Sweet potato black bean unrolled enchiladas and Meatless Meatballs over Herbed Spaghetti Squash

I have been so busy with work lately I haven’t really been cooking so today I went to the store and had a cooking day. I proceeded to make two things today. The 1^st was this:  

Sweet potato black bean unrolled enchiladas

Quickie Green Chile Sauce:

1 cup light vegetable broth
1 tablespoon arrowroot starch dissolved in a little cold water
1 generous cup chopped roasted green chiles- hot or mild
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin or chili powder, hot or mild, to taste

For the filling:

1 15-oz can organic black beans, rinsed, drained
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
Fresh lime juice from 1 big juicy lime
2 heaping cups cooked sweet potatoes, smashed a bit, but still chunky [I cube mine, then soften just a little]
1/2 cup chopped roasted green chiles
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder, or curry, mild or spicy, as you prefer
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

To Assemble:

2-4 tablespoons light olive oil or vegetable oil, as needed
12 small white corn tortillas
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese, or vegan cheese, if desired


Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. and a baking dish

Make your Quickie Green Chile Sauce by combining the broth, dissolved arrowroot, green chiles, garlic and spices in a sauce pan and heating over medium-high heat. Bring to a high simmer. Simmer until thickened. Taste test. Set aside.

In the meantime, using a mixing bowl, combine the drained black beans with minced garlic and lime juice. Toss to coat the beans and set aside.

In a separate bowl combine the lightly smashed sweet potatoes with the chopped green chiles; add the spices. Season with sea salt and pepper.


Pour about 1/4 cup of the Quickie Green Chile Sauce into the bottom of the baking dish.

Make a layer of your  tortillas over sauced baking dish; wet it with the sauce.

Spoon 1/2 of the sweet potato mixture on top of the tortillas and spread, Cover the sweet potato with half the beans, add some cheese if using and some more of the green sauce. Make another layer of the tortillas and repeat. Finish with another layer of tortillas cover with the remaining sauce and cover with cheese if using.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the enchiladas are piping hot and the sauce is bubbling around the edges.

Cook time: 25 min

Yield: 6 servings

This will be a good lunch for a few days for Luke and I …

Now for the dinner I made:

 Meatless Meatballs over Herbed Spaghetti Squash

• YIELD: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 cup meatball-sauce mixture and about 1 cup herbed spaghetti squash)

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1 Small onion chopped
• 1 (12-ounce) package frozen zesty Italian-flavored meatless meatballs (such as Nate's)
• 1 (26-ounce) jar fire roasted tomato-garlic pasta sauce (such as Classico)
• 2 tablespoons sun-dried tomato pesto (such as Classico)
• Herbed Spaghetti Squash (***See my note below***)
• Freshly shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)

Preparation

• 1. Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat; coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion; sauté 3 to 4 minutes or until tender. Add meatballs, pasta sauce, and pesto to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes or until meatballs are thoroughly heated. Spoon meatballs and sauce over Herbed Spaghetti Squash, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

 

Herbed Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients

• 1 (3 1/4-pound) spaghetti squash
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

***Note: The original recipe calls for microwaving the Squash. I personally think it comes out better in the oven. I pierce the squash several times as said below, then put the entire squash in the oven at 375 degrees for 40 to 45 mins., the squash will be tender. Let it cool. Cut it in half and throw out the seeds then Using a fork, remove spaghetti like strands, and place in a large bowl. Add olive oil and remaining ingredients; toss well. I usually cook the squash the day before and then heat it up in a large skillet.***

• 1. Pierce squash several times with the tip of a sharp knife. Microwave at HIGH 3 minutes. Cut squash in half lengthwise, and remove seeds and membrane with a spoon.
• 2. Place squash halves in an 11 x 7–inch baking dish (squash halves will overlap); add 1/2 cup water. Cover with plastic wrap; vent. Microwave at HIGH 10 minutes or until tender. Using a fork, remove spaghetti like strands, and place in a large bowl. Add olive oil and remaining ingredients; toss well.

And OMG YUM!!!! Served this with a side salad….

Black bean and mushroom quesadillas, roasted acorn squash and a side salad

So this is an adaptation of this: original recipe.  I didn’t have an avocado so I felt out the guacamole and the lemon juice and the cumin mix just didn’t sound appealing to me. I followed the recipe for the black beans and mushrooms and the acorn squash which was sweet and delish!!!

 

Black bean and mushroom quesadillas , roasted acorn squash and side salad

Serves 4. Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients for acorn squash:

1 medium-to-large acorn squash
1 t olive oil

Ingredients for quesadillas:

4 White corn tortillas
2 t olive oil
1 sm onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, diced small (from my garden)
4 oz baby bella or cremini mushrooms, sliced (you could also use regular white mushrooms, though they’re not as hearty)
1/2 t chili powder
1/4 t salt
1 14-oz can (about 1 3/4 cups) black beans

1. START THE ACORN SQUASH. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Brush the cut surface with olive oil. Place the squash cut-side down on a piece of aluminum foil on a baking sheet. Place in the oven and cook for 40-45 minutes or until you can easily poke a fork in it.

2. START THE QUESADILLA FILLING. Place the olive oil in a large fry pan and heat over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and jalapeno and cook for about 6-7 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft.

3. While the onion mixture is cooking, MASH THE BEANS. Rinse and drain the black beans. Put them in a medium bowl with a little water to moisten them (start with a couple tablespoons and add more as needed) and mash with a potato masher or the bottom of a glass. The beans should be nice and gooey, but they don’t have to be perfectly mashed.

4. CONTINUE THE QUESADILLA FILLING. Add the chopped mushrooms, chili powder, and salt to the onion mixture. Cook for an additional 10 minutes until mushrooms are tender, stirring occasionally.

6. FINISH THE QUESADILLA FILLING. When the mushrooms are cooked, add the bean mixture. Stir to incorporate, adding water if necessary to keep things somewhat moist and gooey. Heat 2 more minutes, then turn off the fire.

7. ASSEMBLE THE QUESADILLAS. Preheat a separate; dry fry pan (preferably one with angled, as opposed to straight, edges) over medium heat. Place one tortilla on the fry pan and spread half the bean mixture on it, leaving at least 1 inch around the edges. Top with another tortilla. After about 2 minutes, flip using a large spatula and lots of loving care. After about 2 more minutes, remove from heat and repeat the process to make another quesadilla.

8. TAKE THE ACORN SQUASH OUT OF THE OVEN, if you haven’t already.

9. TO SERVE: Cut the two quesadillas into wedges, and cut each half of the squash in half again.

Serve with extra hot sauce if you like. 

10. any kind of salad you like put on the side

This came out really good.

The second time I made for lunch it’s cause I had leftovers but this time I made them in my Forman. I put one corn tortilla on the grill put the bean mixture a little cheese this time and another tortilla, grilled for about a min on high… OMG YUM!!! Even better this time. I served them with some grilled shrimp and brown rice that I mixed some southwestern corn mix in…