Disappearing Turkey and Black Bean Enchiladas

A few weeks ago, my dear friend Christina offered to take over the blog for a guest post during my maternity break. She is gearing up to marry the love-of-her-life in just over a month and was really eager to try out a recipe post of her own! As a little bit of background, Christina and I have been friends since we began our freshman year at the University of Notre Dame over 10 years ago. We have been through a lot of highs and lows together and have shared many laughs and tears over the years. She stood up for me as a bridesmaid on my wedding day and has always played a supportive role as I started my family. You can learn a bit more about her on her little corner of the internet Waltzing in Beauty.

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Hello, Monica's devoted readers! While Monica is away on a much deserved maternity break, I am taking over A Beautiful Mess for the day.

Many of my memories with Monica involve food in some sort of way. What can I say; we enjoy the good things in life, especially delicious food! I was thrilled when she told me that she was beginning to blog and share her love of food and family and I have been drooling over her recipes ever since.

I did not have to think long or hard about what recipe I wanted to share in Monica's absence. One of my favorite things to do is give gifts and often that gift is to deliver a meal to a family during a time of sorrow or joy. If we were so blessed as to live in the same city, I would for sure be showing up at Monica's doorstep with a cooking reprieve so the family could focus on cooing at new little Lucy. These Disappearing Enchiladas would be exactly what I would bring along.

I would highly recommend making a recipe for you and your family or preparing this on a full stomach. Once this starts cooking, the smell will make it extremely difficult to give it away or to avoid inviting yourself over for dinner.

Disappearing Turkey and Black Bean Enchiladas

Adapted from Skinny Taste 

1 lb extra lean ground turkey

15 can black beans, drained

4 oz can chopped green chiles

14 oz can diced tomatoes (I use Red Gold with chipotle)

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped cilantro (I prefer fresh, but dried works just as well)

2 tsp cumin

1/8 tsp chili powder

8 flour tortillas (the recipe calls for 6 inch, but I have used larger ones)

1 cup (reduced fat or whole fat, whatever you desire) shredded Mexican cheese

Coconut Oil

For the Enchilada Sauce:

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp green chiles

1 cup tomato sauce

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp ground cumin

3/4 cup fat free broth (I use Imagine Vegetarian no-chicken broth low sodium)

In a medium saucepan, sauté garlic in a spoonful of coconut oil. Add the chiles, chili powder, cumin, broth, and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 5-10 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.

In a large skillet (extra-large is nice because it will get crowded in there) brown the turkey. Add the onion, garlic, black beans, cilantro, green chiles, diced tomatoes, cumin and chili powder. Mix well and simmer on low, covered for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer an additional 5-10 minutes to reduce the liquid.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 13 by 9-inch disposable tin baking dish or glass baking dish with coconut oil.

Scoop about 1/2 cup of the turkey mixture into each tortilla. You will want to place the mixture closer to one end of the tortilla. This will help you roll the enchilada more tightly which will help them fit in the baking dish snuggly and serve easily. 

Do not worry if you have some meat fall out on the edges, you can stuff it back in or reserve for another enchilada. The remaining mixture is great for using in a taco salad or eating with chips and salsa another day. Place the enchiladas on the baking dish with the seam side down. After all the enchiladas are snuggling in the dish, top with enchilada sauce and cheese.  Cover with aluminum foil. 

If you are delivering the dish to a family, instruct them to bake the enchiladas covered on the middle rack for 35-45 minutes. The baking time will differ depending on how cold the dish is prior to baking. If making at home while the meat is still hot you may only have to bake for 25-30 minutes. 

For extra brownie points bring along some sour cream, cilantro or scallions. 

I call these disappearing enchiladas, because they are so yummy that you will not have enough time to take a picture of the final result to share before they are all gone. Or such was the case in my house. 

Enjoy!