Meal Prepping

 

Last weekend when I went to Tulsa to visit Shelby, I was exposed to her "meal planning" ways in regard to her lunches. For me, personally, I don't love mornings so the faster the better when it comes to putting lunches together. I've defaulted to taking frozen meals and I know that it's not the best way to go. With that said, Shelby gave me the recipe to a Vegan Enchilada Casserole that she had been taking for her lunch last week.

Honestly, it looked so good that I went right out to the grocery store the day I got back and bought the ingredients so I could take it for lunch this week. I modified the recipe, so here is what you need for my version:

• 8-ounces dry pasta (3.5 cups dry noodles or half a 16-oz package)*
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 medium jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped*
• 3 bell peppers (I used 1 red, 1 orange, and 1 yellow), chopped
• 1-3 tbsp taco seasoning mix, to taste
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can enchilada sauce
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 20 tortilla chips (about 2 handfuls), crushed
• Avocado, salsa, sour cream, etc, to garnish

Directions from the recipe are as follows:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and grab a 2-quart casserole dish. Add dry pasta to a pot of boiling water and cook for 7-8 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the pasta or it will get mushy in the casserole. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.

2. In a large skillet, sauté the chopped onion, jalapeno, and peppers in the olive oil over medium heat for about 7-8 mins.

3. Add the taco seasoning, drained and rinsed black beans, and 1 cup of the enchilada sauce. Stir well and cook for another 5 mins.

4. Stir in the pasta. Season with salt and pepper to taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

5. Spread 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce over the bottom of the casserole dish. Scoop on the skillet mixture and spread out evenly. Spoon on the rest of the sauce on top.

6. Bake for 15-20 mins at 350F until heated through.

For my consumption, I chose to add lettuce, tortilla chips, and avocado. The avocado added the fat I desired in the dish, but you could add sour cream or cheese if you wanted. While I ate this without meat (and it is meant to be a vegan recipe), I think you could easily cook up some chicken and add it. Though, I didn't miss it at all with all of the varying ingredients.