Bite Out of Life – Tributing Mexican restaurants but staying low carb at home – Zucchini Enchilada Skillet

Zucchini Enchilada Skillet
By Kaitlynn Garrett

Do you know what I miss about life pre-pandemic? Going to restaurants. I’ve been to a couple (and followed proper Covid precautions), don’t get me wrong, but it’s been months and when I did go, I felt a lot of anxiety, so I try to only do takeout if I do decide to get food from restaurants. Some of my favorite food is usually Mexican, so I’ve definitely been cooking a lot of that sort of food while I’m home. Enchiladas are one meal that I absolutely love getting because they can be so comforting.

This week, I decided to try to make more of a deconstructed enchilada dish and make it a little lower on the carbs. Zucchinis are a great choice for this because they are a pretty versatile vegetable that can add some greens to your life. Essentially, this dish involves throwing a lot of my favorite things into a pan and calling it dinner, which is honestly the best way to cook a skillet meal. I’ve done similar recipes where I hollow out the zucchinis and make them into taco boats, but today I wanted something that wouldn’t take much time or precision at all, so throwing it all together in a pan seemed like a good idea to me.

Another reason I like this is because part of this recipe can also be doubled as a bean salad and is a great side dish to any Tex-Mex meal, or, if you’re like me, it’s just great to eat it with tortilla chips! Just mix the beans, corn, peppers, onion, and cilantro with a 2:1 ratio of white vinegar to olive oil, 1 Tbs. of sugar, 1 tsp. cumin, and salt and pepper to taste. But, enough about that, let’s get cooking on the enchilada recipe!

Ingredients

• 1 LB Ground Turkey
• 2 – 3 Zucchinis (Depending on size)
• 1 Packet Low Sodium Mild Taco Seasoning
• 1 10 oz. Can Red Enchilada Sauce
• 16 oz. Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 1 15 oz. Can Kidney Beans
• 1 15 oz. Can Black Beans
• 1 15 oz. Can Corn
• 1 Red Bell Pepper
• ½ Red Onion
• 1 Jalapeno
• ¼ Cup Cilantro
• Salt and Pepper to Taste

Recipe

1. Begin cooking your meat on the stove in a skillet and add seasoning packet.
2. Chop your zucchini into bite-sized pieces.
3. Chop the onion, bell pepper, jalapeno, and cilantro.
4. Add zucchini to the skillet.
5. Add beans, corn, onion, and peppers to the skillet.
6. Mix in the enchilada sauce and cilantro.
7. Serve in a bowl and top with shredded cheese and plain Greek yogurt (great sub for sour cream).

This meal is super easy, fast to make, and is a great healthy alternative to having Mexican food at home!