Vegetarian Black Bean Sweet Potato Enchiladas

INGREDIENTS
Filling
1 ¼ pounds sweet potatoes (2 small-to-medium)
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cups cooked black beans
4 ounces (1 cup) grated Monterey Jack cheese
2 ounces (½ cup) crumbled feta cheese
2 small cans (4 ounces each) diced green chiles
1 medium jalapeño, seeded and minced
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
2 tablespoons lime juice
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
¼ teaspoon salt, more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
Remaining Ingredients
2 cups (16 ounces) mild salsa verde, either homemade or store-bought
10 corn tortillas
4 ounces (1 cup) grated Monterey Jack cheese
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon water
¼ cup chopped red onion
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup. Slice the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise and coat the flat sides lightly with olive oil. Place the sweet potatoes flat-side down on the baking sheet. Bake them until they are tender and cooked through, about 30 to 35 minutes.

Full Recipe

Oven Baked Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 chicken breasts About 1 pound of chicken total
1 egg
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese fresh grated
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup marinara sauce
1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella
2 tablespoon minced parsley optional, for garnish

Instructions
Line a baking sheet with foil, brush foil with olive oil.  Adjust oven rack so that is in the second from the top space. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Cut the chicken breasts in half and pound to even thickness: Cut through the middle of the chicken breast as if you are going to butterfly it (cutting it open like a book), but cut all the way through to make two equal sized pieces.

Full Recipe

Cheddar Broccoli Rice Patties

Ingredients
2 cups rice, cooked cooled
2 eggs
1 cup cheddar
1 cup broccoli, par cooked
1/2 cup panko
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Tony's creole seasoning

Instructions
In a medium bowl combine all ingredients.
Over medium-low heat, heat 1 tsp of oil to a medium non-stick skillet.
Depending on the size of skillet, add 2-3 1/3 C mounds of the rice mixture.

Full Recipe

Baked Spinach Mushroom Quesadillas

INGREDIENTS
4 tortillas (8 inch)
olive oil (enough to lightly coat the tortillas)
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 cup shredded cheddar
3 cups roughly chopped spinach

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Place the mushrooms in a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes to soften them. Drain the mushrooms and set aside.
Lightly brush one side of each tortilla with the olive oil and place on a baking sheet, oiled side down.
Distribute the mushrooms, spinach, mozzarella, and cheddar evenly over half of each of the tortillas, and fold the other half over top.

Full Recipe

Beef Stroganoff French Bread

INGREDIENTS
For the stroganoff:

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 cups mushrooms

2 teaspoons salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons thyme

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup onions, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound ground beef

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons paprika

1 1/2 cups beef broth

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

For the toasts:

1 loaf French bread, insides hollowed out

2 cups mozzarella

3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Make the stroganoff:  In a large Dutch oven or skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute mushrooms with one teaspoon salt and black pepper. Add thyme. Cook mushrooms until golden, approximately 4 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add butter, onions and garlic to the pan and saute 2 minutes. Cook ground beef over medium heat until brown, approximately 4 minutes. Add flour and paprika to coat evenly. Add beef broth, sour cream and mustard. Mix thoroughly and add mushrooms back in.

Full Recipe

Vegan Broccoli Potato Soup

Ingredients
1/2 yellow onion (or 1/2 leek) -chopped
4 cloves garlic -minced
2 lb golden potatoes (scrubbed, rinsed & diced)
1 large carrot -diced
1 celery stick -chopped
1 cup raw cashews
7-8 cups vegetable stock (low sodium)
5-6 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 lb broccoli florets
1 pinch sea salt (to taste)
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1/3 cup fresh chives -snipped for garnish
1/2 tsp turmeric (optional)
US Customary - Metric

Instructions
Preheat a heavy stock up over medium low heat and sauté the onion in a splash of water (or a drizzle of olive oil) until translucent.
Add the sea salt, pepper flakes, celery and carrots and give everything a nice toss. Cover with a lid and sweat a few more minutes until the carrots begin to soften.
Add the garlic, potatoes, cashews and vegetable stock and bring everything to a simmer. Stir in the nutritional yeast, cover with a lid and cook 20 minutes or until the potatoes and cashews have softened.
Transfer the soup to a powerful mixer and carefully purée until silky smooth. ( the Vitamix did an exponentially better job at this than my immersion blender).

Full Recipe

Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

Fat, gooey, fudgy brownies marbled with beautiful swirls of rich, decadent cheesecake. Life does not get better than this, people.

This is easily the richest, gooiest, recipe on my entire blog. And if you're a regular here, you know... that is saying a lot.


Actually, this is an old recipe from my trusty arsenal. This post for Cheesecake Swirled Fudge Brownies contains some of the first photos I ever took that I was really proud of.

Now, not so much. HA.


But though I may look at all the "photography successes" of my younger days (um... like everything previous to last year) down a snobbishly upturned nose, I at least have to give myself a little credit for the invention of these babies.

If you're like me and you like the super gooey richness of a somewhat underbaked brownie, DO NOT CHANGE A THING ABOUT THIS FABULOUS RECIPE.

But. If you are a boring person and like your brownies to have a slightly less... raw quality, you may want to add ten minutes or so to the baking time.

Also, if you did look at the old pictures I took of these brownies back in 2011, you may notice that the brownie batter looks super thick. Well, I don't know why, but it just turned out to be less thick this time. I make these brownies all the time, so you would think I would know what the "normal" consistency of the batter is, but... I don't.

Pretty much though, whatever the consistency is you'll just want to dig one trench in the batter at a time to pour the cheesecake into. There's no such thing as being too sloppy. It's called rustic.

Have fun.


Cheesecake Swirled Fudge Brownies

For the Brownies:
2 sticks of butter, melted
2 1/4 cups of sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups of cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups chocolate chips

For the Cheesecake:
8 oz. softened cream cheese
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg

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