Brian once challenged me to a week of vegetarian cooking. Hmmm. That’s tough for a carnivore such as myself.
Our main goal with the vegetarian challenge wasn’t necessarily health so much as creativity.
But when I searched my recipes and cookbooks to plan my menu for the week, I did note that vegetarian dishes weren’t necessarily good for you.
My stockpile of recipes from my Weight Watchers Online days came to the rescue.
Tex-Mex Rice and Bean Casserole is a winner for both flavor and health. In my version, I raised the heat and boosted the flavor to make it a great weekday meal.
It’s also a great alternative to fatty football-game watching food.
The casserole also makes a great burrito filling or dip for tortilla chips (that wouldn’t fit on the Weight Watchers plan though).
Note: I put off making this recipe for quite awhile because it requires cooked rice. Kind of a pain. But Uncle Ben came to my rescue and has the 10-minute boil-in-a-bag brown rice (white work, too). One bag does the job and I adjusted the recipe to accommodate 2 cups of rice.
This vegetarian Mexican casserole is healthy and yummy.
Ingredients List
- Olive oil spray
- 1 cup yellow corn, drained or thawed if frozen
- 1 (4 oz) can diced green chilis, drained
- 1 Tbsp diced, jarred jalapeños
- 2 cups cooked brown rice
- 1 (15 oz) can pinquitos (seasoned pinto beans), drained
- 3/4 cup shredded, reduced-fat Mexican cheese
- 3/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 3 green onions, chopped (green and white portions)
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- Couple shakes of Tapatío hot sauce
- 3 TBsp more shredded, reduced-fat Mexican cheese
Method
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Spray a 2-quart glass baking dish with olive oil.
In a large bowl, stir together corn, chilies, jalapeño, beans, rice, cheese, sour cream, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper.
Fold in the green onions, cilantro and Tapatío.
Spoon mixture evenly into the baking dish, top with remaining cheese and bake for 30 minutes.
Let stand for 5 minutes to firm up before serving.
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