Sweet Potato Burger with Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce

 

I don’t know what it’s been about this week (maybe the forced time change that I hate so much,) but I’ve just been exhausted. I have huge bags under my eyes and regardless of  getting my 8 hours of solid rest, I just can’t get past 4 o’clock in the afternoon without feeling like I’m just dragging. This wouldn’t be horrible if I didn’t have class that started at 6 p.m.

None of that has anything to do with these burgers though, except for the fact that I should have made them before class last night because I didn’t end up eating until 10 and oh my, I was hungry.

The roasted garlic cream sauce was so perfect with these burgers. I also really love sweet potato in general, so there’s that. The only thing is, I should have probably left out the white beans . . . because me and beans just don’t mesh well. I think the burger would have been just fine without the beans, but at the same time, if you don’t have the same . . . issues . . . with beans that I do, that’s not a problem anyway!

Sweet Potato Burger with Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce
(source)

Ingredients
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 bulb garlic
1/2 cup white beans
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp bread crumbs
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
pinch ground cumin
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 avocado, sliced
1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 tsp maple syrup
2 hamburger buns

Directions

1. Cut 1/4-inch of the top of the garlic off the bulb, exposing the individual cloves. Place your garlic bulb in a baking dish. Cover with 1/2 tbsp olive oil. Place in an oven heated to 400 for about 30 minutes. Once cooked, remove and let cool until later.

2. Boil water in a large pot. Once the water is boiling, add the sweet potatoes. Cook for 20 minutes, or until soft.

3. In a large bowl, mash the beans with a fork. In a small dish mix the bread crumbs and flour with 2 tbsp of water. Mix the bread crumbs and flour with the beans.  Also add the sweet potatoes, minced garlic, paprika, onion powder, salt, pepper, and cumin into the bowl. Using a potato masher, mash everything together. Once everything is thoroughly mashed, mix together with a wooden spoon. Place in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.

4. In a food processor squeeze out the cloves of your roasted garlic. Add the yogurt and maple syrup. Process until smooth and well combined. Set aside.

5. In a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, heat the remaining olive oil. Remove the sweet potato mixture from the refrigerator and form into patties. Place each patty into the cast iron skillet. Cook for about 5 minutes per side, or until crisp and brown.

6. Toast the buns. Once the buns are toasted, place a patty on each bun. Slather the yogurt sauce on the patty an top with avocado.

* serves 2
* shared with Foodie Friends Friday, Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, &  Foodie Friday

Black-Eyed Peas and Eggplant Curry

I’ve said it over and over and over again – I love curry! I could make a resolution to only eat curries for a whole year and be happy as a clam. My boyfriend on the other hand isn’t a big curry lover, so I won’t make that resolution.

Anyway, this curry used ingredients I don’t typically use in my curries. Eggplant really just isn’t my favorite vegetable and black-eyed peas I rarely use (but I had some leftover from the black-eyed pea fritters I had made earlier.)

This dish though was fantastic. I served the curry over rice. YUM!

Black-Eyed Peas and Eggplant Curry
(source) 

Ingredients
1/2 eggplant
1/2 onion
1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/8 tsp kosher salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp curry paste
1/2 tsp garam masala
2 tbsp red wine
1/2 cup black-eyed peas, frozen or canned
1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup vegetable broth

Directions

1. Trim the eggplant. Cut each into 1-inch pieces. Set aside. Half the onion and cut into strips. Set aside.

2. In a large saucepan heat the oil over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add the eggplant and cook tossing for 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion, garlic, curry paste, and garam masala, stirring well. Cook for 10 minutes, until the onion is tender.

3. Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the wine and simmer, stirring often for about 5 minutes or until a thick stew is formed. Add the black-eyed peas, tomato, and broth and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

* serves 2
* 246 calories per serving
* This dish is being shared with Midnight Maniac Meatless Mondays , Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Tuesdays at the Table, and  Tasty Tuesday Party

Around The World in 52 Weeks: Barbecue Limas

This week my kitchen to the Marshall Islands. I was going to make dessert as well as dinner, but I kind of forgot I didn’t have any heavy cream and had to say goodbye to my plans to make a coconut cream macadamia cake, because I was too lazy to go to the grocery store.

