Vegan Black Bean Tacos

Matt has had several vegetarian dinners lately and has not complained once... I'm not sure what is going on, but I'm here to ride that train!  I made vegan black bean tacos tonight and they were great! They were even better when topped with my super easy salsa verde!

Vegan Black Bean Tacos

Vegan Black Bean Tacos

Ingredients:
1 tsp. vegetable oil
2 cups black beans (1 can is good too, rinsed and drained)
1 small zucchini, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 corn (GF) or flour tortillas
Optional for Serving: diced tomatoes, cilantro, salsa verde

Preparation:
Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat.
Add black beans and onion.
Cook until onion is translucent, about 4 minutes.
Add zucchini, bell pepper, garlic.
Saute until zucchini is soft, but not mushy.
Meanwhile, heat tortillas in microwave under a damp paper towel for 30 seconds.
Season with salt and pepper.
Transfer a scoop of bean mixture into a warmed tortilla.
Top with desired toppings.
Enjoy!

Salsa Verde

Here in New Mexico, there is an abundance of fresh veggies that I would normally not have an abundance of in Philly... not that they're not there, but they're hella expensive.  (I'm not sure if I've ever said "hella" before, but it's happening now I guess!)  Tomatillos are super cheap. Cilantro is super cheap. Okay, that's it because everything else in this salsa is about the same cost wise, but the tomatillos were like $2.00/lb. cheaper!

This salsa was great on my vegan tacos, but was also great with tortilla chips!

Salsa Verde

Salsa Verde

Ingredients:
1 tsp. olive oil
1 1/2 lb. tomatillos, husks removed
1 poblano pepper, stem cut off
1/2 small white onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup cilantro
1 Tbsp. lime juice
Salt, to taste

Preparation:
Heat oil over high heat in a large skillet.  Add tomatillos, poblano, and onion.
Saute on high, flipping after about 2 minutes.  (They should be nice and charred).
Transfer to a blender or food processor.  Add garlic, cilantro, and lime juice.  Blend until combined. (You may have to transfer tomatillos in batches, I did!)
Salt to taste.
Chill in refrigerator.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Chef Savvy

Garlic Sweet Potato Mash

Sweet potatoes are the best.  Growing up, we basically only had them doused with butter and brown sugar and marshmallows (Thanks, Dad!), but now I cook them in all sorts of forms.  In curry? Check. As fries? Check. The filling for tacos? Check. And now since I found this lovely recipe, as mashed potatoes? Check.  These potatoes are less sweet than normal because of the garlic, but equally delicious!  Serve with pork schnitzel for a complete meal!

Sweet Potato Mash

After looking again at this recipe, I halved it, but realized upon re-typing it that I did not half the milk or Greek yogurt.  Mystery solved as to why they were a little extra liquid-y.  I have made these before and they came out perfect, here I was blaming my ineptitude on the altitude!  Whoops!

Garlic Sweet Potato Mash

Ingredients:
1 lb. (2 medium) sweet potatoes, cubed
1/2 tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup milk
1 tbsp plain Greek yogurt
salt and fresh cracked ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

In a large pot boil sweet potatoes in salted water until tender, (easily pierced with a fork).
Drain in a colander.
Meanwhile, melt butter and sauté garlic until lightly golden. Return potatoes to the pan, add milk and sour cream. Mash until smooth. (I have used both a potato masher and some forks in this recipe, both work well, it's up to you!)
Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Gina at Skinny Taste

Pork Schnitzel

If you're like me and did not grow up in a German household, your only interaction with "schnitzel" probably came from The Sound of Music, "... doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles..."  However, I came across this recipe recently and thought I should try it; good thing because it's delicious!  I served mine with garlic sweet potato mash and a caprese salad.  Yum!

