Enchilada Soup

While deciding on a Cinco de Mayo meal, I remembered that my aunt had emailed a recipe to me a long time ago that she liked.  I was a little nervous since we're not huge fans of spicy food, but this soup was great!

Ingredients:
3 c Chicken Broth
1 1/4 c Celery
1/2 c Onion
3 c Enchilada Sauce
15 oz Pure Pumpkin
10 oz Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
1 1/2 c Frozen Corn

Optional Toppings:
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Crushed Baked Tortilla Chips
Sour Cream

Chop the onion and celery.  I did this the night before so that putting together the crock pot in the morning was super easy.

Combine all of the ingredients in the slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.

I topped my soup with sour cream and tortilla chips.  It was delicious and healthy at the same time!  I would definitely make it again.  It's low in calories so you have room for a margarita!  :p

Nutritional Information: (Serves 8)
123 Calories
1g Fat
3g Fiber
9g Protein
18g Carbs
3 WW PointsPlus

Bean Enchilada Casserole

I was getting a little bored with the soup and chicken recipes so I decided to try to create one of my favorite Mexican dishes. However, this one is a lot healthier than the one I order at the restaurant...

Ingredients:
1 Green Pepper
1 Onion
1 Can Black Beans
1 Can Pinto Beans
1 Can Diced Tomatoes
1/4 Cup Water
1 Teaspoon Cumin
1/2 Teaspoon Chili Powder (add more if you dare..)
1/4 Teaspoon Pepper
2 Cups Shredded Taco Cheese
6 Whole Wheat Tortilla's

Begin by chopping up the pepper and onion and sauteing them. I sprayed the frying pan with Olive Oil Pam to cut down on some of the fat.

While these are cooking empty your beans into a strainer so that they can be rinsed and drained. (My strainer got into a little fight with the oven... The oven won!)

After the vegetables are cooked you can add the beans, water, tomatoes and spices to them. Bring them to a boil and then let them simmer for 10 minutes.

Now is the fun layering part! :)  Start by spooning about one cup of the bean mixture onto the bottom of the slow cooker.

Place a tortilla on the mixture and then spread 1/3 cup cheese on top of it.

Add one cup of the bean mixture on top of the cheese.

Continue this pattern until everything is gone.  Try to end it with just a torilla and cheese on top.  I messed up and had the mixture on the top layer so it wasn't so pretty...

I baked this for 7.5 hours on low and let it sit on warm for 4.5 more hours.  I don't know what I was thinking when I set the programmer.  I should have only cooked it for 5 hours.  It was over done when I got home...

It was so good though!! It really broke me out of my cooking rut!! I may need to revisit this one for Cinco de Mayo! :)

I just had some leftovers for lunch and it was so filling and great even reheated! :)

Nutritional Info:
WW Points +: 12
Calories: 403
Fat: 20
Carbs: 30
Protein: 26
**Using a reduced fat cheese will probably help make it healthier in the future.