Sweet Potato, Kale & Black Bean Hash

August 30, 2014 by Mackenzie

Well week one of my senior year is over! It’s crazy to think how quickly this semester will fly by and then I’ll be on the downhill slide to graduation! This was a wonderful week of seeing all of my old friends, sharing stories from my wild summer, and celebrating my birthday! Libby and I will be baking an elaborate cake this weekend as a belated celebration – it should be fun! I’ll share pictures soon!

But today, I’m sharing this super easy, healthy and delicious sweet potato, kale & black bean hash. I made it several times last year and only just realized that I never posted it to the blog! So here you go – finally! This can be for any meal – it is hearty and filling for breakfast and quite satisfying for lunch or dinner too! You can eat it either warm or cold but I prefer it warm 🙂

I also love this meal because it is CHEAP. I think you can probably get all the ingredients for less than $5 – and it serves three!

Sweet Potato, Kale & Black Bean Hash

Recipe Type: Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner

Author: Mackenzie

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 3

Ingredients

3 medium sweet potatoes, washed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
Olive oil
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups kale, chopped
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
Black Pepper
Avocado

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread diced sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and drizzle well with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes until cooked through.
When sweet potatoes are done, coat a large skillet with olive oil and saute the sliced green onions for 3-4 minutes, until soft. Add sweet potato and sea salt and cook for another 3 minutes until potatoes have softened. Add the black beans and kale, folding it in gently. Cook it all together for a few more minutes until the kale has wilted.
Serve with avocado slices and enjoy!

Southwestern Black Bean and Grilled Chicken Salad

September 2, 2013 by Mackenzie

Okay, this salad is so good that I ate it for dinner one night, and then lunch and dinner the next day. Ha! Fine, I’ll admit that I was going out of town the following day so needed to get rid of it and I had nothing else to eat. But… I still really enjoyed it every single time and look forward to making it again!

I love that this salad has a southwestern flare, but isn’t overloaded like a taco salad is. It’s perfect for late summer with the refreshing cherry tomatoes and vibrant colors from the avocado and tomatoes. I adjusted the original recipe to make it “clean-eating” complaint and I don’t think you’d ever notice the changes! It is a bit more time consuming than your average salad – but it’s easily filling enough for a main dish so it’s worth the extra effort!

Southwestern Black Bean, Tomato, and Grilled Chicken Salad
Serves 3
Recipe adapted just slightly from CookFresh Magazine 2011

Ingredients:
2 organic, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt
2 teaspoons maple syrup
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 lime
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons honey
Freshly ground black pepper
1 can black beans
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 large scallion, thinly sliced
1 package of pre-washed romaine lettuce, chopped
2 medium firm-ripe avocados

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine the chili powder, coriander, cumin, 3/4 teaspoons salt and maple syrup. Then, cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise, creating four thin, chicken cutlets. Rub both sides of the chicken with the spice mix. You can cook the chicken either by grilling it or in a skillet (I’ve done it both ways, since I don’t have a grill at school). If you’re grilling it, heat grill to medium-high heat and grill chicken for three minutes on top side and about two minutes on bottom side. If you are cooking it in a skillet, head some olive oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat and cook, flipping occasionally until done, about ten minutes.

2. While the chicken cooks, prepare the dressing. In a glass jar with a lid (if you don’t have one, a small bowl works fine too), combine the olive oil, lime juice, 1 tablespoon of the cilantro, the honey, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Whisk or shake well to combine. (I’ve found this makes extra dressing so I do it in a glass jar so I can save the extras for another salad!)

3. In a separate bowl, combine the black beans, tomatoes, scallion and remaining 2 teaspoons of cilantro and a pinch of salt. Add about 2 tablespoons of the dressing and toss gently.

4. In a large bowl or on a serving platter, toss the lettuce with a little bit of the dressing to lightly coat. Slice the chicken breast very thinly and pit and slice the avocado. Arrange the chicken, avocado and black bean/tomato mixture over the lettuce. Drizzle more dressing over salad if desired.

Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas

June 10, 2013 by Mackenzie

Although there are some amazing restaurants here in Jakarta, Mexican food is a rare find. I find this is quite tragic because I love Mexican food – ah, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Well, to solve this dilemma, we made enchiladas for dinner last Friday and boy, were they good! We combined several recipes to make these – an old enchilada sauce recipe that Tom had, a Rick Bayless enchilada recipe, Grandma Olga’s enchiladas and our own creative whims 😉 They turned out exactly how we wanted them and our Mexican cravings were satisfied.

Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas
Recipe adapted mostly from Rick Bayless
Makes one 9×13, serving 8-10

Enchilada Sauce

Ingredients:
4 14oz cans tomatoes, drained
2 green chilies
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cups vegetable stock

Directions:

In a small skillet, char 2 green chilies until black over medium heat. Place in a blender, whole, with the drained canned tomatoes and blend until smooth. Transfer to a large pot, add spices and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer and reduce for 30-40 minutes, until it reaches a soupy consistency. Then, add 1-2 cups vegetable stock and again, simmer for 30 minutes or so, until it reaches a pizza sauce consistency.

Black Beans

Ingredients:

Olive oil
1 onion, diced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups black beans, soaked overnight and cooked for 2 hours in water
Same spices as above

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a medium fry pan and add onion and garlic. Cook for five minutes until onions are softened. Add spices in same proportions as enchilada sauce. Add black beans and cook for 15-20 minutes.

Enchiladas

Ingredients:

1 recipe for enchilada sauce, above
1 recipe for black beans, above
1 rotisserie chicken, meat shredded
16 flour or corn tortillas, 8-inch, warmed in the microwave so they are more pliable
Mexican cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread 1/4 of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 glass baking dish. Then mix in some of the enchilada sauce with the chicken.

2. Take one tortilla, spoon a couple tablespoons of sauce down the middle, then some black beans, some chicken and some cheese. Roll one side over the filling and tuck it under then roll it up and place seam side down in the pan. Repeat with all tortillas or as many as you can fit in the baking dish.

3. When all the enchiladas are prepared, spread the remaining enchilada sauce over the top and cover with cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Mackenzie

A Look Back