Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos

This is another recipe that I’ve been making for awhile…I bookmarked it back in 2012. I actually have no idea where I got it, but it is a wonderful vegetarian meal that I have put into my regular dinner rotation. The combination of the sweet potatoes and the black beans is so different and interesting. You might think it sounds strange, but it’s incredible! Even though the sweet potato takes a long time to roast, once that’s done this recipe comes together very quickly. And I know it doesn’t look very appetizing…but trust me, it’s worth trying!

Serves: about 8 small tacos

Time: 1 hour to roast the potato, then about 15 minutes to cook the rest of the recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 medium sweet potatoes
• 1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained, then mashed with a fork or potato masher
• 1/2 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup bell pepper, finely chopped (any color)
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
• about 2-3 Tbsp water
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• corn tortillas (I like the corn and flour combination tortillas from Trader Joe’s because they don’t break apart like regular corn tortillas do!)
• salt & pepper

Directions:

1) Bake the potato: Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Bake the sweet potatoes for about an hour. I like to wrap mine in foil and bake it right on the oven rack, but you can also put them on a rimmed baking sheet. You want them to get really sweet, so that they are almost oozing and caramelizing a little bit. While this is baking, you can prep your other ingredients. When the potatoes are done, peel and mash them, then keep them warm.

2) Heat up a large skillet and add your oil. When it flows like water, add your onions and peppers. Saute until the onions are almost translucent, then add your garlic. Cook until the onions are translucent and the peppers are soft.

3) Add a pinch of salt, then add the mashed beans and 2 Tbsp water. Stir and cook until heated through. If it seems dry you can add a couple more tablespoons of water as needed.

4) Add the soy sauce, dijon, cumin, and cayenne, and stir. Everything should be smooth and creamy. Add a little more water if it’s really dry.

5) If your sweet potatoes need to be warmed up a bit, you can push the bean mixture to the side and add the sweet potatoes to the other side of the skillet. If you like your tortillas warmed up, you can do that in a microwave or nonstick skillet, or in the warm oven, which is what I usually do. You can always check the label of your tortillas for what they recommend.

6) To assemble the tacos, put equal amounts bean mixture & sweet potato in each taco. (Or you can change the ratio if you like.) If you want to add hot sauce, feel free, but I think the flavors are perfect as is!

Slow-Roasted Grape Tomato Spread

I tried this recipe for the first time towards the end of the summer, and it quickly became my favorite way to use up the grape tomatoes from my CSA boxes! The spread tasted DELICIOUS with some goat cheese and pasta! I’m so happy that I have more of this in the freezer now to last me through the winter. If you’re into trying new things, whether it be canning or making homemade almond butter or granola, you should check out Marisa McClellan’s blog over at Food In Jars. It’s one of my favorites. I have both of her cookbooks and they are amazing!

from Preserving by the Pint

Serves: makes about 1 cup, which is probably enough for about 4 servings of pasta

Time: about 40 minutes total

Ingredients:

• 1 pint grape tomatoes (which is about 12 oz, this is approximate)
• 5 garlic cloves
• 3/4 tsp dried thyme
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp fine sea salt, or whichever salt you prefer
• black pepper

Directions:

1) Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Spread the clean tomatoes onto a rimmed cookie sheet or baking dish.

2) Add the garlic cloves randomly on the dish, spread throughout the tomatoes. Sprinkle the thyme, salt, and pepper, then drizzle the olive oil over all.

3) Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the tomatoes are soft and shriveled. Take the dish out of the oven and let it cool. Then put the contents of the dish into your food processor. Pulse it until the tomatoes have become a chunky puree. You can make it chunkier or smoother to your liking.

4) To store this spread, put it in an airtight container and top it with a thin layer of olive oil. Then you can keep it in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to a year.

5) To serve, try tossing some with pasta and goat (or your favorite) cheese, or add it to omelets. I’m sure there are many other uses for this…I’m picturing it with some chicken…but personally I thought it was fabulous with pasta!

Chicken Tamale Pie

Mexican food is one of my favorites. I love going out for Mexican (and not just because of the margaritas), and I love cooking it just as much. There are so many fun recipes out there to try…and I’ve been enjoying moving beyond basic tacos into new and different things (like my favorite Avocado Chicken Enchiladas!). After making today’s recipe several times, it has become of my favorites to cook and to eat. It has many of the common Mexican-type flavors, with a different “format” as a pie. It’s quick and simple to make, especially if you have cooked chicken already on hand. This time around, I poached some chicken to use, since I didn’t have any already cooked. But if you have some leftover chicken, you’ll save yourself an extra step!

