VeganMoFo Begins!

I have signed on to participate again this year in VeganMoFo, along with nearly 200 others! Because there are so many posts to read, I will try to keep my posts brief so we can move on and look at all the other MoFo posts. Look for my upcoming posts to include:

Quick healthy recipes;
Weekend dinners;
Test recipes for Ricki;
and recipe ideas for the upcoming holidays – sorry, but it’s time to start thinking about it!

I’ll start with a quick and easy recipe. This recipe is a blast from my nonvegan past, and is adapted from the Tortilla Casserole recipe in Vegan Express. My version uses white corn tortilla CHIPS instead of tortillas.

Tortilla Chip Casserole

Ingredients:
Half a medium onion, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
2 small zucchini, chopped
1 clove garlic
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 large fresh jalapeno, minced
1 cup corn
1 T. chili powder
1 t. cumin
1 t. oregano, preferably Mexican
salt & pepper to taste
Corn tortilla chips
Melty cheese (optional)

(Some mushrooms would be great, but my family doesn’t much like them, so I didn’t use them; leftover baked potatoes would be great too.)

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil or spray a 2 quart casserole.

Saute the onion, zucchini, and garlic (and other veggies if using) in a little broth until softened; season with salt & pepper. Add in the beans, tomatoes, jalapeno, corn, and spices and mix well. Set aside. My veggie assortment looked like this:

Layer some tortilla chips in the bottom of the casserole to completely cover, like this:

Layer half of the veggie mixture over the chips. Add cheese over the veggies, if using. Repeat layers. (Cheese will help the casserole hold together better. I used some leftover homemade cheddar.)

Here it is oven ready:

Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly around the edges and heated through. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Why not prepare a side of cilantro rice while the casserole is in the oven?

Enjoy!