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New Year, New Take on an Old Favorite: Greens, Bacon, White Bean Pot Pie

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I love cold, wintery weather… the more freezing, the more dreary, the better. I’ve loved these days since college in Virginia, when exams always seemed to fall on the snowiest, coldest days of the year and I would find myself sequestered with my favorite people in our house with soup, DVD marathons of The OC or Sex and the City (yep, college was in the early 2000s). Now when the weather is cold & dreary I can’t help but want to cook ALL the comfort food, watch all the crappy TV, and snuggle under a blanket with my loves. Unfortunately, it never, NEVER gets below 40 degrees in South Mississippi. Like, ever. This week, though, we went from having a rainy 75 degree New Year’s Day, to an icy 23 degree Friday. (and next week we’re looking at 7o degree temps again, too). Anyway, this means that I had to seize the moment and make ALL the food. So far, I’ve roasted a chicken, baked cookies, made curried cauliflower & cabbage soup, and baked this PERFECTION of a pot pie. We ate it on the coldest night while the sleet was peppering our wall of windows, and then we snuggled down to watch something Netflix recommended. I hope you’ll do the same since it’s a delcious way to take advantage of the seasonal greens all over grocery stores, and make a homey, yummy supper.


 
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Author:
Serves: 4-5
What You Need
  • PIE CRUST:
  • 1 Pie Crust
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 Tablespoon Milk
  • FILLING
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 slices cooked bacon, diced
  • 4 slices, thick cut ham, diced
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 2 carrots, peeled, finely chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • Kale, Collard greens, or chard leaves chiffonaded/sliced into strips
  • 2 cans White (Cannellini) beans, drained
  • SAUCE
  • 3½ Cups chicken or vegetable broth
  • 3½ Tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3½ Tablespoons all-purpose flour
What to Do
  1. MAKE THE FILLING
  2. Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven, and cook the onions until translucent.
  3. Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
  4. Add in the celery, carrots, and garlic and sautee' for about 2-3 minutes
  5. In handfuls, put the greens into the pot and stir until wilted.
  6. Once the greens have been wilted, add in the beans in and the ham and bacon.
  7. Cook and stir for 5 minutes and then scoop into 4-5 small ramekins or 1 large deep round corningware dish
  8. MAKE THE SAUCE
  9. In the same dutch oven, and without worrying about wiping it out, melt the butter.
  10. Once it's entirely melted and bubbly, add in the flour a tablespoon at a time and whisk it in vigorously so that it totally incorporates. Continue until you've used all the flour.
  11. Keep stirring and cooking until it's turned golden in color.
  12. At this point, pour in the stock ½ Cup at time and keep stirring.
  13. Cook on medium heat, stirring continuously until thickened and reduced slightly (about 10 minutes)
  14. ASSEMBLE THE PIES
  15. Pour the sauce evenly over the filling.
  16. Put the pie pastry over the top of each pie and cut slits in the top to let out any additional steam
  17. In a bowl, whisk the egg & milk until entirely combined.
  18. Using a pastry brush, paint the tops of each pie for a gorgeous, golden brown crust (not necessary, but HIGHLY recommended)
  19. Bake at 350 until bubbling and golden brown.
  20. Serve hot.

 

The BEST (for real) Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos

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As a toddler mama, I spend roughly 2/3 of my time in the kitchen trying to figure out how to make something that Dubs will eat that has at least SOME nutritional value. Low-sugar Peanut butter on whole wheat waffles, oatmeal with raisins, avocado toast, and colby-jack cheese cubes are my standby snacks (obviously kale pesto and sweet potato mac ‘n cheese are also on this list.) Thankfully,  ALL of us love tacos, and sweet potatoes, and black beans, so this recipe has risen to the top of our dinner menu pretty quickly.

Also, it’s like the easiest thing ever.

I’ve seen some really gorgeous recipes lately with cubed sweet potatoes. Y’all, that makes for a LOVELY photo and also probably a little less messy eating, but you can’t beat the flavor of roasted sweet potatoes mixed with smoked paprika and cumin. You just can’t. So, that means these photos maybe aren’t as lovely as a few others out there on the interweb,  but the recipe is WORTH IT. Also, you can make this recipe into burritos, tacos, OR quesadillas. It’s so versatile and awesome. Enjoy!

