Shepard's Pie

Comfort Food

My friend Jess made this WONDERFUL vegetarian Shepard's Pie a few weeks ago, so I decided to give it a try.


Sweet Potato and Chickpea Shepard's Pie


Ingredients:
2 lbs sweet potatoes, scrubbed well
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
salt
1 tbsp butter
3 to 4 tsp mild curry powder
Freshly ground black pepper
3 cups cooked chickpeas, homemade or from 2 15oz cans (I went the 2 15oz can route...)
1 1/2 c vegetable broth
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1 1/2 tbsp corn starch
2 tbsp cilantro, chopped (I left this out)
1/4 c regular or low-fat sour cream (I used nonfat greek yogurt and it was great!)


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bake the sweet potatoes. (I made them in the microwave.  If  you want to see the directions for how to bake them, look at the original recipe here).

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat.  Add the onion; season with salt to taste. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened, then add the butter and 3 teaspoons of the curry powder; season with pepper to taste, stirring to combine.

Stir in the chickpeas, 1 1/4 cups of the vegetable broth and the brown sugar; once the mixture has begun to bubble at the edges, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes.  Taste, and adjust the seasonings as needed, adding some or all of the remaining teaspoon of curry powder.  

Whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup of vegetable broth with the cornstarch in a measuring cup.  Add to the chickpea filling: increase the heat to medium-high so the broth comes to a boil.  When the liquid has thickened, remove from the heat and stir in the chopped cilantro.  Transfer to an 8-by-11 inch or similar size or similar size baking dish.  (Obviously, I didn't add the cilantro).

Cut each sweet potato in half length-wise.  Scoop the sweet potato flesh from the skin and transfer to a large bowl; discard the skins.  Add the sour cream and season with salt and pepper to taste; use a masher or large fork to smash the potatoes until the other elements are thoroughly incorporated.  (I probably used a little more like 1/2 a cup yogurt... but it's fat free!)

 

Drop dollops of the sweet potato mixture on top of the chickpea filling, spreading them with a small spatula to cover the filling completely.  Bake (at 350 degrees) for 20 to 25 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling up around the dish.

Serve warm.

Costs:

Sweet potatoes: $1.56

Onion: $0.87

Chickpeas: $1.78

Broth: $2.99

I had everything else on hand, so it cost me a total of $7.20, or $1.20 per serving.

Sweet Potato

Chili!

I've been neglecting you... so here's some Slow-Cooker Vegetarian Chili with Sweet Potatoes

It's a new year, and time for some new recipes!  Today's recipe comes from Real Simple via my friend Jess.

Ingredients:

1 medium red onion, chopped (I used a white onion)

1 green bell pepper, chopped (I used 1 1/2 green peppers because I had some leftover from another meal)

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon of chili powder

1 tablespoon of cumin

2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

kosher salt and pepper

1 28 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes (I used 2 14.5 oz cans)

1 15.5 oz can black beans, rinsed

1 15.5 oz can kidney beans, rinsed

1 medium sweet potato (about 8 oz), peeled and cut into about 1/2 inch pieces (I used 2 small sweet potatoes)

Directions:

1. In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine the onion, pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, cocoa, cinnamon, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Add the tomatoes (and their liquid), beans, sweet potatoes and 1 cup water.
2. Cover and cook until the sweet potatoes are tender and the chili has thickened, on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.
3. Serve the chili with sour cream, scallions, radishes and tortilla chips.  (I only got tortilla chips).

Costs:

Onion - $.94

1 Bell pepper - $1.00

2 cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes - $2.38 

1 can black beans - $.89

1 can kidney beans - $.89

2 small sweet potatoes - $1.85

(I already had all the spices and garlic at home)

TOTAL: $7.95 or less than $2 per serving!

It's currently cooking away, so I'll post review and picture tonight when we eat it!

More Veggie Fun

Tonight we're going to have Sweet Potato Enchiladas.  I know many of you are thinking "YUCK!" but these babies are delicious.  To see the original recipe, which is for a gluten-free version, click on the title of this post.  Some big changes I made were using flour tortillas, which were on sale and also allowed me to avoid the "softening" part of the recipe.

Ingredients:
8 tortillas (recipe calls for corn, but I used flour this time)
1c vegetable broth
1tbsp cornstarch (original recipe uses arrowroot, but we already had cornstarch)
2 cans of roasted green chiles, diced (I bought 2 7oz cans which were already roasted and chopped)
6 cloves of garlic
2 cups of sweet potatoes
1 15oz can of black beans (sometimes I make mine from dried beans using this recipe; especially if I'm going to make black bean enchiladas for a picky eater)
lime juice (recipe calls for juice from a fresh lime, but we already had a bottle of lime juice in the fridge)
1tsp cumin
1tsp chili powder
salt and pepper
shredded cheese (I used a shredded cheddar jack mix - the recipe calls for Monterey Jack only)
The recipe also calls for fresh cilantro, but I'm one of those people who think it tastes like soap, so I left this out.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven for 350 degrees F. 
2. Cook the sweet potatoes and mash them a bit.  I do this by peeling the potatoes, cutting them into chunks and boiling them for 20 minutes.  Then I mash them with a fork.
3. Make the Green Chile Sauce by dissolving the cornstarch in a bit of water.  Then mix the vegetable stock, cornstarch, 1c of the green chiles, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp chili powder and 2 cloves of minced garlic into a small sauce pan.  Simmer over medium-high heat until thickened.
4. Meanwhile, combine drained black beans, 4 cloves of minced garlic, and lime juice in a bowl to make the black bean filling.
5. Make the sweet potato filling by combining the sweet potatoes with the rest of the green chiles, 1/2 tsp of chili powder, 1/2 tsp cumin, salt and pepper to taste.  I like to add a pinch of ground chipotle chili pepper for a smoky flavor.
6. Drizzle 1/2 c of the Green Chile Sauce on the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking pan.  Recipe only calls for 1/4 c, but I don't think that's enough!
7. Get ready to stuff your enchiladas.  Place your first tortilla in the baking pan and add 1/8 of sweet potato filling and 1/8 of black bean filling.*  I like to sprinkle a little cheese inside as well, but the original doesn't call for this.  Roll up the enchilada and place at the edge of the pan.  Continue with the remaining tortillas.
8. Top with the remaining Green Chile Sauce and cheese. 
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes in 350 degree oven until the enchiladas are hot and bubbly.

*If you use corn tortillas, you will need to soften the tortillas before putting in the filling.  See original recipe for instructions if you are unfamiliar.

Cost:
Tortillas - $2.79 I got them on sale and still have 8 leftover!
Vegetable broth - $1.29
Green chiles - $2.98
Shredded cheese - $2.29
Sweet potatoes - $2.75
Garlic - $.63

I already had cornstarch, lime juice and all the spices I used.  The original author gives other options for spices you can use instead (including curry powder) if you are looking for substitutes.  This recipe totals $12.73 and will probably feed us for a few meals as well.