Tasty, Healthy Mexican Flavor

Last night I tried out a new recipe that was so, so good.  And vegetarian!  I doubled the recipe and made modifications to the ingredients, and I think it worked really well.  I pre-soaked my dried black beans and then cooked them while I prepped everything else.  We served this up with sliced grape tomatoes and red and yellow bell peppers. 

Black Bean and Quinoa Casserole
Makes 6-8 servings.  Originally recipe found here on Sparkpeople.

• 1 c. cooked quinoa
• 3 c. cooked black beans (or two 15 oz cans, drained)
• 2 large sweet potatoes, shredded
• 1/2 a large onion, diced
• 1 1/2 c. frozen corn
• 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground jalapeno pepper (optional)
• liberal pinches of salt and pepper
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 c. salsa (we used the roasted tomato salsa from Trader Joe...so good!)
• sour cream for garnish
• 2-3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
• olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 350F.  Oil a 9x9 baking dish. 

In a medium pan, heat a little bit of olive oil.  Once hot, saute the diced onions on medium until softened.  Then mix in the chili powder, cayenne pepper and ground jalapeno pepper.  Mix well.  Then add the frozen corn and cook until soft.  Take off heat and set aside. 

In a large bowl, combine the black beans, quinoa, sweet potatoes, cumin,  1/2 c. cheddar cheese, and the onion corn mixture.  Mix together the eggs and salsa and pour over the mix.  Mix well, thenpour into prepared baking dish.  Sprinkled remaining cheese on top.  Bake for 30 minutes. 

Serving size is 1 cup.  Top with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of cilantro.  Serve with a salad or veggies.

This is a super high protein meal, suitable for vegetarian friends.  Oh, and delicious beyond belief.  We all gobbled it down and looked forward to leftovers today.  Heats beautifully the next day!

I'll be doing a price breakdown of these meals later, but seriously, even doubled this wasn't more than $12 for 12-16 servings.