Sweet Potato Chili

This is my mama's recipe, but I did help her! :)

This is my favorite variation to traditional chili. The nuts are optional.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 8 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 tsp ground cumin
• 1.5 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 cups fresh tri-color sweet corn
• 1-14 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1-14 oz can light kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 2-14 oz cans diced fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, torn
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder (unsweetened)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and finely diced
• 1/2 cup unbroken walnuts
• 1 tablespoon canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, chopped
• 1/2 cup sour cream mixed with 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 pinches of salt
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 3 radishes, thinly sliced

Directions:
Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Toss in the onions and green pepper and sauté, stirring frequently, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic, cumin seeds, chili powder and oregano. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes.

Stir in the corn and beans. Add the whole can of tomatoes (juice and all) and cinnamon,cocoa powder, and cilantro. then stir in the sweet potatoes and chipotle chilies. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmering. Simmer, stirring frequently, until the sweet potatoes are tender and the chili begins to thicken (20 to 25 minutes).

Just before serving, add salt and stir (it will soften the potatoes even more, so don't add too early). Pour into serving bowls, top with green onions, radish slices and cinnamon sour cream.

Reactions:
We always just gobble this up. Sorry that there haven't been pictures lately, I have been really bad at blogging and just found these in my recipe history. :) We all love this dish, and you can make it as spicy or sweet as you want. It is also a great vegetarian meal for your non-vegetarian, vege-hostile guests and friends. :)

Fall Lasagna

This is a vegetarian meal, but you can easily make it vegan by substituting vegan cheese. We love Italian food in our house, so we try to make it as healthy as possible... since too much Italian can make us look like the bigger chef on Lady and the Tramp! :)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups peeled and diced pumpkin
• 2/3 cup broken walnuts
• 1 eggplant, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
• 4-5 tomatoes, cubed and de-seeded
• 1 pint ricotta cheese (or a vegan cheese)
• 9 ounces crumbled feta cheese (or tempeh)
• 1 1/3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (or tofu cheese)
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or other vegan cheese)
• 2/3 cup pesto
• 2 eggs, beaten (for ovo-vegetarians, otherwise, use Ener-G or 1/2 a small green banana)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce (or fresh, self made)
• fresh pasta sheets

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pumpkin on a baking sheet and roast in oven until browned and tender, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grill eggplant on a charcoal grill or fry in a skillet, turning once, until charred and tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Place  tomatoes on baking sheet in oven for last 15 minutes of pumpkin time; cook until tender and wrinkly.

In a medium bowl, stir together ricotta, feta, pesto, eggs, salt and pepper until well mixed. Fold roasted pumpkin into ricotta mixture.Beginning with the tomato sauce, layer tomato sauce, pasta, eggplants, and cheese mixture into 9x13 pan. Exchange tomato for the eggplants in the second layer. Finish with some sauce (or tomatoes if you have any left) and mozzarella.

Bake in preheated oven 30 to 40 minutes, until golden and bubbly.

Fall Galette

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, chilled in the freezer for 30 minutes
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces and chill again
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup ice water

Directions:
Whisk together the flour and salt in a large bowl. Sprinkle bits of butter over dough and using a pastry blender, cut it in until the mixture resembles coarse meal, with the biggest pieces of butter the size of tiny peas.

In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, lemon juice and water and add this to the butter-flour mixture. With your fingertips or a wooden spoon, mix in the liquid until large lumps form. Pat the lumps into a ball; do not overwork the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Ingredients:

• 4 medium tomatoes, sliced
• 1/4 cup sliced zucchini
• 1/4 cup yellow zucchini
• 1/4 chopped, grilled chicken OR pine nuts
• 1.5 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 cup parmesan
• 2.5 oz goat cheese
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella optional
• 1-2 tablespoons chopped basil or thyme
• Optional: Olives or artichoke hearts

Directions:
Spread the tomatoes on paper towels. Sprinkle salt (about 1/2 teaspoon will do) over the tomatoes and let sit while you make the rest of the filling. Push a clove of garlic through a garlic press into the 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil in a bowl. In another bowl mix together all the cheese and 1/2 tablespoon of the garlic olive oil you just made.

Prepare Your Galette:
Preheat oven to 400. Roll the dough out on a floured surface to 12" wide. Slide it onto a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Push the cheese mixture onto the dough spreading it to about 2" from the sides of the dough. Blot the tops of the tomatoes and lay them, the zucchinis, and chicken/pine nuts on the dough in concentric circles. Sprinkle with the remaining garlic olive oil.

