Black Bean And Vegetable Bake

Letter of recommendation: Make a deep skillet of your favorite taco or burrito filling, cover it with cheese and broil the whole lot of it in the oven, then scoop it up with tortilla chips. I hope you’re not asking “Why?” Because I know you heard the part about the lightly charred and gooey cheese on top? Did I mention that you get to eat chips for dinner, which, to be fair, you can do anytime you want (adulthood!) but this actually involves a lot of vegetables (adulthood excellence!).

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, diced small
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 fresh jalapeño or habanero pepper, minced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 to 3 teaspoons ground chili powder (to taste)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, or 2 to 3 cans Rotel
• Kosher salt
• 2 (15.5-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup corn kernels, fresh (from 1 ear), canned and drained, or frozen (no need to thaw)
• 4 ounces baby spinach, roughly chopped
• 1 lime, halved
• 3/4 cup crumbled cotija cheese
• 6 to 8 ounces (1 1/2 to 2 cups) coarsely grated monterey jack or pepper jack cheese
• Tortilla chips