Black Bean Sweet Potato Burritos

I just saw this on my friend Bri Hoopes' FB page. Looked so good- so I'm copying it here!

2 whole sweet potatoes peeled and cubed
2 jalapenos (de-seeded/membranes scraped out) diced 
2 red peppers diced 
1 LARGE red onion diced small
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
2-3 teaspoons Cumin
2-3 teaspoons Chili Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Pepper

2 cans of black beans drained and rinsed 
1/2 (or more) cups chopped fresh Cilantro
1+ cups of Costcos organic frozen sweet corn
Juice of 1 lime

Shredded Cheddar cheese
Any type of tortilla you would like

In a bowl, toss your raw veggies in olive oil and season with spices. Place in a large baking dish (I use a casserole dish) and roast in 425 degree oven for about 30 minutes. Toss every ten minutes and once sweet potatoes are tender, it is done. 

Let cool. Add black beans, corn, cilantro and lime. Combine gently. At this point, mixture can be stored for later use in the refrigerator. 

Warm your wheat tortillas or wraps in microwave according to directions on package. Spray a casserole dish with nonstick spray or olive oil spray (I use coconut oil).

Add vegetable and bean mixture to center of wrap. Top with shredded cheese. Fold over, fold in sides, place in pan and continue to roll the others. Place into your baking dish, seam side down so that they stay together.

Bake at 375 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Baking this way will make the tortilla wrap crisp. For a softer burrito, spray burrito with nonstick spray, then wrap in aluminum foil and bake for same amount of time.

I also love having this mixture by itself without the tortilla. I think it is so yummy. Play around with the spices. It has taken me a while to get them right, yet I go by taste and add a bit more if needed. These burritos freeze awesomely! Dan takes them to work and microwaves them, and dips them in guacamole! These rock my socks off! Kid friendly too! Loaded with all sorts of goodness, and versatile! Enjoy!

What do you eat?!

Whenever I tell people I try to cook mostly vegetarian meals for my family the response is usually, "What do you eat?!" It's funny how as americans we don't consider food a meal unless there's meat in it somewhere.

I'll admit, it's not always easy. This week has been a good one though, so I thought I'd review what we've been eating.

Sunday- Jake went to Alaska at the beginning of the summer and brought home fabulous amounts of frozen halibut filets. That means fish tacos are definitely more frequently in rotation. When we had friends over for dinner Sunday night, fish tacos was on the menu! I mix flour, bread crumbs, tempura and corn meal with some salt, pepper, and paprika for the breading. We make sure to skin and get the dark pieces off the fish, toss them in the breading and then pan fry them in PREHEATED butter or olive oil. You have to have it hot, because cooking the fish fast is the trick to a nice light and flaky fish. Then we stack them with cabbage, cheese, fresh salsa, and some sort of cream/sauce. So delicious!

Monday- It's zucchini time and one of our favorite ways to eat zucchini is in omelets! I chop up the zucchini  and then saute it in bacon greese (nobody's perfect;) and you can use some other fat of your choice) with garlic and other veggies (mushrooms, peppers, ONIONS, spinach, diced baked potato, etc). I set that aside. Then I whip up 3 eggs with a little greek yogurt. I pour half of it into the hot, greased omelet skillet. Throw in the veggies, some fresh tomatoes or salsa, and Cheese and then fold in half. We top them with a little more greek yogurt and avocados and Jake adds some hot sauce.

Tuesday- We ate one of my vegetarian standbys- Rumbi Rice bowls. I've linked it on here before I think, but here it is again:http://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/2011/04/our-version-of-rumbi-rice-bowls-with-rumbi-rice.html. I make mine without the chicken, and I just use bottled teriyaki sauce. I half the rice, but still use a whole can of coconut milk and don't add any sugar. I think my kids are starting to get a little tired of this one, but Jake and I still love it!

Wednesday- Last night I made Easy Pad Thai: http://browniesfordinner.com/2010/05/11/easy-pad-thai/  I followed the recipe exactly, but doubled it. We had left overs, but not a tone, so I'm glad I doubled it. Everyone gobbled it up!!!

