Hey friends! Guess what? I’m introducing a totally new concept you’ve never heard before on every other food blog or morning talk show ever— Meatless Monday!

Before you roll you eyes any further, I’ll explain myself with as little preaching as possible, because we know how we feel about preaching. Firstly, I’m trying to give our digestive systems a break with a couple of meatless days a week, focusing on veg and legumes and all that good stuff to truly practice what I preach– living in moderation. We (that would be the royal we, aka *cough* Charlie) purchased a dehydrator that sits in the garage and dutifully dehydrates lean cuts of spiced up beef for homemade beef jerky consumption. But someone in the house has been known to get a little carried away with the jerky consumption, as in eating it on the couch, after dinner, then in bed, while also sliding through the McDonalds drive through on the way home from the yoga class I insist he take. So really, I’m just trying to keep my husband alive.

Secondly, what with the raging fires in the Amazon recently, my conscience is nagging me to do my part in curbing our red meat consumption in order to decrease the need for yet more land to raise cattle. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/08/amazon-fires-cause-deforestation-graphic-map/ Whatever I can do personally to keep the world from turning into total shit by the time my kid turns 25 I will happily do, and going meatless a couple of days a week isn’t that hard. If you’re interested in reading more on how our food choices affect the planet, check out Michael Pollan’s books and be prepared to never look at what you eat the same way again. Yikes. Sorry. Kids ruin everything.

But, and here comes my favourite lil buzzword, “moderation” in our diets will keep us sane. I still want to enjoy my treats and gluttonous binges, and I want you to be able to, too! Life is short and hard and all that, so let’s not make it too much harder. So fear not. This blog will not become a sanctimonious tome. It’ll still be the same ol’ fat happy mess, with just the occasional sprinkling of delicious and health-conscious recipes to keep us all alive.

I’ve been scouring the internet for great vegetarian recipes and I’ve come across tons of good ones, particularly lots of veggie enchilada recipes. How can anything be bad when you stuff it in a tortilla and cover it with sauce and melted cheese? I love the hell out of enchiladas, too, so I feel like I’m getting to enjoy all of my creature comforts without the need for any meat. Anything is possible, guys! Life is wild!

Here’s my latest and greatest veggie enchilada recipe, inspired by the wonderful The Sprouted Kitchen but tweaked due to substituted pantry ingredients that ended up being a hit. Seriously, it’ll please the whole meat-loving fam. Gotta trust me. Have I ever steered you wrong? Don’t answer that. I apologize for not including a photo of the finished product, but if I waited to have a decent photo in order to blog a recipe, we would all be waiting for approximately forever. Plus, my food photographs have always left something to be desired, but it’s ok, I have other skills.

Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 small onion, chopped

1 tsp chipotle chili powder

1 tsp paprika

1 tbsp olive oil

6 oz of goat cheese

15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 to 2 jalapeños, depending on your heat tolerance, seeded and chopped

1/4 cup vegetable broth or stock

8 corn tortillas

1 1/2 cups of green enchilada sauce (buy some, or make your own*)

Topping:

1/3 cup of greek yogurt

1/3 cup of cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup of basil, chopped

1 avocado, diced

1/3 cup of pomegranate seeds

the juice of one lime

salt and pepper

a splash of water

*Enchilada sauce

1 15 oz can of green chilis

1 small onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/3 cup vegetable broth or stock

salt and pepper

Directions:

Toss the cubed sweet potato with the chopped onion, the chipotle powder, paprika, the olive oil, and some salt and pepper. Spread out on a baking sheet and roast in a 400F oven for 30 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350.

Mash the sweet potato mixture with the goat cheese in a bowl until relatively smooth. Stir in the black beans, the jalapeños, and the vegetable broth. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if desired. (It’s desired.)

Heat the corn tortillas so they’re soft for folding, either in a hot dry pan on the stove for about 10 seconds a side, or piled up on a plate in the microwave for 30 seconds. (Try draping a damp paper towel over the top if you’re using the microwave method. That way they won’t dry out.)

In a 9×13 baking dish, spread 1/3 of a cup of the enchilada sauce in the bottom. On a cutting board, spread about 1/4 cup of the sweet potato mixture down the middle of a tortilla, then roll and fold up and stick in the baking sheet, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling until they’re all lined up all pretty-like. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce all over the top, cover with foil, and bake for 20 minutes.

For the topping, combine all of the ingredients except for the pomegranate seeds in a bowl, thinning with a splash of water if needed, and season with salt and pepper. Once the enchiladas come out of the oven, drizzle them deliciously with the topping. Sprinkle the pomegranate seeds on top.

Serve alongside rice (use veggie stock to cook your rice and don’t forget to season it with salt!)

*Enchilada Sauce directions

Sautee the green chilis, garlic, onion, chili powder, and cumin over medium-high heat with the olive oil for 5 minutes. Pour the contents in a blender with the vegetable broth or stock, season with salt and pepper, and pulse until blended.

Serves 4

XOJBR