Southwestern Shepherd's Pie

I found this recipe ages ago and saved it because it just looked so good.  And it is - so good.  I've made it a couple times so far, and this recipe is definitely a keeper.  I thought it was about time I post the recipe. 

Southwestern Shepherd's Pie
adapted from a Parade Magazine recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. ground beef
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 small green bell pepper, diced
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp chopped green jalapeño
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• fresh spinach (optional)

for topping:

• 1-1/2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks
• butter
• milk

Directions:

1. Place sweet potatoes for topping in a saucepan with water to cover. Cover and cook until sweet potatoes are cooked and soft, about 30 minutes. 
2. Meanwhile, heat large skillet over medium-high heat; add beef and cook for 5 minutes. Add onion and bell pepper; cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and jalapeño and continue cooking until beef and vegetables are cooked.
3. Add tomato paste and spices; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes; simmer 10-15 minutes. Add corn, beans, and cilantro (and spinach if you're using it, cooking just long enough to wilt it). Spoon mixture into a 9x9-inch baking dish.
4. Drain; mash with butter and milk (if needed) and spread over the meat mixture. Sprinkle with a bit of chili powder if desired. Bake in a 400°F oven until bubbly and  a bit brown, 30 minutes.

Of course I changed things a bit, but I did keep the spices the same.  The combination of flavors is really good - a bit spicy, a bit sweet.  I added the spinach because I had some that needed used, and I'm a bit obsessed with throwing spinach into everything these days.

The original recipe called for 2 T butter and 1/2 cup milk when mashing the sweet potatoes, but my sweet potatoes were so soft and mashed up so nicely they didn't really need anything.  I did add the butter before I realized that, but I completely skipped the milk.  Just add butter and milk as needed to get the consistency you want.

Garnish with additional cilantro and serve with a green salad and cornbread for a delicious dinner. 

Tex-Mex Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

It's time again for  Secret Recipe Club (Secret Recipe Club) reveal!  This month I got to choose a recipe from Beth's blog It's Good To Be The Cook.  Beth lives outside Philadelphia, loves her family, her wonderful (and cute) boyfriend Dave, and her dog Stella.  Her posts are so much fun to read.  They're not just about the food - though the food is definitely front and center with recipes and loads of mouth-watering pictures.

So I started looking at the recipes - Oh, Beth!  So many great recipes.  How am I supposed to choose?  I love all the spicy stuff and that there's spinach in practically everything.  OK, maybe not everything, but a lot.  It looks like she's almost as obsessed with fresh spinach as I am.  I love it in practically everything!  Also, she has all her clipped and saved recipes organized in a binder - something I've thought about/wanted to do for ages, and never got around to it.  Yep, I still have boxes of magazine and newspaper clippings, recipes I wanted to try but may never find again.  I'm kinda jealous of her organizational skills.

Anyway, I started looking through the recipes, and I wanted to try the Buffalo Chicken Soup, the Black & White Bean Quesadillas w/ Avocado Ranch Dip, the Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Baked Potato, the Chicken and Bean Burritos, and several more, but I finally decided on these Tex-Mex Stuffed Sweet Potatoes. And it was a very good decision.  These things are yummy!!!

Tex-Mex Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
slightly adapted from It's Good to Be the Cook

Ingredients:

• 2 Sweet Potatoes
• 2 T Olive Oil
• 1/2 Onion, chopped
• 1 T Garlic, minced
• 1 Jalapeno, chopped (seeded for less heat)

  

