Clean Out Your Pantry Quinoa Enchilada Bake

IT'S MOVING DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ARGH! I am so excited!  I have this ginormous container of Quinoa Enchilada Bake because I literally put everything I could from our pantry into a giant mixture of cooked quinoa and baked it.  We have been eating it for a week, but it is delicious and it is all we have left in our fridge!  Why? BECAUSE WE ARE MOVING TODAY!

We close on our condo this afternoon.  That's right!  WE ARE GOING TO BE HOMEOWNERS IN 4 HOURS!

I couldn't be more excited and I can't believe I am at this stage of my life.  This is amazing!  I feel so proud to have a career and the ability to do this and I can't wait to make a home with Bri.  Also, it is exactly 4 months until our wedding from today and that also makes me smile from ear to ear.

Quinoa Enchilada Bake

Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked quinoa
6 cups water
salt
1 can red enchilada sauce
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
1 onion, sliced
olive oil
4 tbsp cilantro
4 tsp adobo sauce (from a can of chipotles)
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 cup (or so...) shredded cheddar cheese
extra cheese (your choice) to sprinkle on top

Directions:
1. Place quinoa and water in a large pot.  Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer and cook covered for 20 minutes.  Fluff with a fork when you are done.
2. While the quinoa is cooking, place the onion slices in a pan with 2 tbsp of oilve oil and cook over medium heat until nice and caramelized.
3. Pour some enchilada sauce in a 13 by 9 inch pan and preheat oven to 350.
4. In a large bowl, place the beans, chickpeas, corn, cooked onion, cilantro, adobo sauce, and all the spices.  Toss with the shredded cheddar.  Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the mixture and toss to combine.  5. Once the quinoa is done, stir in the rest of the ingredients and pour into your prepared pan.  Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top and cover with tinfoil.  Cook for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Enjoy :)

Veggie and Black Bean Enchiladas

I just love enchiladas.  They are a great way to get a ton of veggies into your dinner and they are so tasty! I am trying to be a little healthier now that it is summer and I am beginning to really focus on my wedding.  I want to get in shape and lose a few pounds, but I don't want to go crazy since I still have more than a year!  So, my plan is to incorporate veggies into all my meals, portion control, and stay away from all those delicious desserts (which is going to be the biggest challenge!).  This meal was a great way to kick of my healthy-eating plan and I am definitely going to be making these again soon! 

Veggie and Black Bean Enchiladas

Ingredients:

8 whole wheat tortillas or gluten-free

1 can red enchilada sauce

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

extra virgin olive oil

1 eggplant, peeled and diced

1 zucchini, quartered

1 squash, quartered

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

pinch of cayenne

1/2 red onion, chopped

your favorite salsa

your favorite shredded cheese, I used a blend

3 green onions, chopped (optional)

1 avocado, sliced (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large pan, pour 1 tbsp of olive oil and heat over medium.  Add in the eggplant, zucchini, and squash.  Season with cumin, salt, pepper, and cayenne.  Toss to combine and cook until veggies start to soften.  Add in olive oil as needed.  Set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and pour a little enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9 by 13 inch pan.  

3. In each tortilla, place a couple spoonfuls of the veggie mixture, a spoonful of salsa, some black beans, shredded cheese, and chopped red onion.  Roll the tortilla and place seam down in the prepared pan.  

4. Once all the tortillas are done, pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the tops and sprinkle with some more cheese.  Cover in tinfoil and place in oven for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted.

5. Top with some green onion and avocado slices.

Enjoy :)

White Bean Verde Enchiladas

Today is one of my bestie's birthday!!! Happy birthday, Caryn!  To celebrate, we are going to dinner at this fun BYOB Mexican restaurant and then were probably gonna end up doing Karaoke after! I am so excited to celebrate with her and I even made a special birthday dessert!  I can't tell you about that because it is a surprise, but here's what I had going on in the kitchen last night:

Friday night cake baking :)

Last night was pretty chill and it was amazing! I baked, had a glass of wine, and whipped this yummy concoction up for dinner!  I mashed up an avocado with a few squirts of lime juice and some salt and pepper.  Then, I cooked a couple eggs to perfection and put everything on top of some toasted whole wheat toast.  Finally, a few dashes of Frank's Hot Sauce and I was ready for one amazing meal.  It was super simple and I know everyone really into this "toasts" craze.  This is a great recipe to try! 

