Southwestern Spice

I can't even begin to explain how flavorful this meal was! The Black Beans with Chipotle Sauce and Southwestern Corn Pudding are both from Vcon and were delicious. The chipotle sauce certainly had a kick, but I love my spicy food! The corn pudding was a really refreshing but hearty accompaniment. The only change I would make would be to replace half of the coconut milk with another nondairy milk because I think the floral flavor of the coconut was a little distracting for me. Also, I will wait to make this again until the summer when I can use fresh sweet corn because I think it will just make it pop even more. Despite these dishes being so wonderful, my favorite part of the meal was my nutritional yeast-roasted broccoli. This has been my favorite was of making broccoli for awhile now and it's fabulous! I just coat some chopped broccoli with olive oil, sea salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, and red pepper flakes and roast it for about 20-30 minutes at 400 degrees (F), stirring every 10 minutes. The broccoli tops get crispy and the nutritional yeast gets toasted and tastes beyond amazing. This meal was definitely a winner in my opinion :)

I haven't had a lot of time to cook much, but I made time this week to make some black bean and vegetable enchiladas for my family. Not in any way photogenic (what enchiladas ever are?), these make up for their appearance in their taste. I used the enchilada sauce from the Potato and Kale Enchiladas from Vcon but made up the filling myself. I figured that my family would probably like this meal, but I was shocked my how much they loved it! My dad's been trying to eat lighter and healthier lately, and he said he was really glad with how delicious and filling the enchiladas were- he's even mentioned several times this week how much he liked them. In his own words: "Add this one to the list!" (I actually do keep a list of meals my family enjoys- haha). Using corn tortillas made this meal a simple one to make gluten-free. Oh, a quick side note before I post this recipe- my parents noticed how stressed I was having to avoid so many foods or take 4-5 pills a day, so after talking with my doctor, I am going to focus just on avoiding gluten. I will also avoid the other foods I am sensitive to as much as possible at home, but if I choose to have some tofu or peanut butter, no big deal. I've found it really easy to eat gluten-free at home, but I still will treat myself if I go out to eat to some vegan cake or maybe a dish with seitan in it and just take a digestive enzyme pill then. Whew- sorry for such a long "quick note." Now, onto the recipe!

Black Bean and Vegetable Enchiladas:

1 T oil.
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 small zucchini, diced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 c. fresh or frozen and thawed corn
2 small red potatoes, chopped and boiled until tender
2 (15 oz.) cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 t. cumin
1 T. lime juice
1 1/2 t. salt
your favorite enchilada sauce
18 small corn tortillas
Nacho FYH cheese (I used this and it was actually very good!) or cheddar Teese, shredded (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees (F) and grease a 9x13 pan (I also had to use an additional 9x9 pan to fit all of the enchiladas). Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Saute the onion, zucchini, and bell pepper until soft. Add corn, potatoes, and black beans and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients until heated through and let cool slightly before filling your enchiladas. Microwave the tortillas until softened. Pour about 1/3 of the sauce in the bottom of the greased pan and place a tortilla in the pan. Coat on both sides with the sauce and spoon in some filling. Roll up the tortillas and place in pan seam side down. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and top with the remaining sauce and shredded vegan cheese, if using. Bake covered for 25 minutes then uncover and bake for another 15 minutes. You may want to broil the enchiladas for a few minutes at the end to melt the vegan cheese. Serves 6-8.