Vegetarian Black Bean and Avocado Burritos

Today I am sharing some really big news! I got a new job!  I am still teaching high school math, but now I am at a school much closer to my home!  I used to commute for about 1 hour and 15 minutes each way to and from school.  Now, my commute is about 25 minutes.  It's amazing!  Plus, I am working at this amazing new school in Chicago and I am learning so much.  I have been there for a few weeks getting ready and now the first day for my students is right around the corner!  I can't wait! 

I have been really busy with all the changes so I have been a little bit behind on cooking and sharing what I'm cooking.  However, I am starting to adjust to this new life and a 25 minute commute means I get home much earlier than usual and therefore have more time to actually make dinner!  Here is one of my new dinners that I am really into.  It was really easy, vegetarian (so Bri's a big fan), and quick.  It is a great weeknight meal and you end up with leftovers for lunches! 

Vegetarian Black Bean and Avocado Burritos

(Adapted from The Kitchn)

Oven ready burritos!

Ingredients:

12 whole wheat tortillas

2 chiles in adobo sauce, minced

1 cup non-fat, plain greek yogurt

2 15 oz cans of low-sodium black beans, drained and rinsed

2 avocados, peeled and diced

2 cups of your favorite salsa

1 cup shredded light Mexican cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease a 13 by 9 inch pan.

2. In a food processor, combine the chiles, a few tsp of adobo sauce, and greek yogurt.  Add in 1 can of the black beans and pulse to combine.  You should get a nice paste mixture.  

3. In a bowl, combine the black bean paste, the other can of black beans, and the chopped avocado.  

4. Spoon a few tbsp of the mixture into the center of a tortilla.  Roll to create your burrito and place seam down in the pan.  Repeat with the rest.  

5. Pour the salsa over the tops of the burritos and then top with the shredded cheese.  Wrap tinfoil over the top and place in the oven for 20 minutes.

Enjoy :)

Crock Pot Honey Chipotle Chicken Wings

It was my school mentor's birthday last weekend and therefore chicken wings are on my mind.  I know that sounds a little crazy, but both of us love chicken wings so there you go!  I got to see her on her birthday weekend since we both live in the city and she had a really nice dinner!  

We went to Piccolo Sogno, which is this amazing Italian place that I have heard all about, but I had never been.  I was pretty pumped about going and it did not let me down.  This place is in the heart of the West Loop in Chicago and has unbelievable food.  We tried things such as seafood pasta, kale salad, spaghetti bolognese, and of course, molten lava cake for dessert.  It is a great place to have a special event at and it was awesome for a birthday dinner.  

This Friday, in honor of the birthday festivities,  I wanted to share this recipe for real chicken wings.  I had never cooked with chicken wings before and they were really yummy.  After a dip in the crock pot, these wings were incredibly tasty and the chicken fell right off the bone.  This is a great recipe for an easy dinner option.  Just make sure you leave yourself enough time to let the chicken cook!  I was inspired by Creme de la Crumb who used homemade chicken bites instead of wings.  If that interest you head on over! 

Crock Pot Honey Chipotle Chicken Wings

Ingredients:2 lbs Chicken Wings (or really any chicken part!)

2/3 cup honey

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

4 heaping tsp of adobo sauce (Just the sauce that Chipotle peppers are in)

1 tbsp hot sauce (I used Frank's)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 cup ketchup

2 tbsp white vinegar

2/3 cup water with 4 tbsp of cornstarch 

Directions:

1. Wash and pat dry your chicken.

2. Whisk all the ingredients from honey to white vinegar in your crock pot.  

3. Place chicken in the sauce and cook on low for 6 hours.  Start checking the chicken around 5 hours to see if it is done.  

4. Once cooked, mix the water and cornstarch together and mix into your crock pot so that the sauce thickens.  

5. Serve with any dipping sauce that you want!

Enjoy :)

Foodie Friends Friday: Cindo de Mayo Theme!

