Roasted Veggie & Black Bean Burritos

Posted on April 11, 2014 by Georgina

Roasted Veggie & Black Bean Burritos

Heyyy-o! It’s fridayyyy friiiidaaay (you’re welcome that song is now stuck in your head). But seriously I pretty pumped that it’s the weekend! The weather is starting to look up around here (high of 66 today!) and I am visiting a old roomie from my college days tonight. Life is good.

I was browsing through my dashboard (basically like the settings portal of my blog) here on WordPress and saw that I didn’t ever publish this recipe! I made a quite a while ago and it was deeelcious but must have spaced on the publishing part.

This would also work great as a gluten free option to just make the “stuffing” part of the burrito and put it over rice or or quinoa or any grain you want etc…

Hope you enjoy this tasty meal and also the helpful burrito rolling tip below 🙂

INGREDIENTS:
2 whole Sweet Potatoes, peeled And cubed small
2 whole Jalapenos diced
1 whole Red Pepper, diced
1 whole Red Onion, diced
2 teaspoons Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Cumin
1 teaspoon Chili Powder
1 pinch Salt And Pepper
2 cups cooked Black Beans (or 1 15 oz can rinsed and drained)
½ cups Fresh Cilantro, chopped
2 teaspoons Fresh Lime Juice
1 cup Shredded Cheddar
1 package Burrito-Sized Wheat Tortillas Or Wraps (6-10 Count) but really any tortilla will work.

INSTRUCTIONS:
In a bowl, toss your raw veggies in olive oil and season with spices. Place in a large baking dish and roast in 425 degree oven for 20 minutes, tossing around halfway through.

Let cool. Add your roasted veggies to a cans worth of rinsed black beans. Add cilantro and squirt of fresh lime juice. Combine gently. At this point, mixture can be stored for later use if want to make this part ahead of time.

Warm your tortillas of choice in microwave for about 30 seconds (so they are easier to handle and roll). Spray a casserole dish with nonstick spray or olive oil spray.
Add few heaping spoonfuls of vegetable and bean mixture to center of wrap. Top with shredded cheese. Fold in sides, and then roll up to complete(see pic below).Place in pan and continue to roll the others. Place into your baking dish, seam side down so that they stay together.
Bake in 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Baking this way will make the tortilla wrap crisp. It’s up to you if you want to sprinkle with cheese or not, I just thought it would look a little ‘prettier’.

** Tip: Premake your burritos and wrap them in aluminum foil. Keep in refrigerator for 3-4 days for a quick lunch or dinner!

Burrito Rolling 101:

This is how my mom taught us to roll up our tortillas. I have been doing it this way since before I can remember. It blows my mind to see people do it any other way. I mean your “stuffing” is falling out all over the place and you, more likely than not, end up with food all over you! All I do is fold in the sides of the burrito like the the top left picture and then roll up(tucking in the ‘insides’ while you go) to complete it! Super simple and it all stays inside.

Hope you guys enjoy this one. It is a healthy, filling, tasty dinner!

xoxo

Fresh Veggie Greek Pasta

Posted on March 30, 2014 by Georgina

Fresh Veggie Greek Pasta

Ahhh, look how pretty this one is. Screams summer time BBQ to me.

NEWS FLASH-I live in Wisconsin (ps. GO BUCKY!)

NEWS FLASH- it’s basically April and it snowed last week……

NEWS FLASH- I’m freaking sick of it!

I was desperate for something that tasted like summer and I came across this recipe. It seemed so fresh tasting, and it was. 🙂

I made a dinner out of this and topped it with some chopped up chicken breast. We ate it warm. But I believe the recipe was originally intended to be a cold pasta salad. Like the ones you bring to SUMMER barbeques with friends when you wear shorts and tank tops and can sit outsiiiiiide and enjoy a cold beverage and possibly see some lightening bugs…ahhhhhh the good times. CAN. NOT.WAIT.

Anyway, we both really liked this dish. It was also a mini-milestone for me beeeecccaauuuse it contains kalmata olives and my Beau ate them! OK – he sort of picked around them while serving and it’s not like he said “these taste GREAT!” but after you hear this story you’ll realize why I’m so happy.