Fold the edges over the top of the galette pleating them(this is the fun part!). Mix one egg yolk and one teaspoon of water and brush the wash all over the exposed crust. here's a pic of the zucchini version:

Bake the Galette for 30-40 minutes until it is golden brown. 

This was sooo good. We made it over the fall break and I just forgot to blog it and review it with the family. I think that the only one who wouldn't eat it was Kairi... but Kairi is known for her love/hate with veggies.

Pan-fried Brussel Sprouts with Bacon

Grrr... again, no pictures. I keep forgetting to take pictures, by the time I am done cooking, I just want to eat. :)

Ingredients:

• approx. 15-20 brussel sprouts
• about 1 cup sliced (lengthwise) carrots
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• Morningstar veggie bacon, crumbled
• ½ an onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• salt and pepper to taste
• half a lime

Directions:

Soak brussel sprouts in water for about 15 minutes, Cut sprouts in half, chop garlic. In a large pan, heat oil and butter on medium heat, place brussel sprouts cut/flat side down, and carrots, sprinkle with salt. Cook for about 12-15 minutes, until bottoms of Brussel sprouts are browned. While cooking, make rice according to package for 6 people. Add onion, garlic, and pepper to Brussels sprouts/carrots during last minute or two. Crumble and stir in bacon, Squeeze lime over everything and serve with rice.

We added a sprinkling of apple cider vinegar before serving to add to the sweet and tangy, but it was good without it too. 

Black Bean Chicken Salad

More cold meals for the hot Texas summers!

Ingredients:
1-14.5 oz can black beans (preferrably goya)
1 roma tomato (seeded)
1/2 medium white onion
1 good sized avocado
2 ears of corn (uncooked)
EITHER 1 cup chopped cooked chicken
OR 1 cup walnuts, broken well
1/2 lime
1 tsp chili powder
3 'twists' of fresh black pepper

Directions:
Rinse and drain the beans well. Chop the tomato and onion into bite sized pieces. Shuck the raw corn. 1/2 the avocado, remove (but save) the pit, then skin the two halves and chop the avocado into bite sized pieces. Throw it ALL into a large bowl and toss with your hands. Add your nuts or chicken (whichever you chose to use... heck, use both, maybe it's good). Squeeze the lime over it all, sprinkle your chili powder over the mess, and crack your pepper. :) Again, get your hands messy mixing it! :)

Throw the pit of the avocado into it to keep the avocado from browning. Let it marinade for about 30 minutes. You can eat this on blue corn tortilla chips, with naan bread, or by itself on a bed of lettuce. We ate ours all three ways because we had leftovers twice. :)

Closing:
I didn't get pictures of this one, but it's really good. I also didn't ask my sibling's reactions, but I loved it, didn't hear any complaining, and my mom and dad loved it too!

Zucchini Boats

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp sour cream
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tomato
• 1 tsp thyme
• 2 zucchinis
• 1 onion
• cheese
• pepper
• bacon (optional)

Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 400. Scrub your cchinis. Slice them in half length-ways. Trim the ends as needed to fit in your baking dish. Spoon out the guts. haha! Chop the tomato, onion, and cchini guts.

In a saucepan, put just a little butter. Saute the onion until almost clear. Add curry and toss well. Take off the heat. If you are using bacon, make sure it is cooked and crumbled. Put the onions, (bacon), cchini guts, tomato tidbits, thyme, salt, and sour cream into a bowl and mix well.

Scoop and fill the boats with the mixture. Top with pepper and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes.. YUM! We served ours with garlic and pine nut quinoa, and watermelon, of course.

If you have any leftovers, the next morning you can chop up the whole zucchini and toss with eggs to make curried scrambled eggs. :)

Reactions:
Me (Bri): WOW! I didn't think this would taste to good, but I can't always be right.
Daddy: Oh my gosh, this is great!
Mommy: Ohgh, yummy yum!
The people underneath this warning are very picky about their  veggies.
Charis: Yuck! I HATE zucchini!
Jocelyn: It's so-so. I just don't like the zucchini.
Kairi: (at first) YUM Bri! (later on) Do I have to eat this?
Xander: I don't like zucchini, can someone help me eat this?
Charis: