Sweet Potato & Black Bean Tacos

During residency Jack was lucky enough to work with a few other podiatry residents who were LDS and we arranged dinners from time to time so our families could spend time together. One night we were at Keith & Paige Murdock's home and Paige made these tacos. I had never tasted sweet potatoes like this! They were amazing! Not only are they healthy and vegetarian, but they are packed with tons of yummy flavor. When I brought the recipe home, I tinkered with it a bit and came up with my own version. Here they are!

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Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos

2 Sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and cut into small cubes

1 T Olive oil

1/2 t Salt

1/8 t Chili flakes

2 T Lime juice

2 C Shredded cabbage (green, purple, or both)

2 Green onions, sliced

1 Lime, zested and juiced

1/4 t Salt

1 Can Black Beans, drained and rinsed 

1 t olive oil 1/3 C diced onion 1-2 garlic cloves, pressed or finely minced 1/3 C chicken broth 1/8 t cumin 1/8 t coriander1/8 t oregano 1/4 t salt 1/8 t pepper 1/2 lime

Corn or flour tortillas

Cubed avocado

Sweet Potatoes:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place cut sweet potatoes in a large bowl. Mix together olive oil, salt, chili flakes, and lime juice in a small bowl and pour over the sweet potatoes. Toss to coat. Spread potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast 40 minutes turning once at 20 minutes. Cook until golden brown.

Cabbage Salad: 

Place cabbage and green onions in a bowl, toss with lime zest and juice and salt. Stir all together. 

Beans:

In a saucepan on the stove, heat the olive oil to med-high heat. Saute onions for about 3 minutes or until they just start to become translucent. Add garlic and saute abut 30 seconds more. Add beans, broth, and remaining seasonings and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer and simmer for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. When they are done cooking, remove from heat and add in a few squeezes of fresh lime juice. Then use the back of a spoon or rubber spatula so mash some of the beans. 

Assemble tacos by placing sweet potatoes, cabbage salad, beans, and avovados in a tortilla and enjoy!

Crunchy Black Bean Tacos

I saw a similar recipe to this on Pinterest, but felt like the filling on these could use a little extra kick, so I added a few little twists inspired by Our Best Bites' version of "Quick and Easy Black Beans" and here is my new crunchy black bean taco!

Crunchy Black Bean Tacos

Makes 12-16 tacos (serves 8).
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
2 Cans Black Beans, drained and rinsed 
1/2 T olive oil 
2/3 C diced onion 
2-3 garlic cloves, pressed or finely minced 
2/3 C chicken broth
1/4 t cumin 
1/4 t coriander
1/4 t oregano 
1/2 t salt 
1/4 t pepper 
1 lime
2 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped
4-6 ounces pepper jack cheese, grated
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 avocado, sliced
Pinch of salt and pepper
12-16 corn tortillas
Hot sauce
Salsa
Sour cream

Directions:
1) In a saucepan on the stove, heat the olive oil to med-high heat. Saute onions for about 3 minutes or until they just start to become translucent. Add garlic and saute abut 30 seconds more. Add beans, broth, and remaining seasonings and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer and simmer for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. When they are done cooking, remove from heat and add in a few squeezes of fresh lime juice. Then use the back of a spoon or rubber spatula so smoosh some of the beans. You don’t want to pulverize them, but you want to take a bunch of good smooshes so that some of the beans are smashed, which will thicken the sauce. Add in the cilantro. Grate the cheese and have it ready.

2) In a large, non-stick skillet or cast iron skillet, add a few tablespoons of oil and heat over medium-high heat.

3) Add one corn tortilla at a time and let each get hot in the oil for a few seconds. Then add about 1?4 cup of the bean filling to one half of the tortilla. Top with a sprinkle of grated cheese.

4) Using tongs, carefully fold the tortilla over so it forms a shell. Press down lightly on the tortilla so it holds its shape.

5) As the first tortilla cooks, move it to the side and do a second one. Depending on the size of your pan, you should be able to get 2 or 3 tacos at once. If you have a griddle you can do even more at once.

6) Cook each taco for about 3 minutes per side until they are nicely browned and crispy.

7) When flipping the taco to cook on the other side, use tongs and flip the taco toward the fold so the filling doesn’t fall out.

8) Serve tacos with toppings like hot sauce, salsa, avocados, and sour cream.Note: Corn tortillas are resilent to heat. Don’t worry about burning them. They are very flexible. Just be sure to cook them on each side long enough to get them really crispy.

Cowboy Quesadillas

Cowboy Quesadillas
Recipe by Our Best Bites

1/2 C white rice
1/3 C black beans
1 cup diced cooked chicken
1/3 C fresh frozen corn kernels (no need to thaw)
2/3 C diced tomato
3 Tbs sliced green onion
1 1/2 C shredded cheese (any type or combo you like)
1/4 C bbq sauce
6 small tortillas (fajita size, about 6″)

Dipping Sauce
equal parts bbq sauce and ranch dressing (here’s our favorite)

Combine rice, beans, chicken, corn, tomato, green onion and shredded cheese.  Add bbq sauce and stir to combine.  Place about 1/3 C of mixture on half of each tortilla and fold over to close.

Heat a skillet to medium heat on the stove top.  When hot, spray lightly with cooking spray, or drizzle with canola or olive oil.  Place quesadillas in pan and cook for 2-4 minutes or until golden brown and slightly crisp.  Flip and repeat on opposite side.  Cool for a few minutes and then serve with BBQ-Ranch dipping sauce.

Southwest Pasta Salad

Southwest Pasta Salad
Recipe by Our Best Bites

Ingredients
1/2 lb bowtie pasta
1 14oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 roma tomatoes, diced or about 3/4 C or halved cherry tomatoes
1 large red, yellow, or orange bell pepper, diced
1/2 C sliced green onions
1/2 C frozen fresh corn
zest from 2 limes
optional: 8 oz diced cooked chicken (taco chicken is fantastic in this recipe)
1/2 C Queso Fresco or Cotija Cheese (or you could sub grated jack, cheddar or pepperjack)

Dressing:
6 Tbs fresh lime juice (about 3 juicy limes)
1/4 C white wine or rice vinegar
4-5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp kosher or sea salt
2 tsp sugar (add a touch more if your limes are extra sour/bitter)
3/4 C canola oil
1/2 C roughly chopped cilantro

Directions

To prepare dressing place Boil pasta in salted water until cooked.  While it’s cooking, prepare dressing.

First zest your limes and place the zest in a large salad bowl.

Place the lime juice, vinegar, garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, salt and sugar in a blender.  (Basically everything except the cilantro and oil)  Process until smooth.  With the motor running slowly, add the oil in a steady stream until incorporated.  Add the cilantro and pulse so it gets broken up, but some pieces still remain in tact.

When pasta is done cooking, drain and rinse immediately with cold water to cool.  Place the pasta in the large salad bowl with the lime zest.  Add black beans, tomatoes, diced pepper, green onions, corn (no need to thaw the corn),  and chicken if desired.  Toss with dressing.  Taste, and add additional salt and pepper to taste.  For best results, chill for 1 hour before serving.  Right before serving, sprinkle cheese on top.  Serve with extra lime wedges if desired.

Makes about 4-6 dinner sized servings or 10-12 side servings