Meet Miss Jones

It’s nice to have a go-to recipe for new moms, sick friends, or your own freezer stash. Something that is somewhat inexpensive and easy to prepare, a snap to reheat–and of course, delicious! These sweet potato burritos are definitely the first thing I turn to when I need an easy freezer meal. I love to keep a stock of them in our freezer for grab-and-go lunches, or for nights when one of us is doing dinner on our own.

I was actually inspired to find a recipe for them after Mr. Jones had one at our farmers’ market. There are always some great eats there, and we stumbled on a small local restaurant that had sweet potato burritos on their specials board. Caleb ate one and couldn’t stop raving about it, so I was determined to find a similar recipe. When I found one on AllRecipes, I also noticed that a number of the reviews suggested making the batch and then freezing the leftovers. Brilliant!

Since that discovery, they’ve graced my freezer with their presence time after time. I love dropping off a big bag of them to friends who recently had a baby or need an easy meal.

Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos

(slightly modified from this version)

• 1 tablespoon EVOO
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 (14.5 oz. or 15.25 oz.) cans canned black beans, drained and mashed
• 1.5 cups water
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 4 teaspoons prepared mustard
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes (about four medium roasted sweet potatoes–be sure to remember it takes about an hour to roast them)
• 12 (10 inch) flour tortillas, warmed (homemade is best, but often I just use the ones in the Mexican/Ethnic aisle)
• 8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Heat oil in a medium skillet, and saute onion and garlic until soft. Stir in the mashed black beans. Gradually stir in water, and heat until warm. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, mustard, cayenne pepper and soy sauce, then remove from heat.
3. Divide bean mixture and mashed sweet potatoes evenly between the warm flour tortillas. Top with cheese. Fold up tortillas burrito style, and place on a baking sheet.
4. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven, and serve. We usually eat two and freeze the rest. Be sure to try them with some sour cream or honey mustard on top (or guacamole/salsa if that’s more your style).

Storing and Reheating:

Wrap each burrito in foil, allow to cool, and place in the freezer.

To reheat in the oven: from frozen. 30 mins wrapped in foil at 350 degrees, then 15 mins unwrapped to crisp them up. For the best crispness, heat in the oven (or microwave, below) and then brown each side in a skillet over medium heat.

In the microwave (if you’re like me and don’t have access to a stove/toaster oven at work): wrap loosely in a damp paper towel or cloth. Heat for 1 minute on each side, unwrap and cut in half, and heat for one minute more.

Tomatillos are a bit of an odd vegetable. Actually, they’re a fruit–a cross between a tomato and a cape gooseberry. Tomatillos can usually be found in traditional salsa verde and other authentic green latin sauces. They have a thin husk, similar to corn husk, and when they’re ripe they’ll start to crack it open so that you can see the fruit peeking through. I’ve passed them many times at our grocery store, nestled in a small basket that sits between the larger displays of tomatos and onions.

I was never adventurous enough to look up a recipe on my own, but when one of my favorite food bloggers, Erin (from Fresh365) posted the following recipe a while back, I knew it was time to get crazy and buy some tomatillos. This soup is easy, uses simple ingredients, and tastes incredible. Be forewarned, it’s definitely got some spice to it. If you want a little less heat, use only one jalapeno instead of two.

Tomatillo Soup

(via Fresh 365)
serves 4

• 2 T olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 ears fresh corn, husked
• 2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
• 10-15 medium tomatillos, chopped
• 2 c water
• juice of 2 limes
• 1 t honey
• 2 t salt
• 1 t cumin
• 1/2 c chopped cilantro
• 1 c cooked rice (I used basmati)
• 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into slices

In a large sauté pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, stirring, and sauté 5 minutes, until onion is translucent. With a serrated knife, cut kernels from the ears of corn, directly into pan. Stirring, add jalapenos and sauté 2 minutes. Add tomatillos, water, lime juice, honey, salt, cumin and cilantro. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in cooked rice, and simmer, 5 minutes. Season to taste. Remove from heat and ladle into soup bowls. Top with avocado slices.

I also topped mine with fresh corn chips: cut 10 to 12 corn flour tortillas into six pieces and sprinkle with kosher salt and a squeeze of lime. Place on a baking sheet, and bake uncovered for seven minutes at 425 degrees.

Dinner from last night: Tequila Lime Chicken with Pico de Gallo, Chips, and Refried Black Beans.

Growing up, my absolute favorite meal was my Mom’s Chicken Enchiladas. It was my go-to choice for birthdays, good report cards, and other “you get to pick dinner” events. Gooey cheese, tortillas, amazing sauce–the beginning of a combination that majorly excited my picky appetite.

I’ve made it a number of times since leaving home, and discovered that not only do I still love it just as much, but it’s a great make-ahead meal. You can get everything ready and in the casserole dish, then just refrigerate it until you’re ready to pop it in the oven. It also reheats really well, so it can be a great dish to take to a sick friend or new mom.

Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients
• 2 or 3 chicken breasts, boiled and diced
• 2 diced medium tomatoes
• 1 small onion
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
• 6 – 8 flour tortillas
• 10 oz. grated Monterey Jack cheese
•  4 oz. sour cream
• 1/2 cup homemade cream of mushroom soup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute the onions in a tablespoon of olive or coconut oil over medium heat until clear. Add the chicken, tomatoes, cumin and garlic salt and heat until warmed through. Place a few tablespoons of the mixture on a tortilla and sprinkle with cheese. Roll up the tortilla tightly and place in a buttered casserole dish.

Combine the sour cream and cream of mushroom soup. When all the tortillas are in the pan, spread the sauce over top and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake until the cheese is bubbly (20 to 25 minutes).