Sweet Potato Black Bean Veggie Burgers with BBQ Caramelized Onions

I have a pretty sweet week at school right now.  I survived Monday.  We reviewed graphing quadratics and I had cheer practice after school.  And now I have Tuesday, which I am already all planned for!  Wednesday is Veterans Day and so we do not have school and then Friday is a Teacher Institute Day.  So, I only have two more days of teaching this week!  Crazy!

Today I went to my boot camp class in the morning.  It was super tough since I was still sore from my work out on Saturday.  This past weekend I was hanging out in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin with my bestie, Tamara.  She took me with her to her work out on Saturday morning.  Slow motion push-ups are officially my least favorite exercise.  They are weirdly easy at first, but then you feel like your arms might just fall off for the next three days...Then today we did SLOW MOTION PUSH UPS!  I couldn't believe it.  I'm half way through my boot camp class when the instructor told us that we were going to do them.  We have never done slow motion push ups before, but of course we did today.  Now, I can barely lift my arms above my head.  Ouch.  I guess the good news is that if I keep doing them I'll have awesome looking arms for my wedding dress :)

Sweet Potato Black Bean Veggie Burgers

Ingredients:
1 sweet potato
3 scallions
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp of cilantro
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 red pepper, chopped
3/4 cups old-fashioned oats
1 egg
8 whole wheat buns
cheese if you want (we used colby jack)
BBQ Caramelized Onions:
1 red onion, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
BBQ sauce, to taste

Directions:
1. Peel the sweet potato and use your food processor with a grate attachment to grate the sweet potato.  If you don't have this, you can use a cheese grater with the largest holes.  Place sweet potato pieces in a large bowl.
2. Put the black beans in the food processor and pulse a few times to mash the beans.  Add these to the bowl with the sweet potato.
3. Mix in the scallions, cilantro, cumin, paprika, cayenne, cinnamon, salt, red pepper pieces, and oats.  Stir well.
4. Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
5. Mix the egg in with the other ingredients and place the mixture in the fridge to chill until the oven is ready.
6. Once ready, form 8 balls with the mixture and press into burger shaped rounds.  Place on baking sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes and then flip and bake for another 15 minutes.
7. For the caramelized onions, add onion slices, olive oil and bbq sauce to a pan.  Heat over medium until onion becomes translucent and soft.  Serve on top of burgers and feel free to add any other toppings!

Enjoy :)

4 Cheese Baked Pasta - Lightened Up

Last night, Bri and I met up with some friends for dinner and trivia.  I had never done trivia before and I was pretty pumped.  We were terrible!  However, the restaurant/bar was great and we had a ton of fun.  I will def be trying this out again.  I feel like if I continue to go to trivia, I should learn more and more so that I can be better at trivia...right?  

I wanted to share this recipe today because it just felt like an easy, pasta sort of day.  You know what I mean?  This is the kind of dish that I make ahead of time on a Saturday or Sunday and then eat the leftovers for like the whole week.  It was super yummy and those BBQ chips on top were one of my finer ideas.  You can also vary this dish greatly.  Try out different types of cheese, different toppings, different pasta! 

Four Cheese Baked Pasta
(adapted from How Sweet It Is)

Ingredients:
1 lb. whole wheat pasta
1/2 tsp olive oil
4 tbsp butter
1 shallot, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups skim milk
1/3 cup marscapone
5 oz gruyere, shredded
8 oz light mozzarella, shredded
8 oz sharp white cheddar, shredded
salt and pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
BBQ chips

Directions:
1. Make pasta according to directions, but drain 2-3 minutes before al dente.
2. In a large, oven-proof skillet, heat over medium.  Once hot, add in olive oil and butter.  Once butter has melted, add in the shallot and cook for 1 minute.  Then add in garlic and let cook for 1 minute.  Whisk in the flour and continue to whisk constantly for about 2 minutes.  Pour in the milk while continuing to whisk and let cook for an additional 2 minutes.  Stir in the marscapone until well combined and then add in most of the cheese.  Save about 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese.  Stir until melted.  Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
3. Preheat oven to 375.  Pour the drained pasta into the cheese skillet and toss until coated.  Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.  Crush the BBQ chips over the top of the pasta and let bake for 30 minutes.

