Roasted Sweet Potato and Veggie Burritos

When I visited my sister in North Carolina she took me out to Carrburitos for sweet potato nachos.  I know it sounds like a weird combination but it was delicious! I'm a huge sweet potato fan and ever since then I've been looking for a similar recipe. This one was definitely a keeper! Spicy and sweet and super yummy.  Plus it's a great meatless dinner option.

I was a little nervous that it wasn't super kid friendly but the results were mixed.  My two year olds both gobbled it up, my 4 year old would only eat the sweet potatoes, and my 6 year old ate everything but the sweet potatoes! It made me think of the nursery rhyme "Jack Sprat".  Anyway, I'm going to call it a success! My husband and I loved them too.  Plus they are very filling.  Give them a try and see what your family thinks!

I left the recipe mostly how I found it except I added chile powder and garlic and reduced the cheese. I also  added some guacamole because the avocado and sweet potato combo is what makes this meal so awesome in my book! Click here to take a look at my guacamole recipe.

Roasted Sweet Potato and Veggie Burritos
2 medium sweet potatoes (I could only find small so I used 3)
1 jalapeno (minced-seeds and all)
1 red bell pepper- diced
1 red onion- diced
2 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. cumin
1 T. chili powder
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 lime- juiced
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar
6 whole grain wrap sized tortillas (I like Santa Fe tortilla company- carb chopper)

Prep all your veggies by dicing, mincing, etc. In a large bowl, toss veggies with olive oil and spices. Place evenly on a large baking sheet and roast for 35 minutes at 400 degrees or until sweet potatoes are tender.

Place cooked veggies back in large bowl and combine with black beans and lime juice.

Grease a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Fill each tortilla with 1/4 cup cheddar cheese and 1/6 of the veggie mixture.  Fold into burritos and place in prepared baking dish.  Bake for 15 minutes at 350 or until tortillas are slightly crispy and filling is heated through.  Serve with guacamole!

Guacamole

 
Until I moved to New Mexico I didn't realize how easy it was to make guacamole! I love avocados and this recipe is quick and super fresh.  I usually make a double batch of this for parties but the recipe below is the perfect sized batch for my family. You can also click here to see my post on how to cut an avocado. Enjoy!

Guacamole (6 servings)
3 large avocados (pitted and skin removed)
1 large roma tomato (chopped)
1 T. jalapeno (minced)
2 T. red onion (minced)
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 cup fresh cilantro (coarsely chopped)
1/2 lime (juiced)

Place all ingredients in a bowl.  Squeeze lime juice over all of them.  With a metal whisk or potato masher combine all ingredients (leaving some large chunks of avocado).  Enjoy!

Honey Whole Wheat Bread (mock Great Harvest recipe)

I found this recipe online that has the same ingredients as great harvest honey whole wheat.  While nothing seems to compare to great harvest this recipe worked great and had my kids begging for bread all day!

Also, a quick side note.  I've started using Bob's Red Mill products which are pricey but super good.  I couldn't believe how fine the whole wheat flour was and the bread came out so smooth and soft.  Also, I've been adding ground flaxseed to a lot of my baking.  It adds a bunch of nutrients to the food without changing the taste or texture too much.  It can also be mixed with water and used in place of eggs.  I'm going to play around with that more since flaxseed is much easier to store than eggs and would be a great emergency preparedness item.

Anyway, back to the recipe. The directions I found for this bread were kind of weird so I tweaked them a lot and then added some sunflower seeds and ground flaxseed.  This makes three excellent sized loaves for sandwich bread and is dense enough that it will hold together when sliced thin.  It's also (of course) delicious sliced thick and topped with honey butter!  Enjoy!

Honey Whole Wheat Bread
3 T. yeast
4 cups warm water
2/3 cup honey
3 tsp. salt
1/3 cup ground flaxseed (optional)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds (optional)
10 1/2 to 11 1/2 cups whole grain wheat flour

Combine yeast, warm water, and honey in a large bread mixer. (I just used my kitchen aid with the bread hook attachment). Allow yeast to bloom for 5 minutes or until frothy.  Mix in salt, ground flaxseed, and sunflower seeds if so desired.  Add flour 2 cups at a time until all flour is well incorporated into dough.  I used about 10 and 1/2 cups but you might need a little extra.  Knead, using the dough hook attachment for 4-6 minutes.  Dough will be sticky but just barely pulling away from sides of bowl.

Cover bowl and let dough rise about 20 minutes.  Turn onto lightly floured surface and punch down (about 30 times). This is my 4 year olds favorite part! :)

Form into large rectangle and cut evenly into 3 loaves.  Place each loaf in greased bread pan.  Cover bread pans and rise about 30 min.

Bake @350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Allow to cool in pans 5 minutes and then remove from pans. Serve warm with honey butter or allow to continue cooling.

