Beef Enchilada Casserole

I don’t usually post holiday-appropriate recipes on here, but I have to admit I’m excited for Cinco de Mayo. I love Mexican food (though I realize Cinco de Mayo is a bigger deal here in the U.S. than in actual Mexico, ha) and I haven’t posted any Latin-inspired recipes lately.

This recipe is inspired by a frozen meal that I used to buy all the time in college: Cedarlane Three-Layer Enchilada Pie. I used to find it in the organic/natural foods section of my grocery store and loved that it was quick and easy but still managed to be fairly healthy. My version of enchilada pie includes beef, which I somehow have never included on this blog, but you can easily make it with chicken, pork, or leave the meat out all together!

My Beef Enchilada Casserole includes layers of soft corn tortillas, juicy ground beef, enchilada sauce, Mexican spices, and plenty of veggies and cheese. This is a great meal to serve to friends or family, and heats up nicely, too. I really love meals where every bite is filled with flavor and variety, and all the protein/veggies/calcium you need – such as stir-fry, soup, casseroles, etc, rather than having your food groups separated. I thought this meal was the perfect way to celebrate one of my favorite cuisines

Beef Enchilada Casserole
makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 of a medium onion, diced
• 1/2 of a green bell pepper, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 lb. ground beef
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 10 oz. can Rotel, juices drained (or diced tomatoes if Rotel is not available)
• 1/3 cup enchilada sauce, reserving 2 Tbsp
• 3/4 cup pinto or black beans
• 6 8-inch corn (or flour) tortillas
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• optional: black olive and jalapeño slices to garnish

Your ingredients

Your spices (alternatively, you could use pre-made taco seasoning)

Directions:

1. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan. Add diced onions and diced green bell pepper and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until veggies are softened.
2. Add garlic and ground beef and turn heat up to medium. Sauté for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is lightly browned. Stir in spices. (Beef does not have to be 100% cooked through, because it will continue cooking in the following steps.)
3. Stir in Rotel and enchilada sauce and cook until sauce has reduced and thickened, about 10 minutes. You should also preheat your oven to 400ºF at this time, too. Stir in pinto beans and remove from heat.
4. Lightly spray an 8 x 8 inch baking dish with cooking spray and layer tortillas as shown in the photo below. Layer half of enchilada mixture on top, along with 1/4 cup cheese. Repeat this step once more. Finish off with a third layer of tortillas and spoon remaining 2 Tbsp of enchilada sauce on top, along with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.
5. Bake for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melty and golden-brown. Let cool slightly before serving. Enjoy with a dollop of sour cream and scallions.

Saute up your onion, pepper, and garlic, and add ground beef and spices.

Mix in Rotel and enchilada sauce, and cook until sauce has thickened – about 10 minutes. You will also want to preheat your oven at this time.

Stir in beans and remove from heat.

Spray an 8 x 8 inch baking dish with cooking spray, and layer your tortillas as shown: 1 in the middle, and another torn in half on either side. (At this point I realized I was using 6 inch tortillas instead of 8 inch. Oh well.)

Pour half of the enchilada mixture on top of the tortillas, along with 1/4 cup of cheese. Repeat this process 1 more time.

On top of your second layer of enchilada mixture, add another layer of tortillas and spread the remaining 2 Tbsp enchilada sauce on top.

Top off with your remaining 1/2 cup of cheese, sliced olives and sliced jalapenos.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until cheese is nice and melty. Let cool slightly before serving.

Enjoy

Lentil Chickpea Coconut Curry

Since trying lentils for the first time last summer, I’ve become mildly obsessed with them and usually cook them anywhere from one to three times a month. I love lentils with brown rice, or with sausage, but my favorite way to eat lentils is in a delicious curry. I was originally going to post a recipe for Chana Masala (chickpea curry), but decided I needed to include my beloved lentils and also some greens.