Enjoy :)

BBQ Onion and Gouda Quesadilla

My birthday celebration was a ton of fun and it was yet another reminder of all the amazing people in my life.  I couldn't be more grateful.  Dinner at RPM Italian didn't disappoint.  They brought us a complimentary Prosecco Toast to celebrate Bri's and my engagement, dinner was fantastic, and then they also brought out complimentary gelato to celebrate my birthday.  OH! And, we also so Coach Quenneville from the Chicago Blackhawks eating dinner with his family! It was so cool!

So now it's back to the daily grind.  Last night when I got home, I wanted to make something for dinner, but I didn't want to spend a ton of time on it.  I stopped by the grocery store and they happened to have samples of this spicy 3 Pepper Gouda.  It was creamy with just a bit of a kick and it was super good.  I had also recently seen a recipe for a quesadilla with bbq onions in it so I figured I would combine these two.  I also used these great "healthy" veggie quesadillas.  Put together, this was one amazing quesadilla that is good for you too!

BBQ Onion and Gouda Quesadilla
(makes 4)

Ingredients:
1/2 onion, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
2 tbsp bbq sauce
1/3-1/2 lb of gouda cheese
4 quesadilla tortillas

Directions:
1. In a medium skillet, heat olive oil over medium and add the sliced onions.  Cook until onions soften and start to brown.  This will take a bit of time and you should toss the onions frequently.  Season with salt and pepper and add in the bbq sauce.  Toss to combine.  Turn off heat.
2. Shred the gouda cheese into a bowl and set aside.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium and spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Place tortilla in the skillet and sprinkle 1/4 of the cheese over 1/2 of the tortilla.  Top with 1/4 of the onions.  Use a spatula to flip the other half of the tortilla on top and then cook until both sides brown a bit and cheese melts.  Repeat with the rest.

I had mine with some veggies and a wheatberry salad on the side.  Is that healthy or what???

Enjoy :)

Healthy Butternut Squash Enchiladas

For today's blog post, I was craving something healthy.  Yesterday, our Spring Break trip took a turn when we went to Tucson for the day.  My Auntie Mare and Uncle Eddy live out in Tucson in a beautiful ranch house with two horses.

Charlie-How cute is he?

Brandy

We spent the day going to lunch at Saguaro Corners where we had great tacos, then we played bocce ball out in their backyard, and finally, we went to dinner at Brushfire for amazing BBQ.  I basically felt like I would never eat again after all the amazing food.

So, this morning I went for a beautiful 6 mile run with Camelback Mountain for a view and now I want to share a "healthy" recipe to make up for all the crazy food I ate yesterday!

Healthy Butternut Squash Enchiladas
(adapted from SkinnyTaste)

Ingredients:
1 small can red enchilada sauce
1 tsp olive oil
2 cups cubed butternut squash
1/2 cup packed baby spinach
salt and pepper, to taste
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 can low-sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup cilantro
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 cup water
small whole wheat tortillas
1 cup low-fat shredded Mexican cheese blend
green onions, chopped (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 and cover the bottom of a 13 by 9 inch baking pan with a quarter of the enchilada sauce.
2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Saute onion and garlic until onion becomes translucent.  Add in the squash, spinach, tomatoes, black beans, cilantro, cumin, chili powder, and water.  Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes or until squash can be easily pierced with fork.
3. Spoon a few tbsp of the squash mixture into a tortilla and roll tortilla up.  Place fold down in the baking pan on top of the enchilada sauce.  Continue until all your squash mixture is used up.  You can really squeeze those enchiladas into the pan. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the tops of the tortillas and sprinkle the cheese on top.  Cover the pan with foil.
4. Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Serve with the chopped green onion if desired.

Enjoy :)

Sweet Potato Encrusted Chicken Fingers

I just had the most overwhelming weekend of my life.  I graduated from the best school ever and on Sunday when I realized I was an official college graduate, I freaked out a little.  I felt very overwhelmed by how many goodbyes I had to say and very nervous by how little I know about my future.  I know that these are perfectly normal emotions, but it doesn't make it any easier to process all this.  I am glad that Bri is hanging with me now that he is all done and graduated too.