You may notice that I’ve added the calorie count to this recipe. I will sometimes include the calorie count in a recipe. To calculate the calories, I use an app called My Fitness Pal, and the calories are calculate per serving (based on how many servings the whole recipe makes). Your exact calories may differ if you use different brands than the ones I used.

adapted from Pinch of Yum, who adapted it from Cooking Light

Serves: 8

Time: 15 minutes prep, 30 minutes to bake

Calories (calculated using My Fitness Pal): 375

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup milk (any % fat is ok)
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 Tbsp taco seasoning, divided
• 1/4 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne…leave this out if you want, but it’s really not a very spicy dish)
• 1 (14 3/4 oz) can cream style OR regular corn…I’ve used both and either will work. For this recipe I used a can of Trader Joe’s corn…I didn’t even check the ounces that the can was. Worked fine!
• 1 (8.5 oz) box corn muffin mix (I use Jiffy)
• 1 (4 oz) can chopped green chiles, drained
• 1 10 oz can enchilada sauce…This is the size of the brands such as Old El Paso. I used Trader Joe’s this time, which came in a 12 oz bottle. I used most but definitely not all of it. The pie dish started overflowing!! So if you get a bottle bigger than 10 oz just don’t use all of it.
• 2 cups shredded or chopped cooked chicken breast (I poached mine earlier that day)
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

Directions:

1) Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and spray a pie plate with cooking spray. If you have a pie plate that’s on the larger side, use it. Mine is a bit small and it gets VERY full with this dish! (Which is not necessarily a bad thing!)

All ready to start…I love cooking using my iPad instead of having to print out a recipe!

2) Make the corn bottom layer: In a large bowl, combine the milk, egg, 1/2 tsp of the taco seasoning, the ground red pepper, corn, muffin mix, and green chiles. Stir just until moist. Pour into your pie plate.

3) Bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes. You want it to be just barely set and golden brown. Take a fork and poke the corn all over. It’s okay if a little bit sticks to the fork.

4) Meanwhile, while the corn layer is in the oven, stir together the chicken and the rest of your taco seasoning.

5) Take the pie plate and pour the enchilada sauce on top of the corn layer. Then add your chicken and sprinkle with cheese.

Almost, but not quite, overflowing!

6) Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, or until the cheese melts. Remove from the oven and let it sit for 5 minutes before cutting. This will make 8 servings…they look somewhat small but it’s pretty filling!

Eggplant Rollatini

Yesterday I got home after a great vacation at Edisto Beach in South Carolina. It was so nice to be at the beach for a week! We got to enjoy lots of great seafood and Southern specialties. I got a couple little cookbooks so I’m excited to try out some new recipes soon.

Growing up, I was never a fan of eggplant. Then one day I tried eggplant rollatini and realized how great it can be! This recipe is originally by Gina at Skinnytaste. I made this before vacation with my CSA eggplant. It tastes great and also freezes well! Depending on the size of your eggplants, you may get a few more or fewer pieces. One time I made this, I had some filling left over. I froze it and then the next time I had an eggplant, I defrosted it and made a batch of rollatini. It worked so well that next time I may just double the filling ingredients and freeze half for later!

Served alongside some fried veggies!

Serves: about 5 (2 pieces each)

Time: about 30 minutes prep time, 60 minutes bake time

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant, cut longways into around 10 1/4-inch strips (If your eggplant is on the smaller side, get 2!)
• salt & pepper
• 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup part skim ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese
• 8 oz frozen spinach, heated and then squeezed well (I use paper towels to help get out as much liquid as possible)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1) To slice the eggplant: Cut the ends off the eggplant and then slice into 1/4 in. strips. This is probably easiest to do using a mandoline, but you can use a knife too.

2) Put the eggplant slices onto a couple of baking sheets. Sprinkle with salt. Let them sit for about 10-15 minutes and then soak up the moisture with paper towels.

