Hellooooo!!!

It’s been a minute since I posted. I didn’t intend on taking over a week off from blogging. I actually had quite a few recipes in my back pocket that I was eager to share with you. And yet, I really really enjoyed a bit of a break from the internet. I got SO many things done over my 11 day Christmas break despite getting a cold that kept me in bed for about 2 days. I’m well rested and really pretty excited to get this year started 🙂

Last year I wrote a whole long post about how I didn’t like new years resolutions and how I wasn’t going to make any. But in typical ME fashion, I’m flip flopping this year and making lots of eager resolutions. Not resolutions so much as “things I want to do more of”. Or is that all resolutions are anyways??

I want to do a lot more hiking. I bought a fancy new pair of (used) hiking boots at the REI garage sale. I paid $37 for a pair of boots that are usually about $150. I was pretty happy about that. So yea, hiking. I want to do a lot more of that. My plan is to do at least one long hike per month.

I want to do more reading. I like to say that I don’t read much because Stephen does enough reading for the both of us. Seriously, he can read about 3x’s faster than I can and reads WAY more than I do. I’m hoping to do more reading in 2016. Any good book recommendations? I’m open to anything right now.

I want to do brunch more often. I live in such an amazing foodie city. I also write for Thrillist about all of the best places in Nashville to eat. But one thing I’m lacking in my life is enough brunching. I have a running list of great Nashville brunch spots to try and I want to cross at least one off each month of this year. I’ll keep you updated on how that goes.

I want to focus on making more money from my blog. I haven’t talked about this much up until now but I plan to talk a bit more this year about the inner workings of the blog. When I first started my blog, I had NO idea that it would/ could be anything more than a fun little hobby. However, I’ve since fallen in love AND learned of all of the ways in which bloggers can generate revenue online. I haven’t focused on it much up until now but one of my big goals for 2016 is to monetize my blog. I plan to talk much more about that in the near future.

OKAY on to the BLACK BEAN STUFFED SWEET POTATOES! Sorry for yelling. I really really really love these sweet potatoes. They’re VEGAN, gluten-free, easy to make, and SO so tasty!

Last year I made Sweet Potato & Black Bean Tacos and they were one of my favorite things ever. Something about that flavor combo just really makes my taste buds happy. Those tacos were the inspiration for this dish. I thought, how can I make those tacos even easier to throw together? So, I just threw it all into the sweet potato skin and called it a day.

All we’re gonna do here is throw the sweet potatoes in the oven for about an hour.

While the sweet potatoes bake, the black bean mixture is prepared by simply sautéing the onions a bit, mixing in the spices, and then tossing in the black beans.

Once the sweet potatoes are done, the inside is fluffed a bit (that’s the technical term here), the black beans are add in, and it’s all topped with avocado, cilantro, and a yummy little vegan Mexican crema sauce.

I didn’t include “eat healthy” in my list of resolutions above but it’s on there. Starting with these Black Bean Stuffed Sweet Potatoes. Healthy AND delicious 🙂

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 medium- large sweet potatoes
• 1/2 cup of Cashew Cream Sauce (you could also use sour cream or plain greek yogurt if not vegan)
• 1 teaspoon of lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
• 1/2 of a medium red onion, finely diced (about 1 cup diced)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil (I used olive oil)
• 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon of chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1 15oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed

FOR SERVING:

• 1/2 an avocado, chopped
• handful of cilantro, chopped

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Place the sweet potatoes on a lightly greased baking tray and bake for 55-65 minutes or until a fork can easily be inserted into the flesh of the potatoes.
3. Prepare the cream sauce by whisking together the cashew cream sauce, lime juice, and black pepper. Set aside.
4. When the sweet potatoes have about 10 minutes left, heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and then add in onion. Saute for 5 minutes until the onions begins to become translucent. Add in the spices stir and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
5. Add the black beans to the skillet and toss to combine. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the black beans are fully heated through. About 5 minutes. Take off of heat and set aside.
6. Once the sweet potatoes are done baking, let cool slightly. Once cool, cut the sweet potatoes open and shred the flesh from the skin so that the inside is mashed and easy to scoop out.
7. Evenly spread the black bean mixture, avocado, cilantro, and cashew crema sauce on top of the 4 sweet potatoes.
8. Serve immediately and ENJOY!!

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Source:foodwithfeeling.com