Well, I tried a new recipe that I saw on @myleik Instagram page that turned out to be divine. I started my pescatarian transition years ago by eating a lot of processed prepared meals and Amy's was one of them. So now that I'm a few years in now, I would like to cut out the processed foods and experiment with relearning how to cook good meals. This time more vegetarian/pescatarian, and with me being from the south, none of the recipes from my past diet will work. I was looking for something that was close to the black bean tortilla casserole by the Amy's brand and this one works like a charm! So let's get started.
It's time for prep work. I know, I know, it's not my favorite either. Usually, I try to fix recipes that have very little prep work, but this is worth it so let's get to it!
2 Bell peppers (I used one green and one yellow but you can use any type you would like)
1 Onion
3 Garlic cloves
1/2 Can of corn (I used 1 can)
1 Can of pinto beans or black beans (I used 2 cans of pinto beans because I need this to be a
larger source of protein. I'm going to try black beans like the original recipe the next time.)
1 Can of diced tomatoes
1 Can of tomato sauce. (The recipe didn't say what size, so choose according to how tomatoey
you want it to be. Remember, this has to bake so you don't want it too runny.)
3 Cups of kale (Next time I'm going to try it with spinach instead)
3 Cups of cook rice (white or brown)
Seasoning Mix:
1 tbsp Chili powder
1.5 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Smoked Paprika
1/4 tsp Cayenne
1.25 tsp sea salt
(Note: Adjust the Chili powder and Cayenne to your spice comfort level if needed. I cut it in half because I knew that I also like sriracha on my food and I can't handle spicy food like I used to.)
Over low heat, add everything with the exception of the rice, beans, and kale into a large pan. We'll add those later. Sautee everything in the seasoning mix. Then add your beans. (Don't mind the picture, I had to backtrack on pan size and cooking the items in the correct order. lol)
Next, add in your kale or spinach and cook that down.
Once your kale/spinach has cooked down, add your cooked rice.
The last thing you need to do is put it in your favorite casserole dish. I layered in vegan cheese (or regular cheese if you like) as well. So, a layer of the mixture, then sprinkle cheese, another layer of mixture and sprinkle cheese and so on and so forth. On the top, you will break up tortilla chips. I broke them up into medium size pieces versus crumbles and sprinkled some cheese on top of that. (Note that it won't stay crunchy. It is there to give you a tortilla wrap texture but just a little firmer.) The recipe didn't give oven temp or time, so I played it by ear with a 15 minute bake time on 325. Everything is cooked for the most part, so you really are only doing it to get it to bake together like baked spaghetti. You guys do know about baked spaghetti right? If not, we'll leave that for another day. lol
Once it is done to your liking, you can add cashew yogurt (which I use in place of sour cream or just use sour cream if you'd like.) Plus I sprinkled some more vegan cheese on top because, like Tabitha Brown says, "That's my business if I want to."
Optional: Not feeling a bowl, you can always leave out the tortilla chips and use this as a burrito filling. OR if you want a meat texture or just meat in general, you can add beef or beefless crumbles to this as well. I also added some more tortilla chips on the side so I had that crunch I like in my food.
Hope you enjoy this recipe. I'm always looking on Instagram and blogs for food ideas and Myleik Teele knocked this one out of the park!
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