Say hello to my latest obsession. A meatless butternut squash and black bean enchilada casserole. I have been on the enchilada casserole train since last week and don’t like i’ll ever get off! Last Monday, I made this enchilada lasagna for meatless Monday, half positive that the hubby would think i’m trying to convert him into a vegetarian. But luckily he not only loved it, he went as far as to say he didn’t even miss the meat. Imagine my surprise. In fact, I shared it with my neighbor (Hi, Fariha!) and she quickly jumped on it too. And because we freakishly have way too much in common, she assumed her husband would also feel that he needed a little meat to go with it. She had kept some chicken defrosted on back up. And twice this enchilada casserole won! He also said there was no need for it. Boy, you’re good, you cheesy, butternut squashy, black bean filled lasagna. Love the trickery you pull on our men. Butternut squash and black bean enchilada casserole is where it’s at, yo. Last Monday, is when it allllll started. I wanted to make something hearty and healthy but full of good-for-you ingredients. I wanted comfort food. But not the kind of comfort food where you have to prepare in advance with ‘buffet pants’ or anything. Skinny comfort food. And so this enchilada lasagna was born. But didn’t we just have black bean enchiladas? Why yes, yes we did. And weren’t those vegetarian too? Yes, yes they were. Let me be honest with you guys, I had no intentions of sharing this recipe with you at all. None what so ever. This was suppose to be just dinner. In fact, we were suppose to be making homemade condensed cream of mushroom soup today. Clearly, I got derailed the minute I took that first cheesy, saucy, butternut squash filled bite. I posted a picture of it on instagram and instantly I had requests for the recipe. Condensed cream of mushroom soup can be made any day, but this enchilada casserole is gold! I spent one whole second making the executive decision that I had to get this up here and quick. This enchilada casserole comes together pretty quickly you guys. And it’s totally weeknight friendly. It takes about 50 minutes from start to finish and tastes like you spent all day cooking it. Aren’t those the best kind of meals? We’re talking sautéing a little onion, garlic and jalapeños, then adding in some salsa and butternut squash, and cooking it unattended for 25 minutes. Pop in a can of black beans and stir. We layer a bit of sauce then a few strips of tortillas then the butternut squash mixture. Everything into a baking dish just like you would for a lasagna and bake for 10 minutes. BAM. You’ve got meals for days! Now I kind of wish I had tried to make this look like a prettier piece for you. But the reality of the situation was that this perfectly cheesy enchilada casserole was giving me the googly eyes and I just quickly snapped a few picture before stuffing my mouth full of some. Not thinking twice that enchilada lasagna may not be the cameras best friend. But to be real, when cheese and enchilada sauce and butternut squash and cheese and more cheese is staring you in the face and smelling so perfectly seasoned, it gets kind of hard to think. All you want to do it bite. Ooof, I could go for a little more enchilada casserole right now. Mind you, it’s breakfast time.