While I didn’t make the coconut cream cake, I did use an ingredient I haven’t use before (which by the way is another of my resolutions for the year.) I had no idea until I made last week’s meal plan that butter beans and lima beans were actually the same thing. I had a can of butter beans in my cabinet, for whatever reason, and they have been sitting there forever because I had no idea what a butter bean was. I learned this week that it’s a lima bean! I’d never cooked with butter/lima beans before, but this Marshall Islands dish was delicious.

Of course the American is using canned lima beans.. But if we were actually on the Marshall Islands in the Caribbean we would have fresh beans that grow wild on the island. Cite.

I wasn’t too sure about this recipe. But after it was made and I was eating it, it was so good. And my boyfriend liked it too. We like the Marshall Islands.

Barbecue Limas (adapted from here)

Ingredients
1 can lima beans (or butter beans)
6 oz spicy Italian sausage
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 16-oz can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp mustard
1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar

Directions

1. Brown the sausage, onion, and garlic in a skillet. Add the tomato sauce, mustard, and brown sugar and simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes.

2. Pour the sausage mixture into a baking dish. Mix with lima beans and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

* serves 2
* I’m sharing this dish with KB and Whitesnake’s Simply Delish Saturdays.

I’d like to see people travel the globe with me.
Every Saturday I will be posting my recipe, as well as pictures to ethnic cuisines you have made and want to share.

– You must mention The Law Student’s Cookbook‘s Around The World In 52 Weeks in the entry you link. You can either use a link or use the banner.
– In your post you must  at least mention what cuisine the dish is.
– Email me your recipe at elizabeth@crabtech.net. Make sure to include:

* Your name or blog name
* The direct link to your post
* A picture of the dish or permission to pull a picture from the post

– Make sure to email me by Saturday at 12noon Pacific Standard Time
– If you enter a recipe you will be automatically entered into my current giveaway.

Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup

I’ve been all about soups lately. Besides it just being cold outside, I have night classes three days a week and need easy things I can grab and go before 5 or 6PM. Mondays I have class from 5-8, Tuesdays from 6-8, and Wednesdays from 6-9. I hate eating late, so eating before class is definitely the best thing for me to do. But.. to do this, I need something I can make QUICK.

Crockpots work well for this quick kind of cooking I’m looking for. Though it does take all day for the meal to cook, when it’s time for me to eat, I can eat quick. I can wake up early in the morning, throw everything in the pot, turn it on, go about my day, and come home to a house smelling delicious and dinner hot and ready. It’s like having a personal cook.

Except I’m the one doing the cooking.

This chicken tortilla soup was packed with flavor. It was great the first day, but even better the second.

Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
2 cans Ro-tel
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups frozen corn
1 onion, chopped
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp chile powder
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp dried cilantro
96 tortilla chips
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions

1. In a crockpot combine the chicken, Ro-tel, beans, corn, onion, chicken broth, water, and spices.  Cook on low for 8-9 hours.

2. Serve the soup with 12 chips and 1 tbsp of sour cream.

* serves 8
* 346 calories per serving
* This recipe is being shared with Souper Sunday at Kahakai Kitchen.

Around The World in 52 Weeks: Black-eyed Pea Fritters

This week my kitchen took my to the Republic of Congo. Unfortunately it seems the Republic of Congo and my kitchen really didn’t mesh very well.

 

I planned this week to make a peanut chicken and these fritters. However, during the middle of my cooking process for the chicken I dropped it on the floor, peanut side down. I just really wasn’t in the mood to defrost more chicken and start over, so I decided to just make these fritters. These fritters were far from the easiest things I’ve made.

