enchiladas

So one of my favorite things ever is mexican food. I make enchiladas a lot and they can be pretty healthy if you add the right things. I also love enchiladas because you can add whatever and you don't have to follow a recipe letter of the law.

please don't judge this picture as my photography
skills since i mentioned in my intro that i have
a fine art degree in photography....
yay for iphone photos!

this is what i did and it filled a 7x11 pan with 10 pretty full enchiladas--serves 5

• 2 bell peppers (red, orange, or yellow)
• 1/2-1 onion (i used a red one, it added more color :) )
• 1-2 handfuls of spinach (healthy filler that you can't taste)
• 3/4 cup diced tomatos (i used 3 small off the vine tomatos)
• 1 1/2 cooked chicken breast, shredded
• 1 can black beans, rinsed
• 1 can enchilada sauce or flavor packet/tomato sauce
• sharp cheddar cheese

toppings:

• sour cream
• avocado
• cilantro
• limes
• hot sauce (for me that means lots of Cholula) 

1. In a pan satay onions and bell peppers lightly with a small drizzle of olive oil or grape seed oil. Once they are to your liking place them in a large bowl.

2. Dice the spinach and toss it in the warm pan--that was used for the vegetables--along with the shredded chicken. You just want the chicken browned a little bit for more flavor and for the spinach to shrink and cook slightly.

3. Mix together chicken, spinach, onions, bell peppers, tomatos, and black beans. Add 1/4-1/2 cup of enchilada sauce, a spoonful of sour cream, and a little cheese (you don't need much, just like a 1/4 cup) to the mixture.

4. Fill tortillas. Helpful tip--corn tortillas will break in half if you fill them right out of the fridge/cupboard. Place the tortillas on a cookie sheet after lightly spraying them with cooking spray and place in the oven. It only takes a minute or two for the tortillas to become flexible and ready to fill without breaking.

5. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese. I have noticed that if i use the smaller holes in my grater I use less cheese--these are all about vegetables and not cheese anyway so go light!

6. Bake at 350 until cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling.

7. Top with anything you like, i love limes, cilantro, Cholula and avocados. 

two corn tortillas have 120 calories so if you keep the cheese and sour cream light this is a pretty hearty meal that isn't too unhealthy. And yes avocados are calorie packed, but you only need a few slices for topping--mine just had a lot more in the photo because i live alone and that avocado was not going to make it to another day or meal...