Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas

Recipe from  http://www.acouplecooks.com/2012/10/sweet-potato-and-black-bean-green-enchiladas/

• 2 medium to large sweet potatoes (3 cups diced)
• 15 oz. can black beans
• 8 ounces canned diced green chilies (about 1 cup)
• 1 medium red onion
• ½ tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• Fresh ground pepper
• ~2 cups salsa verde
• 6 to 8 oz. Colby jack cheese, shredded
• corn tortillas
• Sour cream
• Fresh cilantro, to garnish

What To Do

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Cook the sweet potato: Peel and dice the sweet potato. Place in a pot and cover with water; add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, around 12 to 15 minutes.
3. Prepare the filling: Finely chop the red onion. Drain and rinse the black beans. (If using cilantro to garnish, you could chop it at this time as well.)
4. Assemble the filling: In a large bowl, combine the cooked sweet potato, black beans, red onion, green chilies, ½ tablespoon cumin, 1 tablespoon chili powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ to ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and fresh ground pepper. Mix to combine.
5. Assemble the enchiladas: Warm the tortillas for a minute in the microwave, or in a pan for a few seconds per side. In a large baking dish, spread ¾ to 1 cup of the salsa verde. Fill each tortilla with a heaping ½ cup scoop of the filling, add a handful of cheese, and roll it up. Place the enchilada seam-side down in the baking dish. Repeat for the remaining tortillas. When all enchiladas are in the dish, top with the remaining salsa verde (about ½ cup or so) and the remaining cheese.
6. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted.
7. Serve, garnished with sour cream (mixed with a tiny bit of water to loosen it) and chopped cilantro.

Blueberry Coffee Cake

Ellie Krieger Recipe, http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/blueberry-coffee-cake-recipe/index.html

• Cooking spray
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour or regular whole-wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup plain nonfat yogurt
• 1 cup fresh blueberries, or frozen and thawed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8-inch square cake pan with cooking spray.

Whisk together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flours, the baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, stir together the granulated sugar, cinnamon and walnuts. In a large bowl, beat the brown sugar, butter and oil until fluffy. If necessary, use the back of a spoon to press out any lumps in the brown sugar. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until fully combined. Beat in the vanilla and yogurt.

Add the flour mixture in 2 batches, stirring until just combined.

Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle half of the nut mixture over the batter and top with the blueberries, gently pressing them into the batter. Spoon the rest of the batter into the pan, smoothing the top. Sprinkle the remaining nut mixture over the cake, pressing gently. Bake until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool slightly and then unmold and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack. Cut the cake into 2-inch squares.

Summer Vegetable & Pesto Tart

This is a repeat, see
http://casseroleclub.blogspot.com/2010/07/summer-veggie-pesto-tart.html.

Breakfast Casserole with Spinach, Leeks, Cottage Cheese, and Goat Cheese

Recipe from KalynsKitchen.com
1 leek, white and light green part only (or use green onion or red onion if you don't want to buy leeks)
2 tsp. olive oil
5-6 oz. baby spinach leaves, washed and dried if needed
10 eggs, lightly beaten
1-2 tsp. Spike Seasoning (or use any other all-purpose seasoning that tastes good with eggs)
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste (Spike has salt, so I only used pepper)
1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese, rinsed with cold water and drained well
3 oz. soft goat cheese, crumbled (the one I used had 7 grams of fat per ounce, could substitute low-fat cream cheese, Feta, or more cottage cheese for the goat cheese)

Cut a 3 0z. piece from a log of goat cheese and put in the freezer to chill while you prep other ingredients. Preheat oven to 375F/190C.

Measure 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese, put in a fine strainer, and rinse with cold water. (If you prefer not to rinse the cottage cheese I think it would just make it a little creamier, but I always rinse.)

Cut off the root end and dark green part of the leek, then cut into fourths lengthwise and slice into thin pieces. Leeks are usually dirty, so I washed the sliced leeks in the salad spinner and spun dry.

Heat olive oil in a frying pan with tall sides, then add leeks and saute 3-4 minutes. Then add the spinach leaves and saute 3-4 minutes more. While vegetables are cooking, lightly beat the eggs with Spike Seasoning, salt and pepper. Remove the goat cheese from the freezer and crumble it as finely as you can.

