Mexican Black Bean Casserole

My brother-in-law and nephew came over yesterday to spend some time with us and were here for lunch. Because my brother-in-law is a vegetarian I wanted to make something meatless that he could eat. I came up with Mexican Black Bean Casserole. I made it up as I went along and this is something that can very easily be made into a meat-filled dish by adding ground beef. It turns out differently each time because I use what I have and change it up here or there.

I thought I'd share the recipe here today.

Mexican Black Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

½ onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

½ green pepper, chopped

½ red pepper chopped

Sofrito*

1-2 Tbsp. Olive oil

2 cans of black beans**

1 cup of frozen corn

14 oz. diced tomatoes

1 cup salsa

1 tsp. chili powder (I used Mexican hot chili powder that I had, but you could just use regular)

1 tsp. cumin

1 package Sazon (not necessary, but I added it)

Salt & pepper to taste

2 cups of shredded cheese (I had a tiny bit of pepper jack left and then used Colby jack for the rest)

Crushed tortilla chips (you could leave these out if you wanted to and just serve over rice)

Notes:

*I make my own Sofrito and it’s onion, garlic, peppers and 1 bunch of cilantro pulsed in a food processor with some olive oil to make a loose paste consistency. I make it ahead and freeze it in ice cube trays. I used 4 cubes in yesterday’s dish to just give it some extra flavor. You could either buy it in a jar or skip it altogether and just add some chopped cilantro.

**I use dried beans and made these the day before and then took 3 cups of the cooked beans.

Directions:

Saute the onion, garlic, peppers and the sofrito (if using) in the olive oil until the vegetables are soft.

Add the rest of the ingredients except the cheese and chips and saute until bubbly.

In a casserole dish put down a layer of crushed tortilla chips and then a layer of the bean mixture and then cheese. Repeat the layers and end with a top layer of cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Enjoy!