Italian Beef in the Crock Pot

Flavorful and easy!!!!

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2008/12/slow-cooker-italian-beef.html

Creamy Vegetable Soup

1 turnip, cubed

3 potatoes, cubed

2 carrots, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 small onion, quartered

2 large tomatoes, quartered

2 tsp salt

5 cups water

Cook all together for 45 minutes. Do not drain. Blend in blender or use immersion blender!

EASY EASY!

From Favorites Cookbook

Corn and bean chowder

Corn and Bean Chowder

Grilled Chicken, Corn, & Bean Chowder

8 servings

4 Cups Low-Sodium Chicken or Vegetable Broth
4 Carrots, diced or sliced
4 Celery stalks, diced or sliced
2 small all-purpose potato, diced (or 2 small red potatoes/approx. 8 ounces)
2 small Onions or 1 large Onion, chopped
3 Cups Corn kernels, fresh or frozen
2 Cups Great Northern Beans, drained & rinsed canned
2 Cups Milk
1/4 tsp freshly ground Black Pepper
1 lb Grilled (cooked) Chicken Breast, cubed or shredded

1. In a large nonstick saucepan or dutch oven, combine the broth, carrots, celery, potato, onion, and corn. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender, about 15-25 minutes.

2. Stir in the beans, milk, pepper and increase heat. Bring to boil, add the cooked chicken, and reduce heat to simmer for 5 minutes.

3. Measure the chowder out into 8 servings. Freeze and/or refrigerated and enjoy!

Helpful Tips: If you prefer a thicker chowder, you can thicken it with 1 T cornstarch. Also, you don't have to grill the chicken, but it does add a very nice flavor to the chowder.

Nutrition per serving:

279 Calories
4.0 g Fat
6.5 g Fiber
36 g Carbs
26 g Protein

If you like a side with your chowder, or serving this for company, you may serve it with a side salad such as 1 cup Romaine Lettuce, 1 Cup Spinach,1 large Sliced Strawberry, 1/2 TBL fresh Basil and 1/2 TBL Balsamic vinegar w/ fresh Black Pepper

Broccoli Soup

Easy and tasty!


1 TBSP olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups chicken broth
1-2 bunches broccoli, chopped (approx 7 cups chopped)
1 large russet potato, peeled and diced
salt
pepper
cheddar cheese
bacon (optional)


Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft.


Add broth, broccoli, potato, 1 cup water, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered until the vegetables are tender 18-20 minutes.


Puree soup with immersion blender or in blender. Top with cheddar cheese and bacon.

Power Muffins

Warning: these are healthy and yummy! Follow these instructions: Chop 2 cups of dates and place them in your blender. Add 2 cups of hot water. Blend into a liquidish mixture. Add 1 cup of oats and 2 tsp baking soda. Pulse in blender. Add 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1.5 tsp salt, 2 tsp vanilla, 1/4 cup buttermilk, 2 TBSP coconut oil, 2 eggs. Blend together. In separate bowl combine 1 cup flax meal, 1 cup almond meal, 1 cup oat bran, 2 TBSP pamelas baking mix flour. Mix wet and dry ingredients together. Add 1 cup chocolate chips (and walnuts if do desired). Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.(check the muffins after 15 mins)

Turkey Black Bean Chili

3 TBSP Olive oil
1 medium onion, diced in tiny pieces
1 yellow, orange, or red bell pepper
6-8 jalapeño pepper rounds (found next to olives in grocery store)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb ground turkey, cooked in skillet
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 15 oz cans black beans (or a combo of kidney, pinto etc)
1 can tomato paste
2 TBSP chili powder
1.5 tsp sugar
2 tsp ground cumin
juice of one lime
shredded cheddar cheese
salt
cilantro
corn chips

Heat oil in frying pan over medium-high heat. Saute onion, bell pepper, jalapeño pepper rounds, and garlic , stirring often for 5-6 minutes.

Add turkey and cook, stirring often and breaking meat into small chunks until it is no longer pink.

Add turkey and onion mixture to crock pot along with the tomatoes, beans, tomato paste, chili powder, cuban and sugar. Cook on high 4 hours.

To serve, stir in lime juice. If you like, add salt to taste. Top with shredded cheese and chopped cilantro.


