WIAW: Veggie Enchilada Stuffed Shells

Hiya!

Well, it's that time again.

I did not feel like my breakfast or lunch were that interesting for What I Ate Wednesday, but dinner was soooo good!  We'll get to that in a moment.

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Breakfast: Fruit Shake & Egg Muffin

I've been having trouble wanting to eat my fruits lately, so I've been drinking them.  Whatever works, right?
I made a fruit shake containing: 1/2 of a frozen banana, a few frozen mango chunks, fresh strawberries and almond milk.  I also had a fried egg on half of an English muffin, because I can't stop...and I won't stop.

I love eggs!

Lunch: Pizza-dilla, Broccoli & Veggie Straws

I had brought grapes for my snack today, but totally did not want them (see above for weird fruit aversion).  By the time lunch rolled around, I was pretty hungry.  I made us some pizza quesadillas!  Or as I like to call them, pizza-dillas!  In a 100 calorie wrap I put marinara, Italian blend cheese, a few pepperonis, black olives and mushrooms.  Yum!! On the side, some leftover broccoli and veggie straws.

P.M. Snack: Bar

For snack I had this tasty, yet tiny snack bar.  It did the trick.

Dinner: Veggie Enchilada Stuffed Shells

Agghh!!!  Cheesy goodness!
My favorite things to stuff in enchiladas is sweet potatoes, spinach and black beans (sounds weird, tastes fantastic!), so since I had some jumbo pasta shells, I thought I'd make some different enchiladas...

They turned out great!  If you are looking for a satisfying meatless meal, this recipe is for you!

Veggie Enchilada Stuffed Shells

Serves 6 

18-20 jumbo pasta shells

2 small-medium sweet potatoes, cooked until fork tender

1 medium zucchini

1 cup frozen spinach, thawed

1 cup diced mushrooms

1 cup diced onion

1 can green chilies

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can enchilada sauce

1 cup shredded cheese

Boil water and cook shells until al dente. Cook onion and zucchini in a skillet until tender (5 minutes). Add mushrooms and cook for 2 more minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 425 F degrees. 

Add all ingredients (except cheese and enchilada sauce) in a large bowl and mix. Season with salt and pepper and/or taco seasoning to taste. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Pour a little enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pan and move it around to coat the bottom. Stuff filling in each shell, until it's gone and lay them in the pan (filling side up). Top with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes. 

Top with sour cream and cilantro, if desired. 

After dinner, I walked Bizzy around the neighborhood..and had some unpictured frozen yogurt.  Use your imagination on that one ;)

Have a great Wednesday and beyond!

Veggie Enchilada Stacks {Low Carb, Vegetarian, Healthy}

This past Wednesday, I talked about my favorite thing to make and eat at home. And that is my sweet potato and black bean enchiladas.  I make several variations on this recipe; I've added meat; sometimes I'll do butternut squash instead of sweet potatoes.  But these.  These are my flavors.  Perfect for any day of the week!

With my Project Lean & Clean I got going on, I thought I'd eliminate the tortilla (soo sad!  I love tortillas!!!) and use the sweet potato as the carb in this dish.

It worked perfectly!  

It's kind of like a scalloped potato effect..except with tex mex flavors!  Yumm-o!

Ok, sorry.  I did not mean to say "Yumm-o."  

Whoops.  Did it again...

Let's move on.

Veggie Enchilada Stacks

serves 4-6

2 sweet potatoes

2 cans of black beans, rinsed & drained

1 10 oz bag of frozen spinach

1 can enchilada sauce

1/4 cup reduced fat or fat free sour cream (plus additional, for topping)

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp garlic powder

salt & pepper to taste

1 cup of reduced fat cheese

pickled jalapenos, cilantro (optional, for topping)

Cook spinach by the directions on the bag.  Mix cooked spinach, black beans, spices, 1/4 cup of fat free sour cream and 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce in a bowl and set aside.

Partially cook your sweet potatoes in the microwave for about 4 minutes, so they are easier to slice.  Slice with a mandolin on a medium setting.  You can also cut these by hand, but I'm not skilled enough to make consistent cuts.

Drizzle a layer of enchilada sauce on the bottom of a greased 9X13 pan.  Layer slices of sweet potatoes on top of this, overlapping slightly.  Add half of the filling (should be about 2 cups) on top.  Then sprinkle 1/2 cup of cheese on top of that and lay down another layer of sweet potato slices and drizzle with enchilada sauce.  Then add the rest of the filling, a final layer of sweet potato slices and more enchilada sauce.  Top with 1/2 cup of cheese and pickled jalapenos & cilantro, if desired.

Bake in 375F degree oven for 40 minutes.

Do this.

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Enchiladas

Gosh, pop music is cheesy.  Does anyone else totally analyze it like I do?  Well, I guess that doesn't stop me from listening to it.

It does leave me with some questions, though.

Are we supposed to really believe that a certain girl in One Direction's song doesn't know she's beautiful?  I mean, seriously.  She flips her hair and heads turn when she walks by.  I think she has some sort of idea.

Ok, and Biebs, I gotta ask you how exactly you are like Buzz Lightyear when you fly your hypothetical girlfriend all around the globe?  I mean, Buzz is a toy.  I don't guess I saw the 3rd Toy Story, so things might have changed with Buzz and maybe he flies his dates around the globe.  It seems to me that he has more pressing matters, like not getting sold or donated with the other toys.

I'm thinking Carly should maybe drop the "maybe" in her song, Call Me Maybe.  It's confusing.  Do you want him to call you or not?  I'm thinking you do.  Don't confuse the poor dude that you just met.

And did you guys know that Starships were meant to fly?  I really had no prior knowledge of their function prior to this song.

So, what does this have to do with enchiladas?
I'm going to make that connection with cheese.  Pop songs are cheesy and so are enchiladas.
But enchiladas have more staying power.
They just make sense.
So grab some healthy ingredients and get crackin'.

A whole wheat corn tortilla?  Yes, please!

Sweet potatoes and black beans are now soul mates.  Sweet potatoes take black beans and fly them across the globe.  It's an intensely delicious relationship.

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Enchiladas

serves 4 

1 1/2 medium sweet potatoes
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
2 oz goat cheese
2 tsp fajita seasoning
salt to taste
1 can red enchilada sauce
1 cup shredded white cheese
8 corn tortillas

Cooking your sweet potatoes is your first step.  I'm impatient, so I poked them with a fork, wrapped them up (in plastic wrap) and microwaved them.
Then take the peel off and smash 'em a little.  Throw in the black beans, fajita seasoning, salt and goat cheese.
Heat up the tortillas (again, with the microwave) and then start assembling.  Put a big spoonful or two of the filling into each tortilla, wrap them up and place them in a greased 9x13 pan.  Top with enchilada sauce and shredded cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes in a 375 degree oven.

Top them with avocado, sour cream and pico de gallo for a whole lotta awesome on a plate.