  just some Spinach

• 4 or 5 mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup frozen Corn, thawed
• 1 T Cumin
• 1 T Chili Powder
• a bunch of fresh Spinach (sorry, I didn't measure)
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 can Black Beans, drained and rinsed (1-1/2 cups home-cooked)
• 1 T Cream Cheese
• 1/2 cup Plain Yogurt
• 1 cup (or less) Cheddar or Mexican Blend Shredded Cheese
• Parsley Flakes & Paprika for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.  Wash potatoes and pierce a few holes or slices in the top. Pat dry and place on foil or a baking sheet in the oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes, checking at the 1 hour mark. They will be cooked when they can be easily pierced with a fork.  Set aside while you prepare the filling.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium high. Add the onions and saute for 3 minutes then add the garlic, jalapeno and mushrooms and saute another 3 minutes or so. Now, add the corn and saute for another 3 minutes and then stir in the seasonings. Let that saute for a bout a minute and then add the spinach and saute until it’s just cooked and wilted. Season with the salt and pepper. Turn heat to low.
3. Add cream cheese to skillet and stir until it is melted.  Stir in the yogurt and beans.
4. Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise, scoop out most of the potato with a spoon, and add it to the skillet.  Stir to combine, and taste and add seasoning if necessary.
5. Evenly spoon the filling back into the sweet potato boats and top with shredded cheese.
6. Turn the oven to broil and slide the potatoes back in until the cheese is just lightly browned and bubbly, about 3 minutes.
7. Garnish with a shake of Paprika and Parsley and serve immediately!

I didn't actually pay attention to how long I sauteed the onions, garlic, peppers, etc.  Just added the onion to the skillet, cooked it a bit, then started adding all the other ingredients.  It's basically what looks good to you.  It does look good, doesn't it?  Oh, and I only used 1/2 of the jalapeno because I thought the whole thing would make it too spicy for my husband, but it didn't turn out spicy at all, so I'd suggest sticking with the whole thing.  Or using the pickled ones like Beth did in hers.

Onions, garlic, jalapeno, mushrooms and corn

And then I added the cream cheese - the heat from the skillet melted it very nicely - and the yogurt and beans.  Doesn't this look yummy?  For some reason, I didn't taste it, but it certainly smelled amazing.  I'm thinking this mixture right here would be perfect for something.  I'm not sure what yet - over pasta?  With some pasta mixed in?  Spread over tortilla chips, topped with shredded cheese and baked like nachos?  Yeah, there's something...  I should've tasted it, though, because I forgot to add the salt and pepper like I was supposed to.

Creamy!

My potatoes were so done that I had to be careful not to scoop all of the flesh out of them, leaving nothing but the peel behind.

Sweet potatoes scooped out

I put as much filling as I could into the scooped out potato skins, and I had some left over, so I saved that for later.  It was great warmed up and wrapped in a tortilla and also just scooped up with tortilla chips.  This is good filling!  I added some salt right before I sprinkled the cheese on - because I forgot to taste and add it earlier. 

Ready to go under the broiler

The filling is already hot, so it doesn't take long to melt the cheese under the broiler, and they're ready to eat.

Ready to eat!

These things are really filling.  We had one potato half with some salad, and that was enough!  That means we got to enjoy them for another meal.  I just put them into a Corningware dish and baked them, with the lid on, for 20 to 30 minutes at 350°.  Perfect!  My husband just ate the filling both times and threw the potato skin away.  I ate the skin, and I liked it much better after it was baked.  It kind of crisped up a bit.  I'm thinking that next time I make these I'm going to bake them until the cheese is melted and browned, instead of broiling.  Either that or scoop absolutely all of the potato out of the skins, mix the filling, and put it into some kind of baking dish to broil and melt the cheese.

So many yummy flavors.  I am definitely making these again!  And trying some of those other recipes from Beth's blog.  Be sure to check it out for yourself.

Chicken and Sweet Potato Stew

I had some chicken breasts in the fridge and some sweet potatoes in the pantry, so I went looking for a recipe.  I found this one which also included cabbage - and I had some of that in the fridge, too!

Chicken and Sweet Potato Stew
adapted from Weight Watchers

Ingredients

• 2 tsp cooking oil
• 1 lb. boneless skinless breast, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper 
• 1 tsp dried oregano 
• 1/8 to 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 5 cups cabbage, chopped
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1⁄4-inch chunks
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 1 T cornstarch

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning occasionally, until beginning to brown.
2. Add the cabbage, onion, garlic and seasonings. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage and onion are just tender. Stir in the sweet potatoes, broth, and water; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes, longer if you want your sweet potatoes really soft. Stir in the peas and heat through.
3. Combine the cornstarch with about 1⁄4 cup water in a small bowl until smooth. Add the mixture to the Dutch oven. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture bubbles and thickens, about 3 minutes.

