Sweet Potato Black Bean Burritos... yet another. :)

I changed up the original recipe a bit.  It makes a lot.  Ben and I ate this for 5 days straight, but it was so good we didn't mind.  :)  

INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2-3/4 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cans black beans, drained 
a little water to thin out the beans if needed
1 tablespoon chili powder (or to taste) 
2 teaspoons ground cumin (or to taste)

4 teaspoons prepared mustard (dijon was good)
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 large sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed (I chopped and boiled mine)
corn tortillas (because I served them as tacos with melted cheese, but you could use flour tortillas and make burritos if you like)
shredded cheddar cheese
taco condiments: cilantro, guac, avocado, salsa, sour cream, tomatoes

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oil in a medium skillet, and saute onion and garlic until soft.  Stir in the chili powder, cumin and cook a minute or two.  Stir in beans, and mash (leaving some whole). Gradually stir in water, if needed, and heat until warm. Remove from heat and add mustard, cayenne pepper and soy sauce.
   
2. Mix the bean mixture with the mashed sweet potato (the original recipe leaves them separate, but this worked great).  
   
3. Melt cheese on tortillas on stove, fill with mixture and serve with your favorite toppings.
   
   

Hidden Veggie Mac and Cheese

This is for you mac and cheese peeps, both with children and without. We could all use a few more vegetables in our diet, right? And what better way than smothered in cheese and pasta? With that, I give you a recipe that I have modified from Jessica Seinfeld's Creamy Macaroni and Cheese recipe. (You should know... I rarely measure anything these days unless I'm baking. So the amount below should be close to what I used, but really I just sort of threw general quantities in the pan, and certainly didn't measure the seasonings.)

Ingredients:

2ish cups macaroni (or if you’re me... whole wheat or barilla PLUS penne or something like that)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup nonfat skim milk
1+ cups butternut squash, sweet potato, or cauliflower puree (I used 1/2 cup-ish each of sweet potato and cauliflower)
2 cups shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese (about 8 ounces) (USE MILD OR MEDIUM CHEDDAR, NOT SHARP)
4 ounces (almost 1/4 cup) reduced-fat or nonfat cream cheese
sauteed mushrooms with garlic salt and pepper (one 8 oz container sliced)... (you could certainly leave these out if your young ones, etc. won't enjoy them, personally I LOVED this addition, either way, a little garlic salt is a good idea... it added something special to the mac 'n cheese flavor)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon paprika (I forgot to add this and it was still good.)
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the macaroni and cook according to package directions until al dente. Drain in a colander.

While the macaroni is cooking, heat a pan and add the oil, then the flour, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture resembles a thick paste but has not browned, 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the milk and cook, stirring every now and then, until the mixture begins to thicken, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the vegetable puree, cheddar, cream cheese and seasonings and stir until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth. Stir in the macaroni and serve warm WITH BROCCOLI!!!

Roasted Vegetables

I know this is kinda basic, but it's a good reminder of an easy and delicious side dish/main dish. :)

I generally roast sweet potato, yellow squash, asparagus, bell pepper, mushrooms, or cauliflower (usually some combo of the above), but you really could use any veggies you like. Keep in mind that some cook faster than others (mushrooms, bell pepper, etc.), and I find it helpful to give the sweet potato a head start with a couple minutes in the microwave before I chop it up.

Cut the veggies into larger than bite sized bits, keeping in mind that the smaller you cut them the faster they'll cook. Toss with olive or canola oil, chopped garlic, thyme, salt, garlic salt, season salt, lemon pepper, pepper, cumin, rosemary, or some combination of these (or others).

Spread out on cookie sheet and roast at 400-450 degrees until tender, tossing the vegetables around on the cookie sheet occasionally so they don't burn. Generally 20-ish minutes.

That's it. Something about roasting brings out the best in the flavors of the vegetables. Plus, you can mix it up so it's different every time. :)

Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Soup

Okay, so you should pretty much make this today. Seriously, it's one of the best new recipes I've tried in a long time (and I got it from The New York Times of all places).

1 tablespoon canola oil (I used olive oil)

1 small onion, chopped

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (I probably used a little more, and also added a couple cloves of garlic)

1 pound butternut squash, peeled and diced (I used 1 whole small squash)

1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (I used 2 medium sweet potatoes, one white, one orange)

1 medium-size Yukon gold or russet potato, peeled and diced (I used a large red potato with the skin on)

6 cups water, chicken stock, or vegetable stock (I used low-sodium chicken broth)

Salt and pepper to taste

**Note** I also added a pinch of nutmeg, which I think gave it a little extra something delightful!

1. Heat the oil in a heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger and stir together until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the squash, sweet potatoes, regular potato, and water or stock, and bring to a simmer. Add salt to taste, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes, or until all of the ingredients are thoroughly tender.

2. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup (or you can put it through the fine blade of a food mill or use a regular blender, working in batches and placing a kitchen towel over the top to avoid splashing). Return to the pot and stir with a whisk to even out the texture. Heat through, adjust salt and add pepper to taste.

Yield: Serves 6

Advance preparation: You can make this a day ahead and refrigerate. Reheat gently. The soup freezes well. Once thawed, whisk well to smooth out the texture, and reheat.

Nutritional Information per Serving: Calories: 189; Calories from Fat: 29; Total Fat 3.2g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium,776mg; Total Carbohydrates,38.6g; Dietary Fiber, 5.7g; Sugars, 3.6g; Protein: 3.5g; Vitamin A 163%; Vitamin C 61%; Calcium 7%; Iron 8% (Approximate nutritional information provided by calorie-count.com)

Mahogany Broiled Chicken with Smoky Lime Sweet Potatoes

Alright kids... get ready. This is a real winner. For. Real. Check out Food Network for the recipe.

Here's my two cents:

1) the sweet potatoes and chicken are delicious together, but would also be delicious apart (mashed sweet potatoes = YUM!), and for those of you who are unaware, sweet potato is pretty much top of the food chain when it comes to veggies... very, very good for you

2) the cilantro/garlic chimichurri sauce is VERY garlicy (and I love garlic), I would cut the garlic in half and use the food processor to finely chop the cilantro and garlic so it's more of a paste... but really, it's all good without this part of the recipe as well (one way to save a few steps)

Enjoy!