Sweet Potato & Black Bean Soup

Do you use canned black beans or do you make your own? Since canned beans can be as much as 1.00 something a can, I decided to make my own. After doing some research, I settled on cooking them in the Slow Cooker. I soaked the beans for about 6 hours and cooked them for about 4 hours on high. The interesting thing was, my black beans became brown beans. It seemed most of the dark color was either in the water from soaking or in the water from cooking. Has anyone else experienced this?

I've seen quite a few recipes for soup with black beans and sweet potatoes or butternut squash. With these recipes as inspiration, I created my own recipe. This recipe makes a delicious but very spicy soup. I love the flavor from the addition of just a touch of cinnamon. You could easily add chicken or even some sausage to this soup.


Slow Cooker Black Bean and Sweet Potato Soup

1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 T. olive oil
1 large sweet potato, diced
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
2 cups black beans
1 can Rotel peppers
1T. chili powder
2 t. cumin
1 t. smoked paprika
1/2 t. cinnamon

Chop garlic and onion. Heat olive oil in a skillet until sizzling, add garlic and onion. Saute until soft. Dice sweet potato. Combine all ingredients in crock pot. Cook on low 8 hours.

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday's, Tuesday's at the Table, Souper Sunday at Kahakai Kitchen and Tuesday Night Supper Club.

Countdown to 2011 - Meatless

I am having so much fun participating in SnoWhite's Countdown to 2011. So far this week we've posted our favorite Breakfast, Bread and Soup/Stew recipes. Today we're featuring our favorite meatless recipe of 2011. As I was looking through my recipes, I found more meatless recipes than I remembered. If you're a regular reader of my blog you know my husband Tim doesn't think a meal is meal without MEAT. Although, he's become a lot more receptive to meals without meat. There's even been some he said he liked and would eat again. The key is whether or not he says he would eat it again.

This past summer the basil was basil plentiful in the garden. My favorite meatless recipe, Pasta with Corn and Basil Pesto, incorporates a different ingredient into the pesto, corn. I can't wait until summer to make this recipe again!

There's still time to participate in Countdown to 2011, Main Dishes and Desserts are the posts for Thursday and Friday. Find your favorites and join in!

Pasta With Pesto, Potatoes and Green Beans

Are you ready for Christmas? My shopping is done but none of the wrapping. My goal this weekend is to finish everything by Sunday night, so I can enjoy the rest of next week.

Today's recipe is from sometime over the summer. Not sure why I haven't posted this one before because I loved this dish. Do you need a quick, easy dinner? If you're like me and you have pesto in your freezer, give this one a try.



Pasta With Pesto, Potatoes and Green Beans
Recipe Courtesy of Martha Stewart Living

2 waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tablespoon salt
8 ounces cavatappi
8 ounces green beans, trimmed and halved
1/2 cup Pesto
Pepper
Directions
1.Peel and cut 2 waxy potatoes into 1-inch cubes; place in a large pot of water; bring to a boil.
2.Add 1 tablespoon salt and 8 ounces cavatappi or other short tubular pasta; return to a boil; cook 2 minutes.
3.Add 8 ounces trimmed and halved green beans. Return to a boil; cook until vegetables are tender and pasta is al dente, about 6 minutes.
4.Drain; toss with 1/2 cup pesto; season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum.

Crock Pot Black Bean Enchiladas & A Giveaway!!!

Have you started your holiday shopping? Or do you wait until the last minute? Just in time for gift giving, CSN stores has offered me a $45.00 gift certificate to giveaway to one of my readers (USA or Canada). Have you checked out CSN Stores? CSN Stores has EVERYTHING, from drop leaf tables to cookware.

How to enter is simple!! Sign up to be a follower of my blog and leave me a comment! If you're already a follower, just leave me a comment and you're entered. I will be picking a winner on November 12th. Good luck and thanks for reading my blog!!!

I try to serve as many meatless meals as I can each week. I've mentioned this before but for those of you who are new readers, my husband doesn't think it's a meal without some meat. In fairness, he's gotten a lot better about it the past couple of years. In fact, there's some meals he says he likes and (almost) doesn't miss the meat! This was one of those meals. Black beans are an excellent substitution for meat.

The cooking time for this recipe is 2-4 hours on high. I cooked for 5 hours on low. It was perfect!!

Slow Cooker Enchiladas
Recipe Courtesy of The Kitchn
Serves 4-6

1/2 yellow onion
2 bell pepper, diced small(any color)
1 16-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspooncumin1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups cheese, shredded and divided - we like monterey jack
2 16-ounce jars of your favorite salsa
12 6”-8” tortillas, flour or corn
Optional: 1 cup leftover meat - chicken, pork, hamburger, or shredded beef

In a medium bowl, mix together the onion, pepper, black beans, corn, spices, meat (if using), and just 1/2 cup of the cheese. Pour about a cup of salsa (half a jar) into the bottom of the slow cooker and spread it around evenly.
Scoop about 1/3 cup into one of the tortillas, roll it up, and nestle it into the bottom of the crock pot. Repeat with the half of the remaining filling, rolling tortillas until the entire bottom of of the crock pot is filled. Spread another cup of salsa over this layer and sprinkle it with another 1/2 cup of cheese.
Continue with the remaining filling and tortillas to create a second layer. Top with another cup of salsa, but reserve the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese for later. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 2-4 hours. In the last 15 minutes of cooking, sprinkle the leftover cheese over the top and let it melt.
Serve the enchiladas with the remaining salsa. Leftovers will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator.
• To cook these enchiladas in the oven, layer the rolled tortillas in a 9x13 baking pan and cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese, and bake uncovered for an additional 5-10 minutes.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum.

Foodie Friday - Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed Peppers are such a beautiful dish. I love the vibrant red and yellow of these peppers. Traditionally stuffed peppers use meat and rice. I am trying to make more meatless dishes. Did you know a cup of quinoa has 9 grams of protein?

A few weeks ago, I purchased a rice cooker. I don't know about you but I can never cook rice quite right. It's either raw or overdone. I love this rice cooker. The rice comes out perfectly every time. Although quinoa is easy to cook on the stovetop, I decided to give it a try in the rice cooker. The quinoa came out perfectly.

I liked these stuffed peppers but thought they needed a little something. Maybe some cheese? Cheese makes everything taste better.

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
Recipe from Taste of Home
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) vegetable broth
1/4 cup water
1 bay leaf
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 each medium sweet red, yellow and orange peppers
4 medium carrots, finely chopped
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoons sunflower kernels
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
Dash cayenne pepper
Directions
In a small saucepan, bring the broth, water and bay leaf to a boil. Add quinoa. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Discard bay leaf.
Cut peppers in half lengthwise and discard seeds. In a large kettle, cook peppers in boiling water for 3-5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and rinse in cold water; invert onto paper towels.
In a large nonstick skillet, saute the carrots and onions in oil until tender. Add the quinoa, sunflower kernels and seasonings; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until heated through. Spoon into pepper halves. Place in a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until peppers are tender. Yield: 6 servings.

I am linking this Foodie Friday over at Designs by Gollum.