Sweet Potato Chili

I bought a bag of sweet potatoes from a farmer at a gas station in Florence, SC. When I saw the about 10 medium sized sweet potatoes staring at me in the brown paper bag, I felt like I got a steal for $2! Sweet potato chili, sweet potato pot pie, and sweet potato fries are some of the uses thus far.

Slow Cooked Sweet Potato Chili (canyoustayfordinner)
Ingredients:
28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
14 ounce can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1” pieces
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
15 ounce can kidney beans
15 ounce can black beans
1 lb ground beef sirloin (optional)
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in the base of your slow cooker and stir to mix well. Cook on low for 10 hours.

Chipotle chicken, black bean, veggie soup

The past couple nights were simple tacos and spaghetti. Today, I made another good soup! I saved half the chicken I cooked in the shiitake soup and put it in this. I also had carrots and celery on hand so I added those in, turning the soup into nothing like the described it as, but so delicious. Also, Patrick wasn’t feeling spicy food tonight, so I left that out and added a couple drops of super hot sauce to mine later. This recipe is from the Soup Chic’s blog and she heated her soup up more with chilies and hot sauce. Here’s my version of the recipe:

Chipotle chicken, black bean, veggie soup

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
3 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1 cup corn, roasted
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 can diced tomato, drained
1 cup chicken, cooked and shredded
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper

Directions
In a big pot, heat the oil, brown the onion, garlic.

Add broth, water (use less if you prefer it to have a stronger flavor), corn, carrots, celery, tomatoes, chicken, and black beans and simmer for about a half an hour or until veggies are cooked. Season with salt and pepper.

I made rice to make it more filling and added it to individual bowls. For it to be more Mexican, you could top with sour cream and tortilla chips.

Quinoa Salad

Today is a little rainy, but the news is that the hurricane will mostly miss us and head towards the Gulf (we’re on the Atlantic Ocean). For dinner we had another Mediterranean dish- Quinoa Salad. I realized we didn’t have a microwave (or stove obviously) so I had to figure out how to make quinoa in the oven. Turns out you can just bring the water to boil (in a covered dish) then add the quinoa for about 20 minutes or until cooked. We actually decided this wasn’t our most favorite quinoa dish.

And it was also $5 movie night so we watched the new Borne movie (Borne Legacy).

Quinoa Salad with Black Beans, Avocado and Cumin-Lime Dressing
serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 3/4 cup water
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (I only had chickpeas so I used those)
• 1 avocado, chopped into chunks
• handful cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped into chunks
• small handful cilantro, diced
• 1 limes, juiced
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• salt, to taste

Directions

1. Warm the olive/coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once it’s hot add the rinsed quinoa and toast for about 2-3 minutes until it starts smelling nutty and lovely. Add water, stir once, cover, and simmer with a lid on for 20 minutes (or see above about cooking in oven).
2. While the quinoa is cooking, prepare all other ingredients. Prepare the dressing by combining the lime juice, oil, cumin, and salt. Whisk it aggressively. Adjust seasoning as necessary.
3. When the quinoa has finished cooking, remove it from heat and fluff with a fork. Add black beans and toss to warm them through.
4. Let the quinoa cool for about five minutes and then add all the remaining ingredients, including the dressing, and mix. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers after a visit back home

Over the weekend, we went home to visit Patrick’s parents. The visit also included a first time golf outing for Patrick. During our visit, we acquired some lovely peppers from their neighbor. It was great timing too, because I was craving stuffed peppers!

Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers

I substituted many of the ingredients fore example I used fresh tomatoes instead of canned and an assortment of peppers instead of only bell peppers. The cheese was an organic swiss, purchased in Amish Country with my family while in Ohio. Also, since I didn’t have a stove, the vegetables (minus the peppers) were all steamed with a food steamer.

