Spicy Pumpkin Black Bean Enchiladas

Today I made Spicy Pumpkin Black Bean Enchiladas. I didn't really try to make this one paleo-friendly. But I figure that beans every now and then aren't going to kill me. Well...then again being around Wayne with black beans...Whoo! Might need a gas mask. One time I made a black bean burger and our stomachs were dying with gas. It was pretty bad but also really funny. :)

Ugh, I'm pretty much counting down the days until we look at apartments. I won't know what we can keep or what we need to get rid of until we see the space of the apartments to get a feel of it. I think we'll know which apartment is the right one once we walk in. Most of the places we are looking at are on the pricier end. But they have more amenities. Like a gym in the lobby, in-unit washer and dryer, dishwasher, dog-friendly and roof top communal areas. It makes sense why we are paying a little bit more because we'll have more things in the actual apartment.

Aside from having a nice gym (with a lot of good equipment like kettle-bells, boxes, medicine balls or bosu balls), I know we also want to scope out a good taco joint. Why do I want a good taco place in Seattle? If I have a crappy day at work or want to catch up with someone, I want a good joint where I can go and get a good margarita! It will also depend on what type of utilities are paid for. In Chicago it's nice we don't have to worry about water bills (at least in the city.) While I think out west, they have you pay water, electricity, trash removal and heat. But we'll see.
Anyways, let's get started!

 First, I chopped up two onions and sauteed them in a little bit of olive oil over a big saucepan. 

Wayne helped me by chopping up the jalapeno. We then tossed that in the onion mixture.

I then chopped up four garlic cloves and tossed them in. 

Then I added the spices to the mixture. 

Next, I added a can of pumpkin puree and increased the heat until the sauce mixture was boiling.

A big goop mess.

Then I got the Organic Mexican Cheese out and Trader Joe's Chia seed tortillas. 

I rinsed only two cans of black beans even though the recipe called for three cans.

Next we began making our enchiladas! I put 1 cup of the pumpkin mix in the bottom of my casserole pan. Then added 1/4 cup of the pumpkin mixture on the tortilla, added 2/4 cup of black beans and then a bunch of cheese on top. Wayne makes a good hand model...lols!

Then I squished them together tightly and dolloped more pumpkin sauce on top.

I baked the dish for 30 minutes. It was a bubbly yummy mess. The enchiladas kind of fell apart when trying to put them on a plate. But they smelled really good!

Next, I added some Greek Yogurt on top of the enchiladas. In the recipe it called for sour cream, but I wanted to go for a more healthier route. 

Then I chopped up an avocado to also put on top. 

Ta-da! Finished product with a Strawberry, Cranberry Banana smoothie. I was kind of bummed though. It wasn't that spicy. I think next time I should add the Serrano pepper or double the jalapenos to the recipe. That way it'll give it more of a kick. The nice thing about this was the enchilada's weren't that pumpkin-y. The pumpkin just added the texture and slight flavor to the enchilada. However, I think the avocado and Greek yogurt added more dimension to the dish. The tartness of the yogurt brought the whole dish together. While the avocado added a touch of creaminess to it. In short, not bad! 

Spicy Pumpkin-Black Bean Enchiladas Recipe here. 

Another good one from Foodess!

Emma