Black Bean & Sweet Potato Burritos

After the insanity of the holidays, I'm struggling to get back to my routine. Back to the kitchen. Back to blogging. Back to doing laundry before I run out of clean socks...again.

When I'm struggling to get cooking, I always turn to the HDHH archives. It feels like a reading a journal. I remember when the investment dudes gave me the recipe for Baked Oatmeal, when I used to eat Peanut Butter & Stuff Sandwiches on my business trips to San Francisco, making Spring on Toast with Amy, when Therese introduced me to her Corn & Tomato Salad, my childhood babysitter who inspired Bacon Cheeseburger Rice, making Salmon with Dill Cream Sauce with Kelly and Jill, watching my mom bake Butterscotch Cashew Bars. These are good memories. And certainly inspiration enough to get hot dinner on the table.

It had been too long since I made Black Bean & Sweet Potato Burritos, a recipe I first tested for dinner co-op with Therese back in 2011. These vegetarian burritos were so stinking good, a perfect way to usher in the New Year and a return to culinary pursuits.

Do you guys have any cooking inspiration for 2017? We'd love to hear it!

Let's get cooking!
Erin

Black Bean & Sweet Potato Burritos
Adapted from An Occasion to Gather
Originally posted September 23, 2011
Serves: 4-6

1 very large (or two small) sweet potato(s), peeled and cut into small pieces*
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 large onion, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2-4 ounces diced green chiles (Depending on how spicy you like things!)
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons coriander
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
8 flour tortillas
Salsa and sour cream, for serving

Preheat oven to 350 or 425 degrees. (See Baking Note below for details on baking temperature.)

Place sweet potato in a saucepan with enough water to cover and a hearty pinch of salt. Bring water to boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and allow sweet potatoes to cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until   they're easily pierced with a fork. Drain sweet potatoes and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and chiles and saute, stirring often, for 7 minutes. Stir in cumin and coriander and cook for another minute, until the spices are fragrant. Remove onion mixture from heat and set aside.

Combine sweet potatoes and black beans and mash them together with a potato masher or whatever mashing implement you prefer. (I like my burrito filling to have some texture, so I didn't mash it too much. Just use your best judgement.) Stir in cooked onion mixture, cheese, and cilantro.

Evenly divide the filling between the tortillas. Roll burritos up tightly and place seam-side-down in a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Baking Note: I've experimented with a couple different ways to bake these burritos, so I'll give you options. If you like crisp burritos and/or you want to get dinner on the table fast, crank up the oven to 425. Brush a little melted butter on top of the prepped burritos in the pan and bake for 10-15 minutes, until burritos are heated through and the tops are golden brown and crisp. If you like your tortillas to remain soft and/or you have more time to kill before dinner, cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 5 minutes if you'd like to crisp up the tops a little bit.

Serve with salsa and sour cream.

*If you have leftover cooked sweet potatoes, this is a great way to use them up! I made extra roasted sweet potatoes, and they were delicious in this recipe. And with leftovers, you're one step closer to dinner.

A Well-Stocked Pantry

As usual, I watched a bunch of shows on The Food Network this weekend. I can't help it; it's good TV. Plus I have no guilt about watching cooking shows because I think of them as educational. How do you think I learned to try stuff in the kitchen?

One theme that kept popping up show after show (after show...) was cooking from your pantry. I am a huge fan of pantry cooking for several reasons: 1.) It allows me to be lazy. It's January in Wisconsin, and it's COLD. Sometimes I just can't be bothered to leave the house. 2.) It forces me to be thrifty. If I use up the ingredients I have on hand before I head back to the store, less food goes to waste. 3.) It encourages creativity. Some of my all-time favorite meals have been inventions of desperation. You never know when you're going to come up with something great!

For today's post, I'm jumping on the pantry bandwagon. Below I've listed my pantry staples and a few recipes to go along with them.

Canned Beans:
Protein-packed and simple, canned beans are a regular dinner hero at our house. Try Quinoa with Corn and Black Beans, Black Bean and Cheese Chimichangas, or Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burritos.

Frozen Pizza: 
Do I really need to explain this one any further?

Cheese: 
The husband and I always buy a giant chunk of cheddar when we go to Costco. It keeps well in the fridge as long as I keep it tightly wrapped. I shred cheddar for Mom's Cheesy Potatoes and slice it for Ham and Cheese Toasties. Then there's goat cheese. Stir crumbles into Penne with Tomatoes and Goat Cheese or use it for a super easy appetizer, Pesto Goat Cheese Spread.

Dried Cranberries:
I have sung the praises of dried cranberries many times. I eat them by the handful as a sweet and tangy treat, stir them into Creamy Oatmeal for a chewy burst of flavor, and add them to salads for beautiful color and flavor. And have you ever combined dried cranberries and quinoa? You've gotta try Warm Quinoa Salad with Roasted Squash, Cranberries, and Pecans.

Frozen Peas:
In junior high school, my BFF and I used to snack on peas straight from the freezer. Not only is this pantry staple perfect for pre-teen grazing, they add color and nutrients to just about any meal. Stir them into pasta, tuna salad, soup, or Shepherd's Pie.

Tortillas: 
I always keep flour or corn tortillas in my freezer. They are the perfect start to so many meals: Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas, Baked Chicken Chimichangas, Lazy Beef Enchiladas, or Black Bean and Cheese Quesadillas.

Canned Tuna: 
This pantry staple isn't just for tuna salad sandwiches in your lunch sack. Add drained and flaked tuna to pasta like I do in Balsamic Tuna Salad. Or go old-school and try re-vamped Tuna Noodle Casserole.