Adapted from a recipe by Kevin Nelson, executive chef at Terra Nova at Vail mountain lodge and spa. Published in Sunset Magazine 2010.

Sun Dried Tomato Basil Hummus

• We didn't refrigerate it for an hour like the recipe suggests and it was great fresh out of the blender.
• From allrecipes.com
• 
  
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons tahini paste
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 (15.5 ounce) cans garbanzo beans, drained
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
• 1/4 cup finely shredded fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika (optional)

Directions

1. Place garlic, salt, tahini, and lemon juice into a food processor; process until smooth. Pour in the garbanzo beans and 1/2 cup olive oil; process until smooth again, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Once smooth, add the sun-dried tomatoes, and pulse until they have been chopped to very small pieces and are incorporated into the hummus. Finally, add the basil, and pulse a few times until mixed in.
2. Spread the hummus into a shallow serving dish, and make a few decorative grooves on top. Refrigerate at least 1 hour, then drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with paprika before serving.

Mayo-less Tuna Salad

Nice for summer time!!

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/05/mayo-less-tuna-salad.html

Southwest Rice and Bean Salad

This is a winner!

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2009/09/tamis-southwest-rice-and-bean-salad.html

Spanish Rice

This was tasty!
Spanish Rice

From: Food Brings Families Together

2 cups uncooked rice

1 onion, chopped

1 T. garlic, minced

2 T. olive oil

1-15 oz. can diced tomatoes (I prefer petite diced for this)

3 heaping tsp. chili powder

3 heaping tsp. chicken bouillon

2 1/2 cups water



Heat oil in a large pot. Add the rice, onion, and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes. Then add all the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Stir, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes. Serve with burritos or any other Mexican dish!!

Vegetarian Black Bean Chili

This came together in a flash and was tasty. What more could you ask for!!
http://www.rookie-cookie.com/2007/10/vegetarian-black-bean-chili.html

Crock Pot Minestrone

Add your favorite gluten free pasta or skip the pasta completely and add an extra can of beans. This soup has a really nice flavor. I skipped the step of pureeing the beans and just added them as is juices and all.

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/11/crock-pot-minestrone-soup.html

Chicken Cordon Blew casserole

chicked cordon bleu casserole

serves four

ingredients:

• 12 oz (weight when raw) boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 4 oz diced ham
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3-4 cloves garlic, grated
• 3 TB fresh thyme Optional
• 1 cup low sodium free chicken broth (Swansons)
• 5 wedges laughing cow light swiss cheese
• 2-3 TB dijon mustard Optional
• shredded cheese of your choice
• 1/2 cup Gluten free bread crumbs (I found some at Harmons in their G.F. isle.)
• salt & pepper to taste

directions:

*spray a medium skillet with a generous amount of olive oil cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat.

chop your onion and thyme and grate your garlic.

*add onion, garlic and thyme to the skillet.

*stir often and let the onions begin to caramelize.

*meanwhile, dice your ham into small bits and the chicken.

*season your chicken with salt & pepper and cook in a separate pan.

*when the chicken is cooked through, remove it from the stove and dice it into pieces that are a bit bigger than the ham pieces.

*once your onions are caramelized, add your broth, laughing cow and dijon mustard. turn heat to low.

*stir often and let the cheese melt and the ingredients meld together. add salt and pepper to taste. you want to let this mixture cook for quite some time so it reduces by about half.

*once it is reduced, add the chicken and ham to the sauce.

*Mix well

*pour mixture into an 8×8 baking dish.

*sprinkle 1/4 cup of the bread crumbs on top of the casserole.

*place shredded cheese on top of the first layer of crumbs.

*sprinkle the remaining bread crumbs over the cheese.

*at this point, you can refrigerate the casserole overnight or all day or whatever.. that’s what i did. i made it sunday night and we baked and ate in monday night. obviously, you could also just bake it right away!

*bake (covered with foil) at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. take the foil off for the last 5 minutes. everything should be hot and bubbly.

serve with some steamed veggies and enjoy!

Macaroni and Cheese

Im posting this with the assumption that you could use gluten free pasta easily in this (let me know if I'm wrong). It was easy and tasty and I think the kids would love it!

