#74 Make a meal from scratch!

The long days of winter have created this desire in me to venture into the cooking world a little more. That being said, there is a certain connivence in swinging by New Season's or Trader Joe's and coming up with dinner on the fly. A few weeks ago, Tony and myself undertook the task of cooking a meal from scratch! And I had a blast. We adapted a recipe featured on Syndal's blog because both of us love enchiladas and neither of us knew how to make the sauce. Here is our adventures documented for #74 on my list!

Being guac lovers, we started our cooking adventure by snacking on Tony's signature chips and guac while sipping on two of my dad's home brews. In hindsight, I wish I would have saved more room for the enchiladas, but the guac was so good!

Without further ado, here is the recipe for Turkey Black Bean Enchiladas!

The fixins'

Sauce:
2 garlic cloves (minced)
2-3 tbsp. chipotle chiles in adobo sauce 
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. chipotle chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
3/4 cup fat free chicken broth
salt and fresh pepper

**Disclaimer! We love spice, so we increased the amount of chipotle chiles and added more chili powder. When we tasted the sauce out of the pot, it was spicy, but cooked off a little once cooked in the oven**

Sauce Directions

In a medium saucepan, use a dab of olive oil to sauté garlic. Add chiles, chili powder, cumin, chicken broth, tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.

Enchiladas:

1 lb extra lean ground turkey
15.5oz can black beans, drained
4.5 oz can chopped green chiles
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1-2 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp chili powder

8 (6-inch) low carb whole wheat tortillas
1 cup shredded cheese

Enchiladas Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with non-stick spray (I wiped mine down with olive oil). In a large skillet, brown the turkey and season with salt to taste (drain after browning!!!!)

Add onion, garlic, black beans, cilantro, green chiles, diced tomatoes, cumin and chili powder. Mix well and simmer on low, covered for 20 minutes. Remove lid and simmer an additional 5-10 minutes to reduce the liquid (drain excess liquid again if needed!)

Put 1/2 cup turkey mixture into each tortilla and roll it. Place on baking dish seam side down. Top with enchilada sauce and cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes. 

Final product!