Burritos Cubanos

Ingredients
6 cups canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups mashed sweet potatoes*
1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups water or vegetable stock
3 Tablespoons mild chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
4 teaspoons prepared yellow mustard, such as French’s Sweet Onion
1 pinch cayenne pepper
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
8 oz grated mild cheddar or pepperjack
12 medium-sized flour tortillas (10 or 12 inch diameter)
fruity salsa (Mrs Renfro’s Peach salsa, American Spoon’s Cherry Peach salsa…)
(sour cream, chopped cilantro for garnish)

Method
Preheat oven to 350F. In a large skillet, sauté the chopped onion and garlic in the oil
until the veggies are translucent. Mash the beans, then stir them into the onion/garlic
mixture. A little at a time, stir in the water as you heat the mixture through. Stir in the
chili powder, cumin, mustard, cayenne, and soy sauce. Simmer the liquid out until the
bean mixture has the consistency of restaurant refried beans. Adjust the seasoning with
salt and pepper.

Spread 1/3 cup mashed sweet potato over the payload area of a tortilla, top with 1/12th of
the bean mixture and 1/12th of the cheese, then fold the tortilla:

After you fold the sides of the

tortilla over the ends of the
filling, keep rolling the burrito
towards the farthest edge until
you run out of tortilla.

Repeat with the other 11 tortillas. Put all burritos onto a cookie sheet coated lightly with
cooking spray and bake for 15 minutes. Serve a fruity salsa on the side. Serve with
chopped cilantro and sour cream, if you’re feeling decadent.

* You can bake 3 very large sweet potatoes (8” in length, 3-4” in diameter) in your
microwave for about 18 minutes. When cool enough to handle, scoop out the guts and
mash the guts with ½ cup skim milk or vegetable stock. For the safety of your teeth and
tastebuds, do not use leftover sweet potato-marshmallow casserole or candied yams.
Feta Dip 
 

INGREDIENTS 

½ pound feta cheese, drained, patted dry and cut into 1/2‐inch cubes  
2 to 3 sprigs fresh thyme or rosemary  
2 to 3 wide strips lemon zest (removed with a vegetable peeler)  
1 bay leaf  
1 teaspoon whole peppercorns  
Olive oil 

½ cup whole milk  
½ cup toasted walnut pieces  
3 to 4 sprigs fresh oregano leaves, stripped from stems  
1 tsp coarse black pepper  
½ tsp lemon juice  
1 tsp hot sauce  
 

DIRECTIONS 

Marinade: 

1. Put feta cheese into a glass pint jar. Gently tuck thyme, zest, bay leaf and peppercorns into 
jar then cover contents with olive oil. 
2. Seal tightly and chill for at least 2 days or up to 1 week. Bring to room temperature. 

Dip: 

1. In a food processor, combine feta, milk, walnuts, oregano, pepper, lemon juice and hot 
sauce until smooth and creamy. 
2. Serve with taralli. 
 
Greek Quiche
Ingredients:
6 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed while wrapped in plastic
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon sesame seeds

1 10-oz box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

.5 cup finely chopped red onion
.5 cup finely crumbled feta*
10 cherry or 15 grape tomatoes, cut in half
2 large eggs
1 cup low-fat milk
pinch of ground nutmeg, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp ground black pepper

Method:
1. Revv up the oven to 350F.
2. Coat your pie pan with cooking spray or a very light coat of olive oil. On a flat,
clean worksurface, lay out the first sheet of phyllo. Brush it all over lightly with
olive oil and cast ½ teaspoon sesame seeds over the surface. Add another
layer of phyllo and repeat the oiling and seeding. Keep layering until you’ve
done all 6 sheets. Press your stack of phyllo sheets carefully into the prepared
pie pan.
3. Sprinkle the feta over the crust in the pie pan. Combine the spinach and
onion, then add this mixture on top of the feta. Finally, arrange the tomato
halves over the spinach mixture.
4. In a small bowl, beat the eggs well, mix in the milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg,
the pour the custard carefully over the rest of the quiche filling in the pie pan.
5. Bake 45-50 minutes, or until the filling is no longer jiggly.
* You can substitute grated kasseri cheese for the feta, if you prefer. You can also
use a prepared pie crust instead of the phyllo. And if you have deep pockets, you
and use olive oil cooking spray instead of brushing each sheet of phyllo with oil. If
you have a pie plate larger than 9”, you can use more custard to fill it up, using an
additional ½ cup of milk for each additional egg. The leftover phyllo dough keeps
nicely in the freezer for months.
Monkey Bread 
 

