Black Bean, Sweet Potato, and Quinoa Chili with Smoked Chipotle

Black Bean, Sweet Potato, and Quinoa Chili with Smoked Chipotle

A filling chili made with Black Beans, Sweet Potato, and
Quinoa, topped with a cooling smoked chpotle yogurt.


Ingredients
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium carrots, diced small
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon Smoked Chipotle Tabasco sauce
salt, to taste
1 can (15.5 oz) low-sodium tomato sauce (I liked to use diced tomatoes)
2 cups cooked quinoa (Casey doesn't like quinoa and so I usually use brown rice)
2 can black beans (15.5 oz), drained
4 cups low-sodium vegetable stock, plus more to thin if desired
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced into small cubes

I've never actually used the Chipotle Cream, but here's the recipe:

For Chipotle Creme:
1 cup plain greek yogurt
2 teaspoons Smoked Chipotle Tabasco sauce, plus more if desired
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard


Instructions:

Heat the olive oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrots and
salt; saute for 5 minutes or until onions become translucent.
Add the entire can of tomato sauce to the pot. Next add the black beans, vegetarian broth, all
spices, and quinoa. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat to medium, add diced sweet potatoes.
Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Taste and adjust the
seasoning if needed.
Make the smoked chipotle yogurt combine tabasco sauce, honey, and dijon mustard in a
medium bowl.
Spoon chili into bowls and add yogurt sauce on top. Enjoy!


Source:
Ambitious Kitchen

Storing Fruits & Vegetables

Fruits:


Apples
Store in the refrigerator to keep crisp for three to four weeks or store outside of the refrigerator in a cool, dry place to keep crisp for about one week. Tip: "You want to store apples in the refrigerator in a plastic bag," says Elizabeth Pivonka, president of Produce for Better Health Foundation. "Apples give off ethylene, a natural gas, which will make lettuce and other produce turn brown. The plastic bag will prevent that."


Avocados
Store avocados at room temperature for up to a week until they are ripe. Once they’re soft to the touch, move them to the refrigerator, where they can keep for up to another week. Tip: If the avocados you bought aren’t soft enough to eat yet, you can ripen them in a jiffy: Just throw them into a paper bag with a banana (bananas produce the most ripening-inducing ethylene of any fruit). They'll be guacamole-ready in about a day.


Berries
Store in the refrigerator to keep fresh for up to 10 days. How long depends on the variety of berry, but blueberries will stay fresh the longest. Tip: Berries are one of the most perishable fruits because they’re so thin-skinned. Washing them and leaving them on the counter will cause them to mold within hours, so don't wash them until you intend to use them. The dusty covering you see on berries is called the "bloom," a natural preservative that keeps them fresh. “When you wash any fruit or vegetable, you’re removing its natural outer layer, which will cause it to ripen even faster," says Robert Schueller, director of public relations for Melissa’s Produce.



Citrus (grapefruits, oranges, etc.)
Store in the refrigerator to keep fresh for two weeks, or store at room temperature to keep fresh for seven to 10 days. Schueller points out that because citrus fruits have a tougher skin, they will last longer than most other fruits. Tip: Meyer lemons and limes have a shorter shelf life, only two weeks in the refrigerator.

Grapes
Store grapes in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Grapes also have a bloom, so it’s best not to wash them until you’re ready to eat them.


Pears
Store unripe pears at room temperature for approximately five days. Once ripe, refrigerate for up to a week. Tip: To check for ripeness, Pivonka recommends checking the “neck” right next to the stem for a slight softness. If you want to speed up ripening, put pears in a paper bag.


Pomegranates
Store pomegranates in the refrigerator, where they will last two to three weeks depending on how ripe they are.


Tomatoes
"Tomatoes should be stored in a cool, dry place and enjoyed within a week once they’re fragrant and soft to the touch," according to Schueller. You want to avoid refrigerating tomatoes because it puts the fruit into cold shock and inhibits the taste. Tip: Avoid storing them in plastic, because the trapped ethylene will cause them to ripen more quickly.

Vegetables:


Bell Peppers
Refrigerate peppers for up to two weeks or store them at room temperature to keep fresh for about a week.


