Sweet Potato Burritos
Ya heard me right. Sweet Potato Burritos.
Quick digression. Jessica was a vegetarian for a brief period of time. I’ll save the story of her vegetarian downfall for a later date and time - but it involved alcohol, late hours and cheeseburgers. Anyway, we learned how to cook without a lot of traditional “protein” in our diet. So, 4 years later, we still don’t often cook with meat. Here’s a wonderful example of how it can still be delicious (and affordable!)
My friend Amanda got me hooked on these in college. The recipe itself is simple.
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups canned kidney beans, drained
2 cups water
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
4 teaspoons prepared mustard
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
3 tablespoons soy sauce
4 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes (about 4 potatoes)
12 (10 inch) flour tortillas, warmed
8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese
Sautee the onion and garlic in a bit of olive oil until they begin to brown. Then, add all the other ingredients, with the exception of the tortillas and the cheese. Heat until warm.
Spoon the burrito filling into the 12 tortillas (this makes a TON of food) and lay into a casserole dish. Top with cheese and bake for 12 minutes in a 350 degree oven. I then serve them with a smear of sour cream and a sprinkling of green onions. Ta daaaaa! They’re reallllly good. Even better on the 2nd and third day. Recommended reheating - slice in half before microwaving.
Totally intended to have these last night. In fact, I got as far as making the filling. But then, I realized we had an appointment at Bed, Bath and Beyond in 20 minutes and there was NO way the food would be ready by then - because everywhere in Minneapolis takes 15 minutes to get to. (Can you name a movie with a verrrry similar line?)
So I threw it into a tupperware container and then the freezer. The filling will be fine until we use it again. Don’t worry. We ate. At a place that starts with an M and rhymes with TcDonalds. Don’t judge us. We’re not perfect.
Tonight, we’re off on a sushi date with a couple of friends. Maybe I’ll bring the camera and document the experience. Toodles for now.
Two nights in a row. You can’t stop me now.
Tonight, with the outdoor temperatures reaching a balmy 35 degrees, it felt appropriate to make a warm weather meal. So, I bring you Turkey Burgers with Roasted Green Beans and Sweet Potatoes.
Let’s get down to it.
1 lb ground turkey - 85/15 (too lean = too dry!)
1/4 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper
Alright, really quickly. For real, does anyone have good ideas about how to not have onion crying episodes? For the 2nd night in a row, I bawled in a manner that I usually reserve for my viewings of Beaches or A League of Their Own (when Betty Spaghetti’s husband dies). The only solution I can come up with is to shut my eyes and continue chopping. Clearly not safe. Please leave suggestions, if you have any.
Moving along. Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix with your hands. Separate into 4 equal portions and form each portion into a patty. Head for the grill - or if you don’t have one - head for the skillet. Cook for 5-7 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. Top with whatever you want (we went with tomatoes, onion and avocado) and slap it on a bun. But don’t forget to toast the bun!!
Now, traditionally, one might pair a burger with french fries. But, if you’re like me and you stupidly gave up fried foods for lent - you’re going to have to settle for roasted green beans and sweet potatoes. (Note - I’m not crazy. I love french fries. But I’m getting married on August 20th and this Oprah physique ain’t gonna shed itself. Gotta start somewhere, right?). I tossed the green beans in olive oil, one very thinly sliced clove of garlic and about a 1/2 tablespoon of salt. As for the sweet potatoes - they got the olive oil, salt and ground cinnamon treatment. Place both onto a roasting pan and cook for about 25 minutes at 425 degrees, or until green beans begin to crisp and potatoes begin to brown.
And boom. There you have it. Your “it’s supposed to be 50 degrees on Friday - so let’s celebrate summer!!” dinner. The burgers were super good. And if you close your eyes and become really delirious, you can pretend your green beans are french fries.
Now I have to start thinking about what I can blog about tomorrow. 3 in a row? Keep the dream alive.
(PS - the pasta drying was a success as evidence above. Yay!)
I’m back. After 18 months. Because tonight, my dinner included an entire container of Mascarpone cheese. You can’t make dinner with an entire container of Mascarpone cheese and NOT blog about it. So, here goes. Homemade fettuccine with a creamy mushroom sauce.
