful of chopped olives.

Bake on 350 for 15-20 minutes.

*If you want to make these vegetarian, just take out the chicken and add black beans and corn!

This is the amount of onion, squash and zucchini I used...

Once all the ingredients are mixed together...

Cover the bottom with enchilada sauce...

Before the enchilada sauce, cheese and olives...