Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos

Jan is gone.  The month of love is upon us.  Now that I have mastered the crock pot, I have decided to dedicate each month to a new type of food/cooking style.

February will be vegetarian month. I will make one new veterinarian recipe per week.  Note to self: cheese is not vegetarian.

Trying new food has been fun.  Everything so far has been really good.

Original recipe makes 12 burritos

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 cups canned kidney beans, drained
• 2 cups water
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin

• 4 teaspoons prepared mustard
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
• 12 (10 inch) flour tortillas, warmed
• 8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Heat oil in a medium skillet, and saute onion and garlic until soft. Stir in beans, and mash. Gradually stir in water, and heat until warm. Remove from heat, and stir in the chili powder, cumin, mustard, cayenne pepper and soy sauce.
3. Divide bean mixture and mashed sweet potatoes evenly between the warm flour tortillas. Top with cheese. Fold up tortillas burrito style, and place on a baking sheet.
4. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven, and serve.
   
   
   I cut this recipe in half.  These were really good.  They barely lasted the weekend.  The sweet potato was a good substitute for ground turkey.  I will make these again.  Maybe I will try to get sweet potatoes to grow in my garden.  

Slow Cooker Black Beans

Slow Cooker Black Beans

Substitute any dry bean in this recipe. Variations included below the main recipe.

Ingredients:

1 lb. black beans, picked over to remove broken or wrinkled beans or small stones
6 cups water
1 onion, halved or diced
2-3 whole garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon salt (this seems like a lot, but is fine with this much water, you can use less if desired)

Instructions:

Place the beans in a big bowl, cover with water, agitate the beans a few times to remove any dirt, drain in a colander and rinse again.

Place black beans, onion, garlic cloves, and bay leaf in a slow cooker. Add water.

Cook on high for about 3-4 hours, testing after 3 hours. To test doneness, spoon out a few beans and blow on them. If the skins peel back, they beans are ready. Taste just to make sure. If all of the water has been absorbed, add more. Beans must stay completely covered to prevent them from burning. If cooking on low for 6-8 hours, test the beans at the 6 hour point.

Add the salt and let cook, or sit with heat off for another 20-30 minutes, to absorb the salt. Remove the bay leaf, garlic cloves, and onion before using, if desired.

Use immediately, or allow to cool before transferring beans and some of the cooking liquid to a zipper-lock freezer bag or airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 week, or freeze up to 3 months. If freezing, flatten bag in freezer–it makes for easier defrosting. Defrost in warm water.

These were good!  Cheap and easy.  I will never buy canned black beans again.

Crock pot Jambalaya

Ingredients -12 Servings 

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 pound andouille sausage, sliced
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chicken broth

• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley
• 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 pound frozen cooked shrimp without tails
• 4 cloves of garlic
  
  
  
  
  

1. In a slow cooker, mix the chicken, sausage, tomatoes with juice, onion, green bell pepper, celery, and broth. Season with oregano, parsley, Cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, and thyme.
2. Cover, and cook 7 to 8 hours on Low, or 3 to 4 hours on High. Stir in the shrimp during the last 30 minutes of cook time.
   
   This is the best crock pot recipe yet!~  I will definitely be making this again soon.  The fresh shrimp was delicious.  This was just as good the next day.