Making pasta can be fun and annoying. Tonight, it was both. I mucked up my first attempt by using the wrong blade in the food processor. But, the 2nd attempt was successful. The pasta dough is really easy. 3 1/2 cups of flour and 4 eggs. Combine them in a food processor until the dough starts to form a ball. Remove the dough and place it on a work surface dusted with flour. Knead for 10 minutes and let rest for 20. (If the dough isn’t coming together, add some water one tablespoon at a time until you get a solid consistency).
As the dough was resting, I got started on the mushroom sauce. As you can see in the photos, I was suddenly overcome with tears at the thought of how amazing this dinner was going to be. Not really. I was chopping shallots. So - chop 2 shallots and slice 2 containers of mushrooms.
The shallots went into a pan with some olive oil and a clove of garlic. (Note - new favorite kitchen trick: grate garlic over a microplane to save yourself the hassle of chopping it.) The shallots and garlic cooked for about 5 minutes - then add the sliced mushrooms. Cook for 5 more minutes and add 1/2 cup of chicken stock. Cook until liquid reduces and add 8 ounces of Mascarpone cheese and 1/2 cup of fresh Parmesan cheese. Combine all over low heat until a creamy consistency is reached.
Back to the pasta. We have a manual pasta machine that is wonderful. The long and short of it is really simple - it rolls the dough out into long sheets, and then you run it through another attachment that cuts the dough into fettuccine. The pasta went directly into a pot of boiling salted water for about 5 minutes. Fresh pasta cooks REALLY fast.
Drain the pasta, combine in a large serving bowl with the mushroom sauce and pray to god that your lactose intolerance won’t flare up as you devour the creamy cheesy delicacy that you’ve just created.
Super good. Pretty easy. And, we’ve got leftover noodles drying for our next pasta adventure.
There it is. My triumphant return. Alert the presses. Maybe I’ll check back in this week. We’ve got turkey burgers and sweet potatoes on the menu. But I’ve got to get back to The Celebrity Apprentice. Dionne Warwick is a total bia and I LOVE it.
Soup - always better the second day.
I enjoyed some leftover soup for lunch today - I made it on Wednesday night for Glee (which, by the way, is the best show to ever be made). Two days later, the soup tastes better than it did on Wednesday night.
I don’t have any photos from the cooking, but it’s an awesome recipe, so I wanted to share it. My mom got it from a friend who I believe got it from a newspaper in Denver. I have no idea what it’s called, but one might refer to it as Tortellini Soup with Italian Sasuge. Ingredients below:
2 lbs ground Italian sausage (turkey sausage entirely acceptable)
2 cloves garlic
1 onion, chopped
2-3 large carrots, peeled and chopped (I used 1/2 bag of baby carrots and ran them through the food processor)
4 cups fresh tomatoes (I used one large can of crushed tomatoes, with the juice in)
3 1/2 cups tomato sauce
6 cups beef broth
2 TBSP oregano
2 TBSP parsley - dried
1 tsp basil - dried
1 bay leaf
20 oz cheese tortellini
1 zucchini, chopped
Brown italian sausage and reserve 2 tablespoons of oil. Sautee onions and garlic in large soup pot with oil from sausage. Add all ingredients, with exception of tortellini and zucchini into soup pot, bring to boil and simmer for 2-3 hours.
45 minutes before serving, add zucchini and tortellini, cook until tortellini is done.
Garnish with fresh parmesan cheese.
Now, this came out a little thicker than I remember my mom making it. I copied the recipe over myself, so I have a feeling I omitted something. I recall adding some water when my mom made it last weekend - so if you find this to thick in texture, throw in a cup of water or so.
Either way, it’s a delicious fall soup - good for a Sunday when you’ve got time to let it simmer. Could probably also do it in the crockpot while you’re at work, and add the tortellini and zucchini when you get home!
I’m BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK.
After a few months of hiatus (with a move to Minneapolis, and more importantly - a kitchen the size of my entire NYC apartment) I’m ready to cook again. Not that I haven’t been cooking since July - but I just haven’t been all that excited about it.
Tonight’s meal was just SO AMAZING that I had to blog about it. Ha. Not. Jessica prodded and poked and I told her she could get out the camera, so here we are.
In line with our shoestring unemployed budget (but only till Monday - mama got a job!) tonight we went with the economical breakfast for dinner. Eggs were on my mind, and I threw in the leftover produce from the crisper drawer. Egg bake ingredients below:
1 cup broccoli
1 red pepper, diced
1/4 onion, chopped
1 cup frozen spinach
2 cloves garlic, chopped
8 eggs
Throw all vegetables in a pan and sautee briefly with salt and pepper.