Spray a 8" x 8" casserole dish with nonstick spray. Spread spinach/leek mixture in the bottom of the dish, then layer on cottage cheese and goat cheese. Pour egg mixture over, then use a fork to gently stir so the veggies and cheese are evenly distributed in the eggs.

Bake 20-25 minutes, or until eggs are set and lightly browned. The casserole will puff up slightly as it bakes, but will settle down when it cools for a few minutes.

Joanna's Eggplant Stacks

Egg Wash (egg, milk)
Plain bread crumbs (panko work best; sometimes I mix is dried parsley and/or oregano)
eggplants, cut in 1/3 inch slices
pesto
fresh mozzarella ball, sliced
roasted red peppers, rinsed, patted dry
olive oil spray

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray baking sheet with olive oil.  Dip eggplant slices in egg wash and then coat with bread crumbs.  Place on baking sheet.  Spray top of eggplant slices with a light coat of olive oil.  Bake until desired crispiness is reached, flipping half way through.  I usually bake for 20 minutes, each side.  Remove from oven and let cool on cooling rack.

Assemble stacks - eggplant slice, pesto, mozzarella, roasted red pepper. 


To eat immediately - bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes, until cheese is melted.
To freeze: wrap tightly, freeze.  On baking day, you can bake them directly from the freezer.  375 degrees, for approximately 30 minutes.   Check after 20 minutes and turn the stack over.

General Tso’s Tofu with broccoli

Of course this is good with chicken too!

Sauce
Adapted from Now Eat This! Rocco Dispirito
Makes 1 ¾ cups sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
¼ cup chopped fresh ginger (I grate it using a microplane)
6 garlic cloves, minced
½ bunch scallions (white and green parts), chopped fine
6 tablespoons soy sauce (I use lite soy sauce)
¾ cup vegetable broth
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
½ cup ketchup
2 tablespoons sugar
hot sauce, optional

Heat a large nonstick saute pan over high heat. When the pan is hot, add the sesame oil. Add the ginger, garlic and scallions, and saute, stirring often, until very fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the cornstarch in a medium bowl. Add the soy sauce, chicken broth, rice vinegar, and ketchup, and whisk to blend.

Whisk the cornstarch mixture into the saute pan and bring the sauce to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, whisking constantly, until the suace has thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in sugar and hot sauce, to taste.

2 packages of tofu (I use extra firm)
1 head of broccoli
toasted sesame seeds
rice
Cut tofu into cubes and drain out liquid on paper towels. Fry with a little oil in a non-stick pan. Drain on paper towels again.
Cook rice.
Steam broccoli.
Combine tofu, cooked broccoli and sauce and heat thoroughly.
Serve over rice, sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

Mushroom Tofu Stroganoff

Adapted from Horn of the Moon Cookbook, Ginny Callan

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 ½ cups finely chopped onion (this took 1 ½ medium onions for me)
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
2 teaspoons dried basil
3 pounds of extra firm tofu
vegetable oil for frying
2 tablespoons tamari (I could not find so I used reduced sodium soy sauce)
10 ounces mushrooms, sliced (I used baby bella)
½ teaspoon salt (may not need if using soy sauce)
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 quarts water
1 lb curly noodles
1 cup sour cream
½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons poppy seeds

Cut tofu into cubes and drain on paper towels. Brown the tofu in a non-stick frying pan with a little vegetable oil, over medium/low heat. Wait until one side is brown before flipping – this took about 7 minutes per side for me, but it depends on your pan and heat. Set cooked tofu aside on paper towels and keep warm.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter into wok or large frying pan and saute the onions, garlic, dill weed and basil for 5 minutes or less, until onions soften a bit. Add mushrooms, salt (if using) and cayenne, and saute for a few more minutes. Don’t fry so long that liquid disappears – you want the mushrooms soft, but not dry. Add the soy sauce and stir to combine. After a minute, stir in the sour cream and parsley, then cover and turn off heat.

Meanwhile, boil the noodles until tender but not mushy – this took me less time than the package recommended. Drain and return to the pot. Add 2 tablespoons butter and the poppy seeds and stir to combine. Serve noodles with stroganoff on top.