3) Sprinkle the eggplant with a little more salt and some pepper, and bake at 400 degrees for about 8 minutes. You want the eggplant to be softened so you’ll be able to roll them, but you don’t want them totally cooked yet.

4) In a bowl, mix the egg, ricotta and Parmesan, spinach, garlic, plus 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper.

5) Get ready to make the rollatini! Spread 1/4 cup marinara in your baking dish. Dry off your eggplant slices again. For each slice of eggplant, take 2 tbsp filling and spread out all along the slice. Then roll them up, starting at the narrowest side of the slice. Lay each slice seam side down in the dish. Repeat for all your eggplant. If you have a few smaller slices, go ahead and put some filling on those too!

6) Spread the rest of the marinara all over the rollatini. Sprinkle with the mozzarella. Cover with foil or a lid, if your dish has one.

7) Bake at 400 degrees for 60 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Homemade Ravioli

Making homemade ravioli was one of the first serious from-scratch kitchen projects that I ever tried. It was even before I started dating an Italian, whose family actually makes homemade ravioli together every Christmas. After a couple of tries at building the ravioli with only a knife and my own fingers as tools, I went on Amazon and bought a ravioli press, which works great for cheese ravioli. Andrew’s family uses a ravioli rolling pin for their Christmas ravioli, which is a meat ravioli. Either way, making ravioli is such a fun project. It’s even more fun with 2 people, but I have done it alone also.

The Dough.

I’ve made the dough in a food processor and also by hand. Either way, it’s pretty simple. Here’s how we did it by hand for these ravioli.

• 3/4 lb flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 2-3 tbsp lukewarm water

1. Put the flour in a big bowl and make a hole in the center like a volcano. Crack the eggs and put the water in the hole.

2. Mix the flour into the eggs, starting in the middle and working your way outwards.

3. Once almost all the flour is mixed in, dump it onto a cutting board or other surface. Knead the dough for several minutes, turning 90 degrees after you push the dough down.

4. Make the dough into a smooth ball and let it sit covered in plastic wrap for 30 minutes.

The Filling. (Goat Cheese.)

• 11-12 ounces goat cheese
• 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tbsp minced basil
• 2 tbsp thinly sliced chives
• 1/4 cup finely diced red onion
• salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir until well-combined and totally smooth (no cheese lumps!)

 The Ravioli.

With the ravioli press, it’s pretty easy to form the ravioli. This time around we tried out the pasta rolling machine that I got Andrew for Christmas. It worked pretty well! However, it’s also pretty easy to roll out the dough with a rolling pin. You just want to make sure you get it thin enough. It’s easiest to divide the dough into 4 pieces and roll each one of those out separately. When the dough is almost see through (but not actually see through yet) it’s ready.

Ravioli station!

To use the ravioli press, you flour the metal part, put a piece of dough on top, and press into it with the plastic piece. This makes the little pockets where the filling goes. Then add a little filling in each ravioli. Finally, put another piece of dough on top and roll over the whole thing with a rolling pin. The rolling pin presses the two layers of pasta together, and the metal base piece makes the ravioli shapes. It works well and it’s fun too! The directions that come with the press are also very helpful. However, you can also make the ravioli by hand if you like.

Artsy picture of the scraps!

Clean-out-the-produce-drawer Pasta

Since joining the CSA, my produce drawer has always been very full! I am grateful for it, but I also worry about using everything up. Last Monday I decided to throw a bunch of veggies into a pasta dish and see what happened. It came out great!! Here’s what I did:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 a box of pasta, any kind (a short pasta like penne is probably better than something like spaghetti)
• pesto sauce (I used my garlic scape pesto, but you could use any kind, or even red sauce!)
• assorted veggies, such as corn, zucchini, green beans, kale…
• grated Parmesan, if desired

Directions:

1) Start cooking your pasta. Steam your veggies. Put things like zucchini in the steamer before other things like corn.

This is when I added the kale!

2) Drain pasta and check veggies. When they are tender, toss them with the pasta.

3) Add some pesto and toss. You can add as much or as little sauce as you want.

4) Sprinkle with Parmesan if you like!

Garlic Scape Pesto

After a week + a few days of being away in Cape Cod, and last week having my first week of teaching summer school, plus my dear cousin’s wedding this past weekend, I’m finally ready to get back into blogging! I’m so excited to be back!