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped (1 cup)
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 2 ribs celery, finely chopped (½ cup)
• 1 Tbs. ground cumin
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)
• 1 10-oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed & squeezed dry (I used fresh)
• 2 15-oz. cans diced tomatoes, liquid reserved (I only used 1 fresh tomato)
• 1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
• ¾ cup quinoa
• 3 large carrots, grated (1 ½ cups)
• 1 ½ cups grated reduced-fat pepper Jack cheese, divided
• 4 large red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, ribs removed

1. Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and celery, and cook 5 minutes, or until soft. Add cumin and garlic, and sauté 1 minute. Stir in spinach and drained tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes, or until most of liquid has evaporated.

2. Stir in black beans, quinoa, carrots, and 2 cups water. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 minutes, or until quinoa is tender. Stir in 1 cup cheese. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour liquid from tomatoes in bottom of baking dish. Fill each bell pepper half with heaping 3/4-cup quinoa mixture, and place in baking dish. Cover with foil, and bake 1 hour. Uncover, and sprinkle each pepper with 1 Tbs. remaining cheese. Bake 15 minutes more, or until tops of stuffed peppers are browned. Let stand 5 minutes. Transfer stuffed peppers to serving plates, and drizzle each with pan juices before serving.

For dessert, Patrick surprised me by taking us to a deli where he ate lunch. It was so cute! They had one counter displaying some delicious looking pizzas, fresh bread in bushels, and three counters with little desserts!! Mmmmm! It was a beautiful feast for the eyes. We left with seven little items. I forget what they all were (except delicious) but some included: an eclair, cannoli, date bar/cookie, and raspberry petite four (cake). The winners were the date bar and the raspberry petite four. What a lovely evening!

Beet and Bean Burgers

By now, you may have noticed that I live veggie burgers. This time I made burgers using red beets and they were so good! This is something that I’m sure not many are brave enough to try but I made it and it was great! I would make it again. I would even make it for friends and family that I thought were daring enough to try it.

Best-Ever Beet and Bean Burgers
Inspired by the veggie burgers at Northstar Cafe in Columbus, Ohio
makes about 6 burgers

1/2 cup brown rice (doubled if you want more rice)
1 onion, diced small
3 large red beets (about 1 pound), diced small*
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
juice from 1/2 lemon
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons parsley, minced
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon thyme
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
salt and pepper
thin slices of provolone or monterey jack cheese (optional)

* The key is to dice the beets very small and then cook all the ingredients until they’re very tender and soft. Don’t be tempted to use a food processor – that would give you the mushy texture we’re trying to avoid.

(I didn’t have vinegar, or parsley, coriander, thyme, and used an Italian spice mix instead and mozz string cheese.)

Bring a large amount of water to a boil. Add a handful of salt and the rice, and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook the rice until it’s a little beyond al dente. You want it a little over-cooked, but still firm. This should take about 35-40 minutes. Drain the rice and set it aside.

Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the onions are translucent and softened. Stir in the beets. Cover the pot and cook until the beets are completely tender, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook until it is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Deglaze the pan using the cider vinegar.

Empty the black beans into a large bowl and use a fork to mash them up a bit. Add the cooked rice, the beet and onion mixture, the lemon juice, the olive oil, and all the spices. Stir to combine and then taste for seasonings. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once it tastes the way you like it, add the flour and stir until you see no more dry flour.

Heat a cast-iron skillet over the highest heat. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil – the oil should completely coat the bottom of the pan. When you see the oil shimmer and it flows easily, the pan is ready.

Using your hands, scoop up about a cup of the burger mixture and shape it into a patty between your palms. Set it in the pan, where it should begin to sizzle immediately. (If it doesn’t sizzle, wait a minute or two before cooking the rest of the burgers.) Shape and add as many more patties as will fit in your pan. Once all the patties are in the pan, reduce the heat to medium-high.

Cook the patties for 2 minutes, then flip them to the other side. You should see a nice crust on the cooked side. If they break apart a little when you flipped them, just reshape them with the spatula – they’ll hold together once the second side is cooked. If you’re adding cheese, lay a slice over the burgers now. Cook the second side for another 2 minutes.

