Sweet Potato & Black Bean Quesadillas

A Guest Post from Jeremy:

After months of laboring in our kitchen as Erin's sous chef, I was granted the opportunity to take the lead on a meal the other night, and have now been invited to share that experience as a guest blogger. She's a taskmaster, that Mrs. Brown, but at least she's cute. One of our favorite meals from way back when we were dating, Sweet Potato and Black Bean Quesadillas are always a big hit in the Brown household. Erin's first response when I told her about them? "Well, I like black beans and I like sweet potatoes, but I just don't know about them mashed together." She almost broke my heart. I adapted this recipe, so I can't take all the credit, just most of it.

Here what you need:

• 3 organic sweet potatoes (organic does matter since non-organic sit in the ground soaking in chemicals)
• 1 large red bell pepper
• 1 medium red onion
• 1 can of drained black beans
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• Spices: chili powder, cumin, ginger, salt, pepper, cinnamon, red pepper flakes (you decide how much)
• 8-10, 8-inch tortilla (we like Tumaro's Gourmet Tortillas, low in fat, carbs and artificial junk)
• Shredded cheddar or mexican blend cheese
• Sour cream, salsa, and/or avocado (for a topping)

And here's what you do:

1. Stab the sweet potatoes with a fork until they're full of holes, then microwave them for 8 minutes or bake them for approx 45 min at 450. They should be soft and starting to bubble, but don't let them get tough.
2. Dice one large red bell pepper and one red onion.
3. Mince 2-3 cloves of garlic (I love our garlic press and hate chopping garlic).
4. Toss the pepper, onion and garlic into a pan with some olive oil, then add chili powder, cumin, ginger, and salt and pepper (I just estimate how much).
5. Sautee over medium heat until the onions are translucent and the peppers are kinda soft.
6. Turn heat down to medium low and toss in one can of drained black beans and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated.
7. Meanwhile, scoop all of the sweet potato sweetness out of the skin, and make sure to burn your fingers a lot while doing so. In a mixing bowl, mash up the sweet potatoes with some cinnamon and red pepper flakes.
8. Add the sweet potato mixture to the veggies and beans in the pan, stir to heat and combine.
9. Grab your tortillas and put about 1/2 a cup of the mixture onto half of each tortilla, then sprinkle with cheddar or mexican cheese. Fold in half.
10. Brown the quesadilla in a pan with a little bit of olive oil. Our panini press works great for this.
11. Serve with some sour cream, natural salsa, or slices of avocado.

Only cook as many as you think you'll eat. These make better leftovers if you do. This time of year, these go down nicely with a bottle of Oktoberfest beer. Paulaner is my favorite.

Now back to washing dishes for Erin . . .