Avocado Toast with an Over-Easy Egg

Finally, in honor of my excursion to a BYOP Mexican place, I am sharing with you a yummy Enchilada recipe! I am a huge fan of Enchiladas. We make them all the time over here.  This recipe was really easy, totally vegetarian, and super yummy.  Since I am in the mood for some Mexican food, I figured this was the perfect thing to share! 

White Bean Verde Enchiladas

Ingredients:8 large corn or flour tortillas

1 can verde enchilada sauce

2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup of your favorite guacamole

1 red pepper, sliced

1 cup shredded, light Mexican blend cheese

1 cup non-fat, greek yogurt (I love Chobani :))

2 tsp lime juice 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and pour some verde enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9 by 13 inch pan.

2. Dip each tortilla in the sauce so that it is mostly covered, then spread some beans, guacamole, a few pepper slices, and a sprinkle of cheese down the middle of the tortilla.  Wrap the tortilla and place seam down in the pan.  Repeat with all of your tortillas and filling ingredients.

3. Pour the rest of the verde enchilada sauce over the finished enchiladas and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese. 

4. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Serve with a little greek yogurt and lime juice.

Enjoy :)

Healthy Butternut Squash Enchiladas

For today's blog post, I was craving something healthy.  Yesterday, our Spring Break trip took a turn when we went to Tucson for the day.  My Auntie Mare and Uncle Eddy live out in Tucson in a beautiful ranch house with two horses.

Charlie-How cute is he?

Brandy

We spent the day going to lunch at Saguaro Corners where we had great tacos, then we played bocce ball out in their backyard, and finally, we went to dinner at Brushfire for amazing BBQ.  I basically felt like I would never eat again after all the amazing food.

So, this morning I went for a beautiful 6 mile run with Camelback Mountain for a view and now I want to share a "healthy" recipe to make up for all the crazy food I ate yesterday!

Healthy Butternut Squash Enchiladas
(adapted from SkinnyTaste)

Ingredients:
1 small can red enchilada sauce
1 tsp olive oil
2 cups cubed butternut squash
1/2 cup packed baby spinach
salt and pepper, to taste
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 can low-sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup cilantro
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 cup water
small whole wheat tortillas
1 cup low-fat shredded Mexican cheese blend
green onions, chopped (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 and cover the bottom of a 13 by 9 inch baking pan with a quarter of the enchilada sauce.
2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Saute onion and garlic until onion becomes translucent.  Add in the squash, spinach, tomatoes, black beans, cilantro, cumin, chili powder, and water.  Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes or until squash can be easily pierced with fork.
3. Spoon a few tbsp of the squash mixture into a tortilla and roll tortilla up.  Place fold down in the baking pan on top of the enchilada sauce.  Continue until all your squash mixture is used up.  You can really squeeze those enchiladas into the pan. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the tops of the tortillas and sprinkle the cheese on top.  Cover the pan with foil.
4. Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Serve with the chopped green onion if desired.

Enjoy :)

Quinoa Enchilada Casserole

I love when I get to cook on Sundays.  Today has been a particularly productive day for me.  I had breakfast, did my lesson plans for the whole week, finished a project for one of my graduate school classes, did my favorite Jillian Michaels video (No More Trouble Zones), and made this casserole! All before noon!

This casserole is so simple and super yummy.  I was inspired by the recipe on Two Peas and Their Pod which is one of my favorite blogs.  I love that this all ends up in one big bowl and then you just bake it! I adapted the recipe a bit because I wanted to incorporate some other ingredients (I had to clean out my fridge a little!) and it turned out great! Plus, now I have enough leftovers for a few lunches this week!

Quinoa Enchilada Casserole

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa, pre-rinsed
2 cups water
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 red pepper, diced
1 15 oz can low-sodium black beans, rinsed
1 15 oz can whole kernel corn, rinsed
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1/2 cup packed baby spinach
1 tbsp lime juice
3 tbsp cilantro
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chile powder
salt and pepper
2 cups red enchilada sauce
2 cups low-fat shredded mexican cheese
1 green onion, chopped (optional)

Directions:
1. Place quinoa and water in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, place olive oil in a large sauté pan with the garlic and onion.  Let cook for 5 minutes and add in the pepper and tomatoes. Sauté another 5 minutes and add in lime juice, cilantro, cumin, chile powder, and salt and pepper.  Cook for another 5 minutes.  Place in large bowl.
3.  Add beans and corn to bowl along with the cooked quinoa.  Stir to combine.  Stir in the enchilada sauce and half the cheese.

4. Pour into a greased 13 by 9 inch pan and then sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top.  Cover with foil and cook for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Sprinkle with green onions and serve with sour cream if you want.

Enjoy :)