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.

WIAW: Spinach Lasagna Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

Happy Wednesday!!!

This above picture is from the Earth Day 5K this past Sunday that I attended with some of my favorite people (from the left: my brother, my boyfriend, me, my mom & my nephew in the front--my aunt and cousin also came)!

It also happened to be my birthday on this day, so that was cool.  I actually had plans to post something birthday related on Friday, like a birthday cake martini or something of the sort...buuuut I got lazy ;)

Oh, well.  Here I am now...posting some eats for ya!

source

Breakfast #1: PB Toast

An oldie, but a goodie.  I had this toast smeared with crunchy Skippy before headed out for 5 a.m. bootcamp.  Next month I am trying boot camp at night (due to my current unwillingness to get up so early), so this is probably the last PB toast you'll see at the beginning of my WIAW posts.

Breakfast #2: Wafflewich

I wanted waffles this morning, but knew I needed protein after strength training...so, meet the wafflewich.
2 low fat Eggo Nutrigrain waffles topped with a slice of cheddar, 2 thin slices of deli ham and an egg plus egg white.
Topped with sugar-free syrup to bring it all home.

Yum!

Morning Snack: Cereal

I'm a sucker for new cereals, so I bought this overpriced box to try out.  It is quite delish, indeed.

I filled a pint mason jar halfway with almond milk and measured out a cup of cereal in a Ziploc.  Perfectly portable for work!

Lunch: Wrap, Broccoli 

I wish I had taken more pictures of this wrap, but this one will just have to do.  In the mix: a Flat Out Light wrap, 1/2 wedge of Laughing Cow Swiss cheese, 1/2 cup of pulled rotisserie chicken, spinach and tomato.  A side of leftover frozen broccoli gave me a veggie.
Then dessert.

I like these salted caramel pops from Starbucks and they are probably one of the lowest calorie options they got goin on (as far as treats go).  They are a little gummy in the middle, so I have it in my head that I'm going to make my own this weekend and improve on them a little.
Also, I drank a Trenta (read: half a gallon) unsweetened black tea with 3 Splendas.

Easily one of my top 5 favorite drinks of all time.

I had another busy afternoon at work, so no time to cut my apple that I brought for snack.

Fast forward to dinner time.

Dinner: Spinach Lasagna Stuffed Portabella Mushroom

This meatless meal actually tasted like lasagna.
No joke.
It was so good and filling, too!

Also, if you are weird about mushrooms, this actually has very little mushroom flavor.  It might just convert you!

Spinach Lasagna Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms
serves 4

4 portabella mushroom caps
olive oil
salt & pepper

filling:

1 cup frozen spinach, thawed

salt & pepper

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1/2 cup ricotta cheese (I used low fat)

1/2 cup spaghetti sauce

topping:

1/2 cup spaghetti sauce

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

3/4 cup shredded mozzarella

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Wipe the mushroom caps with a damp paper towel, remove stems and carefully scrape out gills with a spoon.  Discard stem and gills.

Rub a little olive oil on the mushrooms and add some salt and pepper.  Roast the mushrooms cap down for about 10 minutes.

While the mushrooms are roasting, combine the filling in a small bowl.

Once the mushrooms have roasted, they will have some juices they released.  Remove them from the pan onto some paper towels and drain the liquid from the pan.  Return the caps to the pan and fill each with 1/4 of the filling.  Top with sauce, a blob of ricotta and some mozzarella on top.

Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until bubbly and melty.

So good!!!  You guys MUST try this recipe!
I served mine on a spring mix salad with two toasty ciabatta bread triangles.

I ended my eats with a Garfiled mug full of cookies & cream frozen yogurt.

Here's a cute Bizzy picture to brighten your day!

She's really doing well.  Being super cuddly and lovey one minute, then a crazy, wild dog the next.  Thus is the nature of puppies.  Am I right?

I know this is the second picture I've put on here with her tongue sticking out.  I just always catch her as she is closing her mouth...she does not just have a permanent tongue out sort of thing going on, FYI.

Have a super fantastic week!!!

In case you missed it: Photo-An-Hour I posted Monday

Family Fridays: Dal

I know this looks like a hot mess on a plate.

Ok, so its deliciousness is not evident to the naked eye.

Don't judge a book by its cover, because this is a super yummy dish.

It comes from my cousin Mary.  I don't actually know her that well, because she always lived on the other side of the country.  Thanks to Facebook, I am getting to know her better.  She is so sweet, creative and hopefully full of more recipes like this one!

Dal is a dish that is popular in South Asian countries comprised of dried lentils, spices and other such yummy-ness.  Yes, I got this info from Wikipedia.  I'm sure it is terribly accurate.

 The dal was piping hot when I was taking pictures of it.  Here's a shot through the steam:

Dal

2 C. red lentils 2 Tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1 yellow onion, chopped fine 1 tsp. cumin seeds 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom ( I used curry powder instead) 4 cloves garlic, minced  4 C. broth 1 1/2 C. chopped tomatoes with juice 1/3 C. chopped fresh cilantro (optional~I didn't use this) 2 Tbs. fresh minced ginger 1 fresh jalapeno, minced 1 tsp. ground turmeric 1 tsp. salt Sautee onion in oil until translucent.  Add cumin seeds, cardamom, and garlic.  Stir 2 minutes.  Add broth, tomatoes, lentils, ginger, pepper, turmeric and salt.  Bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat, simmer 15 minutes.   Makes 6 very generous servings. This dish is meatless, yet full of protein.  It is comforting and filling on a cold winter night. I served mine with a scoop of brown rice and a pile of roasted broccoli.  Yum!