I first attempted to make them in a deep skillet filled with oil. However, the batter was so sticky I couldn’t get them to flip over. I decided instead to use the deep fryer. I took my black-eyed pea batter, made a sticky ball out of it, dredged it in flour, and deep fried them for 5 minutes.

It worked, but it was a struggle.

Black-eyed Pea Fritters

Ingredients
8 1/2 oz frozen black-eyed peas, thawed
1 egg, beaten
1/2 onion
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 habenero
1/2 green bell pepper
cayenne pepper, to taste
1/4 tsp fresh ginger, peeled
oil for frying
flour for dredging

Directions

 1. Combine the black-eyed peas, egg, onion, salt, habenero, green bell pepper, cayenne, and ginger in a food processor. Pulse until a paste is created.

2. The batter is sticky, but create balls out of the batter with your hands. Dredge each ball in flour.

3. Fry the fritters in a deep fryer for 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

* I’ve shared these fritters with KB and Whitesnake‘s Simply Delish Saturday.

I’d like to see people travel the globe with me.
Every Saturday I will be posting my recipe, as well as pictures to ethnic cuisines you have made and want to share.

– You must mention The Law Student’s Cookbook‘s Around The World In 52 Weeks in the entry you link. You can either use a link or use the banner.
– In your post you must  at least mention what cuisine the dish is.
– Email me your recipe at elizabeth@crabtech.net. Make sure to include:

* Your name or blog name
* The direct link to your post
* A picture of the dish or permission to pull a picture from the post

– Make sure to email me by Saturday at 12noon Pacific Standard Time

Kidney Bean Cauliflower Curry

A month ago I made a kidney bean curry and was all about it. It was the first time I had made a curry where beans were the focus of the dish. I liked it so much that I made it again. This time though I followed a different recipe that had more in it than just beans. This recipe packs the curry with cauliflower as well as kidney beans. The flavor was approximately the same  as the last one, but this curry was more filling because of the increase in vegetables.

I love curry. I served this curry over a bed of turmeric rice.

Kidney Bean Cauliflower Curry

Ingredients
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp peeled and chopped ginger
1/2 onion, chopped
1/4 head cauliflower, cut into florets
1/2 tomato, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/8 tsp cayenne
4 oz tomato sauce
1 15-oz can kidney beans

Directions

 1. Heat oil in a deep pan over medium heat for about a minute. Add ginger, garlic, onion, and jalapeno and fry for a minute. Add the tomato sauce, salt, cumin, coriander, cumin seeds, turmeric, and cayenne. Cook for an additional five minutes, and stir frequently. Add the undrained kidney beans plus 1/2 cup of water, cauliflower, and tomato. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until the curry is thick enough.

* serves 2
* 416 calories per serving
* I’m sharing this recipe with Midnight Maniac’s Meatless Mondays,  Tuesdays at the Table, and Tasty Tuesday Party.

Peanut Butter Chili

I’ve been talking about how cold it is around here lately and I’m really not lying. I just attempted to chase my cat outside but gave up and decided he can come home when he’s ready, because unless I bundle up there’s no way I can manage the cold. I mean, I’m cold just sitting on my couch. There’s no way in hell I was going to chase him out for further than I did; he’s covered in fur. I don’t have much of that.

To keep warm on nights like tonight I have to make things that are known for their ability to warm up a cold person on a cold day. Soup works well for this. Chili does as well. I saw this recipe on Serious Eats and needed to give it a try.

The peanut butter in this chili gave it a very different flavor than what I normally associate chili flavors to taste like. I’m not complaining though. The addition of the peanut butter was definitely complimentary to the taste buds and also made the chili very creamy.

PS – while I was typing this the cat came home. I guess he got cold too.

Peanut Butter Chili

Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 15-oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 12-oz can tomato paste
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 15-oz cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15-oz can white beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups frozen corn

Directions

 1. In  a large pot heat the olive oil. Add onion and garlic. Saute until the onion is translucent.

2. Add the fire roasted tomatoes and their liquid, the pepper, salt, chili powder, paprika, and red pepper flakes. Let simmer for 5 minutes and then add the tomato paste, vegetable broth, and peanut butter. Stir until the tomato paste and the peanut butter are well incorporated. Let simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Reduce the heat and add all of the beans and the corn. Simmer for 20 minutes.

