Feel Freda Talk

This is one of those recipes that we make on repeat every week because it’s easy, delicious, and packed with vitamins and fiber. Seems like every time we make it, we do it a little differently, but the basics remain the same.

Ingredients:

• sweet potatoes, 1 for each person
• 1 can low sodium/no salt added black beans
• 1/2 finely chopped shallot
• 1/2 tbsp dried basil
• 1/2 tbsp dried oregano
• 2-3 dried bay leaves
• pack of chicken sausage
• smokehouse maple seasoning, optional
• white or brown rice
• 1 avocado
• olive oil
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced

Maple Dijon Dressing:

• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 finely chopped shallot
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Put washed sweet potatoes in the oven to bake. We like to wrap them in foil and bake at 400ºF for about an hour and a half, or until soft in center.
2. Finely chop the shallot and add 1/2 of it to a mason jar (that has a lid). Add the other 1/2 of it to a small saucepan with olive oil (enough to coat the bottom) and minced garlic.
3. Add the dried seasonings to the saucepan once the shallot and garlic are fragrant.
4. Drain and rinse the black beans. Add them to the saucepan and add enough water to cover the beans. Cook that on low until the water evaporates, usually an hour.
5. To the mason jar, add the rest of the dressing ingredients and shake to combine.
6. If you’re cooking rice, cook on stove according to directions on bag/box. We tend to use minute rice for this, but sometimes we break out the rice cooker and takes about 20 minutes.
   • (If you don’t have a rice cooker, I highly suggest the one linked here! We use it at least twice a week. This is an affiliate link, thank you for your support!)
7. Cook sausage according to directions on package. We like to use the Trader Joe’s sweet apple chicken sausage and we season that with McCormick Grill Mates Smokehouse Maple seasoning.
8. Cube the avocado and set aside. This will go on top of everything.
9. Once everything is cooked and ready to go, assemble as follows:
   • sweet potato, sliced longways; we will be “stuffing” this sweet potato, so make some room!
   • rice – use as much or as little as you’d like
   • black beans – be sure to remove the bay leaves
   • sausage
   • cubed avocado
   • dressing – this is my favorite part! I like to drench this sweet potato in dressing 😇
10. Feel free to add or substitute any ingredients you’d like. This is totally customizable and that’s the beauty of it! Enjoy 😊