Casseroles...Mexican-Style

I've mentioned this before, but I think that the easiest ethnic foods to successfully recreate at home are Italian and Mexican food. Tonight, as you may have guessed from the title, I am sharing some easy Mexican casseroles.

The three casseroles I am going to share with you are Mexican food at their comfort food best.

I went super easy with the Chili-Corn Casserole and used canned chili. But I would suggest that this casserole would be absolutely FANTASTIC with the Slow Cooker Chili Mole that we posted in December (which you can find here). This is a really easy dinner to make if the chili is already made. So, make a double batch of chili and then turn it into this casserole later!

As for the Enchilada Casser-Ole!, make sure to let it sit for 10-15 minutes (minimum) after removing it from the oven. It will allow it to set up better so that it is prettier when you are serving it. But if you can't wait, who cares? It just won't look as pretty. :) We couldn't wait, so my pictures don't look as neat and layered as the pictures on Taste of Home (where I found this recipe...you can find that immaculate picture here). Our leftovers looked bee-yu-ti-ful, however. :) They were just as neat and set up as you could hope for. The pictures are from the first night, so they are kind of sloppy, but it sure tasted good! I hope these recipes comes in handy for you.

Chili-Corn Casserole

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 ears corn, kernels cut off
Kosher salt
6 scallions, chopped
3-4 cups leftover chili
1 1/2 cups shredded pepper jack or monterey jack cheese (about 6 ounces)
1 (18 ounce) tube precooked polenta, cut into 12 rounds

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the corn and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until tender, 5-6 minutes. Add the scallions and cook until soft, about 1 minute.

Spread the chili in an 8-inch-square baking dish. Top with half of the cheese followed by half of the corn mixture. Lay the polenta rounds on top, then sprinkle with the remaining corn and cheese.

Bake until the casserole is heated through and the top is golden, about 20 minutes. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.

Per serving: Calories 634; Fat 34 g; Cholesterol 119 mg; Sodium 1,588 mg; Carbohydrate 48 g; Fiber 4 g; Protein 32 g.

Source: Food Network website.

Notes: I made this with pepper jack cheese and it was really flavorful. It was good with canned chili, but it would be exceptional with some of your favorite leftover homemade chili.

The nutrition information is dependent on what chili you use for this recipe.

Food Network made this recipe with their Slow Cooker Texas Chili, which you can find here.

Enchilada Casser-Ole!

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef (90% lean)
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups salsa
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup reduced-fat Italian salad dressing
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium taco seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
6 flour tortillas (8 inches)
3/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/ cup minced fresh cilantro

Directions:

In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the salsa, beans, dressing, taco seasoning and cumin. Place three tortillas in a 2-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Layer with half of the meat mixture, sour cream and cheese. Repeat layers.

Cover and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until heated through. Let stand for 5 minutes before topping with lettuce, tomato and cilantro. Yield: 8 servings.

Nutrition information: 1 piece equals 357 calories, 12 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 45 mg cholesterol, 864 mg sodium, 37 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 23 g protein.

Above: If you can't wait to serve it (and therefore, it won't have neat and pretty layers), I suggest you smother it with lettuce, tomatoes, and cilantro!

Notes: I made this pretty much just as the recipe stated. My only problem with this recipe? It took me FOREVER to remember what the name of it was! It became a tongue twister to me and I kept saying it wrong or forgetting it altogether.

Spicy Black Bean-Corn Casserole

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons diced green chiles, divided
1/2 cup salsa
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (11 ounce) can corn with red and green bell peppers, drained
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1/2 cup egg substitute (or 2 eggs)
1 (8 1/2 ounce) package corn muffin mix
2 tablespoons chopped bottled roasted red bell peppers
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) preshredded reduced-fat Mexican blend or Cheddar cheese
6 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons thinly sliced fresh cilantro

Directions:

Place 2 tablespoons green chiles and next 6 ingredients in a 3 1/2 quart electric slow cooker; stir well. Cover and cook on LOW 4 hours.

Combine remaining 1 tablespoon green chiles, egg substitute, muffin mix, and roasted red bell peppers in a bowl. Spoon batter evenly over bean mixture in cooker. Cover and cook 1 hour or until corn bread is done.

Sprinkle cheese over corn bread. Cover and cook 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Top each serving with sour cream; sprinkle with cilantro.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 cup casserole, 1 tablespoon sour cream, and 1/ teaspoon cilantro).

Nutrition information: 366 calories; 12.4 g fat; 17.2 g protein; 49.6 g carb; 5.6 g fiber; 28 mg chol; 2.7 mg iron; 1,407 mg sodium; 307 mg calc.

Source: This came from a cookbook called Cooking Light Slow Cooker: 58 essential recipes to eat smart, be fit, live well from a book series entitled Cooking Light Cook's Essential Recipe Collection, ISBN-13: 9780848730680

Notes: This was so easy and much yummier than I anticipated. I chose it because I had nearly all of the ingredients on hand as pantry staples. I thought it would be good, but it was better than good! It was great.