Serve the veggie burgers on soft burger buns or lightly toasted sandwich bread along with some fresh greens.

Cooked burgers should be eaten that same day. You can also save leftover mix in the fridge for up to a week and cook just one or two burgers as you want them.

My Oh My, Peach Pie, I mean Galette

Dinner this evening; I thought we were having company so I made an eye pleasing and tasty dinner. It ended up that they had to work late (this is a busy week), but Patrick and I enjoyed it together. :-) We had: Spinach and three-bean enchiladas, Roasted red bell pepper hummus in cucumber cups, and Peach galette. Patrick loved it all! He even said that this was the best dessert he’s ever had (and he doesn’t like dessert)!

Spinach and Three Bean Enchiladas (found in FamilyCircle magazine)

 

 Ingredients:

½ large onion chopped

4 cloves garlic chopped

1 can kidney beans

1 can black beans

1 can pinto beans

2 tomatoes, blended

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 bag baby spinach

½ cup chopped cilantro

6 whole wheat tortillas

1 ½ cups shredded cheese.

Heat oven to 350 degrees, coat a cake pan with cooking spray.

Saute onion and garlic, stir in beans tomatoe and spices.  Simmer 3 minutes

Gradually stir in spinach until wilted, stir in cilantro and lightly mash bean mixture with a potatoe masher.  Spoon into tortilla, wrap place in pan. Sprinkle cheese over top bake for 30 minutes.

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Hummus

I added sesame seeds, it made them look like sushi! To make the cucumber cups, scoop out most of the center of the cucumber slice.

Ingredients:

• 2 cans (each 15 oz.) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped
• 2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1 tsp. smoked sweet paprika
• 1/4 tsp. toasted ground cumin seed
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Pita bread or pita chips and crudités for serving

Directions:

In a food processor, combine the chickpeas, garlic, bell pepper, lemon juice, tahini, paprika and cumin and pulse until the mixture just comes together. With the processor running, slowly pour in the olive oil until incorporated. Season with salt. Serve with pita bread or pita chips and crudités for dipping. Makes about 3 cups.

Peach Galette

I ended up adding blueberries and toasted almonds.

INGREDIENTS

Crust:

• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 oz (1/2 cup, 1 stick, 8 Tbsp) butter, cut into small (1/2-inch) cubes, chilled in freezer at least 15 minutes, preferably an hour
• 4 to 6 Tbsp ice water

Filling:

• 2 large, not-overly-ripe yellow peaches (about 3/4 pound total), pitted, sliced into 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch slices
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp flour
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp almond paste (optional)
• 1 teaspoon butter

• 1 egg
• A sprinkling of coarse sugar (optional)

METHOD

1 Make the crust dough. In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, and salt, until well mixed. Add the cubed butter, and pulse 8 times. The butter should still be the size of peas in the mixture. Slowly add the ice water, a tablespoon or two at a time, pulsing after each addition, until the dough just begins to clump. Turn out onto a clean surface. Use your clean hands to form into a disc. Do not over-knead. Work the dough only enough to bring it barely together into a disk. Sprinkle with a little flour on all sides, wrap with plastic, and place into the refrigerator to chill for an hour. (See our pate brisee recipe for more detailed instruction if you are new to making crusts.)

2 Preheat the oven with the rack in the middle position to 425°F (220°C). Place the peach slices in a bowl and sprinkle with the flour and sugar. Toss gently to coat. Sprinkle vanilla extract over the peaches.

3 In a small bowl, whisk the egg until smooth and set aside.

4 On a lightly floured, clean, smooth surface, roll out the dough to about a 12-inch diameter. Gently lift up the rolled out dough and place it on a rimmed baking sheet.

5 If you are using almond paste (not necessary, but a nice addition if you have it), dot the middle 6-inch circle of the dough with the almond paste. (If you can spread it, great. Otherwise, just dot with little bits.) Arrange the peach slices in an overlapping pattern in a single layer in the center of the dough, forming about a 7 or 8-inch circle. Dot with a little butter.

