Quinoa Stuffed Sweet Potato

My mind is always thinking about new recipes. I get bored of the same old meat and veggies, so I love trying as many different flavor combinations as possible. This way, I expand my palette and creativity. One food I don’t eat too often is sweet potato, which is why I challenged myself to eat it. I randomly had a craving for it one day and decided to stuff a sweet potato for dinner. This was what my mind thought of after a long day of work. It came out to be a mix of chili without the beans and a sauce on top to add some brightness to the dish of mostly dark colors. I know it might sound like a lot of ingredients, but making your own sauces makes the meal taste that much better. Think about how much sugar you are saving when you make your own sauce. I understand it takes more time to do this, but it’s worth it in my opinion. Give my stuffed sweet potato recipe a try. I made a homemade chimichurri to elevate the dish to the next level.

Ingredients:

• 3 sweet potatoes

• 1 lb flank steak marinated overnight if you wish. I used bread and butter pickle juice

  ** (if vegetarian use 1 15 oz can of black beans, rinsed, drained, and patted dry)

• 1 cup of cooked quinoa

• 1 Tbsp. Avocado Oil

• 2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• 1/2 red onion, diced

• 2 carrots, diced

• 2 celery stalks, diced

• 1 bell pepper, diced

• 1 Tbsp. chili powder

• 1/2 Tbsp. paprika

• 2 Tsp. ground cumin

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• Roasted tomato sauce (see recipe below or used canned tomato sauce)

• Top with cilantro and chimichurri sauce (see recipe below)

For the roasted tomato sauce:

• 3 vine-ripened tomatoes, halved

• 1 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• 1/4 red onion

• 5 cloves of garlic

• 1 tsp ground oregano

• 1/2 tsp ground basil

• 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning

• Salt and pepper, to taste

** Optional: Adding everything bagel seasoning to the sauce

For the Chimichurri:

• 2 cups packed parsley leaves (or one bunch), stems removed

• 3 to 4 garlic cloves (1 tablespoon minced)

• 1 medium shallot

• 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or 1 jalapeño or Fresno chili pepper, finely chopped

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• 1/4 cup vegetable broth

• 1/3 cup + 1 tsp red wine vinegar

Kitchen Tools:

• High Powered Blender (Vitamix)

• Large Skillet

• Cast Iron pan

• 2 baking sheets

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2) Wash your sweet potatoes thoroughly. Poke holes in each sweet potato and put on a foiled baking sheet. Bake for 50 minutes.

3) On a separate baking sheet, add your tomatoes, red onion, and garlic. Drizzle Extra Virgin Olive Oil and season with salt and pepper. Put it in the oven for 35 minutes.

4) While everything is cooking, make your quinoa with 1/2 cup dry quinoa with 1 cup water. Rinse your quinoa first before adding it to a pot. Set the heat to medium-high on your stove and let it come to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low for 15 minutes or until all the water has evaporated. Fluff with a fork and set aside.

5) Chop your veggies. In a large skillet, heat up your pan to medium heat and add your oil. Add your veggies and saute until everything is soft. Season your veggies and keep stirring. Once they are done, turn the pan to low heat. If you're doing the vegetarian version, you can add the black beans at this point.

6) While the veggies are cooking, in a cast iron pan, cook your flank steak. First, heat up the pan to medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add 1 Tbsp. of Avocado oil. Add your meat and cook for 5 minutes or until it has a nice sear. I added some leftover juice to help add some moisture before flipping. Stand back because it will splatter and yes I did splatter myself during this step. Cook for another 5 minutes or until it has a nice sear. Cook until it gets to the desired temperature. I cooked mine at 165 for medium, but you can cook it a bit less (3-4 minutes on each side if you want it more of a medium-rare). Remove from cast iron and let it rest before cutting into it.

7) When the sauce is done, blend everything in a high-powered blender. Add quinoa and sauce to the veggies. Only add as much sauce as you need to fully coat everything. There will be leftovers, which I used for chili the next day. At this point, you can cut your meat into strips or cubes, as I did.

8) When the sweet potatoes are done, let cool for 5 minutes. Cut in half and mash them a bit. Add your veggie and quinoa mixture on top of the sweet potato. Top it with meat and throw it in the oven for 5-10 minutes.

9) Make your chimichurri sauce real quick by adding everything to a blender. I used a Nutri-bullet for this because there wasn't a ton and I didn't want to dirty up the Vitamix.

10) Top with cilantro and chimichurri. Enjoy! :) I ate about half a sweet potato, which I would say is an appropriate adult serving size. :)

If you want to jump in the screen and eat this sweet potato, I can help you manage your time effectively and create a meal plan with you that aligns with your goals. Contact Rachel for more information.

Easy Vegan Pesto

Pesto is such an amazing and versatile food. I can seriously put it on almost everything. From eggs to pasta to pizza, pesto is a great sauce to add to make any dish taste even better! Unfortunately, there are more and more people that are becoming sensitive to dairy. Lucky for you, thanks to the help of Minimalist Baker, I found this delicious recipe that tastes almost identical to the dairy version. Check it out below!

Credits to: https://minimalistbaker.com/easy-vegan-pesto-5-minutes/

Ingredients:

• 2 cups packed (144 g) fresh basil (large stems removed)

• 3 Tbsp (25 g) pine nuts or walnuts (if nut-free, try sunflower seeds!)

• 3 large cloves garlic, peeled

• 2 Tbsp (30 ml) lemon juice

• 3-4 Tbsp (9-12 g) nutritional yeast

• 1/4 tsp sea salt, plus more to taste

• 2-3 Tbsp (30-45 ml) extra virgin olive oil*

• 3-6 Tbsp (45 - 70 ml) water or vegetable broth (plus more as needed)

Directions:

1.       In a food processor or vitamix, add the basil, nuts, garlic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and sea salt and blend/mix on high until a loose paste forms.

2.       Add olive oil a little at a time (streaming in while the machine is on if possible) and scrape down sides as needed. Then add 1 Tbsp (15 ml) water or vegetable broth at a time until the desired consistency is reached - a thick but pourable sauce. (If avoiding oil altogether, sub the oil with vegetable broth or just use all water.)

3.       Taste and adjust flavor as needed, adding more nutritional yeast for cheesy flavor, salt for overall flavor, nuts for nuttiness, garlic for bite / zing, or lemon juice for acidity.