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. ♥

Ricotta Vegetable Turkey Meatballs

Meatballs are one of those things, when done right, I find so satisfying. I’m not a huge meatloaf person and I only eat burgers every once in a while, but something about meatballs makes them super appealing to me. They make a great meal and there are endless varieties to how you can prepare them. Some of my favorites include sweet and sour meatballs, which are made with grape jelly and chili sauce (sounds crazy but it works) and, of course, traditional Italian-style meatballs. My dad makes some of the best beef meatballs I’ve ever had, accompanied by his famous tomato sauce. I have yet to get the recipe from him…

Since becoming interested in eating healthier a couple of years ago, I’ve made the switch from ground beef to ground turkey. Growing up, we always had beef for our burgers and tacos, but I’ve come to prefer ground turkey because it’s not as heavy and still loaded with protein. I certainly enjoy beef every now and then, but I’m really more of a white meat-kinda girl.

After making many different meatball recipes, some successful and some not so much, I’ve discovered a few methods to make them delicious each time. One of the most important tips I can give is to make sure you stick to an appropriate ratio of ingredients. If you use too much or too little of one ingredient, your meatballs may come out dry and crumbly or a pile of mush. The ratio I typically follow for every one pound of ground meat is 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs and 1 egg. It’s also important to measure your spices and/or herbs, since you can’t taste the meat before you cook it. And a method I personally like to use to keep meatballs moist is to add veggies, cheese, or both!

These meatballs were inspired by two recipes. One is a turkey meatball recipe my roommate Emily would make a couple of years ago, which is still one of my favorites to this day. Her version includes veggies like spinach, red pepper, and mushroom and were so flavorful. The other recipe is these Turkey Ricotta Meatballs from CenterCutCook, which use ricotta cheese to help keep the meatballs moist. More or less, I combined these two recipes and came up with the clever name Ricotta Vegetable Turkey Meatballs… ha ha.

Ricotta Vegetable Turkey Meatballs
makes 20 meatballs or 4-5 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. 93% lean ground turkey
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I used Panko)
• 1/4 cup finely diced onions
• 1/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper
• 1 large handful of fresh spinach, shredded
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup parmesan and/or mozzerella cheese
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp dried oregano

Directions:

1. In a medium-large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly, either using a large spoon or your hands until all is well-incorporated.
2. Optional: For a more flavorful meatball, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. If you choose to skip this step, preheat your oven to 375ºF.
3. Use your hands to roll the meat into about 18-20 meatballs, or around 1.5 tablespoons each. Mine made exactly 20. Place the meatballs on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until they are cooked throughout. Let cool slightly and serve with your choice of pasta, or on a sub roll with marinara sauce and enjoy!

Make sure your veggies are nice and finely chopped

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir

Once all your ingredients are well-incorporated, refrigerate for a few hours or bake right away. When you’re ready to bake, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Roll your turkey into meatballs, roughly 1.5 tablespoons each or 18-20 meatballs. Bake for 15-18 minutes.

When your meatballs are no longer pink in the middle and cooked throughout, they are done. Serve with pasta or on a sub roll.

Wonderfully juicy and moist in the middle

Roasted Tomato & Eggplant Soup

This recipe was kind of a spur-of-the-moment decision, but I’m pretty pleased with how it came out. Last night my roommate Emily came home with Creamy Tomato soup from Panera Bread and all of a sudden I found myself craving tomato soup. I’ve been attempting to post twice a week nowadays, usually on Tuesdays and Fridays, but I hadn’t thought of what to make for today (Tuesday) yet. That’s where tomato soup comes in!

This soup was influenced by a few different recipes. Last year I tried Au Bon Pain’s Eggplant Soup and found it surprisingly delicious. I’ve always loved tomato soup, but found the addition of eggplant enticing. One of the best tomato soups I’ve had in a while was at a local restaurant a town over from me. Back in September, when I had my wisdom teeth out, I couldn’t eat much other than soup and mashed potatoes. I was tired of eating soup, but found this restaurant’s tomato soup especially delicious. It was chunkier than usual and tasted like it had cheddar cheese cooked into it.

Soup also appealed to me today because I have the most horrible canker sore on the side of my tongue right now. Yesterday it was pretty painful, so I figured today it’d be starting to heal. Instead I woke up and it had just about doubled in size and was so painful I could barely eat anything. Even just swallowing or talking hurts. Not fun. After taking some medicine, my tongue feels a bit better but solid or tough food is still kind of out of the question for now.

If you are a tomato lover, you will love this soup. Roasting tomatoes brings out an incredible sweetness that you can’t really get with raw tomatoes. The roasted eggplant adds a nice, mellow flavor and the soup is finished off with some fire-roasted bell peppers. I chose to add some light cream and cheese to my soup, but you can eliminate these things if you’re looking for a soup that’s dairy-free (as well as vegan). This soup is comforting and will help keep you warm for these last few weeks of winter. It could even double as a pasta or pizza sauce!

Roasted Tomato & Eggplant Soup
makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

• Two large tomatoes, cored, seeds removed, and cut into quarters
• 1 eggplant, stem removed and sliced in half length-wise
• 1/2 of 1 sweet onion, cut into large chunks
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 28-oz can peeled or diced tomatoes
• 1 small (6 or 12 oz.) jar roasted red peppers
• handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• optional: 1/2 cup light cream or half and half
• optional: 1/4 cup cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400ºF. Lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and arrange your tomatoes, eggplant, and onion chunks on top. To prevent garlic cloves from burning, insert into cored tomatoes (see photo below for reference). Drizzle veggies with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper.
2. Roast your veggies for 30-40 minutes, or until the tomatoes have begun to collapse and eggplant is starting to shrivel. Remove from oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
3. In a large sauce pan, combine your peeled/diced tomatoes, roasted red peppers, basil, chicken/vegetable broth, and red pepper flakes. Once your roasted veggies have cooled slightly, add them to the sauce pan as well.
4. Use an immersion blender to blend the veggies to your desired consistency. (Or, alternatively, transfer the veggies to a blender and then return to sauce pan.)
5. Heat the soup to low and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until hot. Stir in cream and cheese, if using. Serve with an extra sprinkle of cheese or your favorite type of bread and enjoy

After cutting up your veggies, place them on a lightly greased baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil on top and season with salt and pepper. Nestle your garlic cloves inside the tomatoes, as shown in the photo. Roast for 30-40 minutes.

Once your veggies are finished roasting, let them cool for 5-10 minutes.

Gently remove the skin from your eggplant. Grab a small chunk at the end of it and it should peel off rather easily.

Place your roasted veggies into a large sauce pan, along with the canned tomatoes, roasted red peppers, chicken/veggie broth, chopped basil, and red pepper flakes.

Using an immersion or regular blender, blend the soup to your desired consistency. (If you cook a lot and are considering getting an immersion blender, buy one. seriously. best thing ever.)

Heat sauce over low heat for 10-15 minutes, or until hot. Stir in cream and cheese, if using.

Serve with an extra sprinkle of cheese and some basil.