Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas

I've been doing some casual catering for some work events lately, staff lunches, board meeting dinners, etc. Since we're a new non-profit, I try to keep the food costs down. This can require some creativity when you're cooking for 15-25 people. One of the biggest hits out of all these meals has been the sweet potato black bean enchiladas. The sweet/salty/spicy combination is intriguing and everyone seems to enjoy them. Little do they know, these guys are a piece of cake (well, actually, making a piece of cake would be a lot harder than this) to make. But you get the picture.

These could easily be turned gluten free (use corn tortillas) and/or vegan (omit the cheese). But no matter your dietary preferences, you're gunna need to start with a few sweet potatoes.

After boiling the potatoes until tender, add black beans and a few other additions to make the enchilada filling.

Cumin is the key spice.

A little salsa and a little sour cream go into the mixture to ensure it doesn't dry out.

More salsa and enchilada sauce coat the bottom of the pan before the enchiladas get placed into it.

Fill those tortillas, roll, and place in the salsa sauce bath.

One they're all rolled up and place in the pan, top with a little more salsa and enchilada sauce.

Top with cheese (if you're into that kind of thing), and bake. Now the only question left to ask is.... What does the finished product look like? Well, I guess you'll just have to make them and see for yourself. The truth is, I forgot to take "end product" pictures. But, I promise you these enchiladas won't disappoint.

Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas

Serves 4-6

- 2 large sweet potatoes or 3 medium sized

- 2 tsp salt

- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

- 1/2 cup chopped green pepper

- 1/2 cup corn (I used canned, fresh would be great too)

- 1/4 cup red onion, chopped

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- 2 tsp cumin

- 1 tsp chili powder

- 1/2 cup sour cream

- 2 cups salsa, divided

- 1 large can enchilada sauce (found near the salsa in the grocery store)

- 8-10 medium sized flour or corn tortillas (I used flour in this recipe)

- 1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

- Peel and cube the sweet potatoes.

- Bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil, add salt and sweet potato cubes. Boil until tender when poked with a fork.

- Drain sweet potatoes and let cool.

- While the potato cubes are cooling, mix together the rest of the filling ingredients; black beans, pepper, corn, onion, garlic, spices, sour cream, and 1/2 cup salsa.

- Mix in the sweet potatoes.

- Mix remaining 1 and 1/2 cups salsa with the enchilada sauce in a medium mixing bowl. Pour 1/3 of it into the bottom of a 9/13 inch pan.

- Place 1/3 cup of the sweet potato and black bean mixture into each tortilla, roll up, place seam side down into the pan.

- Once all the enchiladas have been rolled and placed in the pan, pour the remaining sauce mixture over the top.

- Layer cheese on the enchiladas and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the center is hot and the cheese is melted.

Huevos Rancheros

When I was 16, my Brother, Josh, and I decided to travel to Costa Rica for a month of intensive Spanish language school. Since we were both homeschooled at the time (Yes, I was homeschooled. Make your judgements as you feel necessary), we had the freedom to experience many different educational experiences. We decided to live with a host family so that we could fully experience the "Tico" or Costa Rican lifestyle. Our host family was amazing. We had a great time getting to know them over the month long period we lived with them, and we enjoyed the foods and cultural experiences that came along with the host-home experience.

One of my greatest memories from that trip was breakfast each morning. Our host mother would cook up the traditional Costa Rican breakfast for us, commonly known as "Gallo Pinto" (pronounced guy-o). Salty beans, rice cooked perfectly (and in a way that I have tried to imitate but don't think I will ever succeed), and fried eggs. It was delicious. I wish I could re-create the dish the exact same way our host mom made it. Unfortunately, I can't. But, Jacob gave gallo pinto a serious contender the other night for dinner.

That's right - Jacob cooked this meal. I got home late from work, and Jacob was slaving over a hot stove creating this:

Funny thing is, this dish was actually made using duck eggs. My Father in Law gave us some duck eggs that he had been given from a friend. We couldn't taste a big difference from regular chicken eggs, but the duck eggs were much bigger and had much thicker shells than "normal" eggs.

A large salad was served on the side - made up of spinach, carrots, and mushrooms.

Just one more picture - it was just so pretty.

Huevos Rancheros Recipe:

(serves 2-3 people)

- 2 cups rice, prepared according to package directions (brown OR white is fine)

- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

- 2-3 Eggs

- 1 tbsp Butter

- Salt/pepper to taste

- 1/4 Cup Salsa

- 1 Avocado, sliced

- 1/2 Cup Cheddar cheese

Directions:

- Once rice is finished cooking, add black beans and toss. Cover, and let the beans steam in the hot rice.

- Heat a small non-stick skillet over medium heat.

- Add butter to pan, crack eggs into the skillet.

- Cook eggs to desired consistency, season with salt and pepper.

- Place 1-2 cooked eggs on each serving of heated beans and rice.

- Top with desired toppings (salsa, avocado, cheese)

Baked Potatoes with Cheesy Black Bean Sauce

We had some potatoes in the house that needed to be used last night, so I decided on baked potatoes for dinner. Now usually, a meal made of pure simple carbs would not be my first choice, but these baked potatoes were loaded with protein, fiber, and tons of vegetables - they're healthy baked potatoes! Now don't get me wrong, I love a baked potato smothered in butter, sour cream, cheese, and salt. But for a main dish, I thought I would spice it up a bit.

You know how baked potatoes that are cooked just right have that slightly chewy but soft texture in the middle? Mm. These ones turned out just like that, and boy were they good.

I didn't actually use "baking potatoes" (or russet potatoes as some would say...), I used a combination of red skinned and yukon golds. This was what I had on hand, and they worked just fine! They since were small, we each had two for dinner - the perfect amount.

I washed the potatoes really well (since I like to eat the entire potato, I like to make sure all the dirt and sand is removed), poked a few holes in them with a form, then rubbed them with a drizzle of olive oil, and sprinkled them with a pinch of salt. Roll each one up in a small piece of aluminum foil, and bake at 350 for an hour or until tender.

Next I worked on the cheesy black bean sauce. This is just a basic white sauce with a little cheddar and a can of drained and rinsed black beans added in.

 Start by melting butter, then whisk in flour and cook for one minute. 

 Whisk the milk into the butter and flour mixture and bring to a slow simmer so the sauce can thicken. Season with salt and pepper, and add cheddar cheese and black beans.

Next, I worked on getting some veggies ready to roast. Broccoli, mushrooms, and onions. Chili powder, salt, red pepper flakes, and olive oil. Toss until all spices and oil are evenly distributed and roast at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Once the potatoes are soft, the veggies are roasted, and the cheesy black bean sauce is prepared, pile it up! 

In addition to the roasted veggies and cheese sauce, we also put fresh spinach, salsa, avocado, and sour cream on our potatoes. The sky's the limit as far as toppings - grilled chicken would be great, black olives would be delicious, fresh cucumber would be refreshing. Customize and enjoy!

Cheesy Black Bean Sauce Recipe:

- 3 tbsp butter

- 2 tbsp flour

- 1 and 1/4 cups 2% milk

- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

- Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

- In a heavy frying pan or sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat.

- When butter is melted, add flour and whisk until incorporated into the butter evenly. Cook for 1 minute.

- Slowly add the milk to the flour and butter mixture, whisking vigorously to ensure lumps do not form. 

- Bring mixture to a low simmer and cook until it coats the back of a spoon.

- Add cheese and beans to the flour and milk mixture.

- Season with salt and pepper.