the poverty luxe kitchen vol. 4: black bean and corn enchiladas.

i know ive said time and time again that one of my big personal goals for this year was to branch out with cooking and try out some new recipes to add to our standard rotation. not that our current rotation is really much of a problem per se since we all LOVE salmon, mac and cheese, fish tacos, black bean chili, etc., its just... probably about time that i get more creative in the kitchen. 

and i have. honestly ive probably tried (and fiddled with) more recipes in the past four months than i had in the past four years of our marriage (ok maybe im exaggerating slightly), but obviously, these recipes need to be tested and re-tested before i can, you know, share them in public. so, after months of stringing you guys along with "i promise  new recipes are coming", NEW RECIPES ARE FINALLY HERE. 

today were going to start with with some totally awesome black bean and corn enchiladas. im really excited about this recipe in particular because not only is it delicious (obviously my #1 priority), but its also super affordable (actually, almost all of the ingredients can be purchased at the dollar store), surprisingly simple to put together (i dont know why i went all these years thinking enchiladas were so hard to make), AND conveniently both vegetarian AND gluten free without requiring ANY special ingredients (or being weird crunchy health food). could you ask for a more perfect dinner? well actually alice wont eat these because theyre "too spicy" (nevermind she totally eats way spicier food all the time) so i guess there maybe is a more perfect dinner out there...

but anyway, without any further distractions, the recipe:

black bean and corn enchiladas

serves 4-6 (note: this recipe is BEST for a 9x13 baking pan but i dont have one so i make it in two casserole dishes and freeze the extra one for later)

heres what you need: 

1 package (at least 12-16) corn tortillas 

1 large can (or two small cans) of enchilada sauce (once in a pinch i bought a huge can of "mexican style tomato sauce with peppers" from dollar tree and it was actually perfect and made like three pans of enchiladas)

1 can sweet corn

1 can black beans (or two cups of cooked black beans if you make them yourself)

1 onion

3-4 cloves garlic

approximately 2.5 cups of shredded cheese (cheddar and/or jack or "mexican blend" or whatever you like/have)

olive oil

salt and pepper

heres what you do: 

preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

finely chop the onion and garlic and sauté in a large frying pan with a little olive oil, adding salt and pepper to taste.

once the onion and garlic start to soften, add the corn and beans (make sure to drain them well) and a splash of the enchilada sauce. continue to cook until everything is hot and the flavors are nice and combined. 

remove veggies from heat and heat up your tortillas to soften them (you can either do this in the microwave or by heating them in a pan with a little olive oil). 

spread a thin layer of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish (or two smaller casserole dishes). 

place a heaping spoonful of the veggie mixture as well as a little cheese in a tortilla and roll it up, placing it seam side down close to the edge the dish. repeat this with each tortilla, making sure to fill all the available space until the pan is full. 

top enchiladas with a generous layer of enchilada sauce (using a pastry brush to make it even if you so desire), and top with remaining cheese. (note: i often have a little bit of extra veggies so i typically throw those on top of the enchiladas as a garnish of sorts)

bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted and starts to brown. 

and youre done!

one of my favorite things about this meal is that while you totally could dress these up with some spanish rice and sour cream and other fun things on the side, theyre still a totally great dinner on their own. these enchiladas have definitely earned their place in our normal dinner rotation, whats your favorite go-to meal?