When I woke up Sunday and I couldn't decide if I was happy or if I was about to burst into tears, I went for a run.  I love running and it always helps me to think and clear my head.  On my run, my very smart and impressive friend, Katie, called and we talked a little about this whole graduation thing.  She made me feel much better.  I am always so impressed by her grace and ability to say the perfect thing.  She told me that while she was studying abroad in Spain she had a postcard with this quote: "Adventure may hurt, but Monotony will kill you."  This is so true.  While I may be terrified about the future, I am also excited about what it will bring.  As a math teacher, I want so badly to "change the world" and enable all students to succeed.  I want to contribute to my school and community, I want to inspire students to become passionate learners, I want to do everything I can to embody everything I love about education and teaching.  

I know that by focusing on my passions and ensuring that I am happy and calm, I can focus my time and energy into these goals.  Therefore, I run and I cook.  Right now, while watching Indiana Jones, I am also planning some meals for Bri and I to cook together and considering my lessons for this week.  I ran 9 miles this morning because it made me feel amazing and helped me refocus.  I lost sight of my passions and purpose for a bit because of my fear, but by realizing this, I know that I can be successful with whatever the future throws my way. 

Oh, and by the way, my Half Marathon is NEXT WEEKEND! It's on this coming Sunday! Woah! How did that happen?  I feel pretty darn ready and excited about it.  My family is coming back up for another fun filled weekend and my runner besties will be back in town to run with me.  So, I guess a bunch of those sad goodbyes were really "see you soons."  I can handle that for now.  Today I have a fun and cute party recipe because now that I've graduated, I gotta party a little! Enjoy these homemade chicken fingers! 

Sweet Potato Encrusted Chicken Fingers

Ingredients:

14 oz chicken strip pieces

2 cups crushed sweet potato chips

2 eggs

2 tbsp mustard

2 tbsp honey or agave nectar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Lightly grease a cookie sheet.

2. In a small bowl, beat eggs with the mustard and honey.  Place crushed chips in a wide bowl.

3.  Dip the chicken in the egg mixture and then roll in the sweet potato chips.  Place on pan.  Bake for 15-20 minutes depending on how thick your chicken strips are.  Serve with BBQ Sauce or your favorite dipping sauce.

Enjoy :)

Foodie Friends Friday: Memorial Day BBQ

This week, Foodie Friends Friday is back!  This week is all about Memorial Day! Just follow the rules and link up your festive BBQ recipes! Also, host favorites will be featured on Daily Dish!  This week I'm linking up BBQ Pulled Chicken, Fancy Mac and Cheese, and Thai Turkey Burgers.

Top 3:

1. Key Lime Pie Parfait

2. Mom's Good Cookies

3. Strawberry Cheesecake Tart

Most Clicks:

1. Great Grandmother's Oatmeal Cookies

2. Old Fashioned Banana Pudding

3. Skinny Chocolate Peanut Butter Crispies

And Host Favorites! 

Welcome to Foodie Friends Friday!

Please take a moment to read through the rules before getting started, Thank You!

*By linking up you agree that you read these rules and all photos/recipes are original and belong to you. You agree to allow Foodie Friends Friday and any of it's affiliated websites or publications (Social Girls Media, LLC) to use photos, links, and recipes for reprint and/or republishing and distribution without monetary compensation to you. If photos & recipes are used, proper link backs to you will be included.

Adding Links back to Foodie Friends Friday and our Button is our only form of advertising to bring in more people to see YOUR recipes.

Please remember to do this. It benefits you! To thank you, we will continue to feature those with links throughout the year on various outlets.

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Meet our Co-Hosts at Foodie Friends Friday:

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Baked Crispy Chicken Fingers

Another Snow Day!

This is getting ridiculous.  And today was especially strange.

