Black Bean, Yam & Quinoa Chili

Black Bean, Yam & Quinoa Chili 
with Chipotle Cream

1 t olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium carrots, diced small
1/2 t turmeric
1/4 t cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1 t cumin
2 t chili powder
1 t Smoked Chipotle Tabasco sauce
salt, to taste
1 can (15.5 oz) low-sodium tomato sauce
2 cups cooked quinoa
2 can black beans (15.5 oz), drained
4 cups low-sodium vegetable stock, plus more to thin if desired
1 yam, peeled and diced into small cubes

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

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.

To make the smoked chipotle yogurt, combine tabasco sauce, honey, and dijon mustard in a medium bowl. Mix well. Spoon chili into bowls and add yogurt sauce on top. Enjoy!

**From ambitiouskitchen.com
**This is such a great vegetarian chili! Same satisfaction, without the meat.  The yogurt sauce is a bit spicy, so if you don't like spice, lay off the chipotle tabasco, but the sweet, spicy, tangy sauce is what made this for me, I love the heat!

Magleby Feijoada

Magleby Feijoada

1 smoked ham hock
2 bay leaves
3 C dried black beans
1 T olive oil
1 large minced white onion
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 bunch of parsely finely chopped
1-2 lbs of ham, cubed
2-3 t salt
1 t pepper

Soak beans over night.  Discard water after soaking. If you are short on time, place beans in a pot and cover with cold water.  Bring to a boil, turn off heat and let sit for an hour. Discard water.  Combine beans, ham hock, bay leaves and 2 t salt in pressure cooker pot. Add enough water to cover beans 3 inches. Cook for about 45 minutes in pressure cooker. Turn off heat and let pressure return to normal just by cooling down, or if in a hurry, release steam.  While beans are cooking, saute onion, garlic, parsley in a pan on a low flame. Cook until onions are translucent. Add ham and turn off heat.  When beans are done, remove ham hock and discard, add the onion and ham mixture to the beans.  Cook 20-30 more minutes or until you have your desired consistency.  Add pepper and more salt if desired.  If you add the salt before it is cooked down, the salt flavor intensifies and it might end up too salty.  Serve over rice or quinoa.

**Hans served his mission in Brasil and often craves Feijoada (Brasilian black bean stew).  Knowing what my kids like, I have kind of come up with my own combo.....it may not be Brasilian, but it tastes so good and everyone loves it!
**I truly hesitated putting this picture up, I know it looks so gross, but it really is delish and perfectly satisfying on a cold night!

Butternut Chicken Curry

Butternut Chicken Curry

1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced
1 (14 oz) can unsweetened coconut milk, lite or regular
1 heaping T mild Indian curry paste (such as Patak's)
1 medium onion, diced
3-4 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1 T brown sugar
1 T Thai fish sauce

Place squash in a microwave-safe dish and add enough water to just cover bottom of dish.  Cover and microwave for several minutes until squash is very tender.  Drain water.  Mash squash slightly and set aside.

Bring 1/2 C of coconut milk and curry paste to a simmer in a large skillet over medium heat, whisking constantly. Add onion and saute for 5 minutes.  Stir in remaining coconut milk, sugar and fish sauce.  Then add chicken and squash.  Simmer until chicken is cooked through, stirring often, 6-8 minutes.  Serve over rice, couscous or pilaf.

**I used quinoa, my grain of choice.  I absolutely love this meal.  A meal all in one bowl makes me happy, it feels like fall!
**From Keeping Up Cookbook
**PS. Rock was thrilled that his dinner was the one photographed...cute guy.

Lime-Cilantro Quinoa with Pineapple

Lime-Cilantro Quinoa with Pineapple

1 C quinoa
2 C water
2 T butter
2 T fresh lime juice
1 (8oz) can crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 C fresh cilantro
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Cook quinoa according to package directions in a rice cooker or saucepan.  When done cooking, let rest for 5 minutes then add butter, lime juice, pineapple and cilantro.  Stir to combine, then add salt and pepper to taste.

Roasted Veges and Quinoa

Roasted Veges and Quinoa

OK, this is one of those made up ones that can take many different directions....different veges (whatever you have), different dressing (whatever floats your boat) and different add ins (different herbs, cheese or nuts etc), but this was the combination in this picture!

Roasted Veges
1 yam peeled and diced to about 1"
1 onion chopped (a little bigger chops than usual)
1 zucchini sliced thick and slices cut in half
10 mushrooms
10 brussel sprouts
1 red pepper diced to about 1"
1 carrot diced to about 1"
1/2 head cauliflower cut into chunks
1/2 egg plant diced to about 1"
1/4 C olive oil
1 t salt
1 t pepper

Place prepared vegetables in large bowl.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Mix to coat veges with oil. (I use less oil....just depends what the quantity ends up being)
Place veges on two cookies sheets.  Bake at 400 rotating sheets 2 or 3 times to create even cooking (or use convection, but watch them, they burn quickly on the edges) and stirring veges a few times. About 40 minutes. When done, take out and place back in the same bowl and add dressing and add ins.

Dressing
1/4 C olive oil
1/4 C lemon juice
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper

* To punch up the lemon factor a bit, add the lemon zest of 1 lemon!  Or omit the lemon juice and lemon and go with a pesto paste, 2 T or so! Tons of options.

Add ins
4 scallions minced
1/4 C toasted pine nuts
8 fresh basil leaves cut into fine strips
1/4 C feta cheese

Quinoa
Prepare as directed on package. (We cook it in our rice cooker)
Serve veges, dressing and add ins over quinoa or mix all together!

Cuban Black Beans with Carrots

Cuban Black Beans with Carrots

2 T olive oil or butter
1 onion, small diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 t cumin
1 t ground coriander
1 t paprika
4 large carrots, small diced
1 yellow, orange or red pepper, small diced
1 8oz can tomato sauce, plus one can of water
2 T chopped fresh parsley
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
Salt and pepper to taste
limes
sour cream
cooked brown rice or quinoa

In a large skillet or enameled dutch oven, saute onions, garlic and spices in the oil until the onions begin to soften.  Add the carrots and saute for a few minutes.  Add the peppers and saute a couple more minutes.  Add salt, black pepper, parsley, tomato sauce and water.  Simmer until the vegetables are tender. About 10 minutes.  (I prefer my carrots to maintain a slight crunch.)  Add black beans and simmer until heated through. Salt to taste.  Serve with fresh lime and sour cream over brown rice or quinoa.

***This doesn't look too impressive, but all my kids love it!  The original recipe called for sweet potatoes instead of carrots.  We've loved it so much with the carrots, I haven't tried the sweet potatoes yet!