I know, I know, Whole Foods and budget-friendly aren’t words you hear often, but Whole Foods just hosted a Budget Recipe Challenge and they’ve got some good recipes. I was looking for some good meatless recipes (have been trying to save money by having meatless meals a couple nights a week and was bored with pasta). Their challenge was for healthy tasty and affordable meals.

Here is the winning recipe, submitted by Karina Allrich of Karina’s Kitchen. to get the recipes for the other five finalists go to: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/budgetrecipechallenge/index.php

Sweet potato and black bean enchilladas, approx. $2.59/serving.

Ingredients
Quickie Green Chile Sauce

1. 1 cup light vegetable broth
2. 1 tablespoon arrowroot starch dissolved in a little cold water
3. 1 generous cup chopped roasted green chiles, hot or mild
4. 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
5. 1 teaspoon cumin or chili powder, hot or mild, to taste

Enchilada Filling

1. 1 (15-ounce) can organic black beans, rinsed, drained
2. 4 cloves garlic, minced
3. Fresh lime juice from 1 big juicy lime
4. 2 heaping cups cooked diced sweet potatoes
5. 1/2 cup chopped roasted mild green chiles
6. 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
7. 1/2 teaspoon chili powder mild or spicy
8. Sea salt and black pepper to taste
9. 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Assembly

1. 2 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, as needed
2. 8 white or yellow corn tortillas
3. 4 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Serves 4. $2.59 per serving*
Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Choose a baking dish that would hold 8 rolled enchiladas. Make your Quickie Green Chile Sauce by combining the broth, dissolved arrowroot, green chiles, garlic and spices in a sauce pan and heating over medium-high heat. Bring to a high simmer. Simmer until thickened. Taste test and adjust seasonings. Set aside.

In the meantime, for the Enchilada Filling, using a mixing bowl, combine the drained black beans with minced garlic and lime juice. Toss to coat the beans and set aside. In a separate bowl combine the cooked sweet potatoes with the chopped green chiles; add the spices. Season with sea salt and pepper.

Pour about 1/4 cup of the Quickie Green Chile Sauce into the bottom of the baking dish.

To assemble the enchiladas, grab a skillet and heat a dash of oil. Lightly cook the corn tortillas to soften them, one at a time, as you stuff each one.

Lay the first hot tortilla in the sauced baking dish; wet it with the sauce. Spoon 1/8 of the sweet potato mixture down the center. Top with 1/8 of the black beans. Wrap and roll the tortilla to the end of the baking dish. Repeat for the remaining tortillas. Top with the rest of the sauce. Top with a sprinkle of shredded Monterey Jack cheese.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the enchiladas are piping hot and the sauce is bubbling around the edges.

Photo credit: JOE M500