Veggie Enchilada Casserole

A few days ago I made a vegetarian enchilada casserole.  I wanted to get creative with the sauce, and I also had some leftover grilled fajita veggies.  Here's what ensued:

Sauce:

1 15ish oz can tomato sauce
1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper (I used green) diced
1 c carrots, finely chopped (Measure after they're chopped)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt/pepper to taste
2 chipotle peppers (or to taste; from a can with adobo sauce)
oil or broth for sauteeing

Sautee off the onion and pepper until the onion is translucent, sprinkle seasonings on.  Add in carrots, tomato sauce, and let simmer for a good while (as long as you have- 20 min or 2 hrs is fine!).  I actually didn't simmer mine at all- just threw it in the blender, which is the next step anyway.  Put it all in the blender (and use caution, as always, with hot liquids in a blender!).  Blenderize it until it's completely uniform (unless you like it chunky), and viola, sauce is ready.

Casserole:

1 batch of sauce
1/2 can corn
1/2 can black beans
About 2 c roasted, grilled, or otherwise cooked veggies (again, I had leftover grilled fajita onions, red peppers, and poblano peppers- SUPER delicious!)
1/2-1 c cheese!  (Or, if you want to go vegan, use some crushed raw cashews for a nice crunch!)
Whole grain flour or healthy corn tortillas (I used 8 or so large flour tortillas).  Cut all but 3 of them in half.
9x9 square baking dish (or bigger, if you prefer)

Start by placing some sauce in the bottom to prevent sticking.  Then a layer of tortillas- a whole one in the middle, and 4 halves around it (so the straight part of the tortilla lines up with the edge of the baking dish).  Then a bit more sauce, and the beans and corn.  Then another layer of tortillas, the same way as the first.  Then more sauce, then your veggies, then your last layer of tortillas.  Top with sauce BUT NOT THE CHEESE YET (cashews can go on now).

Bake at 350 until sauce is dry on the top, 20-25 min, then top with the cheese and bake until the cheese is desired doneness (I like mine extra brown, so probably another 10-15 min for me!).

As for the sauce-- I ended up with extra that i threw away.  You could probably get a 9x13 pan worth of enchiladas out of that sauce recipe, just add more filling and tortillas.

And enjoy!  A healthy vegetarian or vegan meal!

Kale Chips!!

I made Kale Chips yesterday.  My daughter gobbled them up!  Here's the recipe:

1 T Canola oil
1 T Water
1/3 cup unsalted, raw cashews
1/2 lemon, juiced
3/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 sm. garlic cloves
Additional water, as needed
1 bunch curly kale, washed and dried completely, stems removed and broken up into 2-inch pieces

Blend everything together until smooth in a high speed blender (or, blend water, canola oil, and cashews in a food processor until paste-like, then add the rest).  Add water until you get a thick sauce consistency- it should pour, but slowly.  Then pour the stuff over your kale.

Bake at 200 degrees for about an hour.  It works well to use cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.  Admittedly I used half a bunch of kale or so- that's all that would fit on my cookie sheets.  You may have to do two batches if your kale bunch is large!

Then eat and enjoy.  My daughter and myself love these, my husband, his son, and my brother couldn't stand them.  To each their own, I guess!