Vegan Bean and Sweet Potato Enchiladas with Avocado Cilantro Cream Sauce

Made a version of these the other night from the cookbook Oh She Glows (thanks to a dear friend for the tip). I did some tweaking 'cuz that is what I do and OMG...these are so delicious! My hubby thought they were made with meat! The cookbook recipe is a bit different but very close.

Changes I made:
Mixed beans instead of black beans (it was what I had in the pantry).
2 cups of sweet potatoes (I ended up with five LARGE enchiladas).
I made my own enchilada sauce to pour over before baking and used 1/4 cup in the filling.
1/2 package of frozen spinach instead of fresh.
Omit the nutritional yeast -- totally not needed!

Here is the link to her blog and recipe:
http://ohsheglows.com/2011/05/04/vegan-enchiladas-with-cilantro-avocado-cream-sauce-2/

(photo credit: Oh She Glows ohsheglows.com )

Chili Rellenos Casserole

Serves 4

4 Poblano Chili peppers

2 eggs

3/4 cup flour

Cheddar cheese and Monterey Jack. I used cheddar and friulano (yum)

Two ripe tomatoes sliced thinly 

1/2 cup Bread crumbs

2 tbsp Butter

BBQ or broil the peppers until the skin is charred and they are soft. 

Peel the peppers and remove the seeds. 

Set aside

Shred cheese...you will need about two cups shredded cheese. Set aside.

Beat eggs and milk together. 

Melt butter and mix with bread crumbs. 

Assembly:

Butter or oil your dish

Layer 1/2 of the poblanos

Top with 1/3 cheese mix

Layer remaining poblanos

Top with 1/3 cheese mix

Layer sliced tomatoes

Top with remaining cheese 

Pour egg/milk mix over the whole thing, covering evenly

Last layer is buttered bread crumbs, sprinkle evenly over top 

Bake at 350F until top is browned, about 30-40 minutes. Let it sit for a few minutes before cutting.

Blackberry Lime Muffins

(I turned around to get the camera and one went missing!)

1 lime, juice and zest of
1/4-1/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup fresh blackberries, halved

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

1. Spray a muffin tin and set aside.
2. Zest a lime, and set aside. Melt the butter and let it cool.
3. Squeeze the juice of the lime into a measuring cup over a sieve to catch the seeds and stuff. Pour enough milk into the measuring cup to make up a half cup. Stir in vanilla and the lime zest. Set aside for now. Yes, it may get buttermilk-looking....that's okay!

1. In a large bowl, measure out the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Mix well.
2. To the lime/milk mixture, add the egg and the cooled butter and mix well. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix just to combine.

1. ONLY MIX UNTIL EVERYTHING IS WET. Do not overmix.

1. Spoon batter into muffin tins, filling them only halfway.

1. Sprinkle a few berries on each one and then continue to fill the muffin tins to the top. Why? Well, 'cuz if you mix the berries right into the batter, you will end up with SMURF MUFFINS. Trust me.

1. Bake in a 400 F oven for 25 minutes until the tops are springy.

1. Cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10-15 minutes.

Brag moment (no recipe)...

What do you do when your first granddaughter is having her first birthday, her parents are both NASCAR fans , and her birthday falls on the same day as The Daytona 500?

THIS:

...and yes, it is completely edible. Well, it WAS.

Mama Mia, MANGO!

FRESH MANGO SALSA

Okay....so you are out grocery shopping and having a great time...

Wait, is that only ME?

Whatevs. There you see it...heaven in a box....a FREAKING BOX of mangoes. Like a whole box!

You stop yourself and say, how could I ever eat a box of mangoes? I stop you and say, SHUT UP. Hell yeah, you can eat a box of mangoes. The real question is how can you stop yourself from eating them in one day?

One of my favourite things to make when I get my hands on fresh mangoes is salsa! 

1 large mango or 2 smaller ones, peeled, pitted, and diced.

1/2 cup diced red onion

1/3 cup fresh chopped cilantro

1 fresh jalapeño, chopped, or 4-6 slices of pickled jalapeño. More or less to taste.

Salt and pepper

Fresh squeezed lime juice from one lime.

Mix it up and try, just try to not eat it all.

Eat it with tortilla chips. 

Use it to top your favourite quesadilla, taco (great on fish tacos), etc.

Top your grilled fish with it -- instant gourmet!

Pssssttttt....gonna let you in on a little secret: substitute the mango with fresh tomatoes and you just made Pico De Gallo. Ummmm, yeah.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

(Makes 12 muffins)

Preheat oven to 350 deg F and grease or line (paper cupcake liners work great) your muffin tin.

Dry Mix 

In a small bowl combine the following:

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup chocolate chips 

Mix well. Set aside.