Notes

If you like, substitute a teaspoon of dried thyme, or use 1 T chopped fresh oregano or thyme.  If you use fresh herbs, add them when you add the peas.

I made this a day early and then added 1/2 cup of water when I reheated it, because it was really thick.  I'm not entirely convinced the cornstarch is needed for thickening because I cooked mine long enough that the sweet potatoes got really soft and thickened the stew on their own.  I will probably leave that step out next time.  I also may have used more than just the 1 cup of peas, too - their green color against the orange of the sweet potatoes is really pretty.

This was a really easy and tasty soup recipe, great for a potluck.  Everybody really seemed to like it and there wasn't much left, so I'm sure I'll be making it again.  A nice slice of wholegrain sourdough bread is the perfect complement.

Related articles

• Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas
• Sweet Potato & Chicken Stew
• Sweet Potato Beef Stew in the Slow Cooker

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Soup

I found this recipe in the paper a couple weeks ago and made it for dinner last night. It was amazing! Really. So, so good!

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 T olive oil
• 2 onions, diced
• 2 ribs celery, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 lbs. (about 2 large) sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 T paprika
• 1 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• pinch of ground cinnamon
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 cups turkey broth (or chicken or vegetable stock)
• 3 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 can (15-oz.) garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. In large soup pot (5-qt.), heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add onion, celery, garlic, and sweet potato and saute until onion becomes translucent, about 8-10 minutes.
2. Add paprika, turmeric, basil, cinnamon, and cayenne. Stir to combine.  Add stock and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil; turn down heat and simmer, covered, 10 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes, garbanzo beans and green pepper.  Simmer an additional 10-15 minutes (or longer) or until potatoes are tender and soup is heated through.  Season with salt to taste.
4. Serve with crusty whole grain bread, and brown rice if desired.

I will definitely be making this again.  It's really easy, and the flavors blend so well.  Also, I can't remember why I thought I didn't really like Garbanzo beans - until I tried roasting them - but they are absolutely perfect in this soup.  I might have to try them in other things...(see related articles)  The recipe said, once the potatoes are cooked and the soup is hot, to add additional stock or water if needed to reach the desired consistency, but I thought it was perfect just the way it was.  I guess it depends on how you like your soups.

The recipe didn't say what to serve this with - crackers, biscuits, bread? - so I  had mine with a bit of brown rice, which was wonderful, and we had some nice whole grain sourdough bread.  Oh!  the broth soaked into the bread!  Amazing!!  (so I added my own suggestion to the recipe - because I can't imagine anything going better with this soup)

Related articles

• Chickpea (Garbanzo Bean) Soup Recipe with Spinach, Tomatoes, and Basil (kalynskitchen.com)
• Tomato Veggie Garbanzo Soup (nancycreative.com)
• Meatless Monday: African Sweet Potato and Peanut Soup (Vegan) (thetraceyshow.com)

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos

Jeffrey and I love the African Burritos I usually make, which also include sweet potatoes and black beans.  So, when I was browsing through the copy of What the Bible Says about Healthy Living Cookbook that I got from the library, I just had to try this recipe.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos

Ingredients:

• 1 unpeeled large sweet potato (about 1 pound)
• 1 large onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 T olive oil
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Several generous grindings of pepper
• 1/3 bunch cilantro (mostly leaves)
• 2 15-ounce cans black beans
• Juice from 1/2 lemon or lime (about 2 T)
• 6 8-inch whole wheat tortillas

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400° and oil a 9x13-inch baking pan.
2. Cut the potato into chunks and put them into the prepared pan.  Bake fro 30-35 minutes, or until the potato pieces are tender when pierced with a fork.
3. While the potato bakes:
• Chop the onion and garlic.  Saute in the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large frying pan.
• Cook until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the cumin, coriander, salt and pepper and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes.  Remove from the heat.
• Chop the cilantro.  Rinse and drain the black beans.  Add the cilantro, beans and lemon or lime juice to the pan.
4. When the potato chunks are cooked, remove from the  oven.  Reduce heat to 350°.
5. Add the cooked potato to the frying pan with the onion mixture. (Set aside the pan you used to bake the potato; you will use it to heat the burritos.)  Using a potato masher, mash the ingredients together to make a thick, chunky mixture.
6. To assemble the burritos:
• Lay a tortilla on a flat surface.
• Spoon 1/2 cup filling mixture over the tortilla.
• Roll up the tortilla and place in pan, seam side down.
• Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling.
7. Cover the pan with foil and bake burritos for 30 minutes, until well heated.
8. Serve with salsa, guacamole, and sour cream.