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2009/03/skillet-creamy-macaroni-and-cheese.html

Perfect Hard boiled eggs

1. In a large pot, place 12-18 eggs

2. Add water until eggs are nearly covered.

3. Place on stove and turn heat to high.

4. Once the water comes to a rolling boil, set the timer for 10 minutes. If needed, you can reduce heat slightly, but not much.

5. After 10 minutes of rapid boiling, immediately place your pot in the sink under cold water. Let the water fill the pot and start overflowing. It should replace the boiling water completely.

6. THE SECRET TRICK TO PERFECT HARD BOILED EGGS: Get a ton of ice and place it right on top of the eggs and cold water. Let it sit until all the ice has melted and even longer. mine usually stays in the sink a few hours until I get around to putting the eggs in the fridge. No rush, my friend.

7. Put eggs in the refrigerator

Chicken Cashew casserole

• Ingredients:
• 2 cups cooked brown rice (2 cups AFTER cooking)
• 2 large chicken breast halves (about 6 oz each)
• 1 TB olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups celery, chopped
• 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
• Broccoli
• 1/2 of a yellow onion, diced
• 3/4 cup greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup low fat mayo
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (shredded or grated)
• salt & pepper
• crushed cashews

directions:

preheat oven to 350 degrees.

cook your rice, set aside.

heat oil and garlic in a skillet.

chop your onion, pepper, celery and broccoli and add it to the skillet.

Cook until veggies are softening up but celery still has a little crisp to it. set aside.

add chicken to skillet that veggies cooked in. (you can dice it into chunks or strips before you cook.)

meanwhile, combine yogurt and mayo in a bowl.

Now mix everything together. Then put into a casserole pan. add cheese and then crush your cashews and sprinkle them on top.

Cook in oven 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

healthy Reese's cup

• 2 scoops of vanilla or chocolate whey protein (both are delicious however chocolate makes them tastes like a Reese’s cup)
• 2 large tablespoons of natural peanut butter
• 1 tsp of honey

Take a fork and beat it all together, roll them in balls and put in a container lined with wax paper. Refrigerate.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Had the missionaries over and served this, they loved it.

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2009/02/sweet-and-sour-meatballs.html

Southwest Black Bean Chicken Chili

Very easy to prepare!

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2011/03/southwestern-chicken-barley-chili.html

Salad

Peel 1 large sweet tater + chop into bite-sized pieces.

Place in a small bowl, drizzle with real maple syrup, ground flax, cinnamon + coarse sea salt. Mix to coat.

Spray baking sheet with olive oil and bake in a preheated 350* for appox. 30 minutes. Then place your hot taters atop a hefty portion of lettuce/spinach, avocado, red onion, squash/Zucchini and anything else that sounds good! Finish it off with a drizzle of olive oil + balsamic and fresh black pepper.

Sweet tater and black bean balls

Sweet Tater + Black Bean Balls

• 1/2 sweet potato, mashed
• 1/2 c. black beans, rinsed + drained
• 3 T salsa
• ground flax

To cook the potato, pierce with a fork and then microwave for appox. 6 minutes until tender. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350*. Combine the mashed potato, black beans, and salsa in a small bowl. Roll into balls [should make between 6-8]. Spread the flax onto a flat surface and roll each ball in the seeds, to coat. Place on a greased baking sheet + let cook for about 20 minutes, depending on size. Enjoy with sour cream or Greek yogurt – yum!

Beef Stroganoff

Can be served over rice or potatoes!
http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2008/04/the-ultimate-beef-stroganoff.html

Peanut butter banana frozen yogurt pops

1 1/2 bananas, frozen + cut into 1-inch chunks (Peel bananas and put into ziplock bag and then stick in freezer)
1 (6-oz.) plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup peanut butter chips (or 2 T peanut butter)
1 t ground cinnamon
a drizzle of agave syrup or a tablespoon of sugar

In a food processor or blend tec blender, blend the bananas until they reach an ice cream-like consistency. This should take between 3 – 4 minutes. Add in the rest of your ingredients, and blend well.

In a popsicle mold or small paper Dixie cups, pour the mixture.

Place a popsicle stick or spoon in each cup, and place in the freezer for at least 3 – 4 hours.