If you enjoy curry, I definitely recommend giving this recipe a try. Hearty lentils and chickpeas are simmered in a flavorful tomato-curry sauce with kale and coconut milk, served over rice. This meal is so filling and satisfying, I bet most wouldn’t guess that it’s vegan. I admit I sometimes miss meat in a vegetarian or vegan meal, but this isn’t one of them. Lentils and chickpeas are both packed with protein, very low in fat and diet superfoods in my book. I’ve been making this meal in some variation or another for months now, and it really has become one of my favorites. This is the first time I made it with coconut milk and I love the way it mellows out the strong flavors a bit. The amount of spices are based off my personal preferences, so you may find you want more or less of something – just have fun playing around with it!

Lentil Chickpea Coconut Curry

Ingredients:
serves 5-6

• 1 cup uncooked brown rice
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups of water, veggie stock or chicken stock
• 1 cup dry brown or green lentils
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 15 oz. can fire-roasted tomato sauce or diced tomatoes
• 5-6 stalks kale, torn into small pieces or 4-5 cups spinach (I used both)
• 1 Tbsp yellow curry powder
• 1 tsp red curry powder or garam masala
• 1 tsp red curry paste
• 1 tsp cumin + 1 tsp coriander (or 2 tsp cumin if coriander is not available)
• 1 tsp fresh ginger or 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained (feel free to use the whole can if you prefer)
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• juice of 1 lime (about 2 Tbsp)
• fresh cilantro and scallions to garnish, warmed Naan to serve

Directions:

1. In medium saucepan, cook rice according to box directions. You can do this step in advance, or let the rice cook while you’re preparing the rest of the meal.
2. In a 3-4 quart cooking pot, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over low heat. Add diced onion and carrots and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add minced garlic and continue cooking.
3. Once veggies have softened and browned a bit (about 15-20 minutes), add water or stock to the pot, along with your lentils and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and then return to a simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes.
4. Add the tomato sauce or diced tomato to the pot and stir in kale. (If using spinach, don’t add it until later – see step number 5.) Season with all of the spices (yellow curry powder through red pepper flakes) and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes until kale is tender and the curry has thickened.
5. Stir in chickpeas, coconut milk, and lime juice (and spinach, if using) and simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve curry over rice, with a garnish of fresh cilantro, scallions, and warmed Naan.

Start by sauteing your veggies

Once veggies are tender, add 3 cups of water or stock to the pot, along with lentils and 1 bay leaf. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in tomato sauce, kale and spices and cook for another 10-15 minutes.

Once kale is tender, add chickpeas, coconut milk, and lime juice to the curry. Cook for an additional 5 minutes.

The finished product!

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili – In Honor of Boston

I had a nice paragraph written about celebrating Marathon Monday in Boston and how it’s such a big tradition around here, but those words needed some revising after the tragic events that took place yesterday. I was in complete disbelief as I listened to the news stories about multiple explosions that happened just miles from my house and ruined what should have been a joyous event, injuring almost 200 people and taking the lives of three. I will never understand how people can be filled with so much hate or rage that they can justify such a senseless act. But as President Obama said when he addressed yesterday’s events on the news: Boston is a tough and resilient town, as are the people. Though I grew up about 30 minutes south of Boston, I’ve always considered it my home; even more so since moving just outside the city this past fall. We will pull together and move forward, but for now, my thoughts go out to all of those affected by this tragedy.

To honor my beloved Beantown, I’m posting a recipe for Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili. True to my Bostonian roots, I find chili incomplete without beans. This recipe evolved in a few ways: After seeing others add sweet potatoes to chili, I thought that was a great way to balance out the spicy flavors. I always eat chili with cornbread, so adding sweet potato made perfect sense to me and saves some calories as well. I love the combination of sweet potato and black beans, so I decided both of those things would need to present in this chili.

This Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili combines tender sweet potatoes, fire-roasted tomatoes, black beans, and Mexican spices to create a smoky, flavorful chili with a surprising hint of sweetness. I generally followed the same steps as for my 3-Bean Turkey Chili, but cut down the portions (though this recipe can be easily doubled to serve a crowd). I included ground turkey in this chili, but feel free to leave it out for a vegan recipe – or sub ground beef or chicken for something different!

