Black Bean Enchiladas

Looking for a quick semi homemade meal? Look no further! I was able to put this meal together in about 15 minutes and then leave it to cook later that day. Corn tortillas will break - but don't worry, you are covering them in sauce and cheese so any broken tortillas will blend in.

From the original recipe...what changes did I make?

• Reduce cheese from 24 ounces of cheese to 8 ounces of cheese because I'm a not a huge fan of cheese. You can easily add more if you prefer but I thought it was plenty cheesy.
• I used Wegmans organic black beans because they use less salt. 
• I couldn't find Wegmans enchilada sauce so I used a can of El Paso enchilada sauce.

According to reviewers if you don't have a Wegmans nearby you can use black bean soup and doctor it up with some Mexican inspired spices, onion, and peppers. 

I think adding chopped spinach to the black bean mix, topping with cilantro, or adding in shredded chicken would also make this quite tasty!

Black Bean Enchiladas

adapted from Wegmans
makes 12 enchiladas 

2 cans (15 oz each) Black Beans (I used organic to reduce the sodium)
16 oz container Wegmans Caribbean Black Bean Soup
2-3 cups of Shredded Mexican Cheese
10 oz can of Red Enchilada Sauce
1 bunch of green onions, thinly sliced

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
• Add 1 can beans to large bowl; mash into paste. Add remaining beans, soup, and 1/2 cheese; stir to combine. Set aside.
• Heat tortillas in microwave for 30 seconds so they are soft and pliable. 
• Spread 1/4 cup sauce on bottom of a 9x13-inch casserole dish. 
• Spread 1/4 cup bean mixture in the center of each tortilla. Gently roll up; place seam-side down in casserole dish. Arrange in 2 rows of 6 in each casserole dish. 
• Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas and top with remaining shredded cheese.
• Bake, covered with foil, 25 min; remove foil. 
• Bake 5-10 min until sauce bubbles. 
• Remove from oven; let rest 5-10 min before serving. Garnish with green onions.

Pot Roast

Today, I made my first pot roast. I found Pioneer Woman's pot roast recipe and I just had to try it! The only changes was that I made a smaller portion, added mushrooms, and only used rosemary. I also made a lovely side of garlic mashed potatoes. 

This recipe had very minimal prep work which was awesome: halve the onion, cut carrots into big chunks, and I quartered the mushrooms. 

Brown the veg and the seasoned meat. "Browning" just means to put the item into a really hot pan with some hot oil for a minute or so. You are literally looking for the ingredients to just turn a little goldeny brown, we don't want to cook the ingredients yet. 

De-glaze the pan, aka get the yummy bits off the bottom. I didn't have too much stuck to the bottom of the pan but I did use a little beef broth and let that bring up the little bits. Put into the oven and let is slowly cook for 2 hours.

My mother used to call veggies "Nature's Candy" (...right). But the sweet flavors that come from these roasted veggies, wow! Rich and soft with a slightly firm texture, not at all mushy like they can get in a some beef stews. And the onion! So tender and yummy!

Before

After

Any changes? I would add extra carrots and onion (so flavorful and yummy!!). Maybe add potatoes. I'd use a little less broth and/or turn some of the broth into gravy because its delish!!

I would also find a way to contain the rosemary leaves. I've never cooked with them before, I thought they would soften and become one with the meal. They do not. They maintain their pine-needle texture and you pick it out of your mouth in a not very attractive manner (at least I did...)

Otherwise, this recipe is here to stay and perfect for a hearty meal. I bet this would be good in a slow cooker too. 

Pot Roast

Makes approx 3-4 servings 

Ingredients

      2 lbs Chuck Roast

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3/4 of a big sweet onion (cut in big chunks)
2 big carrots (big chunks, peeling is optional)
4-5 button(?) mushrooms
Salt
Pepper
1 can (2 cups) beef broth
½ tsp dried rosemary

Heat some oil in a pot (or dutch oven, I don’t have one...yet!)

Once the pot is VERY hot, brown the onion (1-2 min)

Put onion on a plate

Add more oil if needed, brown the carrots (again, 1-2 min)

Put carrots on a plate

Add more oil if needed, toss the mushrooms around in the pot (about 1 min)

Add mushrooms to the plate

Salt and pepper both sides of the meat

Add more oil if needed, brown meat in the pot.

Deglaze pot with a few splashes of the broth

Put meat into an oven safe container with a lid. Cover 1/2 of the way with the broth. Add onions, carrots, and mushrooms. Sprinkle the rosemary all over it, make sure some of it goes into the broth too!

Cover and roast at 275 degrees for 2 hours.

Enjoy!!