Veggie Enchilada Stacks {Low Carb, Vegetarian, Healthy}

This past Wednesday, I talked about my favorite thing to make and eat at home. And that is my sweet potato and black bean enchiladas.  I make several variations on this recipe; I've added meat; sometimes I'll do butternut squash instead of sweet potatoes.  But these.  These are my flavors.  Perfect for any day of the week!

With my Project Lean & Clean I got going on, I thought I'd eliminate the tortilla (soo sad!  I love tortillas!!!) and use the sweet potato as the carb in this dish.

It worked perfectly!  

It's kind of like a scalloped potato effect..except with tex mex flavors!  Yumm-o!

Ok, sorry.  I did not mean to say "Yumm-o."  

Whoops.  Did it again...

Let's move on.

Veggie Enchilada Stacks

serves 4-6

2 sweet potatoes

2 cans of black beans, rinsed & drained

1 10 oz bag of frozen spinach

1 can enchilada sauce

1/4 cup reduced fat or fat free sour cream (plus additional, for topping)

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp garlic powder

salt & pepper to taste

1 cup of reduced fat cheese

pickled jalapenos, cilantro (optional, for topping)

Cook spinach by the directions on the bag.  Mix cooked spinach, black beans, spices, 1/4 cup of fat free sour cream and 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce in a bowl and set aside.

Partially cook your sweet potatoes in the microwave for about 4 minutes, so they are easier to slice.  Slice with a mandolin on a medium setting.  You can also cut these by hand, but I'm not skilled enough to make consistent cuts.

Drizzle a layer of enchilada sauce on the bottom of a greased 9X13 pan.  Layer slices of sweet potatoes on top of this, overlapping slightly.  Add half of the filling (should be about 2 cups) on top.  Then sprinkle 1/2 cup of cheese on top of that and lay down another layer of sweet potato slices and drizzle with enchilada sauce.  Then add the rest of the filling, a final layer of sweet potato slices and more enchilada sauce.  Top with 1/2 cup of cheese and pickled jalapenos & cilantro, if desired.

Bake in 375F degree oven for 40 minutes.

Do this.

Cheesy Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Shrimp & Spinach

Do you ever have those times where you have an idea for a yummy meal and you go buy the ingredients.  You spend time developing the recipe.  You might even take a picture.

But then your hungry monster attacks (you see what I did there?) and the whole thing is devoured in what seems like 5 seconds flat...?

Welcome to my life.

Well, at least with this yummy and filling recipe, I was eating (read: hoovering) so many super foods!  Spinach is packed with good stuff...sweet potatoes are too!  And shrimp?  Holy good stuff.  It's vitamins.  It's science.

Get with it.

Cheesy Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Shrimp & Spinach

makes 4 potato halves (can serve 2 as main dish or 4 as side dish)

2 big sweet potatoes

1 lb cleaned, cooked shrimp

3-4 cups fresh spinach

1-2 cloves garlic

1/3 of an onion, finely minced

olive oil

2 Laughing Cow Swiss cheese wedges

1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella

sprinkle of Parmesan

salt & pepper

Wash your sweet potatoes and poke 'em with a knife.  Put them in some plastic wrap and microwave for about 10 minutes, or until fork tender.

While the potatoes are cooking, saute your shallot in olive oil until translucent.  Roughly chop your spinach and add the garlic and spinach to the skillet.  Cook until wilted.

Cut the potatoes, lengthwise and carefully scoop out the innards, leaving a skin with a little flesh left behind for your sweet potato "boat."

Now chop your shrimp into bite sized pieces.

In a large bowl, combine the sweet potato flesh, the cooked spinach, shrimp, cheese wedges and mozzarella.  Taste it and add salt and pepper to your liking.

Scoop 1/4 of the mixture into each sweet potato boat and top with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

Bake in a 425 degree oven for about 25 minutes.

Enjoy!