Sweet Potato Burritos

We have all been told to never judge a book by its cover. Well, I'm learning to not judge a recipe by its title. 


As a newish cook, I still find it difficult to read through a recipe and have a really good sense of what it's going to taste like. So when I saw the title, Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos, I wasn't sold. I couldn't get my mind to understand what the combination of sweet potatoes and beans (and mustard?!) would be like, but how could 1,218 people who gave it 4.5 stars on www.allrecipes.com, be wrong? Well, they weren't.


In just three short weeks, we've made this three times. It is so good, I can't even begin to explain it. The sweet potato doesn't have a very powerful flavour and while it adds more than just being a filler, it doesn't compete with the beans. And the best part is that this dish is screaming healthy. I mean, sweet potatoes and beans and spice? If I didn't douse these in sour cream, we'd be looking at a serious health food here. 


So now you have it. Sweet potatoes and beans = a match made in heaven. 


Sweet Potato Burritos
Makes 12 large burritos
Printable Recipe


Ingredients

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cans black beans, drained
• 1 can kidney beans, drained
• 2 cups water
• 3 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 4 tsp prepared mustard
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 4 cups sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed (boiled or roasted)
• 12 10" flour tortillas
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large bowl, combine the black beans and kidney beans and roughly mash.
• Heat butter in a medium saucepan and saute onion and garlic until soft. Stir in beans and gradually stir in water -- you want them to be thick still and not too runny so you might not need as much as 2 cups of water.
• Remove bean mixture from heat and stir in chili powder, cumin, mustard, cayenne pepper and soy sauce.
• Warm stack of tortillas in the microwave for 45 seconds to make pliable.
• Divide bean mixture and mashed sweet potatoes evenly between tortillas. Top with cheese and roll tortilla and place seam side down in a baking pan. 
• Bake for 12-15 minutes until slightly browned.
• Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Oven-Baked Bacon

Bacon is one of my weaknesses. For years, I was a vegetarian, but secretly, on Saturday mornings when T and I would go out for breakfast, I would indulge in a few strips of bacon. There's something about the saltiness of it that I crave and it just completes a Saturday morning breakfast.

But no matter how much I loved bacon, I rarely made it myself. I found it super messy and I hated that hot oil always popped up and burned me and covered my stove top. Baking my bacon though has changed all of this. It is a foolproof way to cook bacon and I always  have perfectly cooked, non-curly bacon that has an easy clean up. The other great thing is that it is one less thing I have to watch on the stove when I am making eggs, pancakes and vegetables. 

Oven-Baked Bacon

Ingredients

• strips of your favourite bacon

Directions

• Line a baking sheet with tinfoil and place a cooling rack on top.
• Lay strips of bacon out on cooling rack in a single layer and put in centre rack of oven. Turn oven on to 400 degrees (do not preheat) and bake for 18-20 minutes or until bacon has reached desired crispness.
• Remove tray from oven and transfer bacon strips to a plate lined with paper towels to remove excess grease.

Thank You!

A few weeks ago, Ann from Apples and Twinkies awarded me with a Stylish Blog award and I have also been honoured by Stephanie at The Starving Artist with a Lovely Blog award. What a treat and an honour for my little blog! 


Ann has been one of my most regular followers and her constant comments have been a huge boost for me. She has a wonderful blog with lots of great recipes, so go check her out. Stephanie is a relatively new food blogger but she always has amazing recipes with a neat take on presentation, which I love.

As part of these awards, I am supposed to tell you seven things about myself, and direct you to a few of the new blogs I have found. So here goes:


Seven things about me:


1. I have an adorable puggle -- pug x beagle cross -- named Cooper.


2. I have been a Toastmaster for 5.5 years and just last month, completed all the requirements to be honoured as a Distinguished Toastmaster, the highest honour. (Toastmasters is an international organization that promotes communication and leadership)


3. I live in Toronto where we are enjoying a lovely, snow-filled winter. (and today it's a warm and sunny 4 degrees!)


4. I still use a paper day planner and love it.


5. I read about one book per week, all taken out of the Public Library.


6. Having my nails done every week is one of my biggest luxuries.


7. The Sound of Music is my all time favourite movie. I even had a surprise Sound of Music themed wedding shower!


Some amazing blogs I have discovered over the past year:

• Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean
• Bridgette at La Bella Cook
• Kaitlin at Whisk Kid
• Jenny at Picky Palate
• Katerina at Culinary Flavours
• Andreas at Delta Kitchen
• Bonnie at From a Writer's Kitchen
• Autumn at Good Eats Girl
• Rita at Sage Cuisine

Peanut Butter Brownies

Some things just go together. Frauline Maria and Captain Von Trapp. Crossword puzzles and pencils. Puggles and vacuums. Chocolate and peanut butter.

Last night I was craving something sweet, but being in a minor food rut, I didn't have too much in my cupboards to draw from. So I turned to Martha Stewart and her many brownie options and found just one where I had everything. And this, is how peanut butter brownies came to be.

Now, I'll tell you, there is a lot of peanut butter in these. I would argue, they are 40% peanut butter and 60% brownie, so you have to be committed to this flavour combination. I wholeheartedly am, so I proceeded and didn't look back. The result is a rich and very sweet treat, to be enjoyed with a tall glass of milk or a steaming hot cup of tea. It hit the sweet spot and then some. Even my peanut-butter loving puggle wanted some. Sorry Cooper, these are just for mom. And dad. And any guests. But not for puggles.

Peanut Butter Brownies
Makes one 9x9 pan
Printable Recipe


Ingredients


Batter

• 8 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces 
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Filling

• 4 tbsp butter, melted
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9x9 square pan with parchment paper, allowing two inches to hang over the sides. 
• Make the batter: Put the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water; stir until melted. Let cool slightly.
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl and set aside.
• Whisk the granulated sugar into the chocolate mixture. Add the eggs and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture stirring well until incorporated.
• Make the filling: Stir together the butter, confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, salt and vanilla in a bowl until smooth.
• Pour one-third of the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Place dollops of filling on top of the batter. Drizzle the remaining batter on top and gently spread to fill the pan. Place dollops of remaining filling on top.
• With a butter knife, gently swirl the filling into the batter running the knife lengthwise and crosswise through the layers. 
• Bake about 45 minutes; until a cake tester comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet.
• Let cool slightly in the pan. Lift out brownies and let cool on a wire rack before cutting into squares.

Recipe from Martha Stewart: The New Classics

Lentil and Spinach Soup

This year, I have made my way through almost every kind of creamy soup: leek and potato, broccoli, tomato, squash, roasted eggplant, carrot, spinach, cauliflower and asparagus, just to name a few. I love to stay in on a cold day and enjoy a big bowl of cream soup with crusty bread and butter. But on a recent warm day, when T and I were both bouncing back from a bug, I decided I wanted something a little fresher. 

I had printed this recipe for lentil and spinach soup a while ago and thought it might just do the trick. I had never cooked with lentils and I was surprised to learn two things about it: first, Canada is the largest export producer of lentils in the world, and second, when you cook red lentils, they get creamy and yellow.

Because of how the texture changed with the lentils, this was a thicker soup than I had anticipated. But the spinach, combined with the ginger I am pretty sure was just what the doctor ordered. I actually felt healthier after eating this soup. Enjoyed, of course, with a big loaf of crusty bread.

Lentil and Spinach Soup

Serves 6-8

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 carrots, peeled and roughly sliced
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 2 medium onions, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp butter
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 10 ounces red lentils
• a thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and sliced
• 20 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 7 ounces spinach, cleaned and torn
• sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

• Melt the butter in a large pot, add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic until the carrots have softened and the onion is translucent.
• Add the stock to the pot, then add the lentils, tomatoes and ginger.
• Stir the soup and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer. Put lid on for 10 minutes or until the lentils are cooked.
• Add spinach and cook for 30 seconds.
• Season well with salt and pepper.

Recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver: Ministry of Food

Decadent Chocolate Pudding

Two years ago, before I started really cooking, I would have been completely satisfied ripping open a package of Jello powdered pudding, adding some milk and calling it dessert. 

