Crockpot Enchilada Quinoa

This yummy and amazingly simple recipe, adapted from Lecremedelacrumb, is one of the easiest, and most delicious, meals that I have made in awhile (be warned though that looking at the pictures of the original recipe on the aforementioned site might make you want to start eating your computer screen.  I’m talking life-size yumminess!) It’s meatless but still provides plenty of protein and is very filling. The fact that it meets so many of my meal planning criteria is just an added bonus:

 icon-check Crockpot
icon-check Minimal Steps
icon-check Leftovers
icon-check Mostly healthy

I love, love, love Mexican food.  I generally try to incorporate some type of Mexican food into my meal plans at least a few times a month.  I also love recipes with ingredients that can easily be swapped out for healthier items.  This Enchilada Quinoa was super easy and my toddler even enjoyed it (she normally doesn’t like anything with some spice).  Simply put all the ingredients into the crockpot for a few hours and forget about it until dinner time.  Perfect for a busy weekday or lazy weekend meal.  Here is the original ingredients list and I’ve noted any changes that I made below:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 15-ounce can yellow corn, drained and rinsed
• 2 15-ounce cans of mild or medium red enchilada sauce, divided
• 1 15-ounce can of diced fire roasted tomatoes and green chiles
• 1 cup un-cooked quinoa + ½ cup water
• 4 ounces cream cheese (light or fat-free is okay)
• salt and pepper to taste (I used about 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper)
• 1 cup shredded Mexican style cheese
• optional: chopped cilantro, diced tomatoes, diced avocado, sour cream

MY CHANGES:

• We are trying to steer away from too many canned products in our house due to BPA and all that fun stuff.  I’ve recently discovered a brand called Jyoti Organics at my local grocery store that carries black beans, garbanzo beans, and kidney beans in 10 oz. pouches.  Simply rinse them and you are good to go.  You can check them out here.
• I substituted frozen yellow corn for canned corn.
• Instead of cream cheese I used Greek yogurt.
• I used the Frontera Red Chile Enchilada Sauce that comes in a pouch.  I know it’s not homemade, but with just a few ingredients I don’t feel too guilty using it.

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Simply add all the ingredients, saving half of the cheese for when it’s done cooking, to the crockpot.  I ended up not using the entire packet of enchilada sauce, only about half. The original instructions say to cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 5-7 hours.  My experience with the crockpot is that they really vary in cooking time.  Mine seems to cook pretty fast so I cooked it on high for 1 1/2 hours and then on low for another hour.  Just keep an eye on yours and adjust accordingly.
• Add whatever toppings suit your fancy!  I topped with avocado and my husband had his in a tortilla. (Notice that you don’t see any avocado in my picture of this delish dish.  Yeah, I scarfed it down so fast that I forgot to take pictures.  So this is the leftovers picture from the next day 🙂
• Enjoy the leftovers in a salad, tortilla, or straight out of the bowl.  It tastes even better the second day!

 icon-thumb-tack Quick tip: You can use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream in pretty much any recipe you come across.  You’ll get all the creamy taste and texture, but in a much healthier way!

What’s your favorite Mexican meal to cook?

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