Moist Mix

In your mixer bowl:

Cream together

1/2 cup softened butter

3/4 cup sugar

Then add

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup ripe bananas mashed (2-3 bananas)

Tip: I freeze ripe bananas when they are past the eating stage. Just throw them, unpeeled, as they are, into the freezer. When I have 3-4 frozen bananas, I am ready to bake something. Pop in the microwave for 30-40 seconds and squeeze them out of their skins into the mixer bowl. Voila! Mashed bananas!

Add dry mix to the moist all at once and combine with a rubber spatula gently until JUST COMBINED but still lumpy. DO NOT OVER MIX.

Divide amongst the muffin cups and bake for 25 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly pressed with your finger.

Power Brunch!

Okay no recipe today but an inspiration that will take you minutes to make and hours to burn....this is filling, fulfilling, and GOOD FOR YOU! This week, I had 6 hours of Zumba® Fitness in 3 days....talk about calorie burn!

What is it?

One whole grain breakfast pita. I get these at Costco and put them in the freezer right away. When I want one, I take one out and pop it in the toaster. Spilt it down the middle by gently cutting around the edge and pulling the two halves apart. They are good, good for you, and toast up really well - crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Most importantly, they don't fall apart!

2 eggs lightly fried. Buy yourself a REALLY good non-stick pan and USE it! You will save on using all that fat to keep the eggs from sticking. Oh and when the pan gets old, THROW IT OUT! Seriously.

2 slices of bacon. Confession: I cheat when it comes to bacon. I buy the pre-cooked stuff at Costco and pop it in the microwave when I want some. Honestly, it really is less greasy than cooking up fresh bacon and who wants that mess?? Super handy too!!

Piece of avocado, fresh, sliced.

Aged white cheddar. Take it easy, you only need a little bit. There is more flavour in AGED cheese so you can use less of it when preparing your favourite foods. Sneaky hey? Get rid of a few calories without sacrificing flavour.

Throw in some tomato slices if you want but I think it gets mushy...that's just me. It is your sandwich.

Oh and some hot sauce, duh!

Burp.

Take that McD's and Timmies....you ain't got nuthin' on this one.

I LOVE SALSA!

Salsa

Simple. Full of flavour. Homemade.

1 can (796 ml) diced tomatoes

1 large onion, diced

1 green pepper, seeded and diced

2-3 (or more) jalapenos, diced

(use fresh, pickled, or canned)

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

salt and pepper, to taste

Put all ingredients in a medium sized pot and stir.

Bring to a boil. Simmer at medium heat for 20 minutes.

DONE!

Take that Paul Newman!

Makes enough to share with your favourite friends. 

Tightly seal it in smaller containers in the fridge and it should last a few weeks.

Edamame Bean Salad with The LONGEST NAME EVER!

Edamame, Black Bean, Corn, & Tomato Salad 

with Avocado, Onion, and Lime-Cilantro Dressing

Serves 6-8 as a side dish, 4-6 as a main dish

1 cup edamame, shelled, boiled until just tender, then rinsed under cold water and drained 
(I used the steam in bag ones from Costco - giant box in the freezer section - one bag, 300g, steam them as per the box and shell them)

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 1/2 - 2 cups corn kernels, canned or frozen, if frozen boiled until tender and rinsed under cold water and drained 

(I used two fresh ears and cut the kernels off, steamed lightly in the microwave, maybe 2 minutes)

1 cup diced tomatoes, FRESH 

(I used Roma tomatoes 'cuz that's what I had)

Diced jalapenos or roasted green chilis 

(optional, but you KNOW I chose the jalapenos, pickled this time, but you could definitely use fresh...be careful, wash your hands well after chopping)

Dressing:
Toss it all into the bowl...with the veggies...don't dirty more dishes than you need to!

One half avocado, chopped 

(okay....important tip from yours truly: if you are making this to eat later, don't add the avocado until just before you eat)
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro -- FRESH IS BEST!

2 TBSP minced red onion
1 tsp ground cumin
3 TBSP fresh lime juice (about 1.5 limes give or take....FRESH...clearly you should know better than to ask by now)
2 TBSP olive oil (buy yourself some good olive oil already...sheesh)
Salt and pepper to taste....TASTE IT before you add more! And get that shaker off the table, you don't need to season again.

Serve at room temperature (best) or chill for later (also delicious).

If you really want, you can have some tortilla chips on the side.

I am back!

I have decided to bring this baby back to life. Alternatively, I could just keep posting my food adventures all over Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter...oh wait, I will probably do that too. Meh, whatever...you are here, therefore you must care...or at the very least want to steal a recipe or two... ;) I may venture off into different topics on occasion but in the end we all come back to what we love...FOOD (and wine). Sigh, I had to get that out. In the end, I hope to inspire you to see that cooking can be easy, affordable, and fun! Stay tuned...who knows what you may find hidden in these pages and my ramblings... Cheers! Disclaimer: I have no idea how consistent I will be with this blog so don't start giving me a hard time.