Weekends are for baking, Mondays are for veggies. I had to remind myself of this constantly tonight to resist the urge to reclaim the pie I left with the boys on Saturday.
I distracted myself by heading to the market and loading up on lots of produce to vegify an already vegiful dish.
FoodFash Mexican Polenta Casserole (yields 8 servings)
Adapted from this Eating Well recipe
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 poblano peppers, chopped
1 zucchini, shredded
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups of frozen chopped spinach
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound ready made polenta
1-1/2 cups enchilada sauce
top with Greek yogurt, sour cream, or non-dairy sour cream
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and poblano peppers and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add shredded zucchini, tomatoes, beans, spinach, cumin, and salt. Let cook over medium heat for another 5 minutes. Slice polenta into 1/4″ thick slices (you’ll need about 24 slices). Layer the bottom of 8×11-ish pan with 1/3 of the polenta slices. Top with half of the veggies and 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce and repeat. Top the casserole with the last 1/2 of the polenta slices and 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce. Bake for 30 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.
I’d be lying if I said it didn’t take me a second to adjust my palate to eating a mostly dairy free meal again. But by the time I was a few bites in (and I forgot about this weekend’s peanut butter pie and cheesy Mexican feasts) I began to appreciate my meal. It reminded me of a hearty, polenta topped, stew – a perfect dinner for a thunderstormy eve!