What you Need for the Potatoes:

2 medium sweet potatoes, roasted then peeled

1/2 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon smoked paprika (if you like spicy food)

Salt to taste

For the Beans:

1 can of black beans, drained

1/2 Tablespoon chili powder

1/2 onion diced

Cilantro

2 tablespoons of lime juice

To Serve:

Flour tortillas

1 ripe avocado

cherry tomatoes, cut into fourths

sour cream or greek yogurt

shredded cheese

Salsa (if desired)

What to Do:

Prick your sweet potatoes all over with a fork and wash them. Place them on a cookie sheet and bake them for about 30-45 minutes on 400 WITH their skin. You’ll know they’re cooked because their skin will puff out a bit and they will be squishy to the touch. They’re SO much easier to peel once they’ve been baked.

While they are baking, drain your black beans. In a medium saucepan, sautee the onions, and sprinkle the chili powder over the onions. Sauteeing the seasonings brings out a better, richer flavor. Dump your beans in and cook briefly, just enough to warm them. Mix the cilantro and lime juice in. Voila!

Once your potatoes are cooked and have cooled enough so that you don’t burn your fingers off when you touch them, mash the potatoes with the cumin, salt, chili, and paprika. Stir it in very well.

Serve by putting the potatoes, black beans, and toppings in a flour tortilla. Eat until your belly is full and your heart is content. 😉

The BEST (for real) Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos
 
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Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 4-6 tacos
What You Need
  • What you Need for the Potatoes:
  • 2 medium sweet potatoes, roasted then peeled
  • ½ tablespoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (if you like spicy food)
  • Salt to taste
  • For the Beans:
  • 1 can of black beans, drained
  • ½ Tablespoon chili powder
  • ½ onion diced
  • Cilantro
  • 2 tablespoons of lime juice
  • To Serve:
  • Flour tortillas
  • 1 ripe avocado
  • cherry tomatoes, cut into fourths
  • sour cream or greek yogurt
  • shredded cheese
  • Salsa (if desired)
What to Do
  1. Prick your sweet potatoes all over with a fork and wash them.
  2. Place them on a cookie sheet and bake them for about 30-45 minutes on 400 WITH their skin.
  3. You'll know they're cooked because their skin will puff out a bit and they will be squishy to the touch.
  4. While they are baking, drain your black beans.
  5. In a medium saucepan, sautee the onions, and sprinkle the chili powder over the onions.
  6. Dump your beans in and cook briefly, just enough to warm them.
  7. Mix the cilantro and lime juice in.
  8. Once your potatoes are cooked and have cooled enough so that you don't burn your fingers off when you touch them, mash the potatoes with the cumin, salt, chili, and paprika. Mix it in very well.
  9. Serve by putting the potatoes, black beans, and toppings in a flour tortilla

Riffing on Robert St. John: White Bean & Ham Stufato

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Have you ever eaten at a Robert St. John restaraunt? He’s got what amounts to a restaurant owners compound in Hattiesburg,  right down the street from the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi.

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A rustic Italian spot, a new orleans pub and a southern fine-dining experience,  a super swank cocktail bar, and now, a much anticipated hamburger joint are all within the confines of basically one parking lot. ALL the food at all the places (well, I don’t know about the burger spot yet since the lines have been too long for me to try it out) is really delicious, and the ambiance is always perfectly suited to the cuisine. Anyway, I’m a huge fan, especially since his food is great, AND uses his platform to support hunger initiatives in Mississippi.

He also has some pretty lovely cookbooks, and we were leafing through the Italian one, and ran across a recipe for white beans. My dad has basically been talking about wanting a bean dish for DAYS, since it’s what he wants to eat in cold weather, AND we had a huge bone-in honebaked ham (and what do you do with a ham bone if you’re from the south? You season something.) I didn’t follow the recipe exactly, and I didn’t have all the things to make his unique seasoning blends and herb blends, so I just kinda went with my gut. What resulted was my take on his already warm, creamy, Mississippified-Italian white bean dish that is PERFECT for a cold, cold night.

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