Black Bean and Cream Cheese Enchiladas

A nice warming meal for the cold months ahead! I don't see why you couldn't substitute canned black beans for the dried ones and just simmer with the spices for 30 minutes to make for a quicker meal. You can adjust the spiciness by leaving out the jalapeno pepper, but seeded and deveined, the pepper is actually not very spicy at all. Preparation time includes only the baking time and the time to cook the beans and sauce.

• Ready In: 2 hrs 30 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• For the beans

• 9  ounces  dried black turtle beans
• 2  medium onions (diced)
• 2  garlic cloves (minced)
• 1  teaspoon oregano (ground)
• 1  teaspoon cumin (ground)
• 2  bay leaves
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
•  black pepper (to taste)

• For the sauce

• 1⁄4 cup olive oil
• 2  medium onions (diced)
• 2  garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 (28 ounce) can plum tomatoes (finely chopped with their liquid)
• 1⁄4 cup tomato paste
• 1⁄3 cup water
• 1 (4 ounce) can mild green chilies (diced)
• 1  large  jalapeno pepper (seeded and minced fine)

• To assemble

• 8  whole wheat tortillas (we used sprouted wheat)
• 8  ounces cream cheese (cut into small chunks)
• 1 1⁄2 cups monterey jack cheese (grated)

Directions

1. Rinse and pick through beans, soak overnight.
2. Drain beans and add enough clean water to cover the beans. Add onions, garlic, oregano, cumin, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Cover and bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until beans are tender. Remember to stir occasionally adding liquid only if absolutely necessary. The beans should be a bit saucy and tender, but should retain their shape.
3. Discard the bay leaves.
4. Mash about 1/4 of the beans against the sides of the pot and stir to blend them inches Set aside to cool while making the sauce.
5. Heat olive oil and saute the onions and garlic until the onions are translucent and the garlic is fragrant. Add the tomatoes with the juice, paste, water, chilies, and jalapeno. Stir to blend. Cook until the sauce has thickened.
6. Preheat oven to 350°F Spoon a thin layer of sauce into the bottom of a large baking dish. Spoon a line of beans down the center of each tortilla and add some of the cream cheese chunks on top of the beans. Roll the tortilla and place it seam side down in the baking dish.
7. Spread the remaining sauce over the tortillas, sprinkle on the grated cheese. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until bubbly.
8. If desired, garnish with sliced green onions. Serve with a green salad.
9. Beans and sauce can be prepared the evening before and refrigerated. The tortillas may be assembled up to 2 hours before baking and refrigerated, add about 5-10 minutes to the baking time as needed.