The verdict: These are really good.  Jeffrey commented that they are spicier than the other ones, so perhaps cut down on the cumin if you have people who don't like or can't eat spicy foods.  These are very filling - we both ate 1-1/2 burritos, and I wrapped the other three in foil and stuck them in the freezer.  I like the flavor of the roasted sweet potato and will use more sweet potato when I make these again.  Also, I'm not going to bother with the rolling up and baking step.  Instead I'll just mix up and heat the filling and let everybody heat and fill their own tortillas - with the filling along with salsa, sour cream, guacamole, sliced green onions, etc.  I had some leftover filling, and that's how I fixed it for lunch.  It turned out really good.

Sweet Potato Fries

Image via Wikipedia
I had sweet potato fries with my chicken sandwich the other day at TGIFridays, and they were so good, I want to make some of my own.  I found this recipe today, and it sounds pretty easy - and yummy.

Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients:

• 1 large sweet potato
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 gallon zip top bag

Directions:

1. Cut sweet potatoes into sticks that are fry sized making sure that no stick is more than about 1/4 inch thick in either direction.
2. Put fries into zip top bag then add oil and salt. Squeeze out all the air and zip the bag. Squish potatoes around until they are well coated with oil and salt.
3. Pour potato sticks onto a cookie sheet or baking dish in a single layer then roast for about 30 minutes at 350° turning sticks over half way through cooking.

ETA 3/15: The original recipe called for 1 tsp. of salt, but when I used that much, they just seemed too salty.  So I'm reducing the salt to 1/2 tsp.  Hopefully that will be better.  Otherwise, these were really yummy.  I did have to cook them longer, but that might be because my sticks were bigger than they should have been.  Just check them often and judge for yourself.
 

Related articles

• Sweet Potato Fries (cookingwithkatie.wordpress.com)
• Sweet Potato Fries (dietforfoodies.wordpress.com)

with Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

I searched for a recipe with sweet potatoes and chicken and found these I want to try.

• Sweet Potato Chicken Stew
• Honey Barbecued Chicken with Sweet Potatoes

I'm sure there are more, but these are the ones that caught my eye. I think I'm going to make the stew tomorrow and maybe the barbecue chicken this weekend.  Maybe.

Sweet Potato Chips

Image by kthread via FlickrMy son Cory has been getting more leg cramps than usual, and he was looking for a good source of potassium that might help him.  Ordinarily, he'd eat bananas, but for some reason bananas make him feel bad, so he needs something else.  I searched for some good sources of potassium and found that sweet potatoes have the most.  Unfortunately, he can't just find a baked sweet potato on campus, so I'm thinking of buying him some sweet potatoes and making these sweet potato chips.  They're something he can have handy in his dorm room.

Baked Sweet Potato Chips

Ingredients

• 1 large sweet potato peeled 
• 2 tsp vegetable oil    
• 1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste   

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400ºF. Spray 2 baking sheets with cooking spray.
  
• Thinly slice potatoes in a food processor or by hand; they should be no more than 1/8-inch thick.
  
• Arrange slices on baking sheets so they don’t overlap. Brush with oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake chips until they begin to lightly brown, about 15 minutes. Cool on a rack and serve.

 I'm also thinking that I'll try using some other seasonings besides salt, just to spice them up a bit. The problem is, he'll probably go through them really fast - or I might not want to share them with him once I make them.  Or I just might make these Spicy Baked Sweet Potato Fries w/ Honey Cranberry Mustard for me.  I won't have to share, because these won't keep in a dorm room!

