Quinoa Sweet Potato Chili

The hubby and I have been headed into a more vegetarian lifestyle for the past few months– accumulating recipes, playing around with flavors, and me attempting to mimic something that tasted amazing but that I just threw together. With the joy of the holidays comes the self-indulgent and typically not too healthy food parade right into your mouth. We weren’t too bad this year, but by the time NYE came around and we found ourselves in Cincinnati for the night, we were looking for light, vegetarian, tasty food.

Enter Metropole, the restaurant in our fabulous 21c Museum Hotel, serving farm to table food with a creative flair. We fell in love with almost everything we ate and enjoyed sitting at the salad/dessert station and chatting with the chefs. Long story short, this dish is inspired by their sweet potatoes with toasted pistachio, pomegranate, fresh mint, and fresh burrata. The base of the chili mostly came from Milk Free Mom.

Ingredients:

one 29 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
one 6 oz can tomato paste
32 oz vegetable stock
1 red onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 chipotles in adobo, chopped
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into bite sized chunks
1 cup dry quinoa
salt and pepper to taste
creme fraiche, pomegranate seeds, fresh mint for garnish

Instructions:

Heat the oil in a large heavy soup pot over medium low heat. Add onions, and cook until soft and they start to turn brown (about 10 minutes). Add the garlic, and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, and oregano and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the beans, stock, and potatoes, and season with salt and pepper . Cook for about 5 minutes, then add the quinoa. Continue cooking for about 15 minutes – 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until quinoa and potatoes are cooked and the chili has thickened. Add a bit of water if the chili becomes too thick for your liking. Top with a dollop of creme fraiche, a heaping of pomegranate seeds, and some fresh mint.

Black Bean & Steak Quesadilla

My job often allows me the flexibility of working from home. Today, due to the NATO Summit invading Chicago, we’ve all decided to work virtually. It’s a win-win for me– no commute, lounging in yoga pants all day, catching up on a few chores, and making a yummy lunch.

Ingredients

• Flour tortillas
• Black beans
• Steak (already diced and cooked)
• Jack cheese
• Adobo sauce
• Fresh lime