Awesome Enchilada Casserole

I simply adore Mexican food! The rich, sassy, spicy flavors captivate me and keep me coming back for more. Can it be just as tasty if it's totally vegan? I submit to you that yes, it can. Here's a totally healthy, fiber-filled, protein-packed, tongue-tickling meal! Real cheese gets replaced with heart-healthy nut spread, and meat takes a back seat to crumbled tofu. Don't let the fact that there's a couple of steps trip you up. In the end, it will be totally worth it.

Awesome Enchilada Casserole

Ingredients:
For the nut cheese: (start the day before!)
2 cups cashews
1 cup filtered water
1/3 cup red bell pepper, diced
6 green onions, diced
2 Tablespoons cilantro, minced
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
Sea salt (to taste)
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

For the Chili sauce:
1/2 pound soft, silken tofu
1/2 cup safflower oil or grapeseed oil
1/4 cup Shoyu (this is similar to soy sauce, and can be found in health food stores)
1/4 cup poblano chilis, soaked and seeded
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, soaked in 1 3/4 cup hot water, until soft
1 3/4 cup sundried tomato soak water
1 1/2 Tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice
2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced
1 teaspoon Jalapeno pepper, roasted, seeded and minced
Salt and pepper to taste

For the Casserole:
12 corn tortillas
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 medium green pepper, diced
2 Tablespoons garlic, minced
1 teaspoon jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 package tofu, extra firm
1 1/2 cup of your favorite salsa (I love Salsa Lisa)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
3 tablespoons tahini (a sesame seed paste, found over by the olives usually)
2 Tablespoons cilantro, minced
2 1/2 Tablespoons shoyu
1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast (this can be found at the health food store)
1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
and of course, the nut cheese and chili sauce

Directions:
For the nut cheese:
Blend the cashews with the water until VERY smooth. Place in a glass container with a bit of room in it, cover tightly with plastic wrap and secure that with a rubber band. Cover with a towel and keep in a warm place overnight.

The next day, pour the mixture into a large bowl and combine with the other ingredients. Not so hard, eh?

For the chili sauce:
Put all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Easy!

And now, the casserole:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place oil in a large saute pan on medium high. Add onion, pepper, garlic and jalapeno and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Drain tofu of water, squeeze out excess water in paper towels, and crumble it into the pan. Cook for 5 more minutes, stirring frequently. Put all of this in a large mixing bowl with the remaining filling ingredients and mix well.

Lightly oil a 9X13 casserole dish. Layer with 1/3 of the tortillas, top liberally with chili sauce and 1/2 of tofu mixture. Top that with 1/2 of the nut cheese. Repeat with 1/3 more of the tortillas, another liberal spread of chili sauce, the rest of the tofu mixture and the rest of the nut cheese. Place your last tortillas on top of that, and dump the rest of the chili sauce on top. (Be careful not to let it overflow the dish, like I did the first time!) Bake for 35 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, if you can bear it.

Make some fresh guacamole and serve with crisp corn chips, if you like. Here's a fast recipe for great guac: Smoky Guacamole