6 Fold the outer edges of the dough round over the filling, by about 2-inches all the way around, in an accordion fashion. Use a pastry brush to coat the exposed dough with an egg wash (you can cook up the leftover egg as a little scrambled egg, by the way), and sprinkle with coarse sugar if using.

7 Place in the oven and cook for about 15-20 minutes, until nicely browned. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet, over a rack, about 15 minutes.

Great served with a little vanilla ice cream.

MMmmmmmm!

Long days

Yesterday, Patrick worked a 14 hour day. It was also conveniently leftover night (because I didn’t know when he would be home). Today was another long day, but not that long. our dinner is mentioned below. Note, I made Beet Hummus, and I wouldn’t try that again. The combination of the sweet/savory beets, lemon juice, and tahini was a little much for my tastes!

Corn and Roasted Tomato Grilled Flatbread Recipe

2 flatbreads

1 small package smoked mozzarella

Store bought pesto

Store bought roasted tomatoes (I found these at Trader Joe’s near the pesto)

Handful of arugula

1 ear of corn cooked, kernels removed

Parmesan cheese

Preheat your grill to medium low. Place the flatbread on the grill and cook for about 5 minutes (more or less depending on thickness of the bread). Flip and grill for another 3 minutes or until both sides are crisp. Remove from the grill and add the mozzarella, pesto, roasted tomatoes, arugula, corn, and parmesan in that order. Place the flatbreads back on the grill for 5 minutes. Remove from grill, slice and serve!

(I used whole wheat sandwich rounds, homemade pesto (thanks Patrick’s parents!), corn, farmers market cherry tomatoes, and string cheese)

Spicy Rainbow Rice and Beans

• 1 cup uncooked brown or basmati rice
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 sweet onion, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2-3 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 1.5 cups frozen peas
• 2 cups fresh cooked corn (or frozen)
• salt to taste

1. Cook the rice in a medium pot according to package directions.

2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil and add sweet onions, garlic, and spices. Sauté 4-5 minutes, until golden and sizzling. Add the black beans, soy sauce, peas, and corn to the skillet. Heat on medium-low for 6-7 minutes, until hot, stirring often.

3. Stir in the cooked rice. Add an additional splash of soy sauce if necessary.

(This wasn’t a really exciting dish., but it is a good filler dinner for Patrick. Like usual, I didn’t have all the ingredients… like coriander or soy sauce.)

Tijuana Torta and Moroccan Israeli Couscous with Roasted Vegetables

Here are my dinner dishes from Wednesday and Thursday:

Tijuana Torta

INGREDIENTS

• 1 15-ounce can black beans, or pinto beans, rinsed (see Note)
• 3 tablespoons prepared salsa
• 1 tablespoon chopped pickled jalapeño
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 ripe avocado, pitted
• 2 tablespoons minced onion
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 16- to 20-inch-long baguette, preferably whole-grain
• 1 1/3 cups shredded green cabbage

PREPARATION

1. Mash beans, salsa, jalapeño and cumin in a small bowl. Mash avocado, onion and lime juice in another small bowl.
2. Cut baguette into 4 equal lengths. Split each piece in half horizontally. Pull out most of the soft bread from the center so you’re left with mostly crust. Divide the bean paste, avocado mixture and cabbage evenly among the sandwiches. Cut each in half and serve.

TIPS & NOTES

• Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate the bean mixture (Step 1) for up to 3 days.

• Note: While we love the convenience of canned beans, they tend to be high in sodium. Give them a good rinse before adding to a recipe to rid them of some of their sodium (up to 35 percent) or opt for low-sodium or no-salt-added varieties. (This recipe is analyzed with rinsed, regular canned beans.) Or, if you have the time, cook your own beans from scratch.

(I USED SPINACH INSTEAD OF CABBAGE AND A ROLL INSTEAD OF A BAGUETTE, AND I DID NOT HAVE JALEPENOS.)