• Print this recipe (at WeightWatchers.com)

Related articles

• African Sweet Potato Soup (annetteholland.com)

Southwestern Shepherd's Pie

I grabbed this recipe originally because all I could think when I saw it was, "I have got to try this!"  And yes, I did try it.  It is just as good as it sounds!

Southwestern Shepherd's Pie

by Sheila Lukins and Laurie Griffith
published: 02/17/2010

Try this spicy twist on a comfort classic.

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 small green bell pepper, diced
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp chopped green jalapeño
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 cups tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup cooked corn
• 1/2 cup black beans, rinsed
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 1/2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup milk

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper; cook, stirring, for 10 minutes. Add garlic and jalapeño; cook for 2 minutes. Raise heat to medium-high; add beef and brown for 5 minutes.
2. Add tomato paste and spices; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes; simmer until liquid reduces, 15 minutes. Add corn, beans, and 4 Tbsp cilantro. Spoon into a 9x9-inch baking dish.
3. Place sweet potatoes in a saucepan with water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Drain; mash with butter and milk. Spread mash over the meat mixture. Bake in a 400°F oven until brown, 30 minutes. Garnish with more cilantro.

Serves 4. Per serving: 460 calories, 49g carbs, 29g protein, 80mg cholesterol, and 19g fat. 

from Parade

all I need is some cilantro...

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Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili

I found this recipe quite a while ago and printed it out, but I never actually made it until last week. I'm really liking it.

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili
Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 large sweet potato, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• Zest and juice of 1 lime
• 1 28-can diced tomatoes
• 4 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained (or 6 cups freshly cooked)
• 1 jalapeno chile pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• 1 cup chopped cilantro leaves, washed and dried

Directions

1. Warm the oil in a large pan over medium heat and add the onion, red pepper, garlic, and salt. Saute until soft, about 4 minutes.
2. Add the sweet potato and lime zest, and cook 10 to 15 minutes more, continuing to stir occasionally.
3. Add the tomatoes, black beans, jalapeno, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, and cocoa, bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.
4. Serve over brown rice, if desired, with lime wedges and cilantro, or with corn bread, biscuits, or taco chips alongside.

Serves 6

Adapted from The Great American Detox Diet, by Alex Jamieson (Rodale Press, 2005) and posted at Care2.com

I didn't have a red pepper, so I used about 1/2 cup of frozen chopped green pepper, and I also substituted a hot pepper I had in the freezer for the jalapeno chile pepper. I don't remember exactly what kind of peppers they were.

I used 3 small to medium sweet potatoes and cooked my own black beans. In step 3 I simmered this stew for 45 minutes to an hour because I wanted my sweet potatoes nice and soft. I served it over brown rice with cornbread muffins, and it was yummy! Next I'm thinking about trying this recipe for Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchiladas.

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African Burritos

This is one of our favorites, Jeffrey's and mine, anyway. The kids aren't all that impressed, but we love the combination of flavors.

I adapted this recipe from a Pillsbury Bake-off recipe.

African Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos

Ingredients: 1 T oil ½ cup chopped onion 1 garlic clove, minced 3 T. chunky peanut butter 1 t. cumin ½ t. cinnamon	¼ t. ground red pepper (cayenne) 3 or 4 sweet potatoes, cooked, peeled and cut up 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained 6 (10-inch) flour tortillas
Toppings: ¾ cup thick and chunky salsa or picante sauce 6 T. sour cream	¼ cup chopped green onions 2 T chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat until hot. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes or until tender.
2. Stir in peanut butter, cumin, cinnamon and ground red pepper; mix well. Add sweet potatoes and beans; mash slightly. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 2 to 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally.
3. Meanwhile, heat tortillas according to package directions.
4. To serve, spoon and spread scant 1/2 cup sweet potato mixture across center third of each tortilla. Top each with 2 tablespoons salsa, 1 tablespoon sour cream, 2 teaspoons green onions and 1 teaspoon cilantro; spread to cover sweet potato mixture. Fold sides of each tortilla 1 inch over filling. Fold bottom 1/3 of tortilla over filling; roll again to enclose filling.

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