August 26, 2020

Slow Cooker Enchilada Casserole

Last week Vonda packed up Piper and saw her off to the University of South Carolina for her Freshman year. Meg’s daughter heads back into Europe for her post-grad year. Meanwhile here in England my girls are returning to school in person next week, for the first time in almost 6 months.

Like any prior new academic school year I’ve been busy organizing a neatly color coded calendar on the kitchen wall, spending vast amounts on new uniforms, and assuming we will neatly navigate the tsunami of school commitments, timetables, and communications which will shortly follow.

Our annual reset of sorts will survive for approximately 1 month, after which we will all be back to winging it with lost items of uniform, lunch box fails, and missed pick-ups. So we came up with the following:

The McKay Manifesto – September 2020

1 – We all make our own lunches from a rotation of ingredients in the refrigerator and pantry. Some of these can and will be leftovers from dinner.

Pre-made black bean cheesy quesadillas
Pulled meats such as bbq chicken cooked ahead and refrigerated for wraps & salads
Soups & bread – vegetable tortilla soup is inexpensive, warm, satisfying, and add in a few tortilla chips for crunchy topping.
Mezze box – crunchy lettuce, olives, pita chips, humus or leftover curried lentil dip
Pasta pesto tip – my kids school has a nut-free policy so we make it using pumpkin seeds in place of pine nuts (budget friendly too!)
Good Old Fashioned Sandwiches! Egg mayo, cream cheese & cucumber, ham and pickles, cheese & tomato.
Must include a fruit and a vegetable
One of the following is allowed:
- a granola bar
- small bag of chips
- a square or two of chocolate

2 – With 2 working parents in the house we’re asking for specific help in the kitchen. More than just emptying the dishwasher!

3 – New for Fall 2020! The girls will change from their school uniforms on the front porch and drop them into a laundry basket to be washed. This is the weirdest one ever but we’re just going to roll with it!

The difference this year is that we’re surviving this pandemic and everyone has already had to step up more with daily household chores. I’m manifesting the desire that this gives us a place to push off from. And that the kids can at least help prep on days when they get home early.

In that spirit this enchilada casserole ticks all the boxes. They need to love it for them to want to be involved in cooking it. A recommendation to get you started is a slow cooker enchilada casserole. Comfort food; veggie, tomatoey, cheesy, and plant based. Add a splash of sour cream and some diced avocado and you’re there!

The verdicts the first time we made it

My husband commented on how it didn’t need added salt at the table. He simply said “there is enough flavor from the spices and delicious salsa”.
The girls both liked it and the non – veggie quietly asked “can this be made with chicken too?”
Me? I was simply relieved that because it had sat on the warm function for 2 hours it was still good!

Print Recipe

Slow Cooker Veggie Enchilada Casserole

Keyword: plant based, slow cooker

Ingredients

2 x 16oz jars salsa or enchilada sauce
1 cup small red onion, diced
15 oz can black beans rinsed & drained
1 cup corn
2 cups Mexican blend cheese plus extra for top if desired
1 Southwest Fiesta blend
6 x 9" flour tortillas or x 8 smaller
1 tbsp cilantro chopped
optional toppings - diced avocado sour cream

Instructions

Slow Cooker

Layer 1/3 of the salsa on the bottom of the slow cooker
In a large bowl mix the red onion, black beans, corn, 1/3 of the cheese, & Southwest Fiesta blend
Divide the mixture equally between the tortillas and roll each tortilla up
Place a single layer of the stuffed tortillas lengthways on top of the salsa 5) top the layer of tortillas with 1/3 salsa, 1/3 of the cheese
Repeat with another layer of tortillas and top with the final layer of 1/3 salsa & 1/3 cheese
Cover and cook on HIGH for 2-3 hours or LOW for 6 hours
Remove the lid & broil for 3 minutes if you like color on top
Sprinkle with cilantro & optional toppings

Oven Cook

In a 9x13-inch baking dish layer 1/3 of the salsa on the bottom
In a large bowl mix the red onion, black beans, corn, 1/3 of the cheese, & Southwest Fiesta blend
Divide the mixture equally between the tortillas and roll each tortilla up.
Place a single layer of the stuffed tortillas lengthways on top of the salsa
Top the layer of tortillas with 1/3 salsa, 1/3 of the cheese
Repeat with another layer of tortillas and top with the final layer of 1/3 salsa & 1/3 cheese
Cover with aluminum foil & bake at 400°F for 20 - 25 minutes
Remove the foil for the final 5 minutes of cooking