Grilled Parmesan Veggies

Last night we had a Tucanos inspired dinner with grilled chicken, grilled pineapple and these yummy parmesan veggies.  Quick and easy and super healthy! I made them in a grill basket but might try them on skewers next time to keep them crispier while cooking.  My 2 year olds both gobbled them up! And so did I :)

Grilled Parmesan Veggies (makes 8 servings)
2 small zucchini (thickly sliced)
2 small yellow squash (thickly sliced
2 roma tomatoes (thickly sliced)
1/2 red onion (cut into large pieces)
1 red bell pepper (cut into large pieces)
1 yellow bell pepper (cut into large pieces)
1 cup zesty italian dressing
1/2 cup grated parmesan

Cut veggies.  Marinade veggies in Italian dressing for 1 hour.  Placed veggies in grill basket or on skewers.  Sprinkle with 1/2 of the parmesan.  Grill on high for 10-15 minutes turning often.  Sprinkle veggies with the other 1/2 of parmesan and continue cooking for 5-10 minutes or until veggies are cooked through and slightly blackened. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Bites

A few days ago my 4 year old wanted to make cookies.  My husband and I have been trying to lose some weight so I turned to the internet to see what I could find. We came up with these little guys.  No flour, eggs or oil. Sweetened by mashed bananas and cinnamon with just a taste of chocolate! My kids loved them for dessert and the next morning for breakfast ;) This recipe makes about 20 and they only have 63 calories each. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bites (Yields about 20)
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup quick oats
1 heaping scoop natural peanut butter
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
cinnamon (to taste)

Mix all ingredients together until well combined.  Drop by spoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  

Spaghetti Squash Au Gratin

 Every once in awhile a recipe comes along that is so awesome I have to blog about it within an hour of eating it! I'm that excited to share it! :) Alex and I have been trying to eat better and get in better shape for my sister's upcoming wedding.  I've been playing around with new foods like ground turkey, spaghetti squash, quinoa, almond milk, greek yogurt and so forth.  For the most part I've been cooking for the kids like usual and just subbing in healthier ingredients for myself.  But I've also been trying to introduce them to a new "healthier" food each day.  Today they got a double dose because I made my friend Jenny's turkey and veggie meatballs (what's on your menu) and I made a new spaghetti squash recipe.

I kept calling the squash cheesy potatoes for the sake of my 4 year old.  But finally half way through dinner my 6 year old very matter-of-factly said to me "mom, these are not potatoes, they don't taste like potatoes, they don't even look at all like potatoes".  Which made my husband laugh and was pretty funny! But while they don't "even look like potatoes" that didn't mean it wasn't fantastic!  And while with cheese and sour cream it's not exactly "health food", I used an online calorie estimator (myfitnesspal) and this recipe comes in at 168 calories per serving instead of 380 for the same size serving of potatoes au gratin.  So give it a try!

Spaghetti Squash Au Gratin (8 servings)
1 large spaghetti squash
olive oil (to taste)
salt and pepper (to taste)
1 small yellow onion (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 T. butter
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
3/4 cup reduced fat sour cream
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cut spaghetti squash in half and scoop out seeds.  Pierce all over with fork.  Lightly brush cut side with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place both halves of squash, rind side up on a large baking sheet and cover with foil (tenting slightly).  Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 min. or until squash is tender. Turn squash back over and scrape out squash with a fork.

When squash is about 5 minutes from being done start cooking onions.  In a small sauce pan, saute onion, garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes in butter until onions are soft.   Combine onion mixture, cooked squash, sour cream and 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese in a 8x8 baking dish.  Top with remaining 1/4 cup of cheese and bake for 20 min.  When casserole is hot and bubbly, turn oven to hi broil for 1-2 minutes to get the cheese nice and toasted on top.  Enjoy!
 

Odetta's Applesauce Cake

About a month ago my mom gave me copies of some of my ancestors recipes.  They are fun because they are in their actual handwriting and they have directions on them like "bake in a moderate oven". This recipe was my great-grandma Odetta's go-to recipe for apple sauce cake.  It's got a bit of a twist in that you add cocoa to it!  I know that applesauce can be used as a healthy alternative to oil but this cake also features 2 cups of sugar so it's not health food. Apparently my family has always enjoyed sugar! It's a good hearty cake and was very quick to make.

The recipe calls for raisins which I omitted but after trying the cake I think it would be delicious with some shredded carrot or zucchini...so I will probably try it with that next time.  She baked it in loaves and served it like a dessert bread.  I baked it in a 9x13 pan and topped it with a cream cheese icing*. Give it a try either way!

*I used the cream cheese icing from my cinnamon roll recipe. Click here to check it out!

Odetta's Apple Sauce Cake

1 cup shortening

2 cups sugar

1 qt. unsweetened applesauce (4 cups)

4 tsp. baking soda

3 eggs

3 7/8 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. cloves (optional-I left it out)

1 pkg. raisins (optional-I left it out)

1 cup walnuts

Cream shortening and sugar together in a large bowl.  Meanwhile, in a separate bowl warm applesauce for about 1 min. in the microwave.  Dissolve baking soda in warm applesauce. Add applesauce to shortening mixture.  Add eggs, flour, and spices.  Mix until combined.  Fold in raisins and walnuts if desired.  Place in a 9x13 baking dish or divide evenly into 3 large bread pans (or 4 small bread pans).  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 min.