Spinach and Black Bean Enchiladas

Ingredients
{For the sauce}  **Jess: I used a can of sauce b/c I try to make recipes as easy as possible!)
3 cups organic low sodium vegetable broth
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup all purpose flour (or gluten-free flour)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. chili powder
Salt/pepper

{For the enchiladas} 
15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups corn (I used frozen, thawed)
6 oz. fresh baby spinach
6 green onions, thinly sliced
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
2 tsp. cumin
3 cups shredded 3 cheese blend (or pepper jack, etc.)
8 large flour tortillas
Jess: I also added shredded chicken

Directions
Make the sauce: in a saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add tomato paste, flour, 2 tsp. cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and chili powder. Cook 1 minute, whisking. Whisk in broth, bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer, and cook until slightly thickened about 8 minutes. Salt/pepper to taste, and set aside.

Saute the spinach in olive oil over medium heat for 1-2 minutes until slightly wilted.
In a large bowl, combine beans, 2 cups cheese, spinach, corn, green onions, 2 tsp. cumin, and cilantro.
Preheat oven to 375. Lightly spray a 9x13 inch baking dish, and pour a small amount of the sauce to coat the bottom.
Generously fill tortillas with mixture, roll up tightly with ends tucked in, and place seam side down in dish.
Pour remaining sauce over the enchiladas, coating evenly. Sprinkle 1 cup cheese on top.
Bake about 20 minutes, and garnish with cilantro and/or green onions (optional).

{Printer Friendly Version}

~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

Freezer Instructions
A sweet reader of mine, Kara, tested out this recipe as a freezer meal and found it worked great. Here are her instructions:

"I made the enchiladas as you outlined above, stopping before adding the sauce and cheese to the top. I froze the enchiladas and the sauce separately. Thawed the sauce in the fridge overnight, then when I was ready to bake, I heated the sauce slowly in a saucepan - whisking helped keep it smooth. Then poured the sauce over the frozen enchiladas, added some cheese, and baked @ 400, covered for 30 minutes and uncovered for 15 minutes."

Spicy Black Bean and Butternut Enchilads

These don't have meat but would be really good with shredded chicken

INGREDIENTS

• For the sauce:
• 1 – 15 oz can good quality tomato sauce
• 1 – 7.5 oz can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 3/4 cup nonfat plain greek yogurt
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or smashed
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• For the enchiladas:
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• ½ yellow onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 4 cups cubed butternut squash (a little over 1 pound)
• 1 – 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3/4 cup fresh or frozen sweet corn
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 cups shredded reduced fat Colby jack cheese, plus more if you'd like
• 12 corn tortillas
• extra greek yogurt, cilantro, avocado, and green onions, for topping

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 9x13 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Make the sauce: Add tomato sauce, chipotle peppers with adobo sauce, greek yogurt, chili powder and garlic to bowl of a food processer; process a few times until smooth. Place in the fridge to thicken it up.
3. Heat olive oil over medium heat in large skillet. Add garlic and diced onions and saute until garlic becomes fragrant (about 1 min). Add cubed butternut squash, stir, and cover for about 8 minutes or until fork tender, stirring occasionally to ensure squash doesn't burn. Add a few teaspoons of water to the pan if necessary to help the squash cook. Once squash is fork tender, transfer to large bowl and add in black beans, corn, and in 1 cup of prepared enchilada sauce; stir to combine.
4. To assemble enchiladas: Add 3/4 cup enchilada sauce to bottom of a 9x13 inch pan and spread around. Warm tortillas in microwave for 30 seconds so that they are easier to roll up. If you find them hard to roll, I recommend dipping each tortilla in a bit of the enchilada sauce; this will make it much easier to roll and add flavor, too! Add about 1/2 cup of the butternut squash & black bean filling to each tortilla and 1 tablespoon of cheese. Roll each tortilla up and place seam side down in baking pan. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the top along with remaining cheese.
5. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until cheese is melted and the edges of tortillas begin to turn a nice golden brown. Top with extra greek yogurt, avocado slices, cilantro, and green onions, if desired. Makes 6 servings – 2 enchiladas each.

Spicy Black Bean Enchiladas with Pumpkin Cream Sauce

Dave didn't love these, I thought they were good but needed more of a kick. So next time I would do more jalepeno or put more red pepper flakes.

INGREDIENTS

• For pumpkin sour cream sauce:
• 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree
• 1 cup good quality tomato sauce
• 1 cup low-fat sour cream
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
• salt and pepper to taste
• For filling:
• 1 small roasted rotisserie chicken (purchase from grocery store), shredded OR 2-3 cups shredded chicken breast
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 (15 oz) cans of black beans
• 1 jalapeno, deseeded and minced
• 2 cups good quality tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1-2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (add more or less depending on desired heat)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 16-20 corn tortillas
• 2-3 cups reduced-fat Mexican or Colby Jack cheese

1. Begin by making the pumpkin sour cream sauce: In your food processor or blender combine pumpkin puree, tomato sauce, sour cream, chili powder, and garlic and puree until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper; set aside.
2. Place 3 cups of shredded chicken in large bowl and add about a little less than half of the pumpkin sour cream sauce to it, toss chicken to coat; set aside remaining pumpkin sauce.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and spread a thin layer of pumpkin cream sauce on the bottom of pan.
4. Heat large non-stick pan over medium heat and add olive oil. Add onion and minced garlic and cook until onions begin to soften. Add black beans, jalapeno, tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Stir and bring to a slight boil, then reduce heat to medium low, stir consistently and let simmer for 5 minutes while sauce thickens.
5. Next warm tortillas in microwave for about 30 seconds so they are easier to roll. Then, place about 1/4 cup of black bean mixture on each tortilla. Next take about 1/4 cup of chicken and pumpkin cream mixture and place on top of beans. Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of Colby jack cheese in each tortilla. Roll each tortilla and place seam side down in baking pan. Pour remaining enchilada sauce and sprinkle additional cheese on top.
6. Bake for 20-30 minutes until cheese is melted and edges of tortillas begin to turn golden brown. Top with sour cream, greek yogurt, avocado, or cilantro.
7. Makes about 8 servings -- 2 enchiladas each.