Mexican Vegetarian Casserole

Mexican Fiesta In A Dish

This recipe truly celebrates Mexican cuisine, all in one dish. It is an absolute party pleaser.  With loads of veggies, full of fiber from the beans and corn tortillas and protein from the fresh queso fresco cheese, it fits in perfect in the plates of those watching their diet too. It is great for the cook as it can be assembled in advance and baked and served just when required. It is a great casserole with burst of flavors.

I used a lot of fresh veggies for this casserole. But it still uses canned products. So I carefully shopped for low sodium canned products and part skim milk cheese. I would suggest to take your time for grocery shopping and read those labels at back. If it says fat free in the front, do not be fooled and read what complex ingredients have been added instead. The ingredients name may confuse most. But a simple rule of thumb, if it looks too complex to read, it probably is too complex for your body to handle. Keep it simple. Most of the complex reading names are preservatives or some kind of synthetic sugar.

Getting back to our recipe now :)

Recipe
Servers 10
1 green bell pepper, large, chopped
1 red bell pepper, large, chopped
1 onion, large, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
1 cup frozen corn
4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
2 jalapenos, finely chopped
1.5 tsp cumin powder
1.5 tsp cayenne pepper
10 yellow corn tortillas
1 can fire roasted tomatoes, low sodium or no salt added
1 can black beans, low sodium
1 can vegetarian ferried beans, low fat (optional)
2 oz cacique queso fresco, part skim milk cheese
2 oz salsa, your choice (store bought or home made)
10 Tbsp enchilada sauce
1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese, 2% milk cheese
1/2 cup olives

• Preheat oven at 350 deg
• In a pan heat 1 tbsp oil. Saute garlic, jalapenos, onions, peppers, mushrooms, corn. Cook for 5-6 min.  Add black beans and tomatoes  Add cumin powder and cayenne pepper. Keep aside.
• In a cookie sheet, line all corn tortillas and bake in preheated oven for 4-5 min.
• In a small bowl, mix together re-fried beans and salsa.

To assemble the casserole

• In a 9 by 13 baking dish, line 5 tortillas. Cut them if you feel like to fit in properly in the pan. In halved them to arrange.
• Layer with half of the veggies and beans mixture to cover the tortillas.
• Create the second layer using half of the salsa and re-fried beans mixture.
• Create a third layer by lightly spreading 1 oz of queso fresco cheese.
• Repeat above 3 steps with the remaining ingredients.
• spread evenly the enchilada sauce.
• Spread the shredded mexican cheese and olives on the top.
• Bake in a preheated oven for 30 min; 20 min covered and 10 min uncovered. 

mexican