Black Bean and Corn Enchiladas

UPDATE: Revised recipe here.

I'm not a chef. I'm going to get that out of the way right now. Most of the food I prepare is really easy and isn't very complicated with regard to the amount of ingredients and so forth. And I frequently make food that seems like it's more complicated that it really needs to be. Enchiladas are a good example.

I only recently decided I like enchiladas because I stumbled upon Amy's Kitchen Black Bean Vegetable Enchiladas at the grocery. I was feeling adventurous, so I tried them out. Like everything by Amy's I've tried, they were excellent, though I couldn't help but think to myself, "Hey, I can make these!" So, I did. And here's my very simple recipe:

• Corn tortillas--for two people, I usually use five when served with a side dish and I use corn because it's a whole grain and really enhances the taste
• Organic black beans (about 1/3-1/2 can for two people)
• frozen corn, heated (about half a cup)
• salsa
• mild (soft) cheddar cheese and/or monterey jack cheese
• one 8 oz. can of organic tomato sauce (I don't bother to use enchilada sauce)

Here's the thing about corn tortillas--they're often difficult to work with unless they're really fresh because they'll fall apart rather than roll up. I just usually break the two sides over and preten that they're rolled to avoid a mental breakdown. Anyhoo, put a corn tortilla in a glass baking dish (to the size/number of enchiladas you make--I use a dish smaller than 9 x 13--it's more like 6 x 10). Make sure it's all the way to one side and put a couple of thin (1/8-1/4 inch) slices of cheese in the middle, longways. Then spoon in the beans, corn and a little salsa (I like to mix all three ingredients in a bowl first) and add a couple of more slices of cheese. Fold over the sides and lay a slice of cheese on top. Repeat until you've filled the dish (mine holds five) and then pour the tomato sauce over the top. Stick them in the oven at 350 degrees and heat until the cheese is melted. I also like to leave some of the tortillas uncovered by the sauce so they get crunchy in the oven. Garnish with some fresh cilantro at the table if you prefer (I do).

And that's it. Simple, but good (at least that's what my hungry friends have told me). We had these for dinner Saturday night with some spanish rice (still working on that) and sangria.

Ah yes, sangria. Another delight that tends to get far more complicated than it should. But here's my simple recipe that never fails (unless I make the mistake of switching out ingredients, as I did recently):
•1 box cheap red wine (box = 3 bottles). Cheapest you can find. I've used a cabernet, a merlot, or whatever is cheap. I prefer a burgundy or cab as the base.
•1 2L bottle of ginger ale
•1 big can of fruit cocktail (I think it's 26 or 32 ounces and I use the "lite" version with extra cherries)

Mix all three in a big punch bowl. If you want to be fancy, float some very thinly sliced oranges or lemons on top. To make a smaller amount, use just one bottle of wine, a can of ginger ale and about 8 ounces of fruit cocktail.

See how simple that is? It's so simple that I know it doesn't sound great, but I promise you it will be better than any sangria you've ever had. Promise.

And it must be that time of year, because two other bloggers have posted enchilada recipes as well. Check out The Vivacious Vegan's version and Eden in the Kitchen.