Sweet Potato Black Bean Burritos with a side of friendship.
I saw a lot of food posts on social media labeled “comfort food” and thought to myself “that’s not comfort food.”
To me, comfort food is homemade Mac n’ cheese or mashed potatoes and homemade noodles or cheesy casseroles. So, I took to Google and it turns out that the term “comfort food” can mean something different to everyone. It’s a food that brings nostalgia and … wait for it… comfort. I love this new information.
Now, when someone says “comfort food,” I feel like they are sharing something meaningful from their past that brought them comfort. I find comfort in cooking in general and have so many memories surrounding food, good and bad. One of my favorite long standing jokes I have with a group of friends revolves around pizza at a food court at a broadcasting conference in Vegas. One of the inside jokers is my buddy Ed who lives in Rochester, New York. We haven’t seen each other in years but are friends on Facebook and he comments mainly on my food posts.
When I started the Connect in the Kitchen Facebook group, Ed said his wife would enjoy the group and he invited Elizabeth to join. She’s a big contributor for the group and although we haven’t met in person, we feel like we know each other because we are sharing with each other the meals we are making for our families.
We are sharing our comfort food. Below is one of Elizabeth’s recipes that her family loves!
Ingredients:
* Olive oil for pan
* 4-5 cloves of garlic (I use lots)
* 1 minced onion (had red one on hand)
* 6/7 cups of black beans, drained/rinsed
* 5 cups baked/mashed sweet potatoes
* 2 cups water (or veggie stock)
* salt/pepper to taste
* 5 tsp mustard powder
* 1 tbsp chili powder (more for heat)
* pinch of cayanne, to taste
* 3 tbsp soy sauce
* flour tortillas, 10 inch
* shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese (more the better)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350°. Sautee onion until translucent, add garlic.
- In separate bowl, mix well all dry ingredients.
- Add rinsed beans into pan and mix. Use back of spoon (I use a wood one) and smash the beans open. Add water and stir together, while mashing beans. As they cook, they’ll break down and absorb liquid. Add soy sauce and dry ingredients. Mix well. Add liquid if needed.
- (Bake sweet potatos – I scrub, rub lightly w/Olive oil and bake on foil covered baking sheet for approx an hour. Or until soft).
- Sprinkle cheese on tortillas. Divide mashed sweet potatoes and bean mixture evenly between the tortillas; top with more cheese. Fold tortillas burrito-style around the fillings.
- Bake on a foil covered baking sheet in preheated oven, til heated thru. Approx 15-20 mins.
- Serve warm with sour cream and salsa. I make extras and freeze them!
- For the meat lovers, add ground beef or shredded chicken to the burrito fillings. I make a batch with and without meat.
