Faced with feeding a hungry group of people some snacks, I decided that rather than heading out and buying store-bought hummus, I just threw together stuff I had in the pantry. As a result, I ended up with a smoky-spicy hummus-like dip. Perfect for vegetables, pita and crackers.

I left out the oil but if yours is coming out dry, you can add about a tablespoon into the mixture and you should be good to go.

Some may think that eating vegetarian meals requires making fussy gourmet recipes every night of the week…in reality, it’s far from it. We vegetarians are just like everyone else where sometimes we want to eat good and eat good NOW. Even more so, it’s getting to the time of year where I want to come in out of the chilly air, spend just a few moments in the kitchen, and then immediately get in my jammies. I’m constantly looking for warm, filling and easy easy easy recipes to make.

This enchilada stacker recipe is an easy weeknight meal that converts to some fantastic leftovers for lunch the next day. I whipped up some homemade enchilada sauce (seriously, it’s super easy) and then got to work quickly layering some ingredients I had on hand. While the pie was cooking in the oven, I had just enough time to get my jammies on…and it was time to eat!

Vegetarian Enchilada Stacker
by Megabeth

•  6 whole wheat tortillas
• 2 cups cooked black beans (or 1 15.5 oz can black beans)
• 1 8 oz package seitan chicken strips, chopped
• 1 1/2 cup shredded cheese (use a combo of monterey jack and cheddar cheese)
• 1 1/2 cups enchilada sauce

Coat bottom of glass pie pan with cooking spray (or, drizzle a small amount of olive oil to lightly coat the bottom).

Then add the ingredients in the following order (spread evenly):

– 1/2 cup enchilada sauce

– two tortillas

– 1/2 of the seitan

– 1/2 of the black beans

– 1/3 of the cheese

– two tortillas

– 1/2 cup enchilada sauce

– 1/2 of the seitan

– 1/2 of the black beans

– 1/3 of the cheese

– two tortillas

– 1/2 cup enchilada sauce

Put the tortilla stack in an oven preheated to 400 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle remaining cheese on top of tortilla stack. Place back in oven until cheese is melted  – about 5 minutes.

See, told you…easy easy easy!

I adapted this recipe that was adapted by This American Bite. I used regular cheddar cheese (after recently using up all my vegan shredded cheese) and used black beans that were pressure cooked the day before. The flavoring of this tamale pie depends on the type of salsa you use. Aim towards a deeply flavored salsa perhaps a smoky adobo or a roasted garlic flavor. Spicy is also good, good, good. I’ve made recipes using these ingredients time and time again. The difference with this recipe is the packaging and delivery. The polenta at the bottom creates a nice base for the chunky filling. By the way, this passes my “oh my goodness this is good as left-overs” test. The In-House Taste Tester somehow managed to leave me some which I know was a struggle. Polenta and Black Bean Tamale Pie adapted from This American Bite

• Olive Oil
• One  18 oz roll of polenta
• 3 – 4 plum tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup of corn
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 1/2 cups black beans
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/3 cup garlic breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup Daiya Mozzarella vegan cheese (Megabeth note: I used shredded cheddar.)
• Megabeth note: if your salsa doesn’t pack enough of a punch, then add some cayenne, chili powder and some chipotle peppers in adobo sauce to the mixture.

Pre-heat over to 350 degrees. Line a 9″ baking pan with foil including the sides. Drizzle a light coating of olive oil in bottom of the pan (or use cooking spray). Slice polenta into 1/2 inch slices. Layer on bottom of pan, then flatten (with your knuckles) to create an even crust. Line a 9″ round straight sided baking pan with silver foil.  (Megabeth note: I used a square glass pyrex baking dish.) Drizzle 1 teaspoon of olive oil on the foil and use a paper towel to grease the base and sides of the pan.  Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Slice your polenta in to 1/2 inch rounds and layer at the base of the pan, then flatten it – use your knuckles to create an even crust that will form the base of your pie. Combine tomato, corn, black beans and salsa in bowl. Add spices and combine. Pour mixture on top of polenta. Spread to ensure top is even. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle breadcrumbs on top. Then, sprinkle cheese. Return to oven for an additional 20 minutes.

Minimal chopping? Ingredients that I already had on hand? Throw everything in a blender and that’s it? A unique, spicy hummus? Sign me up. No lie. This took less than 5 minutes to make. And, to quote the writer of this recipe, it’s “Oh so good.” (Honestly, I didn’t think Mr. Food was still around. I remember watching him on the noontime news, in the days before the Food Channel and cable tv, when I was home sick from school…)

By the way, not sure what to do with the leftover adobo chilies that came in the can? Throw in a ziploc bag, flatten it out and place in the freezer. When frozen the chilies are easy to break apart to chop up to throw in your chili.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Diet type: Vegetarian

Number of servings (yield): 4