Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchilada Casserole

So I've been sticking with my gluten free diet for over a week now. For the first three or four days I felt quite dizzy, light headed and nauseous. I did a little research online and found that others have had similar symptoms. Apparently gluten intake releases something similar to endorphins in the brain and when gluten is cut out of the diet there is a detox period and your brain just isn't digging this at all! It takes a bit of time to adjust. Who knew?! I have to say, I'm feeling much better already. No more bloated tummy every night, no burping, indigestion and a few other lovely symptoms I won't mention here. Yay! You can't see me right now but I'm doing a happy dance! ;)



I found a gluten free sweet potato and black bean enchilada recipe over at Karina's wonderful blog. I decided to do a bit of tweaking and turned it into a casserole. The truth is I'm just a lazy so and so and I hate rolling enchiladas! I really enjoyed this casserole. It was a fun and out of the ordinary mix of flavors and textures. This is a recipe I will definitely make again.

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchilada Casserole
by theUngourmet -adapted from Gluten Free Goddess

Serves 4-6

Print recipe

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 large clove garlic, minced
juice from 1 lime
2 cups cooked sweet potatoes, roughly mashed
1/2 cup roasted green chiles
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
*Green Chili Sauce
9 small corn tortillas
8 oz package cream cheese
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Green Chile Sauce
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tbsp corn starch
1 cup diced green chiles
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 tsp chili powder

In a large bowl combine the beans, 1 clove garlic, lime juice, sweet potato, 1/2 cup green chiles cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Dissolve the corn starch in 1 tbsp of the vegetable broth. In a small saucepan combine the vegetable broth, dissolved corn starch, green chiles, garlic, and chili powder. Heat over medium high heat. Simmer until thickened, stirring occasionally.

To assemble casserole
Coat bottom of a 9 inch round casserole dish with a small amount of green chile sauce. Spread about 1 tbsp of cream cheese (1 tbsp for each tortilla) onto three tortillas. Arrange tortillas to cover the sauce. Add 1/3 of the filling and top with 1/3 of the green chile sauce. Repeat to make three layers. Top with the jack cheese. Place into a 350 oven for 30 minutes.

Happy Weekend!






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spaghetti casserole

See I told you I was on a casserole kick! I can't believe in all of my years in the kitchen I've never whipped up a spaghetti casserole! It super easy! I love the way the noodles hold together when you cut into the casserole. It's spaghetti....only better. ;)



I've been using Eat at Home's wonderful weekly menu plans the past couple of weeks and baked spaghetti was on the list. I changed things around a bit for my casserole. I replace the ground beef with ground turkey, switched the spaghetti out for whole grain thin spaghetti, I used a large can of pasta sauce instead of a mixture of tomato and pasta sauces. I also used a little grated parmesan along with the mozzerella.

This was such a hit at my house! Hope you'll give it a try soon.

Spaghetti Casserole
by theUngourmet ~inspired by Eat at Home

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp minced dried onion
1 tsp dried basil
1 26 oz jar or can of pasta sauce
8 oz of whole grain thin spaghetti, cooked according to directions
2 cups shredded mozzerella
1/2 cup grated parmesan
dried basil

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Brown the ground turkey, garlic, onion and basil. Stir in the sauce and pasta. Spread evenly into a deep dish 9 inch casserole dish. Top with cheeses and sprinkle with a bit of basil.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Serve with crusty bread and a nice green salad.

Print recipe

Have a great Thursday everyone!





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Chicken and Spinach Lasagna "Cupcakes"

I have made an important decision. I have decided to drive my family nuts by making everything in cupcake form! Doesn't that sound like a whole mess of mealtime fun?

This is my first attempt at Lasagna Cupcakes and I have to tell ya, they were a huge hit!



They are a bit messy and take a little bit more time but it's so worth it!

Chicken and Spinach Lasagna Cupcakes

by theUngourmet

1 lb ground chicken
2 cloves minced garlic
8 oz canned petite diced tomatoes undrained
8 oz canned tomato sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp cracked pepper
8 lasagna noodles, cooked al dente
1 beaten egg
2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 cup frozen spinach, thawed and well drained
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1 tbsp dried parsley
1/4 cup shredded or grated Parmesan

Print recipe

Thoroughly cook the ground chicken in a large skillet. Add the tomatoes, sauce, garlic, spices, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Combine the egg, ricotta, Parmesan, and spinach.

Using a glass or cookie cutter that is close to the size of the muffin cups, cut 3 circles out of each noodle for a total of 24 circles.



Place 1 noodle circle in each muffin cup. Layer meat sauce, ricotta mixture, and shredded mozzarella. Repeat. Top with a bit of parsley and grated Parmesan.

