Veggie Frittata (Spinach, Tomato, Mushroom, Potato)

(Sorry if it doesn't look too appetizing in this photo :\ it's really good!)

I found the basis of this recipe on good ol' allrecipes.com but made some adjustments and made my own rendition of it. I simply used the recipe to understand the steps but then added some additional ingredients (just bc I liked the additional ingredients and who can say no to more veggies?!). In all honesty, whatever veggies you have on hand, add them in if you think they'll add to the flavor or if you just like them and would like to throw them in, Try it out! That's what cooking is all about! So here is my rendition below, feel free to check out the allrecipes.com version for the original recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3-5 small red potatoes, sliced
• about 3 cups fresh spinach
• about 2 cups cremini mushrooms, chopped
  
• 1 medium-sized tomato, diced (feel free to use more or different types)
  
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 3 cubes of frozen basil from Trader Joe's (freezer section); feel free to use dry/fresh basil
  
• salt and pepper to taste
  
• 3 eggs, and liquid egg whites to makeup 3 additional eggs
  
• about 1/3 cup milk
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (or whatever cheese you have on hand. I had a Mexican blend on hand, so just used that and just enough to sprinkle on top of the frittata)
• Recommended: spices for potato (garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, Lawry's Seasoned Salt)
  

Recipe:

1. Take sliced potatoes and toss them around in a bowl with some oil, salt/pepper, and whatever spices you have on hand (I used garlic powder, cayenne pepper, onion powder, and Lawry's Seasoned Salt)
2. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Place potatoes in the skillet, and cook about 10 minutes, until tender but firm. (Note: may take longer)
   
3. Add in chopped mushroom and cook until they have browned a bit, about 3-4 minutes (and if you're adding other veggies, add them to the mix in the order of longest time to cook to shortest time to cook).
4. Mix in spinach, tomatoes, garlic, basil. Season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking 1 to 2 minutes, until spinach is wilted.
   
5. In a medium bowl, beat together eggs and milk. Pour into the skillet over the vegetables. Sprinkle with cheese on top. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 5 to 7 minutes, or until eggs are firm. (it took a while for my eggs to completely cook throughout the frittata. I ended up cutting it open to see if the insides were done, took longer than 5-7 minutes)

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Enchiladas

I began with a search for filling vegetarian recipes, and what did I find? AMAZING DELICIOUSNESS in these Sweet potato & black bean enchiladas.

These are a surprising flavor mix, but the sweet-and-spicy flavor combination with a sprinkling of cheese made this a lunch-and-dinner winner. (HAH. I rhymed.)

I found this recipe on the Whole Foods website (under the "Budget Recipes" section-- I only wish I could shop at Whole Paycheck), where it was submitted by Karina Allrich, who writes the Gluten Free Goddess cooking blog. (sidenote: I'm not following a gluten-free diet, but yikes, she's got some good-looking recipes on her site!) I made a few edits to Karina's recipe to make it simpler by swapping in a pre-made salsa for her homemade sauce.

I think the salsa I used was a bit too sweet, so when I make this next time, I'll try to choose a chipotle salsa.

Oh, and don't be afraid of these little guys: they're delicious, easy to handle and not too spicy (I have a low tolerance for spicy foods). :)



Until this recipe, I'd never made rolled enchiladas before, but it was surprisingly easy-- just make sure that the tortilla has a bit of sauce on it so that it doesn't tear when you roll it up. That said, next time I will probably make this "lasagna style" for ease of serving. I struggled with getting my rolled enchiladas out of the pan intact. I'll also probably omit the cilantro, as I didn't think it added enough flavor for the $2 price.

Those edits aside, I will DEFINITELY make this again. Just thinking about it makes me want to eat leftovers! Thankfully, the recipe below was enough for about 4 hearty meals.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas

Ingredients:
Sauce: I used Trader Joe's Roasted Tomato Salsa ($2.29)
Tortillas: I used 8 Trader Joe's whole grain tortillas w/ flax seed ($2.49)
Shredded cheese for topping: I used monterey jack ($0.75)

Enchilada filling:
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed, drained ($0.89)
4 cloves garlic, minced (I used 2 cloves garlic + garlic powder) ($0.25)
Fresh lime juice from 1 big juicy lime ($0.39)
2 heaping cups of cooked diced sweet potatoes (You can buy the $2.50 bag of pre-cut sweet potatoes at TJ's and then microwave; however, I just bought a few sweet potatoes, cubed them, and steamed them) ($1.00)
1 can roasted mild green chiles ($0.79)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (pantry)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder mild or spicy (pantry)
Sea salt and black pepper to taste (pantry)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro ($2.00)

Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with oil. Then, create the two parts of your enchilada filling.

Enchilada Filling, Part 1: Drain the black beans. Mix the beans, minced garlic and lemon juice in a bowl.
Enchilada Filling, Part 2: In a separate bowl, mix the cooked sweet potato, can of roasted green chiles (undrained), 1/2 tsp of cumin, 1/2 tsp of chili powder and cilantro. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Next, pour about 1/4 of your salsa into the bottom of your baking dish. Take your first tortilla and dip it in the sauce so that it's generally wet/slick with salsa. This helps prevent the tortilla from tearing. Add about 1/8 of your sweet potato filling to the middle of the tortilla, then top with about 1/8 of the beans. Roll it up across the bottom of the dish. Push the enchilada to the far side of the pan and repeat for the remaining 7 tortillas. Cover with the remaining 3/4 jar of salsa and sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 350* for 20-25 minutes, or until the ends of the tortilla are brown. YUM!