Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas

Easy and Yummy!

Serves 4

Ingredients

Quickie Green Chile Sauce
1 cup light gluten-free vegetable broth
1 tablespoon arrowroot starch dissolved in a little cold water (corn starch)
1 generous cup chopped roasted green chiles, hot or mild
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin or chili powder, hot or mild, to taste

Enchilada Filling
1 (15-ounce) can organic black beans, rinsed, drained
4 cloves garlic, minced
Fresh lime juice from 1 big juicy lime
2 heaping cups cooked diced sweet potatoes
1/2 cup chopped roasted mild green chiles (roast under the broiler)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder mild or spicy
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Assembly
2 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, as needed
8 white or yellow corn tortillas
4 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Choose a baking dish that would hold 8 rolled enchiladas. Make your Quickie Green Chile Sauce by combining the broth, dissolved arrowroot, green chiles, garlic and spices in a sauce pan and heating over medium-high heat. Bring to a high simmer. Simmer until thickened. Taste test and adjust seasonings. Set aside.

In the meantime, for the Enchilada Filling, using a mixing bowl, combine the drained black beans with minced garlic and lime juice. Toss to coat the beans and set aside. In a separate bowl combine the cooked sweet potatoes (I prick the potatoes with a fork, cover them with saran wrap and microwave them for 8-10 min) with the chopped green chiles; add the spices. Season with sea salt and pepper.

Pour about 1/4 cup of the Quickie Green Chile Sauce into the bottom of the baking dish.

To assemble the enchiladas, grab a skillet and heat a dash of oil. Lightly cook the corn tortillas to soften them, one at a time, as you stuff each one.

Lay the first hot tortilla in the sauced baking dish; wet it with the sauce. Spoon 1/8 of the sweet potato mixture down the center. Top with 1/8 of the black beans. Wrap and roll the tortilla to the end of the baking dish. Repeat for the remaining tortillas. Top with the rest of the sauce. Top with a sprinkle of shredded Monterey Jack cheese.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the enchiladas are piping hot and the sauce is bubbling around the edges.

Baked French Toast Casserole

(This is from Paula Deen on the Food Network. I made it for my book club and it was awesome!)

1 loaf french bread, slice into 1 inch slices (about 20)
8 large eggs
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
2 T sugar
1 t vanilla
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
dash salt
Praline Topping
( 2 sticks butter, 1 c brown sugar, 1 c chopped pecans, 2 T corn syrup, 1/2 t cinnamon, 1/2 t nutmeg} combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well)

Directions
1.Arrange slices in a greased 9x13 baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices
2. In a large bowl, combine eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla & spices--beat or whisk until blended but not too bubbly.
3. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some mixture in between slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
4. Next morning, preheat oven to 350.
5. spread Praline topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup and fruit.