Busy Week Ahead? Say No to the Frozen Entree! Try this Tasty Enchilada Casserole

To follow-up on my previous post of making black beans in the slow cooker, I thought you'd like to see another way to use the homemade beans.

So many times, I see my coworkers heating up their frozen entree and I look at it and feel sorry for them because...A - they are not appetizing and B - it's processed food typically high in sodium and filled preservatives. Not to mention frozen entrees are expensive per-meal compared to home cooked. My casserole was about $1.25 per serving!

I had an appointment after work tonight and I knew that I would be home late. So last night, I made a huge, tasty Enchilada casserole with my cooked black beans. The casserole makes 8 servings and for 2 people that's 4 meals. This meal is kid-friendly and I have to say Aaron loved it! We had reheated the casserole tonight with leftover vegetables and sliced mango. Then I packed the remaining servings in entree containers (pictured above) to pack a complete meal for lunch. Here's how...

Enchilada Casserole
Serves 8

Ingredients:

• Cooking spray
• 12 corn tortillas
• 1 pound ground lean meat (pork, turkey, chicken or beef)
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 small red bell pepper, diced
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3 cup cooked black beans
• 16 oz mild enchilada sauce
• 1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar or Mexican cheese mix
• 8 oz can sliced black olives, drained
• Low-fat sour cream, to serve

Preparation:

• Preheat skillet or dutch oven on medium. Chop onion and peppers.
• Drizzle pan with olive oil and cook onions, peppers and garlic. Add ground meat, crumbling the meat as you cook it. Add spices through salt and pepper. Cook through until meat is brown and no longer pink. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Coat cooking spray in a 9x13 inch casserole dish. Spoon 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce on the bottom of the dish. Reserve remaining sauce. Line 6 corn tortillas in an even layer, overlapping to fill gaps.
• Spoon black beans on the tortillas in an even layer. Add cooked meat on top of the beans. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of shredded cheese. Layer remaining 6 corn tortilla, overlapping to fill the gaps.
• Pour reserved enchilada sauce on top of the tortillas. Sprinkle with 1 cup shredded cheese and sliced olives.
• Place casserole in the oven for 30 minutes.
• Let cool for 5-10 minutes. Cut into 8 equal servings.
• Serve with sour cream, chopped fresh cilantro, and sliced avocado, if desired.

Store the leftovers in the individual servings to help with portion control and saving time for future meals on busy days.