INGREDIENTS  
 
 ½ cup granulated sugar 
1 teaspoon cinnamon 
2 cans (16.3 oz each) Pillsbury® Grands!® Homestyle refrigerated buttermilk biscuits 
½ cup chopped walnuts, if desired 
½ cup raisins, if desired 
1cup firmly packed brown sugar 
 ¾ cup butter or margarine, melted 
DIRECTIONS  
 
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 12‐cup fluted tube pan with shortening or cooking spray. In 
large ‐storage plastic food bag, mix granulated sugar and cinnamon. 
2. Separate dough into 16 biscuits; cut each into quarters. Shake in bag to coat. Arrange in pan, 
adding walnuts and raisins among the biscuit pieces. 
3. In small bowl, mix brown sugar and butter; pour over biscuit pieces. 
4. Bake 28 to 32 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in center. Cool in pan 10 
minutes. Turn upside down onto serving plate; pull apart to serve. Serve warm. 
 
Red Velvet Cookies

Ingredients

1 pouch (17.5 oz) sugar cookie mix

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
¼ cup butter, softened
¼ cup sour cream
1 Tablespoon red food color
1 egg
1 cup prepared cream cheese frosting
¼ cup chopped walnuts

Method

Preheat oven to 375F. In a large mixing bowl, combine everything except the frosting and
the nuts to form a soft dough. Form dough into 1” balls and place the balls 2” apart on an
ungreased cookie sheet. Bake the cookies 9 minutes, and then remove them from the
oven. Allow the cookies to cool on the sheet for 2 minutes, then remove them to a wire
rack to cool completely. When the cookies are completely cool, frost them and top the
frosting with chopped nuts.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Gratin of Beets

Ingredients

4 fist-sized beets, cooked and peeled (see note below)

¼ cup finely grated swiss or parmesan or gruyere cheese
¼ cup finely grated cheddar
Salt, pepper
Heavy cream
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Method

Lightly spray a 1.5 quart casserole with non-stick cooking spray. Heat oven to 375F.

Dice the cooked, peeled beets into ½” cubes. Spread 1/3 of your beets over the bottom of
the prepared casserole. Sprinkle beets with salt and pepper (don’t be stingy with the
pepper), scatter half of the cheddar and half of the parmesan over the beets. Spread half
of the remaining chopped beets over the first layer, season with salt and pepper, top with
remaining cheeses, then add the final layer of beets and season them well. Carefully pour
heavy cream into the casserole just until it reaches the bottom of the top layer of beets.
Bake for 30 minutes, then remove from oven. Top with dish with chopped fresh parsley
and serve.
Green Bean Casserole, Bulgarian Style

Ingredients

2 lbs fresh green beans, washed, tipped and tailed, and left whole
2 fist-sized sweet onion, sliced lengthwise into thin strips
2 bell peppers, in petite dice
4 cloves garlic, mashed
1 c. coarsely chopped walnuts
¼ c. olive oil
¼ c. water
½ c. milk
½ c. yoghurt
1 Tbs dried dill weed (or 3 Tbs fresh dill weed, chopped)
2 large ripe slicing tomatoes, sliced thin
2 Tbs olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
non-stick cooking spray

Method

Lightly spray a 1.5-qt casserole. Heat oven to 350F.

Put half of your green beans in the bottom of the prepared casserole. In a medium
mixing bowl, combine the onions, bell peppers, garlic, walnuts, ¼ c olive oil, and salt
and pepper to taste. Toss well. Distribute half of the mixture over the layer of green
beans. Make another layer of the remaining green beans, then another layer of the veggie
mixture.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together the water, yoghurt, milk, and dill. Pour this mixture
over your casserole. Top the casserole with tomato slices. Brush the tomato slices with
the 2 Tbs olive oil, season them with salt and pepper, then bake the whole thing for 35
minutes.