Chef A.j.'s Sweet Potato Nachos

Sorry about this photograph! My camera's battery died and my husband took this photo with his phone (thanks R!). What a buzz kill!

This is the third of three recipes that Chef A.j. mentioned I should give a try. For the toppings, I used whatever I happened to have in the kitchen (heavy on the romaine lettuce) and I was extremely pleased with the results. I could easily see this dish becoming a staple in my everyday kitchen because of it's ease and the response I got from my daughter and husband. I highly recommend giving Chef A.j.'s Sweet Potato Nachos recipe a try.

Now I can't wait for Chef A.j. to give me another assignment and tell me the next 3 recipes to make from her cookbook Unprocessed. Everything I have made from this book so far has been superb. What a way to go!

Chef A.j.'s Sweet Potato Nachos

Printable Recipe
1 sweet potato per person (If you use organic sweet potatoes there is no need to peel.)
plus any or all of the following:
Non-fat refried beans
shredded lettuce
corn
chopped tomato
cilantro
chopped onion
olives
jalapeno peppers
or anything you would normally enjoy on your nachos

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut sweet potato in uniform slices, approximately 1/4" thick. Place slices on Silpat or nonstick baking sheet (I lined cookie sheets with aluminum foil and lightly sprayed it with PAM). Sprinkle with smoked paprika. Bake for 20 minutes, flip over and bake for another 10-15 minutes until done. These are the "chip" part of your nachos.

Place several sweet potato chips on a plate and fully load them with the remainder of the ingredients. Chef A.j. recommends creating a nacho bar and letting your family or your guests build their own nachos.

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Souper Easy Smokey Bean and Kale Soup

Sometimes it really feels that life conspires towards us. Take this example: Last night I was presenting a speech on overcoming emotional eating at Whole Foods during their Engine 2 28-day Challenge. A participant approached the leader of the challenge as I was standing next to her. She showed her a recipe for a very simple soup that she said was amazing. It was comprised of one can of refried beans, 1 can of beans, 1 jar of salsa, some oil and, I think, sour cream. She was so excited because she could see that all you had to do was eliminate the oil and sour cream and it would be a perfectly E2 soup.

After the evening was over and I was shopping in the store I remembered that Gena from http://www.choosingraw.com/ had been talking about a product called "Liquid Smoke" on her blog that day and raving about a smoky hummus that she had made with the liquid smoke. My mind started to put two and two together . . . a smokey refried bean soup with . . . can you guess? KALE!

Like I said, sometimes life just conspires towards us. This soup is incredible. The Liquid Smoke was only $1.99! But better yet, this soup couldn't be easier. I think a child could make it!

Healthy Girl's Smokey Bean and Kale Soup
serves 6-8 people

Printable Recipe

1 jar of your favorite salsa
2 cans beans-black or pinto-drained and rinsed
2 cans fat free refried beans-black or pinto
1/2 bag frozen corn-I like Trader Joe's frozen roasted corn
1 box low sodium vegetable broth (4 cups)
1 bunch lacinato kale, sliced into ribbons and washed
1/4 tsp or more Liquid Smoke
a few tortilla chips, optional

Place salsa, beans, refried beans, frozen corn, and vegetable broth in soup pot over medium heat. Stir and bring to a simmer.

Add kale, stir and lower heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes. Taste. Add 1/4 tsp liquid smoke. Taste and add more Liquid Smoke to your taste.

Great with a few crunched up tortilla chips sprinkled over the top! O-M-Goodness!

Serve with a giant salad for a souper filling dinner. Okay, enough with the "souper" now.

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Vegan Bean, Corn and Broccoli Enchilada Casserole

This summer I have developed a confidence in the kitchen that I never had before. I am finally starting to develop my own recipes.

So this morning when I was flipping through my arsenal of healthy cookbooks looking for something to make for dinner, but not finding anything that seemed easy enough and satisfying enough, I happened upon an enchilada recipe. But instead of transcribing a list of ingredients from the cookbook onto my grocery list, I just started pulling out cans and jars from my cupboard.  Cilantro and broccoli were the only two things that I needed from the grocery store.

Healthy Girl's Kitchen Vegan Bean, Corn and Broccoli Enchilada Casserole
Serves 8, 4 Weight Watchers Points per serving

1 large head broccoli, washed and cut into florets (this would also be great with a big bag of frozen spinach, defrosted or any other combination of steamed veggies--the more the merrier!)
1 can fat free refried beans
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
1 jar of your favorite salsa, in this case I used Trader Joe's Pineapple Salsa
1 bunch cilantro, washed and chopped
1 package (6 count) Food for Life Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Tortillas
1 jar or can of your favorite enchilada sauce

Fill the bottom of a large pot with two inches of water. Place a steamer basket into pot and put broccoli florets into the steamer. Let water come to a boil and steam broccoli until soft but not mushy. Remove pot from heat and let sit.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine next 5 ingredients and stir to combine. When broccoli is cool enough to handle, rough chop it and add it to the bean and corn mixture.

Spray a 9x13" casserole dish with cooking spray. Place two tortillas at into the casserole, letting the edges go up the sides of the dish a little. Place half of the bean, corn and broccoli mixture on to the tortillas and spread the mixture evenly.  Layer two more tortillas and the rest of the bean, corn and broccoli mixture. Place the last two tortillas on top. Finally, pour the entire can of enchilada sauce over the top and spread it out.

My husband said this was "excellent," my 10 year old daughter loved it, and I agreed with them both!

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