Mexican Casserole

Last night I decided to experiment in the kitchen.  I’ve come up with a similar casserole before and it’s a pretty good way of using up leftovers (rice, meat) and pantry items (beans).  On top of that all you need is some cheese & veggies and you are good to go.  Here is the recipe:

Mexican Inspired Casserole

Ingredients (for 4-6 servings):

• 2 cups cooked brown rice
• 1 cup part-skim shredded cheese (Mexican blend preferred)
• 1 medium onion
• 1 tomato
• 1 cup zucchini
• 1 cup mushrooms (note: you can use your veggies of choice instead of these 3)
• Spicy spices and salt
• 1/2 cup of salsa
• 1 can of black beans
• Optional: 1 chicken breast

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 350*.  Begin heating a non-stick pan on medium-high heat (you can use some vegetable oil here if you would like).  Chop up all veggies and chicken and add to pan.  Use a bigger pan than I did.
2. Add desired spices and salt.
3. Sauté until chicken is cooked through.
4. Take a casserole dish and add the rice and chicken-veggie mixture.  Add tomatoes, black beans, salsa and 1/2 cup of cheese and mix well.
5. Cover with tin foil and bake for 20-30 minutes.
6. Remove tin foil and sprinkle with rest of the cheese.
7. Return to oven and bake until cheese is melted – another 10 minutes or so.
8. Enjoy Mexican-inspired comfort food goodness!

Nutritional information for 6 servings (with chicken breast)

Calories – 260     Total Fat – 4.9 g      Carbohydrates – 32.3 g      Dietary Fiber – 7.0 g  Protein – 21.1g

Love all that protein!  This may not be the healthiest recipe, but sometimes everyone craves some warm cheesy goodness.  This only made 2-3 “Neil servings” but I think most people reading this have a different idea of what a portion size should be.

In other news, I ran 7 extremely hilly miles this morning (@8:51 pace), went on a hike with Leela & Neil during my lunch break at Rock Creek Park and plan to play tennis this evening.  This is because I worked from home today and didn’t have to waste anytime commuting, and showering and getting prettified.  Can someone offer me a job that telecommutes all the time??