Who else has skin that hates the dry winter weather? For the past two years I have developed painfully dry hands, but the funny thing is, it only affects two of my fingertips. I’m not kidding! My left hand stays hydrated after numerous hand-washes at work and at home, but my right hand has two stubborn fingers that dry out quite badly and I find myself constantly applying lotion. It is annoying to say the least!
Since that is the case, I’m all about cooking things that require very little dishes to wash; to be honest, this is what I’m always all about! The less time my hands can spend under running water doing clean up the better. So, I’m relying on easy, one-bowl, or in this case one-skillet, recipes when meal prepping my lunches.
This week I’ve come up with a hearty winter squash bake gone Mexican style! Kabocha squash is one of my favorite winter squashes because you can eat the skin no problem, and it’s not overly sweet like I find a delicata to be. To go with the squash, I decided to use dried black beans I had in the cupboard that were begging to be soaked and cooked up. Pairing squash and beans is quite typical in Mexican culture as these two foods, along with corn, have a beneficial relationship when grown side by side in the fields. They’re called the Three Sisters, and when paired together you end up with a complete protein, which goes to show that animal protein isn’t the only way to get all your protein building blocks! With the spirit of Mexico in mind, I was guided to flavors like chili and cumin to heat up the dish. Finally, I stuck with melty cow’s cheese for the finishing touch, but if you’re wanting to keep this recipe vegan I’d recommend trying out Siete Foods Cashew Queso.
This quick skillet bake had the house smelling amazing and I’m excited to be digging in to it for lunch! And all that’s left to clean up is the skillet- maybe I should give my hands a break and have my husband take care of that, right?
Ingredients
1 small-medium kabocha squash, or about 2 cups cubed squash
1 small poblano pepper, chopped
1 yellow or orange bell pepper, chopped
2 cups black beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ancho chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1.5 cups shredded cheese, mix of cheddar and monterey
To serve: 1 lime and avocado slices
Directions
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare kabocha squash by cutting in half width-wise, scoop out the seeds, and cut squash into half moon strips about 1/2 inch size. Then cut squash moons into small 1/2 inch cubes. Place two cups of cubed squash into a 8 inch cast iron skillet and add chopped poblano and bell pepper. Toss vegetables with a bit of avocado oil. Roast for about 15-20 minutes until squash is fork-tender. Remove skillet from oven.
To the skillet, add black beans, canned tomatoes, cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, and salt. Mix everything together so that spices are evenly mixed in. Create an even layer of the mixture in the skillet and top with shredded cheese. Return skillet to heated oven and bake for 10 minutes until the cheese is melted. If you’d like, slide it under the broiler for a few minutes for a crispy cheese crust on top.
Serve with a squeeze of lime and a few avocado slices. This serves two hungry people for a dinner main course, or can be divided into 3 portions for lunch to be served with snacks.
Copyright © Casey Seiden Nutrition, LLC | Design by Reach Creative
Copyright © Casey Seiden Nutrition, LLC Design by Reach Creative
ok this was the MOST DELICIOUS dish!!