Cover loosely with a piece of foil that has been sprayed with oil and bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 5 minutes to brown on top.

Let the "cupcakes" sit for at least 10 minutes for easier removal.



I didn't want to let any food go to waste so I tossed any ingredients that didn't fit into the muffin cups into a small baking dish to bake another night.

These are so fun and yummy! I can't wait to make them again!


I also wanted to take a few moments to say a great big thanks for the lovely blog awards that have been passed to me recently! :D

I received this award from Shelly at Experimental Culinary Pursuits. Shelly is a fellow Foodbuzz featured publisher and her blog is just bursting with wonderful recipes. I have just recently discovered this blog and I am loving all of the creativity going on over there! Go and visit Shelly soon!

I was also honored to be passed this lovely award from the Chickenless Kitchen. I love this blog! The Chickenless Kitchen is a culinary super hero and is also a fellow Foodbuzz featured publisher. Don't be chicken go on over and say hello!

Last, but most definitely not least, I would like to thank Palidor at Crazy Asian Gal for this fun award. Palidor has the most out of this world, crazy good recipes. You will love her! Go now and take a good look around.

Well, I guess that wraps up another post. I hope everyone is enjoying their week and eating some good grub!

See ya soon!

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I coulda been somebody...

We lost power at our house tonight for two hours, twenty one minutes, and seven seconds. I was nearly finished with the post I was working on. It was proving to be incredibly insightful and profound. My fingers were flying across the keys...I was unstoppable. I was well on my way to an award winning post when, ZAP!, everything went black. Of course, none of it saved before the dreadful outage occurred and for the life of me I can't remember what in the heck I was writing. Bummer!



It looks like you'll just have to settle for this Enchilada Casserole recipe instead. My family thought it was award winning (or at least blog worthy)!

Shredded Chicken Enchilada Casserole
by theUngourmet

1 lb shredded boneless skinless chicken thighs (I cooked this in the crock pot for several hours with a bit of water and a few cloves of garlic.)
2 10 oz cans of enchilada sauce
1 10 oz can of Ro-tel Mexican tomatoes with lime juice and cilantro
2 oz cream cheese
1 cup jack cheese
4 oz sliced olives
9 small flour tortillas

sour cream
hot sauce

Print recipe



In a large skillet combine the shredded chicken, 1 can of enchilada sauce, 1 can of drained Ro-tel tomatoes. Allow this to simmer for a few minutes to let the flavors come together.

Pour 1/2 of the second can of sauce into the bottom of a 13x9 baking pan. Spread cream cheese on 3 tortillas (you can cut one of them in 1/2 to make it fit nicely) and lay over the sauce. Next spread about 1/3 of the chicken sauce mixture over tortillas. Add 1/3 of the jack cheese and 1/3 of the sliced olives. Repeat these steps until you have 3 layers. Pour the last 1/2 can of sauce over the top if you feel like you need it a bit saucier. Cover with a lightly oiled piece of foil and place into a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Garnish with sour cream and your favorite hot sauce and whatever else you like.

We had a some fresh corn with spicy butter (chili powder and butter) with our casserole. My father-in-law helps out at an orchard each autumn and he shared the corn with us, along with apples and cider. The corn was sweet and yummy!

This casserole was super easy to make and had wonderful flavor. I think you'll really love it!

Happy Sunday to you!


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Almost exactly but really quite different

Our home phone number is one number different from a Rent-to-Own place in town. Needless to say, we get a lot of their calls. In fact, it happens almost daily. Even their own employees call us by mistake. It's funny to me because I will pick up the phone and say "hello" and the person on the other end will start rambling on to me about a piece of furniture they need, or they explain why they are late in arriving to the store, or they will give me their employee number and then proceed to tell me what the problem is with a delivery. If we aren't home they will leave a message, maybe regarding a payment they intend to make or a complaint they have. They leave me a call back number and let me know that they don't understand why there is no answer during business hours and can someone please call them back. If I do answer the phone I will usually interrupt them and say, "Are you trying to call ____? Their number is ----------". They apologize, thank me, and hang up.

I find this perplexing, annoying, and amusing all at the same time.

All of this wrong number business reminds me of tonight's dinner. You see I wanted to make this recipe or even this recipe but found that I didn't have the right ingredients so I ended up with this almost exactly but really quite different recipe.

ingredients

• 1 cup rice, cooked according to directions
  
• 2 chicken breast, cooked and chopped
• 1 16 oz can refried beans
• 1 14.5 oz can of petite diced tomatoes
• 1 4 oz can of fire-roasted green chilies
• 1 cup corn
• 1 cup cheddar cheese
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp minced dried onion
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1 cup crushed tortilla chips

sour cream
diced tomato
hot sauce

In a large bowl mix the rice, chicken, beans, tomatoes, chilies, corn, garlic, onions, and pepper.