Broccoli and Cauliflower
Keep cauliflower and broccoli in their wrapping and place in the refrigerator, where they will last three to five days. Pivonka recommends using them before the ends turn brown.


Greens (lettuce, spinach, etc.)
All leafy greens should be stored in the refrigerator and will last three to seven days. If leaves aren’t prebagged, wash and wrap loosely in a paper towel (to keep the water from rotting the leaves), then put in a plastic bag. Tip: Schueller suggests keeping heads of lettuce whole: “When you cut up lettuce, you’re cutting the pores, which will produce more ethylene." Photo: Dorling Kindersley/Getty


Mushrooms
They should be stored in their packaging in the refrigerator and used within five to seven days. Like other produce, mushrooms will perish faster if they’re presliced.


Root Vegetables (onions, potatoes, etc.)
Store in a cool, dry place—ideally in an open basket away from the oven. While most last approximately a month, baby potatoes have a shorter shelf life of about 10 days. Tip: Keep these items away from light, which causes them to sprout and turn green, advises Schueller.


from womansday.com

Lentil and Kale Curry Stew

I haven't tried this one yet, but it sounds really good!


Lentil and Kale Curry Stew

Ingredients 

    6-7 cups vegetable stock
    2 cups red lentils
    1 pound kale
    1 whole sweet onion, sliced
    2 carrots
    1 potato
    1 tablespoon curry
    1 tablespoon cumin
    1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
    1 tablespoon turmeric
    1 tablespoon dry mustard powder
    salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. In a large stockpot, bring veggie stock, lentils, and kale to a boil.

2. Add rest of ingredients, and lower heat to medium. 

3. Simmer for about 1 hour. Taste and adjust spice levels, if needed.

Serves: A small army, Preparation time: 1 hour

Vegetable Curry

I think one of my absolute favorite meals is curry. I could eat this every day! One thing I like about this curry is that you can make it any way you want. You can add whatever vegetables you like, you could add any type of meat, tofu, or tempeh. You can top it with cheese or even pistachio's (very yummy!).

Here is the way I usually make it:

brown rice

1 potato or sweet potato

3-4 carrots

1 pkg S&B curry mix

olive oil

salt & pepper

shoyu (or any soy sauce)

Get rice cooking in the rice cooker. Wash and cut up vegetables. Heat a little olive oil in a medium pot and then add vegetables. Season with salt and pepper, and then add a splash of shoyu. Saute for a few minutes. Add 2 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 4-7 minutes, until veggies are tender. Turn off heat and stir in the S&B curry mix. Stir until smooth. Serve over rice.

you can get the S&B curry mix at Walmart and most grocery stores

Mochi

Mochi is one of my favorite treats. It is super easy to make, and since it's made from whole grain brown rice, it's a healthy choice for a snack!

They are simple to prepare: you just cut them into 1-2 inch squares, put them on a cookie sheet and bake for about 8 minutes. They are kinda crispy on the outside, and the middle is chewy like a gumdrop. I usually dip them in a little honey, but you could use just about anything. I love them! 

Breakfast Burritos

This is one of Casey's favorites! He even made this for me on our Honeymoon! :)

I just made this on Saturday. We had just bought some fresh eggs from the farm and so I was really excited to use them. The eggs were awesome! I definitely recommend buying fresh eggs from a local farm. So much healthier and tastier, and I'd much rather buy eggs that came from chickens who are happy and healthy :)

Family version:
Ingredients:

4-5 potatoes
4 eggs
4-6 pieces of bacon, diced
salt and pepper
olive oil
flour or wheat tortillas
cheese (optional)
salsa (optional)

Peel and cut potatoes into small pieces. Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat and then add the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper and stir. Add diced bacon. Cook 5-10 minutes until potatoes are at desired softness. Lower heat to medium. Mix eggs in a bowl with salt and pepper and then add to potato mixture. Cook until eggs are done. Add mixture to a warm tortilla along with cheese, salsa, or whatever you like!


Veggie Version
serves 1-2

Ingredients:

2-3 potatoes
2 eggs
4 pieces of tempeh
salt and pepper
olive oil
wheat tortillas
cheese (optional)
salsa (optional)

For my breakfast burritos I used tempeh instead of the bacon. All the other steps in the recipe are the same. These were really good! I loved the farm fresh eggs. So yummy!

tempeh