Twice now, I’ve gotten garlic scapes in my CSA boxes. At first I really wasn’t sure what to do with them. Then I heard that they are great in pesto! Since I love pesto, I was pretty excited to try it. This is the second garlic scape pesto recipe that I’ve tried, and it’s my favorite so far. The basil really brightens it up. That being said, it’s still pretty garlicky! If you don’t love garlic, you could try putting this pesto on some chicken and then backing it. That way the garlic would get cooked with the chicken. I’ve been eating this stirred into hot pasta, which is delicious too!

Yield: a little less than a cup (as you can see below, I put it into 2 quarter pint jars, plus a small Weck jar)

Time: Including prep…probably 10 minutes!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped garlic scapes (about 1 bunch)
• 1 cup basil leaves (packed)
• 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 – 2/3 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1) Put the garlic scapes, basil, cheese, salt, and pepper in the bowl of a food processor.

2) Process until smooth.

3) While pulsing, slowly pour in the olive oil. You can use a little more or a little less olive oil to make a sauce that’s a consistency you like.

Store in a jar for a week or 2 in the fridge, or store in the freezer.

 

 

Avocado Chicken Enchiladas

This recipe is one of my favorite meals to prepare and eat. It’s also the first meal that my boyfriend Andrew and I cooked together. It’s easy to adjust the spice level to your tastes. I used some cilantro from yesterday’s CSA box. The combination of flavors in this dish is amazing! It’s also easy to freeze leftovers.

adapted from The Novice Chef

Serves: 10 (1 enchilada per serving)

Time: About 50 minutes (30 active, 20 minutes of baking)

Wine Pairing: I served this with some Chardonnay from Truro Vineyards, but it would also be excellent with something sweeter, since it is a spicy dish.

Ingredients:
Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced (optional…I left it out this time)
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 cup medium salsa verde (you can use mild if you prefer)
• 1/2 cup fat free sour cream

Filling & Enchiladas:

• 3 cups chopped cooked chicken breasts–I used my George Foreman grill, but I have also poached the chicken in the past. You can use leftover chicken if you have it. For today’s version I had just under 3 cups, so there ended up being a little less filling, but it worked out fine! In the past I have used 1 lb chicken breasts, which is a perfect amount.
• 4 oz shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I used the kind with jalapeño peppers in it, since I didn’t have any fresh for the sauce)
• 1 small or 1/2 a large yellow onion, chopped
• 2 medium to large avocados (or 3 small ones), chopped
• 10 flour tortillas (8 or 10 inches, depending on your preference. I used Trader Joe’s brand. Sometimes I use whole wheat tortillas for some extra nutrition)

Directions:

1) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9×13 pan, plus a smaller square or rectangular baking dish. Prep ingredients as needed.

2) Combine the chopped chicken, onions, avocados, and the shredded cheese in a medium mixing bowl. Stir well to combine.

3) Make the sauce: melt the butter over medium-high height in a medium saucepan. Add the garlic and jalapeño (if using), and cook for one minute. Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the chicken broth, cumin, salt, and pepper (a whisk is good for stirring at this point), and bring to a gentle boil. Next, add the sour cream, salsa, and cilantro. Stir well to combine. Once the sour cream has melted and the sauce is smooth, remove from the heat.

butter, garlic, and flour

4) Put about 3/4 cup sauce in the large 9×13 dish, and about 1/2 cup sauce into the smaller baking dish.

5) Fill the tortillas: Put about 2/3 cup chicken/avocado mixture in each tortilla and roll up as in the pictures below. Place each one seam side down in the baking dishes. It’s fine if they are touching each other in the dish.

6) When you’re done filling all the tortillas, pour the rest of the sauce over all the enchiladas. Add a little extra cheese on top if you like. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until bubbling. Serve and enjoy!

 

Simmered Cabbage with Beef, Shan Style

Today’s recipe comes from Cooking Light. I actually discovered it in a cookbook called The New Way to Cook Light. I’ve made it a few times now and it’s seriously amazing. It’s a little spicy, but if you like things more mild, you can easily reduce the amount of ground red pepper. This is a great use for cabbage. I was excited when I found out that I had cabbage coming in the CSA box, because it meant I could make this recipe again! Another thing I love about this recipe is that it uses only a little ground beef but is still very filling. I like to serve it with brown rice.

