Cleaner Mexican Casserole

Hello friends and fellow food lovers! It's been a little bit since I've posted a new entree recipe, but wait no more! This one should make up for my absence for the last few months! :) This recipe that I came up with is packed full of nutrients, low in calorie, low in bad fats, and low in sodium BUT packed with FLAVOR! 

Interested Now? 

This may be surprising to the people who know us well, but my husband was recently reminded of his high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels, so even though we eat pretty healthy, we still need to make some adjustments, like cutting out even more salt that we already do.  As we all know, salt makes everything better right? Well, in this recipe you won't miss it much! 

This recipe is a process. Start it early in the day so you can cook your beans from scratch and your quinoa. Quinoa only takes about 15 minutes, but the beans take 90+ minutes.  This is also a dish that will make 6 or more servings depending on how much you LOVE that first bite! 

Ingredients:

For the beans:

• 1/2 lb of pinto beans cooked from dry(takes about 90 minutes)
• 1 tsp of garlic powder

Method:
Once cooked, drain most of the liquid and puree the beans. (I used my Immersion 
hand blender)

For the vegetable filling:

• 2 ears of fresh corn-cut kernels off
• 1/2 an onion
• 1 tomato
• 4 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 tsp. of cumin
• 1 tsp. of garlic and onion powder
• 1/4 tsp. of salt (500 mg of sodium)
• 1/4 tsp. of pepper

                                                                                                        Method:

Once all vegetables are chopped, add 1 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil in a sautee pan and sautee all ingredients for about 10 minutes.

For the quinoa:

• 1/2 cup of dry quinoa cooked(cook like rice. 1/2 cup of quinoa is cooked in 1 cup of water)
• 1 Tbsp. of cumin
• 1 Tbsp. of onion powder
• 1 Tbsp. of garlic powder
• 1 tsp. of chilli powder
• 1 tsp. of cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp. of salsa of your choice (220 mg. of sodium)
• 4 tbsp. of minced cilantro
• 2 tbsp. of minced parsley
• 1 tbsp. of plain nonfat greek yogurt

Method:
Cook quinoa as directed. Once fully cooked, add all other ingredients and stir well. No additional cooking needed.








        Additional ingredients:

• 3+ tbsp. of minced cilantro
• 1/4 cup of chopped green onions
• 1/4 cup of shredded cheese (190 mg. of sodium)
• 1 tbsp or so of lemon juice
• 8 corn tortillas(I used organic. Organic corn tortillas are made from stone ground corn, water, and lime juice. Other store brands have 12+ ingredients) 

Now, Method in layering your casserole.

1. Get your 9x13 casserole dish ready. 
2. Put one scoop of your beans on the bottom and spread thin.
3. Put 3 tortillas down. You may have to cut one in half and layer them that way.
4. Then scoop another layer of beans in, layer the cooked veggies, then a layer of tortillas (use  tortillas here)
5. Next scoop more beans on and spread out. 
6. Layer with the quinoa and veggies.
7. Repeat each layer until you run out of ingredients.
8. Top the casserole with any remaining fresh herbs, chopped onions, and the 1/4 cup of cheese.
9. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Done.
10. I am serving mine up for dinner with some fresh made guacamole made with just avocado, lemon juice, cumin powder, and pepper. 

This is the 3rd layer in. Layer as you like and feel free to add more fresh tomatoes or herbs. 

Omg. First bite is delicious!

Here's a good shot of how your layers should turn out :) Enjoy!!!