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili
serves 3-4

Ingredients:

• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 cup diced sweet potatoes
• 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 lb. ground turkey (optional)
• 14.5 oz. can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 8 oz. can tomato sauce
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
• salt, to taste
• optional toppings: shredded cheese, scallions, diced avocado, Greek yogurt or sour cream, etc.

Directions:

1. In a large frying pan, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over low heat. Add diced onion and sauté for about 10 minutes, until softened. Add diced sweet potato, red pepper, and garlic and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for about 10 additional minutes.
2. Once veggies are tender, transfer to a medium cooking pot. In the frying pan used for veggies, cook ground turkey until browned. Stir cooked turkey into to the pot with veggies, along with both cans of tomato and your spices. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in black beans and cook just until they’ve warmed up. Season with salt or any additional spices you find appropriate, serve with optional toppings, and enjoy.

I hope all of my readers and your loved ones are safe after yesterday’s events. Please keep Boston in your thoughts. ♥

Veggie Pita Pizza

It’s finally starting to feel a bit like spring here in Massachusetts. I suppose I shouldn’t say “finally”, seeing as the first official day of spring was just last week, but it’s been a very long, snowy winter. The temperature has risen above freezing during the day and my favorite produce market is opening up the outdoor portion of the store to sell flowers.

Usually at this time of year, I’m realizing that bikini season is just around the corner and deciding I should start exercising more and eating better. Last fall I joined a gym for the first time in a long time, and had the epiphany that I don’t want being healthy and fit to just be a seasonal thing. Though it’s an effort to make yourself go to the gym every week and eat right, it’s even more difficult to let yourself go during the winter and then scramble to get yourself back into shape for the summer.

My attempt to become healthier has definitely been a process. I didn’t just wake up one day and magically eat all the right foods and go to the gym everyday. There’s been a lot of figuring out what does and doesn’t work for my body, and trying to form new habits. I’ve learned that my body functions best with an abundance of protein, healthy fats, limited sugar, and limited dairy. Though I’ve heard that carbs can slow you down and tend to contribute to belly fat, limiting my carb intake has been a bit more difficult. Like many other Americans, I tend to find a meal incomplete without some source of grains and find comfort in eating a bowl of pasta or a sandwich on really good bread.

Instead of completely cutting grains out of my diet, which just seems too drastic for me, I’ve been focusing on incorporating more whole grains into my diet. Lately, one of my favorite ways to eat whole grains is Arnold Pocket Thins. They are a pita pocket-style flat bread and one serving has (1/2 a pita) 100 calories and 8g of whole grains. They come in a number of flavors and are perfect for a sandwich, or in this case, pizza! I chose the Italian Herb flavor for this particular recipe, which seemed appropriate.

This Veggie Pita Pizza is loaded with fresh vegetables, marinara sauce, low-fat cheese and cooked on a delicious whole grain pita. You can use any type of pita bread that’s available to you, and feel free to switch up the veggies. It’s a quick and easy meal, perfect for a weeknight or even for lunch. This is a fun way to eat pizza without feeling guilty afterwards, plus you’re getting a healthy serving of veggies, too.

Veggie Pita Pizza
makes 1 pizza

Ingredients:

• 1 6-inch pita pocket
• 3 Tbsp marinara sauce
• 1/4 cup mozzerella and/or parmesan cheese, divided in half
• handful of fresh spinach, chopped
• 3/4 cup of veggies of your choice, thinly sliced or chopped
• optional: pinch of red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 425ºF. Lightly grease a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Spoon the marinara sauce onto your pita and spread around in an even layer. Sprinkle with half of your cheese. Layer on your spinach and veggies, and top off with remaining cheese and optional red pepper flakes.
3. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cheese is fully melted and edges of crust are golden-brown. Let cool slightly before eating and enjoy:)

Begin by spreading a thin layer of your marinara sauce on your pita, and sprinkle with half of your cheese.

Add your spinach and veggies, and top with remaining cheese. I used onions, peppers, and mushrooms but you can use whichever veggies you like. Bake at 425 for 10-12 minutes.

Once your cheese is melted and crust is golden-brown, your pizza is done. Let cool slightly before slicing and serving.

