Saturday, April 19, 2008

Black bean and rice enchiladas

Photobucket

Photobucket

This, and the enchilada sauce, are recipes that I formulated completely on my own, from start to finish, which is very unusual for me. It used to be that I followed recipes to the letter, not veering from the measurements or technique at all, but in the past couple years I've finally begun tweaking recipes. Coming up with a recipe on my own from square one, though, is something I've only done a few times, so I'm very proud of this one. ; )

I already have a great recipe for chicken enchiladas (tweaked from one my mom gave me years ago), but since we try not to eat meat at home, I've been wanting to come up with a vegetarian enchilada recipe. I've seen some with spinach and mushrooms, and others with potatoes and kale, but I wanted something different, and that's when I decided on rice and black beans.

These are super yummy! They're spicy enough to elicit a little pain, but not so much that they're unpleasant to eat. They're very hearty and filling, and also fairly inexpensive to make. Give them a try! If you're not a fan of spicy food, you can omit the chipotle peppers and sauce, and substitute mild Rotel for the original or extra spicy varieties.

Black Bean and Rice Enchiladas

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp chipotle peppers, plus 2 Tbsp sauce
1 can Rotel
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups cooked rice
16 corn tortillas
3 cups shredded soy cheese
1 batch Red enchilada sauce

Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, and cook and stir several minutes, until onion softens. Add bell pepper and garlic. Cook a few minutes more or until vegetables begin to brown. Stir in chipotle peppers, sauce, Rotel and black beans. Simmer several minutes to heat through. Gently stir in rice, and remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 425. Spread about 2/3 cup enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking pan; set aside.

Soften corn tortillas by dipping each side quickly in hot oil and then draining on paper towels, or by heating in the oven (wrap in foil first) or the microwave.

Fill tortillas with 2 to 3 Tbsp filling and 1 Tbsp cheese. Roll and place seam side down in baking pan. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups cheese. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the enchiladas, and sprinkle evenly with remaining cheese. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake 5 minutes longer.

6 comments:

grace said...

a similar version of this is absolutely one of my top five favorite meals. who needs meat when black beans are hanging around, looking all delicious?

and kudos to you for forming your own recipes! i must say, the enchilada sauce sounds like quite an improvement from the canned kind. :)

Unknown said...

Yum! Hey, what kind of soy cheese did you use? I haven't had good luck with them in the past.

Cheryl said...

I'm not sure what kind it was, and I don't have the wrapper, but I got it at Whole Foods. Next time I'm there I'll get the name for you. I will say that it didn't taste great on its own, or in a quesadilla or anything like that, but we like it a lot as a minor component of things like tacos or enchiladas or the like.

I'll get back to you!

Michelle in Colorado Springs said...

What is 1 can Rotel? I could not find it, this could be because I was looking the wrong place.

Cheryl said...

Michelle, Rotel is canned tomatoes and chiles. It's usually found in the canned tomato section of the grocery store, but sometimes it's by the Mexican food.

Here's a link to a picture so you know what to look for:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/slice/377672390/

I hope that helps!

Michelle in Colorado Springs said...

Thank you I did not know what it was and was looking in the wrong place