Black Bean Chilaquile Casserole

Another Friday, another meatless meal.  The part of me that grew up Catholic finds it kind of ironic that our meatless meals always seem to land on Friday.  Guess it's in my genes...

The original recipe for this dish came from the book Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites.  I modified it to spice it up a bit, use pantry staples instead of fresh produce, and, well, fatten it up simply because I didn't have the fat-free/low-fat ingredients on hand.

10 small corn tortillas
oil for frying
1 T. olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1 jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed, chopped
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 15-ounce can whole kernal corn, drained
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained
1 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
2 T. fresh lime juice
1 t. salt
black pepper, to taste
8 ounces cheddar cheese, grated
2 cups salsa, plus extra for serving
sour cream

In a small skillet, heat one inch of oil over medium heat until shimmering.  Fry tortillas, one at a time, until crisp and light brown.  Drain on paper towels.

In a large skillet over medium heat, saute onion, garlic, and jalapeno in olive oil until onions are soft.  Add tomatoes, corn, beans, spinach, lime juice, salt and pepper.  Simmer 15 minutes or until thickened. 

Crush tortillas and spread half of them in the bottom of a greased 8x8 pan.  Pour vegetable mixture over, then spread half the salsa and half the cheese over the top.  Top with remaining tortillas, then spread remaining salsa and cheese over. 

Bake at 350 degrees until hot and bubbly, about 45 minutes.  Serve topped with sour cream and salsa.

Black Bean Lasagna

We're trying something new in our house - meatless meals once a week.  This is mainly for budget reasons, but we also eat (in my opinion) far more meat than necessary.  This was good, but my husband told me I'm only allowed to make it again if I promise to never, ever refer to it as lasagna.  In his mind, lasagna is Italian, and this is definitely not Italian!  I think I'm supposed to call it "Layered Mexican Casserole".

I actually made this with no-boil noodles, because that's what I had in the pantry, but it came out a little dry so next time I'll definitely use regular noodles And the leftovers were even better than the initial dish, after the flavors had had a chance to meld.

Serves 4

6 lasagna noodles
1 15-ounce can black beans
1 T. canola or olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
2 t. chili powder
1 t. ground cumin
1 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
1 cup cottage cheese
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sour cream, plus extra for serving
salsa

Boil the noodles according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.

In a large skillet, saute the onions, peppers, and garlic in the oil until the onions are soft.  Add the beans, lightly mashing them with a fork.  Stir in tomato sauce and seasonings.

In a small bowl, combine cottage cheese, cream cheese, and 1/4 cup sour cream. 

Lay two noodles in the bottom of a greased 8x8 casserole dish.  Spread 1/3 of the bean mixture over the noodles, then spread 1/3 of the cheese mixture over that.  Repeat layers again, and then a third time, stopping at the bean mixture.  Save the rest of the cheese mixture for after baking.  If baking later, cover and refrigerate or freeze at this point. 

Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 1 hour.  Remove from oven and spread remaining cheese mixture on top.  Let stand 10 - 15 minutes, and serve with salsa and sour cream on top.

Vegetable stew with chickpeas

This is one of those awesome meals for make-ahead, because it tastes better the longer it sits.  I found the original recipe in Organic Gardening magazine, and tweaked it a bit to use what I had on hand.  That recipe suggested that it be served over bulgur or couscous, but I liked it on its own with just some good bread and butter on the side.  Next time, I'm going to try it with white beans instead of chickpeas, because I prefer those and think their creaminess will go well with the vegetable textures.

Note that this is not someting I would serve to my picky eater - I made it because it sounded good to me, and will eat it for lunch for a few days.  It is VERY filling!

1 medium eggplant, cut in 1-inch chunks
4 T. olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
1 bell pepper (I used orange), cut into wedges
2 small zucchini, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
1 t. paprika
1/2 t. turmeric
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 T. tomato paste (I used ketchup because I didn't have any tomato paste - turned out just fine)
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, with juice
1 15-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
1 c. water
handful of fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
dash hot sauce, to taste
salt and pepper to taste

1.  In a large, nonstick deep-sided skillet or Dutch oven (I used my cast-iron chicken fryer), cook the eggplant in 1/2 of the olive oil over medium high heat, stirring frequently, until golden brown on all sides, 10 - 15 minutes.  Remove from pan and set aside.

2.  Put the rest of the oil in the pan, and cook onion, pepper, and zucchini until just starting to brown, about 10 minutes.  Add the paprika, turmeric, and garlic and cook an additional minute or two.  Add tomato paste and water, scraping the bottom of the pan to mix up the caramelized bits.  Add tomatoes, chickpeas, and eggplant, as well as salt and pepper to taste.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 - 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in cilantro, parsley, and hot sauce just before serving.