I woke up at 5:30 since I had to be at school early for a department meeting.  Following breakfast, I got a text from my cooperating teacher.  The text was about how there was going to be a late start to school because of the icy road conditions and that we should get there around 9.  Since it was not yet 6:30, I decided to get in my 3 mile run for the day.  I slipped and slid my way to the work out center and, after successfully not falling, I got in a nice run.  I returned home, showered, and then got dressed in an adorable dress with tights.  Then, I saw my phone.  I proceeded to freak out because my phone had a text about the department meeting being at 8:15...it was 8:20!!! I grabbed my coat and called my cooperating teacher. I apologized and told her I was on my way. She then said: Wait, don't leave, they just cancelled school.

I was out of my tights and dress within seconds and into my leggings and oversized sweater.  Then, I got my baking supplies and headed to the kitchen to make some cookies! I was so excited!

Now, it is finally the afternoon and I have already baked not one, but TWO treats, gone over lesson plans for tomorrow and next week, cleaned my room, worked out, and finished laundry! I love that I have had so much time to get everything done and now I get to tell you about a yummy meal I made for the superbowl this past weekend!

For the superbowl, I watched with the only two people who get me remotely excited about sports: Tamara and Courtney.  We all got together and had my Light Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip, Veggies, other snacks, Cookie Dough Dip, and for our main course, Baked Crispy Chicken Fingers.  We wanted to have "sporty food" but also "healthy food."  Baked Chicken Fingers were a great idea and super yummy.  And, those dips use non-fat greek yogurt in place of sour cream or butter!  It only took a few ingredients and very little time.  This was a really yummy dinner that I will definitely be making again.

Skillet Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Strawberry Dipped in Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip

Baked Crispy Chicken Fingers (adapted from Fitness Magazine)

Ingredients:
24 oz chicken strips
4 cups corn flakes, crushed
2 eggs
2 tbsp honey
2 tsp mustard

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. In small bowl, mix the eggs, honey and mustard.
3. Place corn flakes in a separate bowl.
4. Dip chicken strips in the egg mixture and then roll in teh corn flakes until coated.  Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 12-18 minutes depending on how thick your chicken strips are.
5. Serve with various dipping sauces! We had BBQ sauce...mmm!

Enjoy :)

Foodie Friends Friday-Crockpot Party!

This week Foodie Friends Friday is hosting a Crockpot Party! I love cooking with my crockpot and it is one of the things I miss most while I am away at college (after my stand mixer and ice cream maker).  I just don't have the space for it in my room! It's very sad.  I love to get re-acquainted when I go home.  Some of my favorite recipes are Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers, Vegetarian Lasagna, BBQ Pulled Apple Chicken, and Vegetarian Chili.  I've linked them all up to celebrate this week's party!

Onto the business/fun stuff! Last week TWELVE lucky winners won awesome items from all the great sponsors!

And here are the winner's from last week's party!

Most Votes:

1. Caramel Apple Cupcakes

2. Peanut Butter Pumpkins

3. Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Most Clicked:

1. Pumpkin Bundt Cake

2. Peanut Butter Pumpkins

3. Loaded Potato Soup

This week is sponsored by Cotton Commotion and two randomly picked, lucky winners will win Crockpot Carry Bags!

But first, here are this week's co-hosts:

Foodie Friends Friday http://www.foodiefriendsfriday.com

Tracy at Busy Vegetarian Mom http://www.busyvegetarianmom.com

Robyn's View http://www.robynsviewathome.blogspot.com

Marlys at This and That  http://marlys-thisandthat.blogspot.com/

Lois at  Walking on Sunshine http://wifeofthecolonel.blogspot.com/

Lindsey at Family Food Finds  http://www.familyfoodfinds.com

Cindy at Cindys Recipes and Writings  http://www.cindysrecipesandwritings.com

Michelle at  From Calculus to Cupcakes http://www.fromcalculustocupcakes.com

Cynthia at Feeding Big  http://www.feedingbig.blogspot.com

Jodie at Binomial Baker http://www.binomialbaker.blogspot.com

R Dawn at Spatulas on Parade http://www.spatulasonparade.blogspot.com

Angie at A lil Country Sugar http://www.alilcountrysugar.blogspot.com

HungryLittleGirl http://www.hungrylittlegirl.com/

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Fancy Mac and Cheese

Last night I got to have a super lovely time with some of the ladies in my life.  My best friends Katie, Hillary, Jill, and Tara came over and we had a good old sleepover.  We watched movies, played silly games like MASH and True Destiny and just had a great time.  It was much needed.  This morning, after I write this, Katie and I are planning on decorating the house rather obnoxiously for the birthday brunch we are having this morning for our friend Alyson! She just got back from Australia and while she couldn't come last night, she can come for breakfast, so we are going all out! I baked a Berry Brunch Cake, decorations are on their way, and we are going to celebrate!