When I last made this, I doubled the recipe because I wanted to use a whole head of cabbage. It makes great leftovers! This meal may not make for the prettiest pictures, but it’s delicious!

Simmered Beef with Cabbage, Shan Style

Serves: 4 (1 cup per serving)

Time: about 35 minutes

I’ve never heard of “Shan” style food, but the cookbook says it’s Southeast Asian. Whatever it is…it’s delicious!

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 1 cup thinly sliced shallots (I use my mandoline because it’s out already for the cabbage! Usually I buy about 5 shallots to make sure I have enough.)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp tumeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper (if you don’t like spicy food, you can reduce this amount)
• 1/4 pound ground sirloin (I used 90% lean beef)
• 4 cups finely shredded cabbage (this is about half an average head of cabbage. I cut the cabbage into fourths and use my mandoline to slice each chunk thinly.)
• 1 cup thin plum tomato wedges (this is about 2 tomatoes. I have left this out with no problem. Last time I made this, I used some frozen plum tomatoes that I have in a ziploc bag in my freezer. I cut up 2 tomatoes thinly and don’t worry too much if it’s exactly 1 cup or not.)
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts. (I have used salted peanuts with no problem. I usually chop the peanuts roughly with a large knife. I like the peanuts to be in pretty big pieces)

Ingredients all ready to go!

Directions:

1) Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat.  Add the shallots, salt, and spices. Cook for about 3 minutes, until the shallots are soft. Stir frequently so the shallots don’t burn.

2) Add the ground beef and cook about 2 more minutes, until the meat is beginning to brown.

3) Add the cabbage and tomatoes to the pot, and stir well. The pot will look VERY full at this point…especially if you’ve doubled the recipe like I did for these pictures! Don’t worry, the cabbage will cook down.

4) Turn the heat down to medium-low. Cover the pot and cook for 10 minutes without stirring.

5) Add the peanuts and give the whole thing a good stir. Then cover the pot and cook it 10 more minutes. Serve! I like to eat this with brown rice all mixed in, but it’s great on its own too.

Just before adding the cabbage.

Just after adding the cabbage. It looks so full, but don’t worry!

Just about ready to serve.

Pasta with Sausage and Zucchini

This is a delicious pasta recipe that comes courtesy of my boyfriend Andrew’s mother, Ena. It’s an easy and tasty meal that’s also very flexible and forgiving. I made it a couple of weeks ago with some grocery store zucchini, but I’m excited to make it again with some CSA zucchini if and when I get some!

Serves: 6-8, depending on portions. To keep calories under control, I like to weigh out 2 oz of dried pasta per serving.
Time: about an hour

Ingredients:

• 1 package of Italian sweet sausage (they come in packages of 6. You could lighten this recipe up by using chicken sausage)
• 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes (I used whole tomatoes, and I crushed them in a bowl with a potato masher)
• 1 lb pasta–the traditional choice here is rigatoni, but you could also try something like penne or rotini
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2-3 cloves garlic, sliced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 medium zucchini (these will be thinly sliced)

Directions:

1. Put the sausage in a large skillet or saute pan with a cover and add about 1/4 cup water. Cook the sausage for about 15 to 20 minutes to get the fat out, piercing the sausages a few times each with a fork about halfway through cooking.

2. Remove the cover and cook till water is almost gone (about 5-10 more minutes).

3. Add about 2 tbsp of olive oil and brown the sausages.

4. Remove to a plate. To the pan, add about 1/2 tablespoons more olive oil and the garlic. Saute the garlic for about a minute.

5. Slice the sausage. To the pan add the sausage, tomatoes, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on medium-low for about 20 mins. Meanwhile, thinly slice the zucchini. I used my mandoline, which works great. While the sauce is simmering, bring salted water to a boil and cook the pasta.

Tomatoes, sausage, garlic, and olive oil simmering away!

6. After the sausage & tomato have simmered for 20 minutes, add the sliced zucchini. Cover and cook till zucchini is tender, which will take about 15 more mins. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper to taste if desired.

Beautiful zucchini and garlic

7. Toss the pasta and sauce together and serve. This is enough sauce for 1 lb of pasta, but you can make less pasta and freeze some of the sauce instead. That’s what I did…I love making enough food for a few meals and freezing the extra for quick and easy dinners later!