Whisk eggs together, combine with sauteed vegetables and pour into pan coated in non-stick spray. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350, or until firm.
Now, eggs on their own are rather unremarkable. So I wanted to spice them up with a sassy side - and nothing says sassy like potatoes. I ventured out on my first homemade hashbrown adventure:
2 red potatoes (or any variety for that matter) shredded
1/4 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon corn meal
Jessica had little to no faith in this endeavor, so I was determined to make it happen. I shredded the potatoes (and almost lost 2 digits in the process) and combined them in a bowl with the onion and garlic. Then, just before hitting the pan, I squeezed the excess water out with a paper towel. Placed my pan over medium heat and coated it with oil.
Then, I got nervous. There’s nothing I hate more than being wrong, especially when someone thinks my idea is bogus to begin with. So, I added about a tablespoon of cornmeal - I thought if my potatoes didn’t crisp on their own, certainly the cornmeal would add a little crunch. Fried them for about 5 minutes on each side - and ta da. Homemade hashbrowns that even IHOP would be jealous of. And in case you were wondering, Jessica loved them.
So it was a fun meal to bring back into the fold here. Tomorrow night I’m taking steaks and risotto to a friend’s house - I’ll try to document via photo. Enjoy the photos. And take note that I don’t always wear a Minnesota Vikings jersey while cooking. It came in the mail today and I was excited to try it out. We’ll be at the metrodome for Monday Night Football - Packers vs. Vikings. SKOL VIKES!!!!!
And of final note - we got a dog. She’s not as devilish as she looks. She just gets excited when mama cooks.
And finally, our belated 4th of July meal. We spent the day yesterday at the beach, and then ran off to see the fireworks, so we didn’t have time to have a proper holiday meal.
So to make up for it, we enjoyed the Ultimate BLT’s tonight.
8 Slices Bacon
1 tomato
1 Avocado
1/4 onion
Dijon Mustard
Mayo
Artisan Bread
I’m not certain I need to explain how to make a BLT. I hope you can figure it out. But I would like to explain how an avocado can enhance the meal. I’m personally not a mayo fan - in fact, it disgusts me. I find that a thinly sliced avocado can replace the creamy taste you crave with mayo - and, it’s better for you! If you’re a mayo fan, try mixing your mayo with some dijon mustard. The kick is great.
Since this was the “ultimate” sandwich, we went for it and put 1/2 an avocado on each. I had fully intended to throw some field greens in the mix, but alas, we were out.
Finally, let me say this. NYC does a lot of things well - late nights, ethnic food, bars, shopping etc. But one thing they do NOT do well is corn. We bought 2 ears at Whole Foods and were incredibly disappointed. Maybe it’s growing up in Nebraska/Iowa that has spoiled us, but I’ll be really glad to return to the Midwest roadside sweet corn stands!!
At any rate - have yourself an Ultimate BLT this week. Ours was excellent. And even better when finished off with a little Apple Pie a la mode!
Well, I’ve clearly taken a break from the blogging. We’re getting ready to leave NYC in a few short weeks, so a lot of our days have been spent packing in all the things we still want to do as official “New Yorkers.” I had time for a couple of dinners last week. This was one of them.
Broccoli Beef over Chinese Noodles
I had a bit of flank steak left in the freezer, so I thought I’d use it up. To get started, I sliced the steak, against the grain. Note - if you’re working on a recipe that calls for steak to be sliced thinly, do it when it’s frozen. If you buy it fresh that day, just throw it in the freezer for an hour or so. It helps immensely.
Once the beef was sliced, I made up a marinade. My best guess on the ingredients:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons honey
This was enough for about 1/2 pound of steak - I threw it over the sliced beef and left it in the fridge for 4 hours.
When the time came, I cooked the beef in a wok with broccoli, mushrooms, 1/2 of an onion and water chestnuts. The great thing about stir fry is that it is meant to be cooked fast over high heat. If you have your vegetables/meat pre-sliced, it takes no more than 5 minutes to cook it up. Don’t be afraid of all the smoke/steam - it’s supposed to be that way!
We were out of rice, and happened to have Chinese noodles on hand from a soup I had made. No, these aren’t noodles out of a Ramen package. I have some class.
This turned out really well. We’ve got some chicken to use up so I’ll be attempting it again tomorrow night. As we reach the end of our time here, you might see some odd things coming up. We’re just trying to clear the pantry!