Makes 2 large popsicles or 4 small popsicles

Almond flour pancakes

1 1/2 cups almond meal*
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk of your choice
1 t vanilla extract
2 T maple syrup
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1 t ground cinnamon

*almond meal can be made by pulsing raw, blanched almonds in your food processor/blend tec blender until they are finely ground and look something like this

Mix all the ingredients well.

In a medium fry pan or skillet over medium-low heat, spray the surface with cooking spray and dollop 2 heaping T of batter per pancake. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown, and then cook an additional 1 to 2 minutes on the other side.

Top with garnishes of your choice (i.e. nut butter, bananas, berries, maple syrup, agave syrup, cinnamon + sugar, whipped cream, Greek yogurt).

Makes 10 pancakes

Found another blog!

Because yes, sometimes work really is that slow!

http://www.thehealthyeverythingtarian.com/?page_id=1585

Apple Cinnamon Quinoa

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vanilla soymilk or whatever you have in your fridge!
1/2 t pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup quinoa
1 large Braeburn, Fuji or Gala apple, diced
1 T honey
1/2 t cinnamon
Pinch nutmeg
1/4 cup almonds & walnuts, crushed

To make quinoa, mix water, soymilk, vanilla and quinoa, and cook in your rice cooker.

Just before serving, microwave the diced apple for 1 minute (should be slightly softened and warmed). Mix the apple, honey, cinnamon and nutmeg with the cooked quinoa.

To serve, divide into two bowls and top with the crushed nuts. Add a dollop of Greek yogurt, sprinkle of cinnamon and a drizzle of honey, and enjoy!

Fresh Tomato/Tortilla Soup

Must be made with fresh tomatoes from the garden!

4 medium fresh tomatoes (1.5 lbs), quartered

1 medium onion, quartered

olive oil spray

6 (7 inch) corn tortillas

6 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

8 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 TBSP chopped cilantro

1 TBSP ground cumin

1/2 TBSP chili powder

2 small bay leaves

salt to taste

1 small ripe avocado, peeled and diced

1/3 cup cheddar cheese (optional)

In a food processor, puree tomatoes and onions until smooth. Finely coat the bottom of a sauce pan with olive oil spray. Take 3 of the corn tortillas and shred them into bite size pieces, add them to the sauce pan with the garlic and sautee for 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes and onion mixture. Add chicken broth, tomato paste, cilantro, cumin, chili powder and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaves. Season with salt as needed.

While soup is cooking, preheat oven to 350. Take the other 3 tortillas and cut them into strips, brush with olive oil. Bake for 10-12 minutes shaking the pan occasionally until the strips are crispy. Set aside.

Ladle soup into bowls and top with tortillas strips, avocado and cheese.

Rainbow jello/The food librarian

http://foodlibrarian.blogspot.com/ (AWESOME IDEAS!)

This is Easier than it may seem.

1. Jello.
2. Sweetened Condensed Milk.
3. Knox Gelatin.

For each layer:
3 ounces of Jello. (3 oz is a small 4-serving box. Blue and Purple flavors come in larger 6 oz. boxes - I use my scale and weigh out 3 oz or just measure half the package.

1/2 package of Knox gelatin.

1 cup boiling water

Mix until totally dissolved.

In a separate glass measuring cup (or bowl), empty 1 can of sweetened condensed milk (don't use evaporated milk, 1 can is about 1 cup of milk). Add enough boiling water to make 2 cups of liquid. (this doesn't have to be exact!)

Add 1/2 cup of the milky mixture to the dissolved colored jello.

Pour into pan and let set for about 30 minutes in fridge

Continue for other colors. You can make up to 4 layers with the 2 cups of milky mixture.

You can use whatever colors you want!

no bake cookies

1 cube butter

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup cocoa

Stir together in a medium sauce pan, bring ingredients to a boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat then add:

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup peanut butter

3 1/2 cups rolled oats

Mix together then return to burner for 1 minute. Drop by spoonfulls onto wax paper or aluminum foil. Cool to set.

tofu quinoa stir fry

I'm no good with measuring-I do much better throwing a bunch of stuff together. So you do the same!

Quinoa (cooked in rice cooker)

Mix together in frying pan:

Veggies- frozen or fresh

a little bit of soy sauce

Tofu or chicken

After thats all done, throw the quinoa in the frying pan and then eat.

