Stepping It Up

Today is the big birthday! Happy 1st, my beautiful girl!

The original plan was to have us all eat as a family, but certain "big" girls go to bed kinda early, so instead we all enjoyed a birthday cupcake. The babe in particular loved smashing it around and shoveling it in. The dog in particular loved cleaning up the mess.

What I particularly loved was the family time - and the fact that all three of us (me, kid, hubs) witnessed our gal's VERY FIRST STEPS! She took a grand total of four strides before succumbing to the floor. Woot!

What a memorable day! What is probably not going to be as memorable is tonight's dinner. Not because there were any issues with it - it's just another random meal.

Black Bean and Rice Enchiladas
Source: Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet, 2010

Ingredients:

• 1 green pepper, chopped (used red)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (used no-salt added)
• 1 can diced tomatoes and green chiles (used plain, no-salt added)
• 1/4 c. picante sauce
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 2 c. cooked brown rice
• 1 c. salsa (used Newman's Own - low sodium)
• 8 flour tortillas
• 1 c. shredded, reduced fat cheddar
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (skip)

Directions:

• In a large nonstick skillet, saute the pepper, onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add the beans, tomatoes, picante, chili powder, cumin and red pepper flakes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered until heated through and mixture thickens. Add rice, cook 5 mins longer or until heated through.
• Spoon a rounded 1/2 c. of rice mixture down the center of each tortilla. Fold sides over filling and roll up. Place in 13x9 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Cover with salsa, cover and bake at 350 degrees for 25 mins.
• Uncover, sprinkle with cheese and cilantro. Cook 2-3 mins more or until cheese is melted.

Yield: 8 servings (1 enchilada)
Per serving: 271 cals; 6g fat (2g sat); 10mg chol; 638mg sodium; 43g carbs; 5g fiber; 12g protein.

Reviews:
The kid thought it was just so-so. He really enjoyed the accompanying no-salt added blue tortilla chips, but the enchilada wasn't a home run for him. The grown-ups (at least people keep calling us that) did like the meal. The hubs even offered up a "It wasn't that bad for a meatless dish." Wow - what enthusiasm!

Ranking:
Three Forks

Only one cup of cheese here - promise!