Mini Mexican Casseroles

Boy do I have an awesome recipe to share with you guys today! But first, two things:

1. I lost 1.4 at weigh in this week, putting me at 166.4 (!). That means I’m only 6.4 pounds from my goal weight and have lost 15.2 pounds since recommitting in December!!!!!
2. I recently realized that today is my two year anniversary with Weight Watchers! I joined March 3, 2009 and my life has changed so dramatically over these past two years – I couldn’t be happier.

And now, onto the important stuff. A new recipe.

Corn tortillas are a staple in my kitchen. I ALWAYS have them on hand because they are super versatile, so cheap (just 79 cents at Whole Foods for organic ones!), delicious, and very points+ friendly (1 pt+ a piece). When I saw a corn tortilla casserole on Caitlin’s blog, I knew I had to have it. She got the idea from Tina, and the idea has been circulating around the blog world ever since.

You all know by now that it’s nearly impossible for me to follow recipes, but I wanted to use the basic premise. It’s basically like a Mexican lasagna, with tortillas in place of noodles, and the best part is this dish is super easy, economical, and absolutely incredible. I had been dreaming up what exactly I would put in my version of the dish, and last night was finally the night. It did NOT disappoint.

Mini Mexican Casseroles

Entire recipe is 2 servings, 7 pts+ per serving. Printable version here.

Here’s what you need for success:

• 1 tsp canola oil
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup mushrooms, chopped
• 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels (or fresh)
• 1 cup black beans (you can use canned, I used these)
• 1 cup salsa
• 4 corn tortillas, quartered
• 1/2 cup light shredded mozzarella

First, preheat your oven to 400º.

Next, heat up the canola oil in a pan over medium heat. Once that is hot, add in the bell pepper.

Let the bell pepper cook for 3-4 minutes until it’s starting to get soft, and then add in the corn and mushrooms.

Sautee for another 3-4 minutes until everything is cooked and heated through, and then add in the black beans.

Since the beans are already cooked, you just want to get everything hot and then your filling is complete.

Next up is the fun part – assembling the casseroles. I have this set of pyrex glassware and I always use the 2 cup casserole dishes to make mini casseroles – one for dinner, and one for lunch the next day. I highly recommend them because you can cook in them and they come with lids so they’re perfect for storage too. If you don’t have individual casserole dishes, you can use a larger casserole dish and divide it up how you want, but getting to eat the entire casserole gets me going so I prefer these.

Start by splitting about half of the filling mixture between the two casseroles.

Next add in 1/4 cup salsa to each dish and top with 4 pieces of the tortilla each (one tortilla in each dish).

Now divide the rest of the filling, the rest of the tortillas, and the rest of the salsa evenly between the dishes.

Finally, top each with half of the cheese.

Check out all those layers!

Put it on your preheated oven for 20 minutes, then turn up the heat to 450 and let cook for 5-10 minutes more until the cheese is browned and bubbly. Garnish with scallions if you like.

I ate it with a serving of chips and extra salsa on the side for 10 pts+ total.

Heavenly! It was seriously SO good. The corn tortillas soak up the salsa and take on this incredible texture. The casserole was a pretty large serving too, and it was really filling and hearty. I also loved how much flavor the salsa gave to the whole dish. Notice there was no salt, pepper, or any spices, but it was bursting with flavor. I will absolutely be making this again, and I suggest you do the same!

What’s your favorite kind of casserole? Feel free to share links in the comments section!