-
Find Us
follow Liz
follow Janice
-
Recipe Index
Get Our Recipes -
Shop
Buy Our Books -
Awards
FriendsEAT -
Link to Us
SHARE OUR SITE!
- Recipes from fellow bloggers chosen for our Healthy Meal with Kid Appeal Award
-
Find Our Friends
-
-
-
-
-
No Whine With Dinner
on ifood.tv -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
GRAB THIS BADGE!A Recipe for Black Bean Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce and a Celebration of Cilantro for The Recipe Redux
When we heard about this month’s Recipe Redux “Green with Herb Envy” cooking challenge, we had one of those LOL moments. The image of green things popping from the earth, backyard gardens, and thumbing through seed catalogs seems light-years away! The Boston suburbs are still blanketed in snow, so instead of seeing green, everything outside right now is bright white. Those poor little crocuses don’t even seem to have a chance. Yes, March came in like a lion … and it’s clearly going out like one.
We love participating in the monthly Recipe Redux blogger roundup, so we decided not to let a little 10-inch snowstorm stop us. We chose gorgeous, aromatic cilantro as our featured herb, and although we may not have used it in a nontraditional way, rather than the usual garnishing afterthought, we added a giant handful right to the bean enchilada filling.
Herbs like cilantro really wow us. They bring big, bright flavors to recipes, help home cooks cut back on the need for lots of salt, they’re pretty to look at, and they’re packed with antioxidants. When we think of herbs—parsley, mint, cilantro, basil, rosemary, thyme—we think “vegetable.”
Cilantro is one of those love-it-or-hate-it foods (kind of like goat cheese, which, we’re happy to say, we also love). We chose it for the Recipe Redux because we find ourselves turning to it all year long.
Boosting the good nutrition in everything we make is always a priority, and it was super easy with this recipe. In addition to the half cup chopped cilantro in the filling, we also added nutrient-rich black beans, baby spinach, corn, and low-fat cheese. For the tortillas, we turned to 100% whole wheat, and we enhanced the enchilada sauce with half a cup of canned pureed pumpkin.
Black Bean Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce
Makes 8 Servings
The idea for incorporating pumpkin into the enchilada sauce came from Stacey M., a mom and a fan from Eagle, CO. Stacey wrote: “Pumpkin has become a staple for us for all meals. I made enchiladas tonight. I use canned enchilada sauce and even the mild is a bit too spicy for the girls (they are 4 and 6), but I love spicy food. I puree the can of sauce with about 1/2 – 1/3 cup of canned pumpkin to cut the spice, add nutrition, and thicken it up. I don’t think any of them have figured it out! My girls are pretty good eaters and love sour cream so I serve it with the enchiladas. Add a cup of milk and I can have my slightly spicy dinner that everyone will eat!!” We suggest you garnish with additional cilantro, chopped tomatoes, sliced olives, diced or sliced avocado, and lime wedges.
- 1 tablespoon expeller pressed canola oil
- 6 green onions, chopped (white and light green parts only)
- One 6-ounce bag baby spinach, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 cups shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese, divided
- One 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
- One 15-ounce can enchilada sauce (mild, medium, or hot)
- 1/2 cup canned 100% pure pumpkin
- Eight 8-inch whole wheat flour tortillas
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly oil or coat a 9 x 13-inch baking pan or dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the green onions and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 3 minutes. Add the spinach, cumin, and chili powder and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until wilted, 3 more minutes. Transfer the cooked veggies to a large bowl and set aside to cool, about 5 minutes. When cool, stir in 1 cup of the cheese, beans, corn, and cilantro until well combined.
3. Meanwhile, place the enchilada sauce and pumpkin in a medium-size bowl and whisk until well combined. Spread 1/2 cup of the mixture evenly on the bottom of the prepared baking pan.
4. To assemble the enchiladas, place 1/2 cup of filling down the center of each flour tortilla. Roll up tightly, tucking in the ends, and place seam side down in the dish. Cover evenly with the remainder of the sauce, sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup cheese, and bake, uncovered, until bubbly, about 20 minutes.
