Spinach-Black Bean Enchiladas

Last week, after all the rain we’ve had, we collected an abundance of spinach.  It’s been so  yummy.  I decided to spinach up a few of our regular recipes.  I came up with this gem, and had to share with you!

Spinach-Black Bean Enchiladas

2 cups cottage cheese
A big, giant bowl full of spinach
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
18 corn tortillas, cut in half
1 recipe Garlicky Enchilada Sauce (recipe below)
1/2 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
coarse salt, ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400.  In a food processor, combine cottage cheese and spinach and process until smooth.  Transfer to a bowl with garlic and black beans.  Stir to combine and season with salt and pepper.

In a 2 quart baking dish layer 6 tortilla halves.  Spread with half the spinach-black bean mixture.  Add 1/2 cup enchilada sauce.  Layer 6 more tortilla halves and the remaining spinach-black bean mixture.  Top with remaining tortilla halves and cover with 1 cup of enchilada sauce.  Save remaining sauce for another use.  Sprinkle Monterey jack cheese over the top.

Cover baking dish with foil and bake for 15 minutes.  Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes until cheese is melted and casserole is bubbling.

Homemade enchilada sauce is easy to make and much more flavorful than prepackaged.  Usually I use onions as a base, but one day when we were unexpectedly out, I used garlic instead.

Garlicky Enchilada Sauce
In a medium sauce pan, heat 3 Tablespoons olive oil over medium-high.  Saute 6 minced cloves of garlic and 4 teaspoons of ground New Mexico chili powder until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Stir in 2 Tablespoons white vinegar and 2 cups tomato sauce (I use tomatoes from the freezer, put through the food processor, but a 15 oz can is fine).  Stir in 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5-7 minutes until slightly thickened.  Salt to taste (perhaps 1/2 teaspoon?).