Damn Delicious: Vegetable Enchilada Casserole

Does anyone make casseroles anymore? We should definitely bring back the casserole! You dump a bunch of stuff together and smear it with cheese and it comes out delectable. Dinner should be easy like this.

This Vegetable Enchilada Casserole, or ‘veggie enchies’ as I like to annoyingly call it, has graced my table for at least 5 years. It isn’t really much of a recipe, but it’s a good, stick-to-your-ribs dinner you can throw together to use up the extra veggies in your fridge and skip the meat-heavy meals every once in a while. It feels good, it tastes good, it’s easy to make and it makes ample leftovers. That’s a winner in my dinner playbook.

Here’s how you make it… the recipe looks a bit complicated, but I promise it’s really super easy. Much easier than making individually wrapped enchiladas. Who has time for that?

Ingredients:

• 18 pack corn tortillas
• About 2.5 Cups Pre-shredded Mexican Blend Cheese
• 1 Large Can (28 ounces) Enchilada Sauce
• Veggies. Go wild here, friends. You really can’t go wrong. I typically do one white onion, one zucchini, one quarter head of cabbage and one can of corn. I will say that I added shredded brussel sprouts to this version and it was a little overpoweringly brussel-y for my taste.
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 Tablespoon of Taco Mix Seasoning
• 1 Can (14 ounces) Black Beans, drained

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Chop veggies. Go for smaller, uniform pieces. These veggies are going to be the ‘filling’ of your enchiladas. Do you want to bite down on a huge piece of onion? Probably not. Dice pretty small, but don’t freak yourself out. Veggies cook down easy, so you can’t mess it up.
3. In large skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add onions. Let them get nice and brown. Add garlic and stir for a quick minute.
4. Add remaining veggies. If they’re all pretty uniform in size, you can add them all at once. Cook until the veggies start to get soft and release their juices.
5. Add taco mix seasoning. Salt to taste. You want the veggies to have a lot of flavor because that adds the oomph to your enchiladas. If you want more seasoning, feel free to sprinkle on some garlic powder, a pinch of cayenne, black pepper. Go wild on the flavor train, but taste as you go so you don’t go overboard.
6. Once your veggies are nicely browned, stir in black beans. Don’t overmix them or your beans will turn to mush. Turn off heat for skillet.
7. Now it’s time to layer. Have you ever made lasagna? It’s like that. Prep your corn tortillas by tearing or cutting them into smaller pieces. Don’t overthink it. Maybe aim to tear or cut into quarters? I like a nice chunky bite of tortilla. I also zap them in the microwave for about 40 seconds covered with a paper towel to get them ready for the heat.
8. Pour a layer of enchilada sauce to coat the bottom of the pan.
9. Add a layer of tortillas.
10. Add a layer of veggies.
11. Add a layer of cheese.
12. Repeat.
13. If you still have more, repeat again, but DON’T PUT THE TOP LAYER OF CHEESE ON. Save that for later.
14. Cover enchies with a layer of aluminum foil and pop in the oven for about 30-40 minutes. Once the enchiladas are heated through (but not dried out), add a final layer of cheese and return to oven without aluminum foil to melt the cheese.
15. Let stand for about five minutes after you take them out of the oven to allow the flavors to do a final meld.
16. Top with exorbitant amounts of sour cream and devour.

What’s your easy go-to meal to make at home? I’m always looking for new ideas to add to the rotation.