Name...? fast and easy

1/4 C. brown rice

1/4 C. Beans (black or kidney or mixed...)

1/2 avacado

Tofu (if you like! optional) or chicken

add some hummus to the side

oatmeal

Oatmeal with 1/3 C. almond milk. Banana and walnuts on top. Sprinkle on some cinnamon too. So simple and easy. healthy food can be fast! Sometimes I add 1 tbspoon of almond butter and stir it in.

Tomato avacado salad

I don't know why I don't eat this kind of stuff more often. Easy. Tomatoes, avacado and a little bit of sea salt.

POWER-PACKED GRANOLA CEREAL

POWER-PACKED Granola cereal

• 1/3 c rolled oats (regular oats would work too)
• 1 t sunflower seeds
• 1 t shelled pumpkin seeds
• Dried fruit of your choice
• 1 T chopped raw walnuts

Combine all ingredients and top with milk. I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk and it was so good!

14 layer cake

KATIE! Can we try this with a pamelas or betty crocker mix, please?! YUMMY!

http://www.bakerella.com/fourteen-for-the-fourteenth/

B-A-N-A-N-A-S

I haven't tried this yet, but I saw it on yahoo recipes and i'm really excited to try them!

Banana Salsa
Make a quick salsa with 2 diced peeled bananas, 2 tablespoons minced red onion, 1 tablespoon mincedcilantro, 1 teaspoon minced serrano or jalepeno pepper, juice of 1 lime, and brown sugar and salt to taste. Use it to top fish or tacos... ect...

Broiled Bananas

Slice 1 peeled banana in half lengthwise. Put banana pieces, cut sides up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle the banana pieces with 1 teaspoon brown sugar, and broil on high until the sugar bubbles and the bananas brown (about 2–3 minutes). After broiling, sprinkle with cinnamon—or drizzle with 1 teaspoon rumfor an extra-special treat.

apple oatmeal

Back to pureeing... I pureed some apples and then froze it in a ice cube tray. Then made oatmeal and added the apple ice cubes to melt in the hot oatmeal... Then sprinkled some nutmeg and cinnamon onto it. YUM! It was like adding the apple butter to it. So good. I didn't even have to add sugar or anything.

Oatmeal: Cook one cup of oats with two cups of water. Bring to boil, then simmer for a few minutes. To help cool off the oatmeal to give to a hungry child, add three or four cubes of apple puree. This will cool the oatmeal and add a nice sweet taste without adding sugar.

Cuban Style Black Beans

Cuban Style Back Beans

This was really good just served in a bowl with rice and your favorite toppings!

Baked Potato Soup

This was really filling and tasty.

Baked Potato Soup

I used 1/3 of the sour cream that it called for and it was still really good.

Split Pea Soup with Barley and Ham

Who doesn't love an easy crock pot recipe?
Split Pea Soup with Barley and Ham

I used deli lunch meat ham in mine cause I couldn't find any other ham in the grocery store!

egg salad

NOT YOUR AVERAGE EGG SALAD

• 2-4 cups mixed greens
• 1/2 c cooked quinoa
• 2 eggs
• sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• salt & pepper

1. Set a skillet over medium-high heat and lightly coat with nonstick spray.
2. Carefully crack both eggs into the skillet. Let cook for about a minute.
3. Add about a tablespoon of water to the pan and cover. [The water and the lid will help the eggs cook by gently steaming them.]
4. Let cook a few minutes more until the tops are white. For very runny yolks (i.e. over easy), cook for 1-2 minutes; for slightly cooked/slightly runny yolks (i.e. over medium), cook for 2-3 minutes; for gross yolks (i.e. over hard), cook 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and remove lid.
5. Place greens and quinoa on a plate, slide the eggs on top, sprinkle shredded cheese on top and season to taste.
6. Split egg yolk open and devour.

For Emily-baby food

I saw these baby websites and thought of you, Em. I think you will like these :)

http://www.nurturebaby.com/index.php/recipes

http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/index.htm

http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/6-to-9-month-baby.html

http://www.annabelkarmel.com/recipes/first-foods

eating more veggies

Devin has a hard time eating veggies (surprise)! So lately i've been pureeing my veggies and adding them into things. Like spinach, carrots, cauliflower, squash ect... and adding it into any and every recipe! pancakes, cottage cheese, eggs, shakes...