Lightened Up Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

The other day I woke up with a strange craving for Chicken & Broccoli casserole. I’ve only really had it once, at a friend’s house back in high school, but suddenly I was struck with a craving and felt like I needed to make it.

One of my favorite meals growing up that my mom would make was Chicken, Ziti & Broccoli. Her version was pretty light, just using grated parmesan instead of an alfredo sauce, but always so satisfying. Chicken and broccoli pair well together, and cheese just makes everything better.

Many recipes I looked at for this casserole included loads of fatty ingredients such as condensed cream of chicken soup, mayonnaise, sour cream, etc. I knew cream of chicken soup would make it taste good and help hold everything together, but in addition to being fatty it’s also full of preservatives and weird ingredients. I wouldn’t say that my diet is 100% “clean”, as I do like to eat chips and candy every once in a while, but cream of chicken soup is just one thing I’ve never really had the desire to include in a recipe.

To make a healthier version of cream of chicken soup, I found a few low-fat ingredients in my kitchen and kind of decided to wing it. The soup starts out with a little bit of butter or olive oil, fat-free chicken stock, skim milk, and then fat-free Greek yogurt and low-fat cream cheese are whisked in. The result was surprisingly similar in texture to cream of chicken soup, but lighter and a bit tangier tasting. I was pleased with how it turned out and would definitely use it again in the future.

This Lightened Up Chicken & Broccoli Casserole is filled with bite-sized pieces of chicken, broccoli, whole grain breadcrumbs, and finished off with my cream of chicken soup substitute and some shredded cheese. It’s filling and flavorful and I’m betting whoever you serve it to wouldn’t guess that it’s low-fat If you’re looking to cut carbs, feel free to leave the bread out, or substitute it with something like quinoa.

Lightened Up Chicken & Broccoli Casserole
makes 3-4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 large head broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 large or 2 small breasts cooked chicken (about 1/2 lb.), cubed
• 2 slices whole grain bread, toasted and cut into small chunks
• cream of chicken soup substitute (see recipe below)
• 3/4 cup reduced fat shredded cheese (I recommend cheddar or mozzerella)

Lightened Up Cream of Chicken soup substitute: (makes about ~1 cup)

• 1 Tbsp butter + 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1/3 cup chicken stock
• 1/3 cup skim milk
• 2 Tbsp nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1 Tbsp low-fat cream cheese or 1 Laughing Cow cheese wedge

your ingredients (forgot to include the cream cheese!)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Prepare the broccoli by steaming it for 5-7 minutes, until it’s about halfway or 3/4 of the way cooked (it will continue to cook in the oven). Set aside.
2. In a small sauce pan, melt butter and garlic over low heat. Add minced garlic and let it simmer for about 1 minute. Whisk in flour and stir well.
3. Slowly whisk in chicken stock and skim milk and bring to a simmer over medium heat, continuing to stir. Once mixture is starting to thicken, stir in Greek yogurt and cream cheese. Once they’ve melted and the sauce is thick, you can remove it from heat.
4. In a medium mixing bowl, combine cubed chicken, broccoli, chunks of bread, cream of chicken soup substitute, and half of the cheese. Stir well and layer into a greased 8×8″ baking dish. Top of with remaining cheese and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until cheese is melty and golden-brown. Let cool for 5 minutes and then serve.

After cutting your broccoli into bite-sized pieces, steam until about halfway done (about 5-7 minutes). You should also preheat your oven to 350ºF at this time as well.

Prepare your cream of chicken substitute by melting 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp olive oil together, and sauteing your minced garlic for 1-2 minutes.

Whisk in your flour until well-incorporated, and then add chicken stock and skim milk. Bring to a boil, continuing to whisk, until mixture starts to thicken slightly. Add your Greek yogurt and cream cheese and stir until melted, then remove from heat.

Don’t forget to cut your chicken and bread into small chunks!

In a medium mixing bowl, add chicken, bread, broccoli, cream of chicken soup, and half of your cheese and stir to combine.

Place mixture in a greased 8×8″ baking dish and top with remaining cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melty and golden-brown.

Let your casserole cool slightly and then dig in. Mmmm