Browsing Tag

fall food

Food

Culinary Pursuits: Spicy Black Bean & Sweet Potato Chili

October 12, 2014

It’s officially chili season! I don’t know about you but chili and soup are about all I want to eat in the fall. They’re just warm, feel good meals. I wanted to make a black bean chili but with sweet potatoes so I decided to wing it and create my own recipe. I loved the end result, so I had to share. Check it out below!

Ingredients:
2 medium sweet potatoes
1 15oz can of reduced sodium black beans
1 15 oz can of corn
1 10 oz can of Rotel diced tomatoes with cilantro and lime juice
1 10 oz can of Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 large onion, diced
1 large red bell pepper, diced
goat cheese

Seasonings:
Sea salt
cumin
Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning
curry powder
Fiery 5 red pepper
chili powder
cilantro
crushed red pepper flakes

I had initially planned to add chick peas but later decided against it.

Instructions:
1. Spray a baking pan with canola oil and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Chop your sweet potatoes into 1/2 in cubes, spread them across your pan evenly, spray them with olive oil, and sprinkle on some sea salt.
3. Put them in the oven and let them cook for about 40 minutes.
4. Turn the stove on to medium heat and spray some olive oil on the bottom.
5. Sauté your onions for 2-3 minutes, then add the diced bell pepper along with some sea salt and cumin.
6. Let them sauté for another 3 minutes.
7. Add your cans of Rotel diced tomatoes and add one teaspoon of Tony Chachere’s creole seasoning.
8. Add the corn (don’t drain the liquid!) and let that cook for about 5 minutes.
9. Next, add the black beans (again, don’t drain the liquid), and let that cook for another 5 minutes.
10. Continue to stir your chili and add crushed red pepper flakes, cilantro, curry powder, and sea salt.
11. Bring to a simmer for about ten minutes. If it’s still too thick for you, add one cup of water at a time, until desired consistency.
12. Once they’re done, add your sweet potatoes to the chili.
13. Let it cool.
14. Spoon out some chili and sprinkle with goat cheese (or plain greek yogurt).
15. Enjoy!

Style

Birthday Blues

November 7, 2013

Yesterday was my birthday! I decided to wake up at 6:30 and go for a walk around my neighborhood. I wanted to reflect on the past year, thank God for allowing me to see another one, and make some promises to myself. I think I may make that a yearly thing because it was so nice to have that time to myself to appreciate my life.

I felt like switching things up a bit, so I opted for a bold blue lipstick and my sister did this dramatic cat eye for me.
Blazer, Pants, & Heels: Forever 21, Top: Lizard Thicket, Necklace: Target, Purse: American Threads, Watch: Asos, Earrings: Aldo’s
 

I ended up spending the day with my mom and sisters. Very rarely are we all together so it was really nice to be surrounded by family. We went shopping, ate cupcakes (and macaroons), talked about everything imaginable, and had an amazing dinner.

Bottom left: Apple Harvest cupcake with apple cinnamon and butter creme frosting…soooo good! Top right: red velvet and caramel apple macaroons…very yummy!

Now when I say dinner was amazing, I mean it was AMAZING! Everything we ate from the special chef’s treat, to the appetizers, entrees, and dessert, was fabulous.

Cranberry green apple chutney over a sweet potato biscuit with a cinnamon honey drizzle…perfection!
Fall vegetarian risotto with sweet potato hash, goat cheese, and some kind of chutney…amazing!
Granny smith caramel apple spring rolls with bourbon burnt sugar ice cream…mind blowing!

Beyond the food, our server was exceptional too. Usually I find servers to either be too intrusive, checking up on you every two seconds or basically MIA after they’ve taken your order. Our waiter was spot on. A part from the great service, he pronounced our last name correctly on the first try. Now you’re probably thinking, so what’s the big deal? The big deal is that my last name is incredibly difficult to say. I’ve seen people break a sweat and start trembling when they have to attempt saying it. For him, it just rolled off his tongue with such ease. My mom, sisters and I all kind of looked at each other in amazement. We were thoroughly impressed. We made sure to communicate our satisfaction with the manager. It was the best dining experience I’ve ever had. Happy birthday to me!

I stayed up until after 1 because I wanted to relish every minute of my birthday possible. It only comes but once a year. I had such a great day and I’m so blessed to have some amazing people in my life. I hope you all are having a great week!