Spread into a greased 13x9 pan. Top with tortilla chips and cheese. Cover and place into a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. During the last 10 minutes of cooking time remove cover to brown top slightly.



Serve with diced tomatoes, sour cream and a bit of hot sauce or anything else ya like!

Print me!

Do you get any wrong numbers at your house and how do you handle it???


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Boys on the Roof and a Hearty Casserole

Things are moving right along with the roofing project. The paper is down and the tiles will be delivered this afternoon.

My husband (the cute one in the middle with the glue gun) and a few of his friends/coworkers are doing a fantastic job! It will be so nice to have a new roof this fall and winter and not worry about leaks.

I did my part by fixin' some grub for the hungry boys on the roof.

Pam has a Mexican Rice Casserole on her blog that I have wanted to make for months now. I changed up the ingredients a bit and worked with what I had available.

Here is what went into this hearty casserole:

1 lb ground turkey
1 cup white rice
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 4 oz can fire roasted diced green chilies
1 15 oz can enchilada sauce
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
2-3 medium tomatoes,sliced
1-2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup black olives, sliced



Cook rice according to package instruction. Saute the garlic in 1 tbsp of oil. Add the turkey, break into pieces and cook through. Add the rice, beans, chilies, and sauce. Stir to combine.

Pour into a greased 13 x 9 casserole dish. Top with tomato slices, cheese and olives. Cover with a spray oiled piece of foil. Place into a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.



You can top this off with sour cream, guacamole, hot sauce, salsa or whatever else you might fancy.

The boys had several helpings of my casserole and gave it a thumbs up.

Print recipe

Hop on over to Pam's for the original recipe.



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Busy Day Chili Mac Casserole

We had a very full afternoon and I had to throw something quick and easy together for dinner. This fit the bill perfectly.

This is what we were busy doing. It was the perfect day for a little fun at the park. We also hiked down to the river with our Lab and she got to play with some of the other doggies. Wouldn't you know it, I had left my camera in the car and didn't get any pictures of that part of our day. The sculpture my son is laying on has been in the park for decades and I have overheard parents telling their children how they played on the sculpture when they were little.

Here is the recipe:

• 1 cup elbow macaroni
• 3/4 lb of lean ground beef or ground turkey
• 1-2 cloves chopped garlic
• 1 tbsp olive oil
  
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
• 1 15 oz can of vegetarian chili or 1 can of kidney bean, drained
• 1 cup of crushed tortilla chips
• 1 cup sharp cheddar or jack cheese
  

Cook macaroni until al dente. Heat the olive oil and add the garlic. Cook for a minute and then add the ground beef. As the beef is browning add the chili powder oregano, salt and pepper. Next, add the tomato sauce and can of chili or beans. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Pour into a baking dish and top with chips and cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. This has a nice crisp crust on top and gooey goodness inside. Garnish with sour cream. hot sauce and fresh cilantro. I actually mixed up a little of that pink sauce I mentioned a couple of days ago and put it on top of mine in place of the sour cream.

Nothing fancy here, just a hearty dish for a busy day. My daughter loves this casserole. My son doesn't love much of anything so he actually ate a PB and Honey Sandwich.

I hope you all are having a summer full of fun!

Print recipe

~Enjoy~

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Lazy Day Enchilada Casserole

We eat enchiladas a lot at our house. I generally make them the same old way each time. I was in the grocery store the other day and I spotted these ROTEL Diced Tomatoes with Lime and Cilantro and I thought, Yum! I knew I could use these for something.


I decided to go with a little enchilada casserole.

Here is what I used:

• 1 lb ground turkey
  
• 1 can ROTEL Diced Tomatoes with Lime and Cilantro
• 1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
  
• 1/2 can corn
• 1/2 cup sliced olives
• 1/2 cup each sharp cheddar and jack cheese
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp onion powder
  
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 4 medium flour tortillas
  

Brown the ground turkey.

Add in the corn, tomatoes, sauce, and spices.

Next, add in the cheese. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Place a scoop of this mixture into a casserole dish.
Add a tortilla.

More sauce please. Just keep layering until you run out of sauce.

Top your final layer with sliced olives and a touch more cheese.


Bake on 350 for 25-30 minutes. Wait 5 minutes or so before cutting.
Garnish with a little sour cream, diced tomato, and chopped cilantro.

Click Here for a printable version of this recipe.

~Tasty~

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