All cooked out, all blogged out: That’s how I’ve been feeling lately, which explains my unprecedented 6 day absence from blogging–even longer since posting one of my own recipes. Though I’ve been spending lots of time reading cookbooks and finding recipes that give me plenty of inspiration, when it comes time to actually go into the kitchen and cook something, I seize up and become completely incapable of deciding what to cook. Then I wind up throwing together my dirty secret soup or an old favorite like arrabbiata or just give up and call the nearest sushi place for takeout. I call it food blogging burnout but it’s probably some kind of low-level depression caused by too many rainy days and too little sunlight.
Now, I’m telling you all this for a very simple reason: I’m hoping you’ll take it easy on me when you see the following recipe, one that’s guaranteed to offend everyone from lunchbox gourmands to raw foodists. If you loathe food out of cans, object to microwave ovens, or fear cooking in plastic, get away, quick, and don’t look back! Because what you’re about to see might shake you to your very core.
This is what I made for my daughter’s lunch on Friday:
Just about everything in it came out of a can or a jar, and I heated it in plastic in the microwave. All together, it took me just 6 minutes, about the same time it would have taken to make the peanut butter sandwich she begged me not to make. And you know what–she loved it.
While I was at it, I put together two more servings of this ridiculously easy enchilada casserole, one for my husband to take with him to work and one for myself. I figured I needed something stronger than salad to pull me out of my blahs, and a hot lunch just might do the trick. You know, it may have worked: it was a tasty and warm treat on yet another cold, rainy day. And, more importantly, it gave me something to blog about!
Ridiculously Easy Lunchbox Enchilada Casserole
The amount of ingredients you need for this will depend on the size of the container you’re making it in. My daughter’s 12-ounce microwaveable thermos held less than the CorningWare dishes that I used for my and my husband’s lunches, so the ingredients listed below are just approximations based on one serving–you may find you need more or less.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup salsa
- 2-3 corn tortillas, cut into quarters
- 2/3 cup fat-free refried beans or chili beans (or a combination of the 2)
- 1/4 cup frozen corn kernels
- a handful washed baby spinach
- 2-3 jumbo black olives, sliced
Instructions
- Choose a 1-serving dish that can be safely microwaved. (The thermos shown above is designed to be put into the microwave; most are not and should not be used for this. If you cannot find a BPA-free thermos, I recommend using a glass or ceramic dish.) Spread a couple of tablespoons of salsa in the bottom of the dish. Next place a layer of tortillas over the salsa, trying to cover most of the dish’s bottom–a little overlapping is okay. Spread the tortilla with half of the beans and top with the spinach. Add another layer of tortillas. Spread with the rest of the beans, sprinkle with the corn, and spoon a little salsa over the corn. Top with a final layer of tortillas. Spread the tortillas with a good layer of salsa, and put the olives on the top. (Or, hold the olives and add them after cooking.)
- Cover the top loosely with waxed paper (do not use the thermos top), and put the dish into the microwave. Cook on high power until heated all the way through, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Microwaves vary, so check to make sure that the inside is warm by inserting a knife into the middle and checking a sample. If you’re making this in a thermos, it will continue to cook after you’ve sealed the container, so getting it hot in the middle is not so important. If serving right away, heat it until it’s very hot and then let it sit for a few minutes to cool.
Preparation time: 5 minute(s)
Cooking time: 5 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 1
Makes one serving. With 2 tortillas and 2 olives: 306 Calories (kcal); 3g Total Fat; (7% calories from fat); 12g Protein; 62g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 1287mg Sodium; 9g Fiber. (Exact values–particularly of sodium–will change depending on the brands of salsa and refried beans used.)
Ang
September 13, 2009 at 4:32 amMy daughter will devour this! BTW- where did you get the microwaveable thermos/container in the photo?
Cena
August 5, 2011 at 1:09 pmI just saw this thermos in the coffee aisle by the mugs…in my regular grocery store (SaveMart in California)
priscilla
December 30, 2010 at 11:19 amCould I also heat this in the oven if I’m preparing it in a glass casserole dish?
SusanV
December 30, 2010 at 11:31 amYes, that will work fine.
Cena
August 5, 2011 at 1:08 pmOh my, this is good. I whipped this up for lunch and put it in the oven for 30 minutes @350. I am fighting my meat eater kids for this.
KC
August 11, 2011 at 5:50 pmYes! This is my kind of recipe. Easy, microwave-able, delicious. I live alone and after a loooong work day I’m hard-pressed to have any desire to cook a meal for one. Recipes like this will keep me away from taco bell. More please! And thank you!
Erin
August 20, 2011 at 7:42 pmI’m noticing that is an UNGODLY amount of salt for one serving. Is it a typo, or do you have any suggestions to reduce that?
SusanV
August 20, 2011 at 10:06 pmThe sodium’s mostly from the canned beans and salsa, so if you make your own or buy low-sodium versions, you can reduce it greatly.
Con Conz
August 24, 2011 at 4:22 pmSomeone gave me a link to this years ago before went fat-free, but i think some other website had stolen this!
Pixie
February 26, 2012 at 4:26 pmThanks for all the work you do putting things on the site for us to drool over! (I never realized how time-consuming it could be until I started a blog of my own today!) I hope you gain back some of your energy. Sometimes we just need comfort food to do that. 🙂
S Price
February 26, 2012 at 5:05 pmNow, that looks good!!! Definitely will be trying this!
K
April 16, 2012 at 9:35 pmhow would you make this a regular baking dish, maybe kind of large, in the oven
Susan Voisin
April 16, 2012 at 10:24 pmHere’s a link to my full-pan version: https://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/07/mexican-lasagna-or-enchilada-casserole.html
Jeremy
January 6, 2013 at 7:45 amJust a FYI; microwaved water, even pure water, kills plants. http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-dangers-of-microwave-radiation-cannot-be-ignored/24342
Susan Voisin
January 6, 2013 at 10:20 amHi Jeremy, the idea that microwaved water kills plants is a myth. That “experiment” was performed by a student using just two plants. Any number of things could have caused one plant to thrive and the other to fail. True scientific experiments use multiple samples–and the experimenters don’t know which sample is which–so that the data is more reliable. For a discussion of this, as well as a more balanced attempt at this experiment, see http://www.snopes.com/science/microwave/plants.asp
Jeremy
January 6, 2013 at 7:45 amThe recipe itself sounds wonderful though, thank you.
Constance
March 5, 2013 at 5:43 pmSusan,
If I wanted to do this on a larger scale, say for my 5 year old’s pre-k class of 12 kids, and do it in the oven so as to accomodate the size baking dish I’d need, can you tell me a good temperature and lenght of time to bake it? Thanks!
Love your recipes!
Constance
Jill
September 3, 2014 at 2:15 pmI’m eating this for lunch. 🙂 I’ve made your enchilada casserole several times in the past but this is a really quick way to have it when I haven’t made the big one. Thanks! 🙂
Carla Hudson
September 28, 2016 at 3:51 pmIs this like flat tortillas you’d use for wraps or like tortilla chips?
Susan Voisin
September 28, 2016 at 5:36 pmThis recipe uses the small, soft, flat corn tortillas.
Leonard H
October 7, 2016 at 8:06 pmNo comment, other than the recipe I read sounded both edible and simple. I am vegetarian for many years, now wanting to become become. I would like to be on your ‘list’ and receive regular downloads, if you send them.
Thank you.
Victoria
November 12, 2017 at 6:20 pmWhat makes the sodium so high?
Susan Voisin
November 12, 2017 at 8:12 pmAny time you use canned beans and salsa, the sodium will be high. This does seem excessive, so I may recalculate it.