I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who didn’t like nachos. Even the pickiest kids are usually totally cool with chips covered in cheese. Thus, nachos may just be the perfect dish to bring to a party – and a cookout is no different because they also can be made on the grill.
I love making a big, loaded up tray for our family for dinner, but a nacho bar would be such a fun idea for a cookout! You could set up all the ingredients separately and use loaf pans for individual servings. Write names on the foil covering to keep track of everyone’s custom orders!
These are meaty tacos – without any meat! The fully plant-based filling is stick-to-your-ribs hearty, with all the classic flavors of the ground beef taco you grew up with and it won’t take you any longer to make.
Of all the vegan meals I’ve made, this might be my family’s favorite – it’s become part of our regular rotation.
Friday nights have become family movie night here. It’s a chance to hunker down after a busy week – usually with something on Disney+ and some fun eats.
Being meatless on Fridays for Lent has forced me to be a little more creative with our movie menus. This snacky-style dish is a great light option that’s also meatless.
We’ve had a relatively mild winter here with plenty of warm days scattered in. I feel like, in a way, it makes the cold days worse. Today it’s chilly and rainy and suddenly feels like arctic tundra.
What does that mean? Comfort food, of course. This veggie-loaded chili is just perfect for a rainy Lenten Friday.
One of the things I love about blogging is the community. Getting connected with other bloggers has made this blog better. I’m constantly learning and trying new things.
One of the things I’ve been diving into much more often this year, thanks to being friends with The Baking Fairy, is vegan cooking.
I can’t say I think that our family will ever go fully vegan, but even small steps help lessen the environmental impact of our food system. A few meals a week without animal products? That’s something we can totally do.
Today is World Vegan Day and I’m excited to share these super easy, super flavorful tacos – that just happen to be vegan too.
One of my favorite parts of #Choctoberfest is finding ways to eat chocolate for dinner. Yes, the cakes and cookies are awesome – but there’s something just delightful about getting in your chocolate before dessert.
This year, I’ve cooked up the perfect side dish for your Tex-Mex night. These black beans are punched up with spices – and a nice dose of dark chocolate to make them creamy and rich.
This weekend, Babywearing International of Central NJ celebrated their first anniversary of becoming a Babywearing International chapter. If there’s one thing that’s saved my sanity during the past year, it’s baby wearing. I feel incredibly fortunate to have found this community so early in motherhood and that my local chapter is so awesome.
Saturday’s celebration was a potluck picnic at a beautiful local park. This salad was my contribution to the feast. It’s something I’ve made before and have been meaning to make again since Jake is currently loving sweet potatoes and black beans. And this is one of the best potluck dishes I’ve found – it can be served warm, chilled or at room temperature and it’s gluten, nut and dairy free so it’s perfect for pretty much everyone.
Stuck with leftovers? It also makes an awesome burrito filling!
Sweet Potato & Black Bean Salad (slightly adapted from Beantown Baker) Serves 10-12 as a side
3 Tbsp. olive oil
5 large sweet potatoes
3 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
Juice of 3 limes
Zest of 1 1/2 limes
1 tsp. salt, divided
Pinch or two cayenne
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
Preheat the oven to 400F degrees.
Peel the sweet potatoes and cube into bite-size pieces. Toss with olive oil and 1/2 tsp. of salt and spread on a baking sheet. Roast for about 20 minutes, until tender but not smushing, tossing halfway through. Remove and let cool for five minutes.
While the sweet potatoes roast, rinse and drain the black beans.
Whisk together lime juice, zest, remaining salt and cayenne in a large bowl. Toss with black beans and slightly-cooled sweet potatoes. Stir in cilantro.
We’re two months into “real food” with Jake. So far he hates every green vegetable we’ve tried but will happily eat his weight in bananas, peaches and pears. It also means that Jake-friendly ingredients are making it into our menus more frequently. It’s a lot easier to cook up some sweet potatoes for him when I’m already prepping them for us – or mash up some avocado while I’m dicing it for dinner. Can you guess what he had for dinner the night we had these tacos?
These are pretty similar to the Roasted Vegetable and Black Bean Burritos that I love. These ebb on the side of sweet instead of spicy (honey instead of jalapeno) so I think they’d be a little more kid-friendly. And adding fresh avocado and pico de gallo on top made them feel more fresh and almost summery. Definitely one of my favorite meatless meals this Lent!
1 1/2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2″ cubes
4 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 14 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup frozen yellow corn, thawed and drained
3 Tbsp. honey
3 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
Tortillas, for serving
Feta cheese, diced avocados, pico de gallo, for serving
Preheat the oven to 425F degrees.
In a large bowl, toss the sweet potatoes with 3 Tbsp. olive oil to coat evenly. Add in the spices and toss to coat. Spread out the sweet potatoes on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake 15-20 minutes, until tender, tossing halfway through.
In a large skillet, heat the remaining olive oil until shimmering. Add the onion and cook 5 minutes, until beginning to brown on the edges. Stir in the garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds, until fragrant. Reduce heat and add in black beans, corn, honey and lime juice. Heat until warmed through and add in sweet potatoes.
Serve in tortillas topped with feta, avocado and pico de gallo.
You know how you have crutch dinners you make in a pinch? Like, oh no! I forgot to defrost the chicken! What am I going to do?! nights. This is one of our new crutch dinners. It uses things we usually have in the house and comes together in less than 15 minutes.
They are, undoubtedly, not the prettiest tacos ever but what they lack in looks they make up for in flavor and ease. And since you can make them in about the time it takes to get a pizza delivered, they’re a perfect option for busy Lenten Fridays.
Black Bean Tacos with Avocado Cilantro-Lime Sauce
(from The Garden Grazer)
Serves 4
1 15 oz. cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 tsp. cumin
Tortillas, for serving
Corn and Pico de Gallo, for serving, optional
1/2 ripe avocado
3/4 cup cilantro, stems removed
Juice from 1 lime
1 clove garlic
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. honey
1/8 tsp. salt
In a skillet, combine the black beans, salsa and cumin over medium heat. Warm, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Mash about half the beans and stir to combine.
While the beans are warming up. combine the avocado, cilantro, lime juice, garlic, olive oil, honey and salt in a food processor. Process until well-blended and mostly smooth.
Serve black beans on tortillas, topped with avocado cilantro-lime sauce and corn and Pico de Gallo, if desired.
