Easy Vegan Mexican Casserole & Green Chili Hummus

On Sunday we had a busy day filled with outdoor chores but I needed a dish to take to a friends for a Mexican themed dinner that night. A quick check with chef Google and I came up with this slow cooker recipe for rice and beans that had great reviews. This would make a perfect Super Bowl Party dish! All of the ingredients were pantry items so I was good to go! I did up the ground cumin because I love that flavor and I added a can of diced green chilies.

Let me share with you that the texture of this dish surprised me. It was pretty soft and I was expecting it to be more fluffy. Having never cooked rice in the slow cooker I didn’t realize it would be really soft. I tasted it after the photo session and I though it was kind of flat so I added 1/2 cup of freshly chopped cilantro, juice of 1 lime and half a jar (1 cup) of Frontera Red Tomato Salsa.

You know you have a hit when it’s time to clean up after the meal and the other guests ask if they can have some of the leftovers to take home with them! We were happy to share as I had doubled the recipe and it made a ton of food! This would be great Super Bowl party food. Serve it over a bed of lettuce and fajita style veggies for a Mexican bowl and top it off with the Green Chili Hummus recipe below. Serve it with corn tortilla chips for nachos with avocado or on little corn tortillas for tacos. Use as a filling for enchiladas with green sauce or red sauce. Lots of possibilities! I think you’ll like it. The recipe below is doubled so feel free to cut it in half you are feeding a small group.

Easy Vegan Mexican Casserole / Slow Cooker

• 2 cups uncooked brown rice I used long grain but next time I will try short grain
• 6 cups water
• 16 ounces tomato sauce low sodium
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 teaspoon salt – optional
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 cans beans, drained and rinsed – I used 1 can black beans, 1 can pinto beans
• 1 can  diced green chiles
• 2 cups frozen corn
• add ins:
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 jar of your favorite salsa or homemade salsa

Place all ingredients from brown rice through the corn into the slow cooker. Give it a good stir to mix together. Put lid on and set it on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.

Before serving stir in the fresh lime juice and fresh cilantro.

Tami’s Notes: Could add more beans, fresh onion, diced green peppers and a jalapeno pepper.

I am going to say this makes 12 servings but it could be even more! We fed 9 people using it as a side dish and had enough leftovers for everyone to take a container home. How many servings will depend on if you serve it as a main dish or side dish. I didn’t measure how many cups this made but it filled my 6 qt slow cooker about 3/4 full.

Serves: 12

Nutritional Information

Per Serving: 197 Calories, 1.1 g Fat, 0 mg Cholesterol, 67.6 mg Sodium, 41.7 g Carbohydrates, 7.4 g Fiber, 7.1 g Protein

Recipe adapted from My Plant Based Family.

While browsing the recipes on my blog to find something to go with the above recipe I stumbled across an old favorite that had gotten placed on the back burner and forgotten. I need to remember that some of my old favorite recipes do fit into a plant based diet. Green Chile Hummus is one of those recipes! It’s super easy using  simple pantry ingredients and can be whipped in a few minutes – no chopping required. Love it! It marries perfectly with any Mexican/Southwest themed meal.

I found the original recipe for Green Chili Hummus here on Food.com and tweaked it to my own taste. The idea of a Mexican/Southwest hummus was so intriguing and you know what? It works – this is amazing with tortilla chips, on pita bread, whole grain crackers or as a topping on a taco salad. Use it as a spread for a wrap filled with veggies and salsa. The flavor of the green chilies, garlic, red pepper, lime juice and cumin with the garbanzo beans is fantastic. To really keep the calories in check serve it with some veggie dippers like baby carrots, celery, jicama and red pepper strips. Yummy!

Green Chili Hummus

• 1 can Garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 -4 ounce can Fire Roasted Diced Green Chiles – mild
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• juice of 1 lime
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Put all ingredients in a food processor or blender (I used my Blendtec on the dip setting) process until smooth and creamy. Chill or serve at room temperature.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

Serving Size: 3 tablespoons

Estimated Nutritional Information

Per Serving: Calories 88, Carbs 10g, Fat 4g, Protein 3g, Fiber 2g, Chol o, WWPP 2

Recipe adapted from Green Chili Hummus Dip on Food.com

Nutmeg Notes

We had a busy but productive weekend. On Saturday we visited the Home & Garden Show – that’s always interesting. We got some ideas for sprucing up the back yard which means there will be projects to do come Spring!

We also managed to spend time with both of the adult children and our son in law so that was a bonus. With everyone’s busy schedules getting us all together at the same time is a rare event but one we always look forward to.

New hiking shoes! Believe it or not the old ones on the right started out looking exactly like the new ones on the left. That’s a lot of hiking trail dust and dirt – they served me well. What I love about the Keen hiking shoes is that there is no break in period – just put them on and go! They have a wide toe box which accommodates my post surgery foot – yes it’s been a year but it still swells. I’m looking forward to exploring some new trails soon.

It’s Tuesday and I need to run over to the Farmer’s Market and see whats new this week from the garden!

Have a splendid day!

Tami

Thanks for following me on this journey into the world of eating a plant based diet. We can learn from each other along the way. Feel free to ask a question or leave me a comment – I love hearing from you.

What’s your favorite plant based Mexican recipe?

Feel free to leave a recipe link or email me a recipe to share on the blog.