A Return to First Principles

The return of the blog.

Spring semester was tough on me as evidenced by my lack of posts.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Filling for Burritos, Tacos, Baked Chimichangas or even Nachos

For our family, 2 adults + 1 little one, with the goal of dinner for all and at least 1 lunch leftover.

2 good sized sweet potatoes
2 cans of black beans
1 medium to large white, red, or yellow onion (in that order of preference)

~1/2 t or to taste cumin

tortillas or chips or other filling delivery or containment item

condiments:
grated sharp cheddar cheese, may substitute extra sharp
guacamole
salsa - green preferred
pickled jalapenos
sour cream
cilantro
lime wedges

Chips and salsa on the side.

1) Wash and cube the potatoes into reasonably even pieces. Smaller cooks faster but takes longer to cut, balance your knife skills and timeline.
2) Cut up the onion and cook until transparent in some olive or other cooking oil. Add cumin.
3) Cook the potatoes - I tend to either microwave or steam, but boiling would work, too.
4) Mash up the cooked sweet potatoes into the pan with the onions.
5) Drain and rinse beans and add to the pan.
6) Heat it through, and your filling is ready to put in a delivery system and top with whatever you like.


Notes: I don't like sweet potatoes, but I like this. Veggie friendly, reheats well, can be made ahead, just don't let it dry out. One could stir in some cooked chicken or pork to up the protein content, but it is really good like this.

In case you don't recall from the leftover chicken baked chimichangas - to do this, use the big flour tortillas, warm them so that they don't break. Fill with the filling and whatever condiments you like (sour cream not a great choice, add it later), then roll up, tucking in the ends and bake at 35 0 until the tortilla is crispy and any included cheese is molten about 20 minutes depending on how big they are. I used to make this in the toaster oven which works great for 1-2 but not for more.