This week, Foodie Friends Friday is back!  This week is all about Cindo de Mayo! Just follow the rules and link up your festive recipes! Also, host favorites will be featured on Daily Dish!  This week I'm linking up Copycat Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowls, Taco Cupcakes, and Fish Tacos with Mango-Slaw.

Top 3:

1. Crock Pot Italian Pulled Beef Sandwich

2. Easy Vegetarian Split Pea Soup

3. Slow Cooker Strawberry Applesauce

Most Clicks:

1. Churro Cupcakes

2. Slow Cooker Pudding Cake

3. Mexican Pasole

And Host Favorites! 

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Copycat Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowls

Who needs Chipotle when you can make this? Okay, who are we kidding?  I need Chipotle once in a while.  However, I did throw together my very own Chicken Burrito Bowl and it was really yummy! I made Chipotle Chicken and Cilantro Lime Brown Rice and then added my toppings and had a great dinner!  Tamara and I decided to do this for Courtney's birthday when we found out that she was craving Mexican food and this was a lovely way to spend a Saturday night.  We had homemade Burrito bowls, ate mini cheesecakes and watched tv.  I love hanging with these ladies and we always find a way to get some good food into the picture!

Homemade Chipotle Burrito Bowls

Cilantro Lime Brown Rice

Chipotle Chicken

Homemade Chicken Burrito Bowls

Ingredients:
For the Chicken:
2 1lbs. chicken breasts
2 tbsp chipotle adobo sauce
3 1/2 tbsp lime juice
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 tsp chili powder
For the Rice:
canola oil
1 cup brown rice
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
juice of 2 limes
zest of 1 lime
fresh cilantro
1 14 oz can black beans
Toppings:
Mexican Cheese
Salsa
Guacamole
Sour Cream

Directions:
1. For the chicken, place in a ziplock bag with all the marinade ingredients   Place in fridge overnight or at least 2 hours.  Dice chicken and cook in a pan with a little bit of oil.
2. For the rice: in a medium saucepan, heat 1/2 tbsp of canola oil and saute the garlic and onion over medium heat until onion starts to become translucent.  Add in the rice, lower heat, and stir to combine.  Pour in the broth, juice of 1 lime, lime zest, and the salt, bring to a boil, then lower heat and cover and let simmer until rice is cooked, about 10 minutes.  Once rice is cooked, stir in juice of other lime, black beans, and fresh cilantro.
3. Build the bowls: Place rice and chicken in a bowl, top with whatever toppings you want!

Enjoy :)

Farmer's Market Veggie Burgers with Chipotle Avocado Sauce

I have another great Kosher for Passover recipe and it's vegetarian! Bri and I recently went to the Soulard Farmers Market and we got: sweet potatoes, spinach, red peppers, onions, avocados, and a chipotle spice mix.  We then, made some Homemade Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers with a Chipotle Avocado Cream Sauce.  This was some delicious food and to keep the veggie burgers together we used a little quinoa and eggs.  Everything is Gluten Free and everything is healthy! It was an amazing meal and definitely a great option for your vegetarians on Passover!

I am also on Spring Break and so in between Passover Seders and getting some much needed sleep, I'm doing a lot of running, cooking, and applying for jobs.  So relaxing? It's a tad stressful, but I'm glad I have all this time to get some applications complete.  Anyone hiring teachers in the Chicago-land area?  I'm pretty good...and I make a mean veggie burger!

Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers with Avocado Cream Sauce

Ingredients:
For the Burgers:
2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced
2 red peppers, chopped
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
1/2 lb. fresh spinach
4 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 tsp chile power
2 eggs, lightly beaten

For the Avocado Sauce:
3 small avocados, peeled and sliced
1 packaged chipotle spice seasoning (about 2 tbsp)
1 cup non-fat greek yogurt (I used Chobani)
1/2 fresh lime juice

