Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

• 2 large or 4 small sweet potatoes
• 1 can black beans
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 cup frozen corn

Preheat oven to 400. Wash potato and puncture all over with a fork. Bake until soft, anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half. Saute onion and peppers. Drain and rinse beans and add to peppers and onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then cook on medium low. Add salsa and frozen corn. Stir well. When potatoes are ready, cut and fluff them. Top with bean mixture. Serve with extra salsa, butter, sour cream, or shredded cheddar cheese.


Yummy! It is like Mexican sweet potato. I served it alongside green beans, as you can see. I also wanted to do some rice, but ran out of time and I was too hungry to wait. The rice wasn't needed though. I wound up eating a potato and a half smothered with deliciousness. I topped mine with margarine, the bean mixture, sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese. Probably not the most healthy way to go, but with a plate full of veggies I'm going to tell myself it was OK. The black beans made this very filling and the flavors together were absolutely delish! As an entree or a side dish, I will definitely be making this again!

When I served Sophia her meal, I gave her the sweet potato separate from the filling. She ate up the sweet potato and green beans, but the filling she had a bit of a problem with. She told me it was too spicy, even though it was not spicy at all. I think she gets scared of beans. We know she does not like baked beans (I don't either) so I think she associates other beans as tasting like them. She has had beans in meals that she liked. Most of the time I don't tell her she is eating beans until after she eats them. When she asks what is on her plate, I just tell her its a vegetable. Gotta keep chipping away at those finicky little taste buds!

My girlfriend Melissa came to dinner tonight. She is one of my favorite people to cook for, as she is such a great audience! She loves to eat and is so appreciative of my meals. Plus she is a very adventurous eater, so she will try anything. My meals can't even touch some of the exotic things she has told me she ate. Congealed pigs blood anyone? When I eventually try my beet soup recipe, she will be my Guinea pig. She was a huge fan of this meal! Sometimes it is so nice to have someone cooking my meals that wont argue with me to compromise on how many bites they must eat. It is extra special when I am not the only one going back for seconds!



Misa Misa and the Little Miss on the beach this past summer.