Moroccan Israeli Couscous with Roasted Vegetables

Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 small cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• 2 cups uncooked israeli (pearl) couscous
• 1 Tablespoon lime juice
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Preheat oven to 400º

1. Pour chopped peppers and tomatoes on a foil-lined cookie sheet and drizzle them with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place sheet in the oven for 25 minutes.

2. Add 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth to a medium pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the couscous. Cover and remove from heat. Let stand 5-7 minutes or until couscous is soft. Fluff with a fork.

3. Meanwhile, heat the 2 Tbs olive oil in a large pot over medium heat; sauté onion and garlic until golden. Add the spices and lime juice and sauté 2-3 minutes. Transfer the cooked couscous to the pot and add another 1/2 cup vegetable broth. Simmer until the sauce thickens while making sure the couscous does not get overly dried out (add an extra 1/4 cup broth if necessary).

3. After the 25 minute roasting time is up, remove the roasted tomatoes and pepper from the oven. Carefully spoon from the tray to the couscous pot and mix. Serve piping hot!

(I HAD A FLAVORED COUSCOUS MIX AND SO CHANGED THE SPICES.)

Roanoke Rapids. Then with one word, gone for a weekend in Charlotte.

Patrick was off to the plant on Thursday. I went to the hotel’s gym and then I started planning the meals. Throughout my life, I have collected recipes- mostly magazine articles and family recipes are the paper recipes and online I have my pinterest collection. I hope that in my life of a traveler, I will have found some recipes that can be staples for our life, a nice collection to fall back on and to use in the future. (Side note, did you know there are 5 oceans? Patrick and I must be living in the dark, but we thought there were only 4… After researching we found the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and as of  2000, they classified a new ocean, Southern.) So Wednesday, I went through and sorted my paper collections. When Patrick came home that night earlier then expected, we just had veggie burgers for dinner, mmm! On Friday, Patrick had a half day. Some things need to get done at the power plant which is why he will need to work in Charlotte on Monday- Tuesday they will resume work at the plant. For lunch on Friday, I made Black Bean and Corn Pizza. And for dinner, Tuna Nicoise Sandwiches.Or at least I these were the baseline recipes I used.

Here are the original recipes:

Smoky Corn & Black Bean Pizza

INGREDIENTS

• 1 plum tomato, diced
• 1 cup canned black beans, rinsed
• 1 cup fresh corn kernels, (about 2 ears)
• 2 tablespoons cornmeal
• 1 pound prepared whole-wheat pizza dough
• 1/3 cup barbecue sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella, preferably smoked mozzarella

(My simple version/twist included canned corn, black beans, turkey, and bbq warmed on a toasted baguette.)

PREPARATION

1. Preheat grill to medium.
2. Combine tomato, beans and corn in a medium bowl. Sprinkle cornmeal onto a large baking sheet. Stretch the dough into about a 12-inch circle and lay it on top of the cornmeal, coating the entire underside of the dough.
3. Transfer the crust from the baking sheet to the grill. Close the lid and cook until the crust is puffed and lightly browned on the bottom, 4 to 5 minutes.
4. Using a large spatula, flip the crust. Spread barbecue sauce on it and quickly sprinkle with the tomato mixture and cheese. Close the lid; grill until the cheese is melted and the bottom of the crust is browned, 4 to 5 minutes.

Tuna Nicoise Sandwich

INGREDIENTS: 1 Arnold® Multi-Grain Sandwich Thins® roll 4 oz. canned tuna 1 tbsp. light Dijon Vinaigrette 1 tbsp. black olives, sliced 1/2 c. arugula, loosely packed 1/2 tomato, sliced 1 tbsp. hummus

DIRECTIONS: Remove tuna from can and drain liquid completely. Mix the Dijon Vinaigrette with tuna thoroughly. Place the tuna on the bottom half of Sandwich Thins® roll. Add the sliced black olives, arugula, sliced tomatoes and hummus. Based on personal preference, add the sliced egg. Add salt and pepper for taste. Finally, place the top half of the Sandwich Thins® roll.

(Our sandwich involved thins, tuna, hummus, tomato and avocado.)