Nutrition Information per Serving (1 enchilada): 310 calories, 11g fat, (3g saturated, 0.2g omega-3), 730mg sodium, 41g carbohydrate, 8g fiber, 16g protein, 60% vitamin A, 15 vitamin C, 25% calcium, 15% iron
Print Recipe
Check out all of the other blog posts from our fellow herb-loving Recipe Reduxers …
get the InLinkz code
3 Comments | Filed Under Beans, Dinner, RecipeRescue, Vegetarian
Kitchen Makeover Update: My First Big Celebration in the New Kitchen
Many of you know that Don and I have been working on a major kitchen renovation for the past six months. My mom, whose spectacular cooking and entertaining skills have inspired me to do what I do, turned 80 as our project was winding down. My siblings and I had talked about a surprise birthday [more]
Registered Dietitian Day … and a Recipe for Strawberry-Filled Toaster Pastries (AKA a Pop-Tart® Makeover) — Podcast #214
Today is Registered Dietitian Day … or RD Day for short. It’s a day when dietitians are acknowledged for the work they do to help friends, family, clients, and communities eat a healthy, wholesome, and delicious diet. We celebrate today with one of our most extreme recipe makeovers ever, created with our friends at Driscoll’s, [more]
Beefaroni in a Can Gets a Nutritious Makeover: A Recipe for Homemade Healthy Beefaroni
Dinner from a can can be convenient, but there can clearly be some nutritional drawbacks. Take Chef Boyardee’s Beefaroni as just one example. The sodium is on the high side—730 milligrams in a 1 cup serving—it contains just 9 grams of protein, and the only “vegetable” in the meal is tomato puree from the sauce. [more]
A Brunch Recipe for Bagels & Lox Overnight Casserole
Many of the recipe makeovers on this blog are inspired by our readers, so when Sheilah B. sent us a brunch recipe for Egg ‘n’ Bacon Breakfast Casserole and asked us to give it a “fix,” we came up with this new-and-improved Bagels & Lox Overnight Casserole. The casserole that Sheilah wanted us to health-ify [more]
Cooking Classes at the Culinary Institute of America … And a Recipe for Lemon Olive Oil Cake with Blueberry Compote
Any time I can go to Napa Valley — for business or for pleasure — I jump at the opportunity. When the Food & Culinary Professionals (a sub group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics) announced plans for a culinary workshop at the Culinary Institute of America, I think I was the first dietitian [more]
Fun, Food, and Fitness on Amelia Island, Florida and a Memorable Meal at Salt
Most people come home from vacation with a snow globe, a piece of local art, or even a few seashells. The souvenir I nabbed on our recent family vacation to Amelia Island, Florida, however, was this gorgeous antique plate. I’m a pushover when it comes to pretty blue dishware, so I couldn’t resist nabbing this [more]
An Oscar Party Recipe for South-of-the-Border Tortilla Soup (Recipe Redux February Challenge)
Every year when the Oscars roll around, we stay up late to hear the results, but then we wonder, “Why on Earth did we stay up so late? We haven’t seen any of the movies!” This year is no exception … with the exception of Lincoln. I prefer watching my movies from the comfort of [more]
My Visit to Napa Valley and a Recipe for High-Pro Guaco (AKA Gluten-Free Quinoa Guacamole)
I spent a few glorious days in Napa Valley recently for the Food & Culinary Professionals‘ culinary workshop at the Culinary Institute of America. Wow, that’s a lot of culinary in one sentence, and I certainly experienced a lot of culinary magic during my time there. In an upcoming Cooking with the Moms podcast, I’ll be [more]
- A Recipe for Black Bean Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce and a Celebration of Cilantro for The Recipe Redux
- Kitchen Makeover Update: My First Big Celebration in the New Kitchen
- Registered Dietitian Day … and a Recipe for Strawberry-Filled Toaster Pastries (AKA a Pop-Tart® Makeover) — Podcast #214
- Beefaroni in a Can Gets a Nutritious Makeover: A Recipe for Homemade Healthy Beefaroni
- A Brunch Recipe for Bagels & Lox Overnight Casserole
- Cooking Classes at the Culinary Institute of America … And a Recipe for Lemon Olive Oil Cake with Blueberry Compote
- Fun, Food, and Fitness on Amelia Island, Florida and a Memorable Meal at Salt
- An Oscar Party Recipe for South-of-the-Border Tortilla Soup (Recipe Redux February Challenge)
- My Visit to Napa Valley and a Recipe for High-Pro Guaco (AKA Gluten-Free Quinoa Guacamole)
- A Valentine Dessert Recipe for Super Strawberry Pudding and Digging Out From Nemo (Podcast #212)
- graincrazy: I can not get enough of Mexican food. This looks so delish. I love all the great foods you included in...
- EA-The Spicy RD: Love this recipe, and what a great idea to add in some pumpkin purée! Cilantro is probably my all...
- Louise @AnAppleADayRD: Enchiladas?? Are you sure y’all are from MA? You’re a hit in TX! This recipe looks...
- Janice: Randy, your help picking out my beautiful Kenmore appliances was much appreciated. You need to come and see...
- Randy: The kitchen came out awesome! Well done on all fronts. Now, come do my kitchen!
Sponsors
-->
-->
Find out how you can sponsor
The Meal Makeover Moms »
Search
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
Our Podcast