Pork Schnitzel

Pork Schnitzel

Ingredients:
5 boneless pork chops, thinly sliced
2 large eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup bread crumbs, I used Panko
salt and pepper to taste
vegetable oil for frying

Preparation:
Preheat oven to lowest setting.
Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium high heat.  (I used about 1/4 cup in total).
Place the flour, egg, and breadcrumbs in 3 separate shallow bowls. Dip the chops in the flour, the egg, and then bread crumbs, coating both sides and shaking off excess at each step.
Make sure the cooking oil is hot enough at this point.
Fry the schnitzels for about 3-5 minutes on both sides until a deep golden brown. Transfer briefly to an oven safe plate.  I had to do mine in batches, so I kept the extra in the oven.
Repeat until all the pork is done.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Jo Cooks

Avocado Quesadilla

Are you ready for the easiest lunch of all time?  Perfect.  It's an avocado quesadilla.  Not interested?  Good, more for me.  This is a little surprising because it is a VEGAN lunch.  No, not vegetarian, VEGAN.  If you've ever read my blog, you're probably in shock, what!? No chese!?  That's correct!  The creamy avocado means you don't even need cheese, so get ready for a healthy quick lunch!

Avocado Quesadilla 

Do my plates look different?  That's because this is my first post from Santa Fe!  Matthew has a job here for 6 weeks, so here we are for the summer!

Avocado Quesadilla

Ingredients:
1 tsp. vegetable oil
1 avocado
1 small roma tomato, diced
1 scallion, sliced
2 fajita size tortillas (corn or flour, use corn to make GF)

Preparation:
Place frying pan over medium heat.

Add vegetable oil. 

Meanwhile, spread avocado on one tortilla. 

Once vegetable oil is hot, place tortilla with avocado on heat.  Add diced tomato and scallion.

Place second tortilla on top of tomatoes and scallions.  

Once bottom tortilla is golden brown, flip quesadilla over.  

Cook until second tortilla is golden brown. 

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from The Garden Grazer

Roasted Hard Apple Cider Pork Loin

The only way I cook a pork loin is an amazing recipe out of How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman.  It's more time consuming than I usually go for, basting the meat every 15 minutes, but the end results more than make up for it.  I took that recipe this week and used hard cider instead of the white wine usually called for (and changed some of the spices accordingly) and I must say, it was great.  I used hard apple cider over regular because it has less sugar and I didn't want the end result to be super sweet.  (Also I had some leftover in my fridge that was open, so no one was going to drink it.)

Roasted Hard Apple Cider Pork Loin

Roasted Hard Apple Cider Pork Loin

Ingredients:
3-4 lb. boneless pork loin
1 tsp. dried rosemary
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups hard apple cider (I used Stella Artois Cidre because it's less sugary)
1 Tbsp. butter

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 450.
Mix rosemary, garlic, and a liberal amount of salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Rub all over the pork.  Put pork in a roasting pan and roast for 15 minutes.
Pour about 1/2 a cup of cider over the pork, lower the oven to 325 and roast for 15 minutes.  Continue to roast, adding about 1/4 cup of liquid every 15 minutes.  (If there is liquid in the bottom of the pan, baste instead of adding more.)
Start checking the roast after 1 1/4 hours (though mine usually takes about 1 1/2 hours).  It will be done when a meat thermometer reads 145-150. Transfer meat to a platter.
Place roasting pan over 2 burners, add the rest of the cider (if you didn't use it) and the butter.  Reduce to about 3/4 cup of liquid, scraping up the brown bits in the pan as you stir.
Serve the roast with the sauce over top.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

Denver Frittata

Today I decided to clean out all of the leftovers in the fridge, and that amounted to all the ingredients for a Denver omelet.  However, with my new pots and pans, I have not figured out how to properly cook an egg.  (They're stainless steel, how do you work those things!?)  Anyway, I figured since it was the weekend I would use the oven and bake it up.
I also only had a yellow pepper, but I would normally use a green pepper in this dish, as per a traditional Denver omelet.  (Though it was still very good!)
The best part about this meal is that it is great for any meal of the day!  Though we served it for dinner, it could be a great breakfast or lunch.  I served mine with homemade bread.  Yummy!

Denver Frittata

Denver Frittata

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 cup ham, diced
8 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400.
Spray a 9 or 10 inch round pan with cooking spray.
Over medium heat, add butter to a large skillet.  Once the butter is melted, add onion and peppers.  Cook 3-4 minutes, or until the onions get soft.  Add the ham, and cook until warmed through.
Meanwhile, add the eggs and milk to a large bowl.  Whisk until combined.  Add ham mixture and cheese.  Stir well. Add to greased pan.
Cook 20-25 minutes, or until the egg is no longer runny (when you insert a knife in the middle, it should come out clean).
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheddar Soup

After all the unhealthy eating/eating out we did over Christmas break, I was excited to be cooking things from scratch.  Though I wouldn't exactly call this recipe healthy, it does have broccoli, so that's a plus, right?  (In reality, this isn't that bad for you, there's only a half cup of heavy cream.)  Anyhow, this turned out super delicious and as an extra plus, I served it with homemade bread.  It was just what I needed!

Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Ingredients:
1/3 cup butter, sliced
1 1/2 cups onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
6 Tbsp. flour
2 (12 oz.) cans fat-free evaporated milk
5 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock to make it vegetarian!)
5 cups diced broccoli*, (about 2 medium heads)
1/8 tsp. dried chives
1/2 cup heavy cream
12 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation:
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onions and saute until they soften, about 4 minutes.  Add garlic powder, flour, salt, and pepper, cook, whisking continuously for about 2 minutes.  Add milk, whisk until smooth.  Cook until it begins to thicken, stirring continuously.  Pour into slow cooker along with chicken stock, broccoli, and chives.  Cover and cook on high for 2 1/2 - 3 hours, or on low for 5-6 hours.
Turn heat on warm and stir in heavy cream, shredded cheese, and parmesan, stir to blend.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

*Make sure to dice the stems quite fine if you're using them so they cook evenly

Recipe adapted from Cooking Classy

Buffalo Blue Cheese Meatballs

As I was clicking through Pinterest trying to figure out what to make for our New Years Eve get together, I found a recipe for blue cheese stuffed meatballs, they sounded great!  As I started to make these, I realized I was supposed to have a block of blue cheese as opposed to crumbles (which I had) and no egg... well I decided to kill two birds with one stone and use the cheese as a binder.  These ended up not being stuffed, but delicious anyhow.

Buffalo Blue Cheese Meatballs

Buffalo Blue Cheese Meatballs

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground turkey
1/4 cup onion, grated
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. ranch seasoning
4 oz. blue cheese crumbles
1 cup hot sauce (I used Frank's Redhot- though for a more mild flavor, you can use wing sauce)
2 Tbsp. butter

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400.
Combine turkey, onion, breadcrumbs, garlic, ranch seasoning, and blue cheese in a large bowl.  (I used my hands to mix, if you want, you can use a fork.)
Roll into medium-sized meatballs, you should end with 16 meatballs.
Place meatballs onto a sprayed baking sheet.
Bake for 16-18 minutes.
Meanwhile, add hot sauce and butter to slow cooker.  Place on high and whisk until combined.  Turn to keep warm.
Add meatballs to slow cooker and spoon sauce over the top of each meatball.
These can be kept in the slow cooker for about a half hour.
Serve warm can be topped with blue cheese dressing.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Inspired by Charm

Creamy Sausage and Arugula Pasta

A few weeks ago Alouette cheese was on sale at the grocery store plus I had a coupon, so I bought some.  After looking at the expiration date this week, I realized that I had to use it up... but how?  I decided to make it into a sauce and put it over pasta.  I was a little nervous as my made-up recipes have about 50/50 a success rate.  However, this one turned out to be a success!  It was a little rich, though I believe that if you use chicken broth instead of milk in the sauce it would cut the richness, or you could use chicken sausage instead of pork sausage.  Yum!

Creamy Sausage and Arugula Pasta

Creamy Sausage and Arugula Pasta

Ingredients:
1/2 pound medium shape pasta (I used veggie rotini)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 lb. ground bulk sausage
1 6 oz. bag arugula
1 6.5 oz. container roasted red pepper spreadable cheese (I used Alouette)
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup saved pasta water
Salt
Pepper

Preparation:
Cook pasta according to directions on package.
Add oil to large skillet.
Add onion.  Cook until slightly translucent, about 4 minutes.
Add sausage and cook until no longer pink, breaking it up as you go.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, add container of cheese and 1/4 cup of milk.  Whisk together until smooth.  Add the rest of the milk and the salt and pepper (to taste).  Whisk again. Add sausage to cheese sauce.
When pasta is done, add pasta water to sauce.  (If sauce is still thick, add more milk until it's the consistency you would like.)
Add arugula to pasta pot.  Add drained pasta and sausage cheese sauce.  Mix well.
Enjoy!