weekday – Discover Healthy Food

Refried Beans Enchilada Casserole

Refried Beans Enchilada Casserole with pico de gallo salsa… Yummy dinner and leftovers.

Ingredients:

2-14oz cans of your favorite enchilada sauce

8 Large flour tortillas, cut in half

2-14oz cans of your favorite refried beans

1 large red bell pepper, diced

1 large white onion, diced

1 cup black olives, sliced

1-14oz can corn, drained

1-14oz can diced tomatoes, or 3 fresh roma tomatoes, diced

2 tablespoons cumin

1/4 teaspoon chile powder

Your favorite pico or other chunky salsa

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Pour one can of enchilada sauce bottom of 9×13 glass baking dish.

3. On medium heat in pot, water saute onion, bell pepper, garlic for 5 minutes, then add refriedbeans, cumin, corn, tomatoes, chile powder and heat through- about 5 minutes

4. Place 4 tortilla halves with flat edge against sides of dish. Ladle 2 cups of bean mixture and spread over tortillas.

5. Repeat 3 times.

Note: For vegetarian option, sprinkle 1 cup Mexican cheese blend on top of bean mixture at each layer.

6. Add last layer of tortillas, then pour other can of enchilada sauce over top. Sprinkle #olives. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes.

Serve with heaping scoop of pico de gallo salsa or other garnish. Pairs well with greensalad and vinaigrette salad dressing. Makes great left overs too!

Optional garnishes:

Sourcream
Cilantro
Guacamole
Avocado slices

I’ll see you at the table!

Recipe: Stuffed Bell Pepper and Steamed Asparagus

17438080_494117124045466_2501886692655366144_n Healthy veggie based meal: stuffed bell pepper and steamed asparagus.
Ingredients:
4 yellow bell peppers, tops cut out and seeds rinsed out
1 package of saffron rice, prepared per package directions
1 roma tomato, small dice
1 zucchini, small dice
1 small yellow onion, small dice
3 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Olive oil

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Cook saffron rice per package directions
3. On medium heat, saute onion and zucchini in olive oil or water for 5 minutes, then add tomato and garlic and saute for 1 minute.
4. Add cooked rice, parsley to zucchini mixture and stir to combine. Using a tablespoon, scoop rice mixture into bell peppers.

Note: You can use other bell peppers, but I prefer the mild, sweeter flavor of yellow.
5. Place 4 stuffed bell peppers into 8×8 glass baking dish. Add water around the outside of peppers, 1/3 the way up the pepper.
Note: If you’re preparing ahead of time, store in refrigerator for up to 2 days, covered in plastic wrap. Add water when ready to bake.

6. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes, or until the skin of peppers begins to wrinkle. If your peppers are really thick, you may need 5-10 more minutes. Better to over bake than under bake.
7. Serve with steamed asparagus.

For a more robust meal, serve with crusty bread and large green salad.
I’ll see you at the table!

Salsa Chicken and Rice Bake

I love easy to prepare dishes that are full of flavor. In our house, anything Mexican is pretty popular, so this dish was and easy success.

Original recipe from TipHero.
Serves 4
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients:
– 1 cup uncooked basmati rice, rinsed
– 1 can corn kernels, drained
– 1-15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed (Jen’s Note: Omit if your breast feeding and beans don’t work well with baby)
– 1-16-ounce jar salsa
– 1 cup chicken broth
– 1-½ teaspoons ground cayenne pepper (Jen’s Note: Omit for less spice)
– 1 teaspoon oregano
– ½ teaspoon salt
– ¼ teaspoon black pepper
– 2 large chicken breasts (about 1-1/2 pounds), thawed (Jen’s Note: Cut in half length wise)
– 1 cup shredded cheese blend
– 2 green onions, sliced

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
In an 8-inch-by-8-inch baking dish, add the rice, black beans, corn, salsa, chicken broth, chili powder and oregano. Stir to combine. (Jen’s Note: Or, use a 8×11″ dish and you can add a third chicken breast)
Cut the chicken breasts into 2 pieces and submerge into the liquid in the baking dish as far as possible.
Cover the casserole dish tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour, until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed.
Remove from the oven and sprinkle with cheese. Return to the oven and bake just until the cheese has melted.
Top with green onions and serve.

Jen’s Note: We like to have garnishes like sour cream, cilantro, lime, hot sauce, so have those on hand to enhance the dish. Serve with green salad for a great, easy, week day meal!

I’ll see you at the table!