Tonight- Tonight I'm planning on making fancy grilled cheese sandwiches and salad, inspired from a pin I saw that took me to this blog post: http://anediblesymphony.blogspot.com/2009/04/tff-fic-grilled-cheese-forever.html  I've got ripe avocados and tomatoes all ready!

And over the weekend I'm sure we'll eat out and have some meat on the menu- but hey, when you've been eating vegetarian all week, that's no big deal! So see, it's very doable. Plenty of variety in 5 days worth of vegetarian dinners!

Tuna Salad Pitas

Made this last night. It was a quick and tasty dinner for summer weather!

Tuna Salad Pitas

6 Pita flatbreads
2-3 cans of tuna in water, squeezed dry and flaked
1 large tomato diced
2-3 Tbsp mayo
juice of half a lemon
2 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

optional garnish- lettuce, fresh salsa, cheese

Mix everything, except flatbread, in a bowl. Scoop into pitas, fold in half and enjoy!

I served with fresh fruit, tortilla chips and salsa. So refreshing!

Slow cooker Enchilada Casserole (vegetarian!)

I love using my slow cooker. It's so nice to throw some things in a pot during the day and then not have to worry about "what's for dinner". It's also nice to have something warm waiting when you're not sure exactly what time you'll be sitting down to eat. Timing food can be so hard. It seems like most crockpot meals feature meat- but this vegetarian creation went over very well :)

Slow Cooker Enchilada Casserole

2 cups peeled, diced, sweet potato
1 large tomato, diced
1 large bell pepper diced
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp garlic
1/8 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
9 small corn tortillas
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can favorite enchilada sauce
shredded cheese to your liking

1. Warm oil, garlic, and spices in pan. Add sweet potato and bell pepper. Sautee 2 min. Add tomato and beans, stir till combined and warmed.
2. Spray crock pot. Spread thin layer of enchilada sauce on bottom of pot. Then create one layer with 3 tortillas (can tear if you like). Then spoon over 1/3 of sauteed mixture. Pour another thin layer of enchilada sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Repeat 3 times. Turn on low 6+ hours. Serve with plain greek yogurt, salsa, avocado, or other garnishes of your choice.

Adapted Mulligatawny Soup

I was going to make a Mexican dish tonight- but my avocados still weren't quite ripe. I started looking through a file of recipes I'd been wanting to try. Found one that I tweaked a bit and it turned out SOOO yummy. Next time I'll plan ahead and make the Garlic Naan bread I have pinned to go with it! I love Indian food :)

Mulligatawny Soup (Jaime style)

1/2 cup chopped onion
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced
oil or butter
1 1/2 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 Tbsp curry powder
4 cups broth (I used chicken cause I was out of vegetable)
1 small apple peeled, cored, and chopped
1/2 cup cooked brown rice (or you could throw in uncooked white- but I had leftovers)
1-2 cups acorn or butternut squash- cubed or smashed- depending what texture you want (I had just roasted acorn squash so I kinda chopped it up, but it mostly blended in and made the soup thick and creamy)
1 small potato cubed
1 pinch of dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste.

Directions: Saute onions, celery and carrots in oil or butter (I used enough olive oil to cover bottom of soup pot) a few minutes or till they start to soften. Add flou and curry and cook a few more minutes- till fragrant and mixed well. Add stock and bring to a boil. While simmering add apple, squash, potato, salt, pepper and thyme. Simmer about 20 minutes or till all veggies/rice are cooked and soup is flavorful.

Enjoy!

Vegetarian biscuits and gravy?!

Vegetarian Biscuits and Gravy:

1 can refrigerator biscuits prepared as directed
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can water or milk of choice
diced broccoli, cauliflower, carrots

Saute veggies with some garlic and salt in olive oil. Add soup, and mix in water or milk till it reaches your desired consistency. I used a full can of water, and it was still creamy enough for me. Pour over your biscuits and enjoy.

I made this one night when the boys were gone to somewhere and I  wanted something simple, but also would use up some of the produce I had sitting in my fridge. I've also made a similar variation with this making mini veggie pot pies in muffin tins. That one I made for the whole gang and they really liked them. Next time I might add some marjoram, thyme, and oregano to add a bit more flavor.

