Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Running a food blog has taught me a few things that I was not entirely aware of before the birth of jackedkitchen.com. Let me share.
- Food photography is difficult.
I mean, duh, right? Good photography is not easy. I knew that from trying to snap pictures of my scrumptious looking dinner on my phone only to realize it looked more like dog food than what I was seeing in real life. So I need good lighting, you say? And natural light is best? What happens when it’s dark and snowy outside? Enter me scrambling onto my back patio catching the last rays of sunlight in the freezing cold.
Oh, and I need a decent camera to get decent pictures? So you’re telling me my old flip phone isn’t going to cut it? The days of point and click, disposable cameras are gone. And good riddance for the sake of inspiring you to cook, but figuring out a quality camera feels a bit like flying a space shuttle. (Okay fine, I sound like a senior citizen; I’m only 32 I promise.)
2. Real-life food is not always like posed food.
I like sharing the tasty things I make in my kitchen with all of you. Yet, I’m not running a professional kitchen over here. That food in the picture is my dinner. On one hand that keeps my recipes honest in that you can make them at home, too. It also helps that I do reap the benefit of eating my work. The challenging part is that as I’m trying to get that perfect picture…. see point number 1 above…. my warm, ready-to-eat dinner is getting cold.
3. Nobody knows if I take 300 pictures of one recipe.
Perk of the job…. I get to show you only the good ones.
4. There is a lot of stuff out there.
So you know how Google can do this awesome thing of letting you search for stuff? Well there is a lot of stuff out there. And you can search through it. All of it. I’m just a little blip out there in all that stuff. I think it’s an outright miracle if you’ve searched through all of that and found your way to me. Welcome! I commend your dedication and efforts of surviving the sea of the internet.
Just because you found my stuff doesn’t mean we can stop there. You like NEW stuff. All the time. My post from three weeks ago is boring already.
I’ve learned food blogging is a great way to share ideas and recipes. I love doing it, and I love sharing Jacked Kitchen with you. I’ve learned about a whole new world that is well beyond just cooking.
Now that we’ve established all of that, if you are here simply to make stuffed sweet potatoes, let me get to the point. This recipe is really easy to make and tastes pretty fantastic. I found it filling enough to eat as a main dish or you can serve a half potato as a side. The sweetness of the potato and onions are balanced by the black beans and Brussel sprouts. Top with with melted cheese and creamy avocado.
Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Recipe
Makes 2 sweet potatoes.
Ingredients
- 6-7 Brussel sprouts
- 1 can of black beans, rinsed
- 1 avocado, diced
- 1 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp oregano
- 1/4 tsp chili powder
- 2 sweet potatoes
- 1 Tbsp butter, softened
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1/3 cup white cheddar or Monterey jack cheese, shredded
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 lime, quartered
Directions
Prepare the Ingredients
- Heat the oven to 400.
- Remove the ends from 6-7 Brussel sprouts, cut the sprouts in half and slice thinly.
- Drain and rinse 1 can of black beans.
- Dice the avocado.
- Remove the cilantro leaves from the stems and chop into 1 Tbsp.
- Peel and slice the onion.
- In a small bowl combine 1/4 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp oregano and 1/4 tsp chili powder.
Start Cooking
- In a small skillet, heat a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and let the onions cook, stirring occasionally for 20-30 minutes. The onions should turn golden.
- Place 2 sweet potatoes in the microwave for 5 minutes.
- Slice the potatoes lengthwise and scoop out the inside. Add 1 Tbsp of softened butter, 1 tsp of the seasoning mix and 1 Tbsp honey. Stir the filling together and return to the potato skins.
- Add the Brussel sprouts to a foil lined backing sheet with a drizzle of oil, salt and pepper. Bake for about 5-6 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven and add the potatoes. To the top of the potatoes add a scoop of black beans, caramelized onion, the Brussel sprouts and cheese. Bake for about 4 minutes until the cheese melts.
- Top the potatoes with cilantro, sour cream and avocado.
- Drizzle with maple syrup and a squeeze of lime juice.
Your potato skins may be a bit overflowing with all of the toppings. Use the cheese as a “glue” to help hold everything together.
Use the Extra Ingredients
If you have leftover black beans, store them in the refrigerator and add to scrambled eggs, salad, quesadillas or tacos.
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