Jake and I have been together for about 6 and a half years. We met in college. Around our 1 year anniversary I decided to make him dinner. Back then it was a rare occurance as we lived in dorms or college housing and no access to a kitchen and we’re poor so there’s that. ANYWAY I choose to make a dish my mom always made called Medditeranean Chicken. Super simple and tasty. Basically 4 ingredients. Chicken breasts, cherry tomotoes, capers, kalmata olives- and then baked. Looking back, I have NO idea what I was thinking. Jake didn’t grow up eating as many diverse flavors as me and his palate was a little, limited shall we say. This was just too much.

Here’s the down and dirty version: I cook. I plate. We sit down. I take a bite=heaven. Jake takes a bite= run to bathroom, spit out food, brush teeth, gargle with Listerine immedietly.

How we are together to this day you ask? I don’t know. My feelings were so hurt but I tried to understand that it was “weird flavors!” for him. Anyway at the time, he pointed to the capers as being the death of him but after that it was both olives and capers that I had to hear about how he dispised them everytime they were in a 5 foot radius of him. I’m taking this dish a sign that almost 5 years later his palate has grown and adapted and they can slowly become part of our grocery repitiore.

But enough about me- Here is how you can make this deeeelicious recipe for you and your family!

Ingredients:
2-3 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
½ cup Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
½ cup feta cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons chopped parsley(I prefer Flat Leaf Italian)
1 tablespoon chopped basil
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 pound penne pasta (or whatever pasta you want)
6 tablespoons olive oil
3 teaspoons garlic, minced

Instructions:
– In a large bowl, combine the chopped tomatoes, olives, feta, herbs and spices, salt and pepper. *If you want to serve this dish cold, you could add this mixture to the fridge at this point to chill
– Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain in a collander.
– In the same pot, (with the pasta in the collander) heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes without letting it turn brown and cripsy.
– Put the pasta back into to the pot and toss with olive oil mixture.
– Add the tomato-olive mixture and toss until the fresh vegetables are thoroughly mixed with the penne.
– Serve!

Hope you enjoy! And I also hope the weather is warmer by you, but if it is please don’t tell me about it. I’m bitter, however I can’t complain tooooo much as it’s about 50 today. SPRING IS COMING!

Thanks for vewing !

xoxo

Mediterranean Mac & Cheese

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Georgina

Mediterranean Mac & Cheese

Hello! So I started a thing where every week I’ll ask Jake to look at my food Pinterest board and pick a recipe for me to make during the week. I just get so sick of allllllwwaayyys picking what we eat and when I ask Jake he says ” um, I don’t know. Anything.” I mean doesn’t he browse blogs all day long and have a million recipes just floating around in his head? No? Ok then he needs a little inspiration 🙂 This was one that he picked. Clearly didn’t read anything about it since it contains olives which he ‘thinks’ are the spawn of satan but I adapted and only added those to my plate. Honestly this doesn’t have a TON of cheese in it, really you are creating a yummy creamy sauce from the flour and milk- which sort of makes you think it’s all cheese but it’s not too crazy. You can totally adapt and remove items you don’t like or add ones you like better. Enjoy!!!

Ingredients

1 big (14.5 oz) can fire roasted, diced tomatoes, drained
1/3 cup chopped black or kalamata olives (I used about 1 tbsp of capers too!)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil, plus more for garnish
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 box pasta(16oz)
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 coves garlic, finely minced
3 Tbsp a.p. flour
2 cups milk
6 oz crumbled feta cheese
2 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease an oven save dish (I used 9×13) & set aside.
In a small bowl, combine drained diced tomatoes, chopped olives/capers, 1 Tbsp basil and dried oregano, set aside.
Boil pasta to al dente according to directions listed on package. Drain pasta well and return to pot.
Meanwhile, melt butter along with olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, add onion and saute until soft and lightly golden, about 3 – 4 minutes, adding in garlic during the last minute of sauteing.
Whisk in flour, and cook stirring constantly for 1 minute. While whisking constantly, slowly pour in milk and bring to a boil, don’t stop stirring!
Once mixture reaches a boil reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring constantly until mixture has thickened, about 4 minutes.
Remove from heat, stir in 2 oz feta cheese and the mozzarella cheese then season with salt and pepper to taste.
Pour tomato mixture over drained pasta and toss, then pour sauce over pasta mixture and toss all to evenly coat.
Pour coated pasta mixture into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle top evenly with remaining 4 oz crumbled feta cheese. Bake in preheated oven 20 – 25 minutes until edges are bubbling and top is golden brown.
Serve warm and garnished with basil!