Directions:
1. Cook quinoa according to directions and set aside.
2. Place sweet potato slices in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for about 7 minutes or until you can pierce the pieces with a fork.  Smash sweet potatoes with a fork.
3. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a saucepan.  Place in minced garlic and onion.  Sautee until onion starts to become translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add in red pepper and wine.  Let cook until wine mostly evaporates, about 10 minutes.  Add in spinach and stir until wilted.  Season with salt, pepper and chile powder.
4.  Stir the sweet potato with the veggie mixture.  Add in the cooked quinoa and stir to combined. Stir in the eggs until mixture is well combined.
5.  In a non-stick skillet, form veggie burgers and cook for about 4 minutes on each side.  Burgers will be lightly browned and should stay together when flipped.
6. To make the sauce, puree the avocado in a food processor until creamy.  Stir in greek yogurt and spices.  Stir in the lime juice and serve with the burgers.

Enjoy :)

Daring Bakers' September Challenge: Empanadas

Patri of the blog, Asi Son Los Cosas, was our September 2012 Daring Bakers’ hostess and she decided to tempt us with one of her family’s favorite recipes for Empanadas! We were given two dough recipes to choose from and encouraged to fill our Empanadas as creatively as we wished!

I startled looking through tons of recipes for Empanadas.  I knew that I wanted to make a vegetarian one and I also knew that I wanted to make a whole wheat dough.  After lots of searching, I decided to combine some of my favorite tastes and make something fantastic.  I was inspired by Naturally Ella's recipe, and I adapted from there.   Also, I used the recipe for the dough that was provided from Patri and just used whole wheat flour! 

Sweet Potato Caramelized Onion Goat Cheese Empanada

Ingredients:

Dough Ingredients:
5-1/3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups lukewarm water
1 satchel (1 tbsp) dry yeast
2 tsp salt

4 tbsp canola oil
olive oil, to brush over pre-baked dough

Filling:
2 tbsp (divided) extra-virgin olive oil
3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 large white onion, coarsely chopped into strips
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp chipotle powder
2 cloves garlic
1 cup water
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup fresh cilantro
2 tsp chipotle powder
salt and pepper, to taste
paprika
8 oz goat cheese (I used cranberry cinnamon)

Directions:
1. Make the dough: Mix flour and yeast together and create a hole in the middle of the mixture.  Measure out the water and mix in the salt.  Pour the warm salt water into the hole in the flour and mix to combined.  Knead dough for about 8 minutes or until rough and elastic.  Clean out the bowl, cover with oil, and place dough in the bowl.  Cover witha  a towel and let rest/rise for about 1 hour, or until the dough is about doubled in size.
2. While the dough is rising, make the filling: In a medium saucepan, place 1 tbsp oil, onions, brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp chipotle powder.  Heat over medium, toss to combine, and then let cook, covered for 30 minutes or until onions are caramelized.  Stir the onions ever 5-10 minutes.  

3.  In another large saucepan, heat 1 tbsp oil over medium heat and sauté the peppers and garlic until peppers start to look translucent, about 4-5 minutes.  Next, add in the sweet potatoes and the water.  Continue to cook, stirring once in a while until potatoes are cooked and can be pierced with a fork.  Add in the beans, cilantro, caramelized onions, chipotle powder, and season with salt and pepper.   Remove from heat and let cool.

4.  Once your dough has risen, place it on a floured surface and divide in half..  Roll out half the dough into a rectangle about 1 foot by 2 feet.  Spray a large pan or baking sheet with oil and place dough on the baking sheet.  Make sure the dough covers the bottom and goes up the sides.  Sprinkle with paprika.  Next, take the goat cheese and sprinkle crumbles over the dough.  Pour the filling onto the dough.  Roll out the other half of dough so that it covers the top and goes a little over the edges. Pull the edges together and roll to make sure they stay together.  You can cut off any extra dough and use it to make cool designs (I did a J for Jodie :)).  Sprinkle more paprika on the top and then, using a fork, pierce the dough is several places so that the fork goes all the way through the top to the bottom.  Brush the top of the dough with olive oil.

5.  Preheat oven to 400 and let your empanada bake for about 30 minutes or until crust is golden.  Using a spatula, make sure the bottom is cooked as well.  Serve with salsa or other dipping sauces and...

Enjoy :)