It's a great way to get kids AND Devin to eat veggies, because he doesn't even know it's in there. mwahahahaha

Another fun idea I saw:

Keep your fridge and pantry stocked with healthy snacks instead of empty calorie snacks. One great idea comes Lynsey. She only gives her kiddos healthy options and then lets them choose. She does this by filling each hole of a muffin tin with only healthy choices such as - carrots, string cheese, yogurt, grapes, turkey slices, broccoli, edamame, orange slices, sliced banana, etc.... Look how happy these two look!

*Is it creepy that I just put a picture of kids we don't even know on our

blog? Oh well, now you get the idea!

another good blog with GF recipes!

http://www.flourchildblog.com/p/recipes.html

Candy Chex

5 cups each: corn chex, rice chex, honey chex

1-2 Cups roasted almonds

2 Cup shaved coconuts (if you like coconut-yuck)

Combine and bring the following to a boil in large sauce pan:

1 stick butter, 1 Cup corn syrup, 1 Cup sugar

Boil for 1 minute. Remove f rom heat and add 1 Tsp. Vanilla

Pour over the cereal and almond mix.

Push it onto a large sprayed or waxed paper cookie sheet sit it can be broken up easily when cooled.

City Deals

Have you guys heard about city deals? It's so amazing! Before you go out to eat or do anything really, check city deals to see if you can get a coupon. I needed a gift to give someone, and so I went on there and bought a gift card for a sushi place... I spent $10.00 but the gift card value was 20 bucks! I just printed it out right then.

http://www.citydeals.com/location/search/index?q=&customer_location=&zip_miles=50&category=&filter=popularity&customer_location=All&zip_miles=25&per_page=50

Another Gluten Free Food Blog

http://cannelle-vanille.blogspot.com/2008/01/recipe-index-cakes-flourless-chocolate.html

sweet potato black bean enchiladas

Quickie Green Chili Sauce:

1 cup light vegetable broth
1 tablespoon arrowroot starch dissolved in a little cold water
1 generous cup chopped roasted green chiles- hot or mild
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin or chili powder, hot or mild, to taste

(Honestly, if you're feeling lazy, just grab a can of green chili sauce from the shelf, making sure that it'sGF, of course.)

For the filling:

1 15-oz can organic black beans, rinsed, drained
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
Fresh lime juice from 1 big juicy lime
2 heaping cups cooked sweet potatoes, smashed a bit, but still chunky [I cube mine, then soften just a little]
1/2 cup chopped roasted green chiles
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder, or curry, mild or spicy, as you prefer
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro


To Assemble:

2-4 tablespoons light olive oil or vegetable oil, as needed
8 white corn tortillas (I used Mission gluten-free tortillas)
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese, or vegan cheese, if desired
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Choose a baking dish that would hold 8 enchiladas.

Make your Quickie Green Chile Sauce by combining the broth, dissolved arrowroot, green chiles, garlic and spices in a sauce pan and heating over medium-high heat. Bring to a high simmer. Simmer until thickened. Taste test. Set aside.

In the meantime, using a mixing bowl, combine the drained black beans with minced garlic and lime juice. Toss to coat the beans and set aside.

In a separate bowl combine the lightly smashed sweet potatoes with the chopped green chiles; add the spices. Season with sea salt and pepper.

Pour about 1/4 cup of the Quickie Green Chile Sauce into the bottom of the baking dish.

Grab a skillet and heat a dash of oil. Lightly cook the corn tortillas to soften them - one at a time - as you stuff each one. (Corn tortillas are amazing if you spray them lightly with olive oil and heat them up first. Otherwise they are super dry.)

How do I stuff thee?

Lay the first hot tortilla in the sauced baking dish; wet it with the sauce. Spoon 1/8 of the sweet potato mixture down the center. Top with 1/8 of the black beans. Wrap and roll the tortilla to the end of the baking dish. Repeat for the remaining tortillas. Top with the rest of the sauce. If you like, top with a sprinkle of shreddedMonterey Jack cheese.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the enchiladas are piping hot and the sauce is bubbling around the edges.

Serve with a crisp salad of baby greens and herbs spiked with oranges, strawberries, watermelon or halved grapes.