Black Bean and Roasted Sweet Potato Tacos (YUM!)

This post is part of our 'Sweet and Sour' food series here at Bubby and Bean, written by my little sis Morgan.  You can read the story behind the series here.  Want to learn how to make some of her other amazing goodies?  Check out the recipes for her dark chocolate cupcakes w/peanut butter frosting, homemade cinnamon rolls, homemade peanut brittle, cajun grilled shrimp, chocolate custard pie, and homemade dog treats!  xo, melissa 

As I mentioned in my original 'Sweet and Sour' post, I love cooking for others, but it can be a challenge in my house because my husband is an extremely picky eater. Well, on January 1st of this year, he decided to make the task of finding healthy, tasty foods that he'd actually eat even harder: he decided to become a vegetarian. Yes, this is the guy who refused to eat tacos without ground beef, spaghetti or lasagna without Italian sausage, and stir-fry without chicken. I know. His goal is to stay veg for one whole year, and I decided to join him, but limited my goal to one month. I lasted two, and in the process, found that cooking for this very particular now ‘meat-eater-gone-vegetarian’ was even harder than I thought it would be.

One particular day, as I was banging my head on my desk trying to think of what to make for dinner, he emailed me and said, “I tried artichoke today, it was good!” WHAT?  My mind suddenly began racing… Does this mean he’s finally willing to try more foods?  Can I make tofu?  Will he eat fake meat products? Unfortunately, my excitement was short-lived, because when I suggested these options that night, he wrinkled his nose and shook his head.  UGH!  Back to the drawing board.

Thankfully, through failures and successes, we have come up with a few meals that are now staples in our semi-vegetarian house. We eat a lot of beans and many more veggies than before. And one of our very favorite meals is actually one that my husband created based on several other recipes tweaked to his tastes: black bean and roasted sweet potato tacos. I know it sounds weird to have sweet potatoes in a taco, but I promise you will love the subtle sweetness they add to what is normally a boring bean taco base.

Total time required: 1 hour 
Serves 2-4

1 package of flour or corn tortillas
1 can black beans
1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes
1 poblano or anaheim pepper
(or canned diced peppers if you don’t have a direct flame/gas stove top)
1 medium onion
1 packet taco seasoning
(or use your own blend of chili pepper, cumin, and salt/pepper)
1 tablespoon olive oil

OPTIONAL TOPPINGS:
chopped cilantro
lime wedge
sour cream
sliced scallions
diced onion
guacamole
shredded lettuce

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Peel and dice the sweet potato. Coat with olive oil and about 1/3 of the taco seasoning.
3. Layer onto a cookie sheet and roast for about 30 minutes or until soft and just turning brown around the edges.

4. Using your gas stove top, char the outside of your pepper in the flame. Once the skin is completely blackened, set inside of a paper bag and close tight. 

5. After about 15 minutes, remove the pepper and rinse the blackened skin off in the sink.   Slice it in half and remove the seeds. Dice the remaining flesh of the pepper.
6. Dice the onion and sauté in a sauce pan until just golden.

7. Add the can of black beans, the diced pepper, and the rest of the taco seasoning.
8. Heat the mixture through. Once the sweet potatoes are finished cooking, add them to the bean mixture and stir together to complete the filling.

9. Prepare any additional toppings, then assemble the tacos using tortillas.
10. EAT!

I hope you guys like this yummy recipe as much as we do.  Be sure to let us know what you think if you try it.  I'll be back again soon with another edition of Sweet and Sour!