But first, I need to share the rest of the main course from The Dinner Party.  For the vegetarians out there (Brian and Katie), we made a Fancy Mac and Cheese.  It was really yummy and Chris has this little trick of sprinkling crushed BBQ potato chips on the top to add a little smoky-ness while keeping it vegetarian! So creative!

Fancy Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:
1 lb pasta
5 tbsp butter
5 tbsp flour
4 cups milk
5 cups cheese mixture (Choose from Cheddar, Gruyere, Fontina, Mozzarella, Gouda, Monterey Jack, Colby, Munster, or Manchego)
3/4 cup parmesan or Pecorino Romano
1 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3 cloves garlic, smashed, but left whole
4 sprigs fresh thyme
salt and pepper
BBQ Potato Chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and coat a casserole dish with butter.
2. Cook the pasta according to directions, drain and set aside.
3. In a small saucepan, heat the milk on a low heat with the thyme sprigs and smashed garlic.  Do not boil.
4.  In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Whisk in the flour and cook for about 2 minutes to a make a roux, stirring constantly to keep lumps from forming.
5. Strain the garlic and thyme from the milk.  Whisk the milk into the butter and flour mixture.  Continue to cook until the mixture thickens and is smooth, about 4-5 minutes.  Stir in the cheese mixture and continue to cook until the cheese is melted, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and season with the mustard, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
6. Coat the pasta with the cheese mixture and pour into the casserole dish.  Bake for about 20 minutes.
7. After 20 minutes, add the parmesan to the top and crushed BBQ Potato Chips.  Continue to bake for another 10 minutes, or until cheese is on top is melted.
Enjoy :)

Easy Slow-Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken

It's Monday again and so it's time for a little Half Marathon Monday update! I completed Week 5 of my 10 week training and so that means I'm halfway there! Woooaahh! I'm livin' on a prayer...great song right? This week I ran 4 runs: 3, 5, 3, and 10 miles.  I felt great after every single one.  And you know why? Because I wasn't afraid to run indoors! It was about 98 degrees on Wednesday and felt like it was 120.  So, I headed to the gym and ran on a treadmill.  It was great! I even got to watch TV while I ran for about 45 minutes (Food Network of course).  I also participated in Pilates and was going to do Zumba, but it was cancelled :(.  Instead, I did lots of walking on my days off with friends and family.  That is the best part of working out: when you get to hang with other people.  This week I have two 4 mile runs, a 5 mile run, and finally an 11 mile run.  Plus, hopefully Zumba won't be cancelled and I'm heading to Pilates tonight.  Hopefully the weather will be a little kinder this week and I will get to enjoy more of the outdoors!

Last night, my family gathered round for a lovely meal and I wanted to share it with you! We were pretty busy yesterday: My mom and I went for a walk (as Zumba was not happening), my brother had a baseball game, we needed to run some errands, and I saw Legally Blonde with my friend Michael.  Basically, no one was around to cook.  So, we threw some chicken in the slow cooker with this great BBQ sauce we purchased at one of the stands at Strawberry Fest, and in 8 hours (ta-da!) we had pulled bbq chicken.

BBQ Pulled Apple Chicken

Ingredients:
5-6 chicken breasts
1 granny smith apple, cored and chopped
2 cups bbq sauce (make your own or use your favorite)
1/3 cup water (optional-if you want a less thick sauce)

Directions:
1.Place all the ingredients in your slow-cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.
2. After 8 hours, using two forks, shred the chicken and then let sit on warm in the sauce until you are ready to eat!
Enjoy :)

This recipe is featured on Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party!