I’m all about saving money (as well as time) and part of that is using what you have instead of just buying more. It not only saves money since I don’t throw out a bunch of food that has gone bad, but it also helps me get more creative with my meals. You won’t usually find me going to the grocery store to buy recipe ingredients. Instead I look over recipes and compare the ingredients to things in my fridge or pantry.
If it’s in the ballpark, I’ll give it a try. If I have a little bit of something leftover, I’ll toss it in and see how it turns out. The other night The Kid wanted fries or hash browns. I didn’t have potatoes, but I did have sweet potatoes. I grabbed those along with the leftover adobo sauce from the Mexican bowls. I searched the pantry for something that made me think “Mexican” and ended up with black beans and cumin.
Suddenly I had a spicy sweet potato hash. It took all of 15 minutes from start to finish. I added a side of steamed green beans and stirred in a protein – dinner was served! Should we call them hash oranges since The Kid wanted hash browns? 😉
Spicy Sweet Potato Hash (AKA Hash Oranges) 
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium sweet potato (~280g), cut into small cubes
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup fresh green beans (~115g), cut into pieces
- 1 Tbsp adobo sauce
- 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 roma tomato (~88g), diced
Heat a large pan over medium heat and add the olive oil. Swirl the pan to coat it and add the sweet potato cubes. Cook for about 3 minutes and stir them a bit so they start to cook evenly. Sprinkle in the oregano, cumin, cinnamon, and garlic.
Cook for another 1 minute and pour in the 1/2 cup of water. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes until the potatoes soften. While the potatoes are cooking, steam the green beans in the microwave. After 5 minutes, remove the lid from the potatoes and add the green beans, adobo sauce and black beans. Heat for about 2 minutes until warmed.
Remove from heat. Toss with a protein like grilled chicken, if desired. Divide equally into bowls and top with the diced tomato.
Makes 4 servings at approximately 191 calories each (without the optional protein) – 6g protein, 35g carbs, and 3g fat.
Speak Your Mind