Veggie stuffed calzones

A couple of tricks:

First- make your own pasta sauce. finely chop, saute, and then puree lots of veggies into and you'll get great flavor as well as hide lots of veggies into something you can use in several dishes. 

Next. Kids love pizza, right? I can make a plain cheese pizza for vegetarian nights and they'll eat it- but I think that's pretty boring. Problem is, if I load it with veggies, like I'd like, they pick them all off or turn their noses up at it. Here comes trick number two- stuff it all inside a calzone, and suddenly they gobble up the folded, veggie stuffed pizza without complaint. 

This time is used mostly broccoli, carrots, cauliflower and spinach in my sauce and calzones this time (along with tomatoes and onions of course) but I'm thinking mushrooms, spinach, artichoke hearts could make for great combos as well.

A favorite summer salad

Avocado & Strawberry Salad

2-3 cups favorite greens (I used half spinach, half romain)

10 strawberries sliced

1 avocado sliced

1/2 cup nuts (I used cashews, but I'm sure would be great with pecans, almonds, walnuts, etc)

DRESSING!!!

2 Tbsp. olive oil

4 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp cider vinegar

1 tsp lemon juice

Taco Salad

The classic, right? Usually done with meat. Works just as well with out.

Tonight everyone ate it and liked it. Tonight I made it like this:

1. Seeded and chopped two tomatoes. Finely diced 1/4 red onion. About 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro. One can of black beans. Half a can of sweet corn. Juice of one lemon. One green bell pepper diced. One Tablespoon Taco seasoning. Mixed it all together in a bowl.

2.  Filled a cookie sheet with corn tortilla chips, sprinkled with cheese and broiled just till cheese was melted.

3. Placed green salad mix, ranch, and sour cream on the table.

The I let everyone stack and eat it how they like. Everyone pretty much ate it all. Dekker had his salad with ranch separate from his "nachos" and picked out the tomatoes. I was okay with that.

Renewed effort

Recently we watched the documentary "Forks Over Knives". It helped to reinforce a lot of what I believe regarding food and diet. Since then I've been making a greater effort to get myself and my family back on track. Mon-Thur we eat vegetarian (some seafood allowed) and try to cut out or back on refined sugars as much as possible. The weekends are much more of a "free choice". After an initial post-partum weight loss I was a bit frustrated to be "stuck" at a certain spot on the scale. However, these last two weeks, with my greater efforts (for me the greatest change was cutting out sugars) I've finally started to come down again! Jake said to me the other day that he's also lost a few pounds this last week, and recognized that it was due to us making more of an effort to our eating goals. Just goes to show that it really can make a difference!

Pinterest

If you're interested in the recipe's I post here- you may want to start following my recipe boards on Pinterest. I have two. One is "recipes to try" and the other is "tried and liked recipes". Now- I will warn you- there are all kinds of appetizing recipes that get passed around on Pinterest, and so I've pinned a lot that are weekend and indulgent recipes- but there are also some great healthy ones. Every time I make a recipe and move it to the "tried and liked recipes" board I try to add a comment about how well liked it was and if I made any adjustments.

A few of my latest favorites?

Quinoa Black Bean Fajitas (Jake said he likes them even better than the vegetarian enchiladas I make)

Southwest slaw (for fish tacos)

Fruit salsa

and tonight I made the Rumbi Rice Bowls- substituting more veggies (cauliflower and cabbage) for the chicken. I LOVE the "rumbi rice" part of this recipe. Everyone liked them!

Southwestern Egg Rolls

I've been MIA on this blog since Titus was born. My diet hasn't followed our usual program too closely either. Lately we've been eating meals that other people have provided and when I cook, convenience and ease has now moved up on my priority list. I'ms still trying to do the best I can Mon through Thursday though. Tonight we had Southwestern Egg Rolls. I kinda just throw these together- but here's a basic recipe to share:

1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can of corn, drained
1-2 cups shredded cheese
1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed to release most juices
3 green onions, diced
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
a little chopped cilantro
garlic salt
maybe some diced tomatoes or peppers if I have them
Either wonton wrappers or tortillas for rolling*

preheat oven to 425*
Mix all but the last together in a bowl.
Spoon into wrappers or tortillas and roll. Place on a baking sheet and spray with baking spray. Slide in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until desired crispiness.