* serves 8
* 380 calories per serving
* This post is being shared with Ms. enPlace‘s See Ya in the Gumbo!

Kidney Bean Curry

I bought this cookbook forever ago at Borders, when the store was still in existence, but for some reason the book got pushed somewhere and I never made anything out of it. I bought this book years ago, so I can’t believe it’s only now that I am getting around to making anything out of it. 

Indian food is hands down my favorite cuisine there is. I love trying new recipes, I love curries, I just love all the flavors that fill up every mouthful when I eat this delicious food. This is why I can’t believe I haven’t cooked out of this book. I am equally surprised I haven’t made anything out of this cookbook after trying the kidney bean curry. I usually make chicken curries of different variations. I have never made a bean curry (well, I have made chickpea curry).

I served this curry over rice. It would have been nice to have some naan as well.

Kidney Bean Curry

Ingredients
1 cup canned kidney beans, drained
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 in piece fresh ginger root, grated
2 tbsp curry paste
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 can petite diced tomatoes
2 tbsp chopped cilantro

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the cumin seeds for 2 minutes, until they begin to sputter. Add the onion, jalapeno, garlic, and ginger and fry for 5 minutes. Stir in the curry paste, cumin, coriander, chili powder, and salt and cook for 5 minutes.

2. Add the tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain the beans and stir them in with the cilantro. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, adding water if necessary.

* serves 4
* 208 calories per serving
* This recipe comes from the Best Ever Indian Cookbook by Mridula Baljeka, Rafi Fernandez, Shehzad Husain, and Manisha Kanani.
* I am sharing this recipe with Cookbook Sundays at Couscous & Consciousness.

 

Vegetable Lasagna Roll-Up

I’m studying for finals and I need a break. 

Vegetable Lasagna Roll-Ups

Ingredients
1 cup assorted frozen or fresh vegetables
1/4 cup white beans
2 tbsp sour cream
2 oz shredded cheddar cheese
1 garlic clove, peeled
salt, pepper, and paprika to taste
2 lasagna noodles

Directions

1. Cook the lasagna noodles per the directions on the package. Set aside.

2. In a food processor combine the vegetables, beans, sour cream, half of the cheese, garlic, salt, pepper, and paprika. Pulse until a paste is formed.

3. Lay the lasagna noodles flat and spread the paste onto each noodle. Roll the noodle up as if you were rolling a sleeping bag.

4. Place in a baking dish and cover with any remaining vegetable-bean paste and the remaining cheese. Bake for 20 minutes at 350.

* makes 1 serving
* 451 calories per serving
* This recipe is being shared with Bizzy Bakes’s Bake with Bizzy!

Burrito Bake

Despite not having children, I sometimes really enjoy the comfort food that kids enjoy. Things like mac and cheese and spaghetti and meatballs remind me of being a kid. Sometimes though it’s those comforting dishes that I crave. Casseroles are another category of food I would consider in those childhood comforts.

In the Recipe Swap group on MFP Thirstygirl shared one of her family favorites, something I wish I had in my childhood and something that I’m going to continue making into my future. Not only was this dish incredibly easy to make, it really was just.. good. I loved the Bisquick crust, I loved the flavors, and it just made me feel so full.

Burrito Bake

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
1 cup Bisquick
1/3 cup water
1 can refried beans
1/2 pack taco seasoning
1 cup salsa
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 cup cotija cheese

Directions

1. In a skillet brown the beef. Add the taco seasoning according to the directions on the packet. Set aside.

2. In a separate bowl mix the Bisquick, water, and the refried beans. Spread in the bottom of a greased pie pan.

3. On top of the beans, cover with the beef. Pour the salsa over the top and then top with cheese.

4. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

* serves 6
* 394 calories per serving
* shared by Thirstygirl on MFP