Delicious Dinner Recipes

Black Bean Veggie Casserole tastes like a Mexican lasagna

I wasn't going for beautiful folks, but no matter how it looks, it tastes good!
Topped with fresh, homemade salsa, it is unbelievable!!




Here are two of my favorite current recipes!



Black Bean Veggie Casserole

1 T. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium zuchinnis, grated
1 19-ounce can black beans, rinsed
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes, drained
11/2 C. frozen or fresh corn
1 t. ground cumin
1 packet of taco seasoning mix
1/2 t. salt
12 corn tortillas, quartered
1 19-oz can enchilada sauce (green or red, mild or spicy)
11/4 C. shredded cheddar cheese


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly coat a 9x13 with cooking spray.

I chop my zuchinnis and onion in a food processor to dice them quickly. Once the onion and zuchinnis are diced, heat the oil in a nonstick skillet and add the onion and zuchinni and cook for about 5 minutes until starting to turn brown. Then add beans, tomatoes, corn, cumin and salt and cook, stirring occasionally untilt he veggies are heated through.

Scatter half the tortillas in the baking dish. Top with half the veggies, half the enchilada sauce, and half the cheese. Repeat with one more layer. Cover with foil.
Bake the casserole 15 minutes. Take off foil and continue baking until the casserole is bubbling around the edges and cheese is melted (about 15 more minutes).

Lora's Baked Tomato Spaghetti

Sorry, no photo of this! But I can assure you it is delicious!

1# spaghetti (can use flavored noodles for extra nutrition if desired)

2 28-ounce cans of diced tomatoes (plain or flavored)

8 oz. cheddar cheese, grated

2/3 stick of butter cut into 1/2 inch slices

1. Cook the spaghetti in boiling water until it's a little chewy and drain well. Preheat the oven to 350 and butter a baking dish.

2. Arrange a third of the spaghetti in the baking dish and then top with a third of the tomatoes, a third of the cheese, and a third of the butter. Continue layering with reamining ingredients, ending with the butter.

3.Bake 50 minutes until the top is very well browned and crusty (yum!)

Serve with a salad and bread and you have a simple and frugal meal!

I have not experimented with cutting down on the butter but perhaps you could substitute some olive oil for the butter or cut down on the amount to make it a little healthier!