*I prefer the tortillas because they crisp up better. If I didn't hate to fry, maybe I'd opt for the wrappers, but they get a little chewy when baked instead.

Then I make a dipping sauce which usually includes:

1 avocado
plain greek yogurt
lime juice juice
green onion
cilantro
s&p to taste
cumin

Whip together in a mini chopper- and serve

Tilapia Parmesan

Taken directly from Favorite Recipes The Costco Way

This was perhaps the best Tilapia I've ever had!

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 Tbsp mayonnaise (I only used 2)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/8 tsp ground black pepper (I used 1/4)
1/8 tsp onion powder (I used 1/4)
2 pounds tilapia fillets

1. Preheat the oven broiler. grease a broiling pan or line with aluminum foil.
2. In a small bowl, mix together Parmesan, butter, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Season with dried basil, pepper, onion powder and celery salt. Mix well and set aside.
3. Arrange tilapia fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2-3 minutes. Flip fillets oever and broil for a couple more minutes.
4. Remove from the oven and spread parmesan mixture over the fillets. Broil 2-3 more minutes, or until the topping is browned and the fish flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to overcook.

Jake and I both LOVED this. Kids liked it too!

Some nights at the dinner table go better than others...

Last night was a bad night at the dinner table. Dekker (my 5 year old) is my pickiest eater. Lately it's gotten really bad. For a while I thought it was a contro thing (and maybe it is), so I would just ask that he try a bite of whatever I ate, and then he could have a PB&Honey instead. But then the other two would want to do the same. So then he had to wait till we were done eating- but I still found the other two eating less at dinner and requesting a PB sandwich and I felt my efforts to make a real meal unimportant. Lately I've decided he's not going to starve himself, so he can eat what I make, or not eat at all.

Last night I made wild rice, a mushroom sauce, roasted broccoli, and applesauce. While I was making dinner Dekker kept saying how good it smelled, but when it was on his plate in front of him he refused to eat it. He took one bite of rice (no sauce) and one bite of broccoli so he could have a helping of applesauce and then after much whining and complaining, chose to go to his room for the night instead. Am I a bad mom?

Tonight was a better night. Tonight I made pan-fried tilapia, Rhodes Rolls with a rub of garlic butter and herbs, and roasted brussel sprouts. Dekker came to the table with a smile and said he'd try a bit of everything. He gobbled his fish and roll, and tasted the brussel sprouts! Josh had two rolls, an adult size serving of fish and tried his brussel sprouts. Naomi had a little fish, two rolls, and also tasted the brussel sprouts. Jake, who "doesn't much care for brussel sprouts" loved them, ate seconds, and said they were the best he ever had. I actually like roasted brussel sprouts, and so also enjoyed them along with the fish and rolls. Serving bowls were empty. I was so happy I pulled out a new recipe I'd found for single serving cakes in mugs (cooked in the microwave) and we all made our own little desserts later!

Monday night was kid-friendly and successful as well. Jake was the last to catch our weekend stomach bug, and so didn't have an appetite. I kept it simple and made tuna melts, mac and cheese, sliced oranges, and peas. I served it all in their little lunch plates Nana gave them for Christmas with each thing in its own little pocket, and they all were good eaters.

You win some, you lose some. But I've learned that making the effort to sit down as a family, and trying to make good choices about what we eat eventually pays off. Josh has become a pretty good eater, and is generally very grateful for the meals I prepare. Jake NEVER complains, usually enjoys, and ALWAYS thanks me for my efforts. And so we keep plugging along.

Other breakfast smoothies

Now that I'm not as close to the wonderful Costco, I find myself running out of spinach and other green smoothie ingredients more often. So I get a little creative:

Healthy Orange Julius
ice
water
banana
honey flavored greek yogurt
carrot juice
orange juice
frozen pineapple & mango

Breakfast Milkshake
Ice
water
Vanilla Coconut milk
Frozen fruit
Honey flavored greek yogurt
two handfuls rolled oats

Both tasted really good, and were actually kinda nice to change things up a bit.

