Frijoles Casserole
When I was gearing up for my cholesterol lowering binge, I bought a large can of frijoles (refried beans). I put it in the cupboard and promptly forgot about it until a few day ago.
The weather turned frigid again, so this was a perfect excuse to fire up the oven. (Double-duty don'tcha know - food and heat!) I did a quick inventory of what I had on hand and this casserole was the result.
There are only five main ingredients and I didn't really measure anything as I was making it up as I went along. I used most of the can of frijoles, a small can of diced tomatoes & chilis (drained), chili powder, cumin powder and 8 medium flour tortillas.
Generously spread the frijoles on half of a tortilla. Fold over to make a half moon. Luckily, the casserole dish I used was the perfect fit for the tortillas! (I don't think this is vital, though, as it held it's shape well in the end.)
I started building layers. After the filled tortilla layer, I spread around some of the diced tomato/chili mix. Then, I dusted the layer with chili powder and cumin powder. Do this to your taste. I went easy this first time and figured I could up the ante next time, if needed.
I also turned the tortillas, alternating layers, to make it a little more structurally stable.
You can see the alternating layers clearly at this angle:
I baked it at 275 degrees F for 45 minutes just to make sure it was heated all the way through. The tomatoes and chilis on top roasted nicely and the spices smelled great!
I let it set for about 10 minutes before diving in. I'm pleased it held together so well. I was going to top it off with a dollop of sour cream, but that would have to wait. My low-fat version of sour cream had spoiled, so I used hubby's high-octane version for the picture. You'll notice there's none on the casserole... proof I'm being a good girl!
Conclusions: Has a surprising amount of kick from the tomato / chili layer. I could have used a little of the juice to make it even more pronounced. I was wary of making the tortillas soggy, hence draining the can.
I've since been to the store and restocked my sour cream. I budgeted a bit so my next bowl had a smidgen of shredded cheddar cheese and the low fat sour cream.
This one's a keeper and I'll be making it again.
That looks really delicious! Thanks for sharing this recipe, Aunt-deb!!
Upvoted & Followed.
Thanks! It turned out better than I expected.
I think it's going to be a versatile addition to my repertoire. I'll try it again when I'm back to eating meat and see what that does for it.
Followed back!
You had me drooling at this --- I cannot lie. I love this stuff, spicy stuff, etc etc.
Can I ask you to support this post?? It is to help Nolan our 15 year old witness everyone knows as - @theprophet0 - who needs a bit of help. I hope you do not mind this here, it is hard to message people privately esp. if time is of the essence.
TYIA and keep up the good work!!
https://steemit.com/steemit/@barrydutton/help-we-need-to-support-our-steemit-member-here-theprophet0-and-here-is-how-you-can-do-that-this-week-quickly
Voted for him for witness and upvoted in the posts. Will re-steem in a bit to keep it fresh in the feed.
Good on you for helping him out!
It's an easy recipe and there's lots of room to jazz it up. I went mild for the first go-round. Hubby would douse it with Louisana Hot Sauce (ketchup to him). 'Course he likes kimchee, so we have very different yardsticks on what's 'hot'.
I want to visit you guys so badly right now I am drooling again lol
like your dogs I guess haha!
TY for the support!
LOL!
you think I am kidding, don't you? LOL
I just think it would be easier to make your own, but hey, whatever floats your boat...
Fair warning - you may have to wrestle hubby for the last slice and he played hockey... all I can say is watch out for elbows.