Black Bean Tortilla Casserole

I'll tell you right now, this meal is not the most appetizing one to prepare.  Ideally, someone else will make it for you.  It gets a little funny looking when you add the cream cheese, which kind of eeked me out to begin with---cream cheese in a Mexican themed casserole?!?


This dish is rated highly on Cara's Cravings, so I thought I'd give it a shot, and it's actually pretty good!  Todd especially enjoyed it because it's different from the things we normally make.  It has about 15 grams of fat, so I won't be making it everyday, but aside from that, I think this recipe's a keeper.


Note: The 15 grams of fat is for FOUR servings (i.e. split your 9 x 13 dish into four servings!).  That's a lot of food!


Black Bean Tortilla Casserole
(serves 4 ridiculously hungry people, from Cara's Cravings)

Ingredients 

1 diced onion

2-3, cloves garlic, minced

1 medium zucchini, diced 

1 medium summer squash, diced 

1 large red bell pepper, diced 

freshly ground salt & pepper
1-2 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder (or, to taste)
1 tsp oregano

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cans diced tomatoes (no salt added)

mini can of green chilies

4 oz reduced fat cream cheese

8 6" corn tortillas

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 

Directions 

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and saute for about 5 minutes. Add the bell pepper and cook for about 5 minutes more, stirring. Add zucchini and garlic, and cook for about 8 minutes, until vegetables are softened. Season with salt & pepper, cumin, chili powder, and oregano and stir to coat.

Add the black beans and diced tomatoes with green chiles. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cut the cream cheese into cubes and scatter over the vegetable mixture, and stir until all of it is melted in and nicely combined. Remove from heat.
Lightly spray your casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place some of the vegetable mixture in the bottom of the dish and top with four of the tortillas. Top with about 2/3 or the remaining vegetable mixture and half of the shredded cheese. Add another layer of tortillas and the remaining vegetable mixture.

Bake for about 15 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Top the casserole(s) with the remaining cheese and bake for about 5-7 minutes more, until cheese is melted.