Ok see this is an example of a draft I created before I started my new photography initiative. Please excuse my orange ‘blaaaa’ lighting…I promise that it’s equally as delicious as if I’d taken the picture with my Nikon. Just tryyyyy it!

xoxo

Lemony Brussel Sprouts & Corn

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Georgina

Lemony Brussel Sprouts & Corn

Ingredients:

1 lb brussel sprouts
2 ears of corn, kernels freshly cut off of the cob
3 tbs olive oil, divided
1/2 lemons-worth of juice
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
salt & pepper

Directions:
1. In a large pan heat 1 tbs olive oil over medium-high heat. Cut brussel sprouts in half and add to pan. Sprinkle with lemon juice, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and generous pinches of salt & pepper.

2. Shake and stir to coat, continue to shake every so often, to enable a caramelized sear but not an over-cook on one side.

3. After about 10 minutes (adding more olive oil as needed), when brussel sprouts are browned, soft on the outside, but a bit hard n crunch on the inside, add fresh corn kernels to the pan.

4. Drizzle 1 tbs olive oil over the corn, sprinkle with more salt & pepper and stir & shake to fully mix.

5. Cook altogether for another 5 minutes, until corn is warmed through.

6. Eat it!

Soooo good. I could have eaten just these for dinner that night. This is the first time I made brussle sprouts for Jake and I was a little scared because I mean C’mon brussle spouts have GOT TO BE one of the most hated/feared vegitables on the planet. I love them and have been known the just eat them raw, but word on the street is not toooo many people are huge fans. Hopefully you like them! and if not, maybe give them another shot with this recipe?!?!?

xoxo

Black Bean & Pepper Polenta Bowl

Posted on December 1, 2013 by Georgina

Black Bean & Pepper Polenta Bowl

gluten-free, vegan option // yields 4-5 servings

for the onions + peppers
1 tablespoon coconut oil or any kind of oil you want
1 large red onion, sliced
1 1/2 sweet bell peppers, sliced
sea salt

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat.
Add the onion and peppers and stir frequently until just softened. 5-7 minutes.
Generously sprinkle with salt, stir, then reduce heat to med-low for about 25-30 minutes until fully golden brown and caramelized. Stir every few minutes. Seriously I know you’ll be tempted to use them right away before they are fully caramelized but the time it takes to caramelize is totally worth it!! DO ITTTT.

for the black beans
2 tablespoons coconut oil or any kind of oil you want
1 3/4 cup cooked black beans, if using canned- rinsed + drained
1 small can diced mild green chiles
1/4 cup no/low-sodium vegetable broth
1/4 cup salsa
1/2 tsp chipotle pepper powder
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tsp cumin
sea salt

Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat.
Add the garlic and stir for about 30 seconds – 1 minute until fragrant and ever so lightly(seriously hardly at all or it will taste bitter)browned.
Stir in the black beans, green chiles, veggie broth, salsa, chipotle, and cumin.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer uncovered for 10 – 15 minutes until thickened and almost all of the liquid has cooked off, stirring occasionally.

for the polenta
1 cup dry polenta aka “corn grits”
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups low/no-sodium vegetable broth
3/4 cup freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese, * totally optional
few splashes of hot sauce (I used a little Franks and a little Siracha)
black pepper

**I used Bob’s Red Mill polenta grits, so be sure to check your package for exact instructions.**
Bring water + veggie broth to a boil.
Slowly stir in the polenta grits, reduce heat to simmer ( low)
Stir occasionally for 5 minutes.
Stir in the cheese [if using], hot sauce, and a few pinches of black pepper, then cover for 5 minutes before serving. If it thickens too much add a bit more water and heat over med-low until smoothed out and creamy.

The cheese is not necessary at all if you need this dairy-free or vegan. Honestly if I was making this just for me, I’d leave it out. I thought Jake would be more willing to try ‘scary’ polenta if it was cheesy 🙂

Once all the items are done, serve it up! I just put the beans and onion/pepper mix on top of the polenta and garnished with some cilantro and sliced avacado! It was verrrry good. Lots of flavors all coming together. Jake told me it tasted like a restaurant meal 🙂 awww love that man ❤

As always, thanks for stoping by my blog !