African/Indian Sweet Potatoes

Indian Sweet Potatoes

My husband and I LOVED this. I adapted it from what I think was actually and African recipe- but it reminded us of some of our favorite Indian flavors. The kids ate it okay. Sorry there's no picture, we gobbled it up to fast.

2 Tbsp Peanut oil
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 large onion
2 carrots
3 celery ribs
2 tsp minced garlic
2 lbs sweet potatoes
2 cups veg broth
28 oz crushed tomatoes (I used half canned, half diced fresh)
1 tsp salt, divided
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 almond butter
1/2 cup light coconut milk

1. Peel and chop sweet potatoes into chunks. Dice carrots, celery and onion.
2. Heat peanut oil in large skillet. Add curry powder, onions, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally for 2 min. Add garlic and 1/2 tsp salt cook for 1 more minute. Stire in sweet potatoes, broth and tomatoes and bring soup to a boil. simmer covered 20-30 min.
3. Season with 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, nut butters and coconut milk stirring to combine. Let simmer 20 minutes. Serve as soup or over rice.

Shrimp Tostadas

Made these last night and they were a huge hit. Everyone had seconds (except for Naomi, who just ate one).

I just heated black refried beans in a pot.

Threw a taco rice mix in the rice maker.

Then sauteed shrimp in some lime juice with smoked paprika, garlic and fresh cilantro.

Also made a "salsa" topping of avocado, tomato, cilantro, red onion with a squeeze of fresh lime juice and salt.

Other toppings included shredded cheese, plain greek yogurt, and lettuce.

Stack em on home made or pre-made tostada shells and enjoy!

Substitutes

What healthy substitutes do you use on a regular basis?

One of my new favorites is using plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream. For a while now I've been sneaking it into my sour cream container so my husband wouldn't know. He finally found out the other day, and said to just keep putting it in the sour cream container so he didn't have to THINK about the fact that he was eating yogurt instead of sour cream! You really cannot tell the difference though. I've used it when cooking, baking, as a topping, etc and it always works great.

I also recently saw Flaxseed Milk in the store and thought I'd give it ago. My body doesn't handle milk very well, and there are all kinds of recent studies that show that the cow's milk isn't good for you. Especially with calcium being available in other sources- like the Flaxseed Milk. Well, it was my favorite milk substitute so far- especially as far as consistency goes. Unfortunately, its a newer product, and I've been back to the store that I bought it at and unable to find it again. I'm hoping it grows in popularity so I can find and buy it more often.

A seafood night standby

Fish Tacos!


We started making these after our trip to Alaska when we brought bake 100 lbs of halibut. Since I can't usually gut the price of halibut, now I make them with tilapia. I usually have a bag of frozen tilapia filets in the freezer so I can make these on a whim.

My batter is done by eye, but goes something like this:

2 parts bread crumbs
1 part corn meal
1 part flour
1 tsp paprika
then season salt, salt, and pepper to taste.

I pan fry them in butter. About 1-2 Tbsp of butter per filet (depending on size).

I like them with napa cabbage, avocado and either fresh salsa or Cafe Rio dressing.

Everyone gobbles them up.

The easiest Vegetarian Enchiladas EVER!

Sorry for the lame picture. I had leftovers for lunch today, and this was my attempt at making them look good the second day.

Seriously though- these are the easiest vegetarian enchiladas ever. And they were a hit with the whole fam!

Quick n tasty Veggie Enchiladas
1 cup of brown rice
2 cups of water

1 can Bush's Grillin Beans- Black Bean Fiesta

Shredded mexican blend of cheese

Your favorite tortillas

1 can of your favorite enchilada sauce

Directions:
Put brown rice and water in rice cooker and let it do its thing.
When done mix with can of Fiesta Beans. Spoon into tortillas (I dip mine in enchilada sauce first), sprinkle with cheese, and roll up. Place in a baking pan. Repeat until filling is gone. Pour excess enchilada sauce over the top. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 375* until bubbly and crisping on edges. Top with favorite toppings and enjoy!