Mexican Pizza, Sweet Potato Fries and Apple Granola Bars

February 26, 2012

Mexican Pizza, Sweet Potato Fries and Apple Granola Bars

Last Saturday (February 18^th, 2012), I taught a cooking class to four middle school girls from two of the garden clubs of Urban Tree Connection for Urban Tree Connection! We made a black bean “taco” pizza, sweet potato fries and apple oatmeal bars for dessert. The food was so good, that I was craving all day at work earlier this week and decided to recreate the pizza and sweet potato fries for dinner.

Pizza at my house:

(Photo: by Sheena Pradhan; Our Rockin' Mexican Pizza)

Sweet Potato Fries at my house:

(Photo: by Sheena Pradhan; Our Sweet Potato Fries)

Here are the recipes we used at the lunch:

Black Bean Nacho Pizza

Makes 2 Pizzas, 12 Slices Pizza

Ingredients

2 cup canned black beans, rinsed

2 cup chopped red peppers

1 medium clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon chili powder (substitute with cayenne or paprika)

1/4 teaspoon salt

Yellow cornmeal, for dusting

2 pounds Easy Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough, or other prepared dough

1 cup shredded, low-fat Monterey Jack cheese

1 cup shredded, low-fat Cheddar Cheese

4 medium tomatoes, diced

2 cups spinach, chopped

2 c sliced mushrooms

8 medium scallions, thinly sliced

1/2 cup chopped pitted ripe black olives

4 tablespoons chopped pickled jalapeños

Directions

Preheat oven to 450°F for 20 minutes.
Place beans, peppers, garlic, chili powder and salt in a food processor and process until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.
Roll out the dough and place on a cornmeal-dusted pizza peel or inverted baking sheet, using enough cornmeal so that the dough slides easily.
Slide the crust onto the grill rack; close the lid. Cook until lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes.
Remove the crust from the oven using a large spatula and place it uncooked-side down on the peel or baking sheet, making sure the underside of the crust is completely coated with cornmeal.
Spread the bean mixture on the crust, leaving a 1-inch border. Quickly layer on cheese, tomatoes, scallions, olives and pickled jalapeños.
Slide the pizza back into the oven. Continue baking until the toppings are hot and the bottom of the crust has browned, 12 to 15 minutes.

(http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/black_bean_nacho_pizza.html)

Nutrition Facts
1 Serving = 1 slice of pizza

Amount Per Serving

Calories		407.8

Total Fat		16.1 g

	Saturated Fat	7.5 g

	Polyunsaturated Fat	1.0 g

	Monounsaturated Fat	3.9 g

Cholesterol		29.9 mg

Sodium		920.0 mg

Potassium		270.0 mg

Total Carbohydrate		54.0 g

	Dietary Fiber	5.6 g

	Sugars	4.3 g

Protein		15.0 g

(recipecalculator.com)

Sweet Potato Fries

Makes 8 servings (40 potato wedges)

Ingredients

3 large sweet potatoes, cut into wedges

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp cumin

A dash chili powder

1/4 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp salt or seasoned salt

Directions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, toss together all ingredients until potatoes are evenly coated with oil and spices.

3. Place potatoes on a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes, or until done.

4. Serve with ketchup, a ranch dressing dip, barbecue sauce, or plain.

(http://vegetarian.about.com/od/potatoesandsweetpotatoes/r/sweetfries.htm)

Nutrition Facts
1 Serving: 5 medium wedges

Amount Per Serving

Calories		66.3

Total Fat		2.1 g

	Saturated Fat	0.3 g

	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.2 g

	Monounsaturated Fat	1.5 g

Cholesterol		0.0 mg

Sodium		174.5 mg

Potassium		256.5 mg

Total Carbohydrate		11.2 g

	Dietary Fiber	1.8 g

	Sugars	4.6 g

Protein		1.1 g

recipecalculator.com

Apple Oatmeal Bar Cookies

Makes 36 cookies
Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 1/2 cups uncooked rolled oats

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 apples; peeled, cored and chopped

1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

2. Peel, core and chop apples. Put into food processor and pulse until desired texture.

3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the oats, flour, cinnamon, and vanilla. Fold in the applesauce and walnuts. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan.
4. Bake 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Cool in pan, and cut into squares.

(http://allrecipes.com/recipe/apple-oatmeal-bar-cookies/detail.aspx)

Nutrition Facts
1 Serving = 3 (3” pieces)

Amount Per Serving

Calories		185.0

Total Fat		10.6 g

	Saturated Fat	3.5 g

	Polyunsaturated Fat	4.8 g

	Monounsaturated Fat	2.6 g

Cholesterol		11.0 mg

Sodium		2.7 mg

Potassium		229.9 mg

Total Carbohydrate		32.8 g

	Dietary Fiber	5.0 g

	Sugars	7.2 g

Protein		3.6 g

recipecalculator.com

(Photo: by Sheena Pradhan; Friends Ready To Eat!)

(Photo: by Sheena Pradhan; The Plate)

Our Dessert:

Instead of the Apple Granola Bars at my house we had this rich, chocolaty dessert topped with raspberries, ice cream, whipped cream and chocolate syrup (recipe and nutrition facts are not available for this dessert – dessert was the secret recipe from the creative genius and courtesy of my friend, Sara Milner):