Summer has officially arrived. In NYC, that means hot days and stinking garbage. But in most other places across the world - it means a summer of fresh vegetables!
So we dug out some of our own fresh veggies - from Whole Foods - and whipped up what we have aptly named Portobello Pita Pizzaz with Goat Cheese, of course.
Easy as pie - just grab whatever fresh veggies you have on hand. We had red onion, tomato, avocado and portobello caps.
I started by toasting up the pitas in a pan on the stove - would have rather used a grill, but we’ve been over that already. Once those were done, I threw in the mushrooms, which had been marinating in balsamic for a couple of hours. Cooked for a few minutes on each side and sliced.
Spread a layer of goat cheese on the toasted pita, layer with vegetables and top with sliced mushroom.
Approach it whatever way you want. Jess took to eating hers like a pizza while I cut my way through with fork and knife. Either way, it’s delicious summer fare.
Tonight - broccoli beef stir fry!
I think America has an obsession with free stuff. Prime example: when you go to sporting events and the cheerleaders toss out t-shirts. You KNOW that every single one of them is an XXXXL, yet there’s still 10,000 fans screaming for one. I don’t get it.
NYC has it’s fair share of free events, but none better than the Bryant Park Film Festival. The lawn is reserved for people with blankets and picnic baskets. Bring your own food, drinks and entertainment, because you have to get there at 5:00 to even have a chance of a good seat. We arrived at 4:30, joined the mad rush onto the lawn at 5:00 and spent our time reading and chit chatting until the movie started at 9:00. It was a showing of the aptly named Gold Diggers of 1933 - made in 1933. A timely piece about Broadway during the depression.
Anyway, we packed up lots of stuff, but focused on the salad - which is Jessica’s specialty. She doesn’t make a lot of things - but when she does salad, she’s for real. Last night we had field greens with carrots, red onions, strawberries, apples, fresh blue cheese, and a nice balsamic vinaigrette.
Lovely night, except for the mosquito bites I came home with.
Tonight - grilled portobello mushrooms on whole wheat pitas with goat cheese, tomato and whatever else I’m inspired to put on it. See you then!
Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Pitas. I said it.
I’ve had a habit of making buffalo chicken sloppy joes before - classic style on a white bun with nothing but blue cheese. But tonight I was feeling inspired. And here’s what we ended up with to start the party:
1 lb ground chicken breast
Homemade Buffalo Sauce (explained later)
Sliced tomato
Spring Mix/Lettuce
Chopped Onion
Sliced Mushroom
Blue Cheese Dressing
Crumbled Blue Cheese
Whole Wheat Pitas
So here’s the thing. I had been envisioning these things in my head all afternoon. Huge pitas stuffed with buffalo chicken and fresh vegetables. But Whole Foods totally rained on my parade and only had mini pitas. In hindsight, they were kind of cute. But I digress.
Brown up the chicken and get the vegetables all sliced up.
Start contemplating how to make homemade buffalo sauce - because as always, my sauce is made without measurements. Really what everyone fails to notice is this - buffalo sauce is merely hot sauce cut with butter. Easy, right? I just buy Franks Red Hot sauce (best hot sauce there ever was) and mix about 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup with a tablespoon of melted butter. Start there - and continue to add more butter or more hot sauce depending on your preference. It’s pretty fun. Don’t buy buffalo sauce in a bottle - you’ll notice it looks gross because the butter sits up at the top and the hot sauce sinks to the bottom. Ew. Go the homemade route!
Anyway, make that sauce up and dump it right into the pan that has the cooked ground chicken. Mix it up - let it simmer for 5 minutes or so.
Use a knife and slice the pitas open - stuff generously with chicken, tomato, onion, mushroom, spring mix, blue cheese dressing and blue cheese crumbles.
Side note - I sauteed my mushrooms and onions first in a tad bit of butter. I always prefer them this way - you may cook (or not cook) them as you see fit.
Sweet Action Jackson, these things are good! (Sorry, not sure where that came from.) The tomato and spring mix add just the right amount of freshness - and the mess they make leave you feeling like you’ve done something naughty. Get your heads outta the gutter!
I know, this is long winded. But my final note is this - I think these would be really fun for entertaining in an assembly line fashion. Don’t forget the booze.
UPDATE: One time, Joe made Buffalo Sloppy Chicken Sandwiches. He’d like to be acknowledged as my inspiration. Whatever pleases him.