Now, I'm much more interested in what I'm eating. I'm finding the more I cook, the less interested I am in pre-packaged foods. Without even thinking, I've stopped eating Kraft Dinner (which I honestly used to love), canned soup, salad dressing, pre-made oatmeal -- all in favour of making these foods myself. I enjoy knowing what's going into my food and trying to make it as fresh as possible. 

One more step in that was making this decadent chocolate pudding. Making it from scratch can't even compare to a package. The flavour is richer and more choclatey, the texture is thicker and dense. And, most surprisingly, I felt much more satisfied after a single serving than I would have with a whole box of packaged stuff (not that I ever ate a whole box...). So I'm finding that I'm not only enjoying the process of cooking more, but I am certainly enjoying the results!

What do you make from scratch that you used to buy pre-made?

Decadent Chocolate Pudding

Serves 6

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 large egg yolks
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped

Directions

• In a medium bowl, sift together the cocoa, cornstarch and salt. Stir in the sugar. Add the egg yolks and pour in 1/2 cup of milk. Whisk until combined.
• In a medium saucepan, heat the remaining two cups of mils and the heavy cream over medium heat until the mixture just comes to a boil. Slowly whisk the milk mixture into the cocoa mixture.
• Rinse out the saucepan (but don't dry to avoid scorching) and return custard mixture to the saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in the vanilla. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon, cook until the custard has thickened slightly (Martha said until about the consistency of mayonnaise, but mine never got that thick and turned out great). Do not let it boil and don't worry if lumps form.
• Pour the custard through a fine sieve into a clean bowl. Add the chopped chocolate in two batches, stirring until thoroughly melted after each addition.
• Divide the pudding among six ramekins, cover with plastic wrap and chill at least four hours or overnight before serving. 
• Garnish with whipped cream if desired.

Recipe from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The New Classics

Chicken Enchiladas

I don't eat a lot of ethnic food and have a real aversion to spice (though I am working on it!), but I do love Mexican. I discovered it when we were on our honeymoon and have always been keen to make things on my own so I can moderate the spice to my palate.


This recipe was the perfect one to fill a Sunday afternoon, and it is a lengthy one, but well worth it. I used a whole roast chicken and made it the day before, so it cut down a little bit on the time. But I do like being in the kitchen for a few hours, just focusing on the ingredients. Nowhere else does time fly like it does in the kitchen. I blinked and I was putting these little guys in the oven and 40 minutes later I was enjoying them slathered with sour cream -- as all spicy food should be. 

These enchiladas were a real hit. Find the time and go make them. You'll thank me, for sure.

Chicken Enchiladas

Serves 4-6

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• 1 tsp oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tsbp chili powder
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1 tomato, seeded and chopped
• salt and pepper
• 1 cooked roasted chicken, shredded 
• 1 cup shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded monteray jack cheese
• 1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
• 12 soft tortillas

Directions

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat ad cook the onion for a few minutes until translucent. Stir in garlic, chili powder, cumin and sugar, a cook a few seconds. Mix in the tomato sauce, water and chopped tomato. Bring the sauce to a simmer, lower the heat and cook until slightly thickened, about five minutes.
• Strain the sauce through a large mesh strainer in to a medium bowl, pressing down to extract as much liquid as possible. Transfer the reserved solids to a large bowl and set aside. Season the sauce (the liquid that was squeezed out) with salt and pepper. This is the enchilada sauce.
• Add the shredded chicken to the bowl with the onion and tomato mixture. Add in a 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce, 1/2 a cup each of the shredded cheeses and the cilantro. Stir to combine.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Oil a 9 x 13" baking dish with cooking spray. 
• Stack the tortillas on a plate and microwave for 45 seconds until warm and pliable. Spoon 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture in the centre of the tortilla. Roll up the tortilla around the filling tightly and place in the prepared baking dish, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining filling and tortillas.
• Place baking dish in the oven uncovered for 7 minutes until start to brown slightly.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Remove the enchiladas from the oven and pour the sauce over the top and sprinkle with the remaining cheeses. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
• Remove the foil and bake for another five minutes, until the cheese is browned.
• Let stand 10 minutes before serving.  

Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats