I came home from work and threw the ingredients together, put them in the oven to bake, went up to shower, and came down for a hot meal.
Doesn't get much better than that!
Original recipe link:
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/black-bean-tortilla-casserole
I literally just start chopping everything, bring to a boil, then let simmer for about ten minutes. I used mild Picante salsa but I think you could probably get creative with different types of salsa used for added flavor.
While everything is simmering you can begin dicing up the toppings so that they are ready to go when it cools from the oven.
I chopped up some cilantro and added it with the green onion. For those of us that love cilantro you can never have too much!
When it came time to layer, it took about 5 tortillas for me to cover the base of the pan. (four and then I tore one in half to get the far edge.) I also feel like you can't add enough cheese- the recipe suggests low fat cheese, which is probably ideal for a matter of healthiness, but I used some full cheddar sargento and regret nothing!!
I may have put too much of the mixture as my first layer on the pan because I was definitely running low when it came to garnishing the top. I figured it was more important to have extra in the middle than on the top of the casserole.
Baked for 30 min and voila!
It was really pretty tasty and it made quite a bit- we were surprisingly stuffed after only a couple small servings.
I think a fun improvement for next time would be to add meat- either ground beef or turkey (leaner meat is healthier and higher protein!)
Or possibly some shredded chicken.
Overall success!
