Sharing the Love - Good-Bye Field Roast, Hello Upton's Naturals - The Healthy Librarian's Crazy Good Chipotle "Chorizo" Sweet Potato, Roasted Corn, & Black Bean Lasagna

 

The Healthy Librarian's Crazy Good Chipotle Sweet Potato Chorizo Seitan Black Bean & Roasted Corn Lasagna 

 

Yikes!  It's been 2 weeks since I've had a chance to post anything.  Anybody miss me?

The Lab Rat & I were in St. Louis last week having a fine old time playing with the Beanie Baby & the Truck-Driving Grandson.  And it's been work work work every since I got home late on Monday night.

I'm way behind on so many posts--but, I just had to share this recipe that is clearly a Two-Thumbs-Up Winner, that was inspired by Kathy Hester's "The Vegan Slow Cooker".   

I put it together in a flash on Valentine's Night--and the Lab Rat & I enjoyed a very late romantic dinner eating Chipotle Sweet Potato Chorizo Lasagna as we watched 2 nerve-wracking episodes of the last season of "Big Love"--seeing the lives of the polygmous Henrickson family sadly spin out of control.  How's that for romantic?  "Big Love" is our guilty pleasure--and, honestly, it beats the heck out of eating chocolate. 

About this Crazy Good Chipotle Sweet Potato Chorizo Seitan Lasagna--it's ridiculously low-fat, high in protein, fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, and iron.  It's 100% guaranteed company-worthy--and takes just 10 minutes of prep time.  Okay--full disclosure:  Plus 45 minutes to bake.

As for taste: It's a little sweet, a lot spicy--but not too much, & absolutely out-of-this-world.  I sure hope I'm not over-selling this.

In the "Just Saying" Blog Business Department:  I've got a very busy/exciting two months coming up, and although I will be posting about twice a week, to really keep up with all the health, medical, & wellness news,  I'd recommend checking in on the Happy Healthy Long Life - The Healthy Librarian Facebook Page regularly, if you aren't already.  It's a great way for me to post quickly, and share everything that's new.  You don't have to have a facebook account to check in--just hit the ESC button when you're prompted to log in.  If you hit that "like" button at the top of the page you'll get updates in your facebook news feed.  As you can see--my big overambitious plan to keep a weekly summary blog post of the facebook posts quickly fell apart when I went out of town!  Sorry.

 

Good Bye Field Roast Sausage - Hello Upton Naturals!

 

You all know about my love affair with Field Roast "Grain" Sausage.   Whether it's Italian, Mexican Chipotle, or Apple Sage--I love the stuff.  But, darn it, Field Roast has way too much expeller pressed safflower for my taste--and honestly, it was getting kind of embarrassing to keep telling you all to use it--even in small amounts. 

Sure, I tried to make my own sausages, using Isa's recipes, but they just didn't taste as good as Field Roast's--and who wants to go to all that extra work?  Hey, I'm already spending enough time in the kitchen as it is!

Enter, my new fave, Chicago-based Upton's Naturals.  One of you kind/savvy readers recommended I try no-added fat Chicago-based Upton Naturals Italian & Chorizo seitan.  Wow!  Great taste.  No fat. Too bad it's not sold in my neck of the woods--but, it is in St. Louis.  I brought home both the Italian & Chorizo varieties--and I'm sold on this seitan!  Check here for to see if you can find it near you.  As for me--I'm putting together an order with friends, buying it online--and storing a stash of Upton's in my freezer.

 

 

 

 The Healthy Librarian's Crazy Good Chipotle Sweet Potato Chorizo Seitan Black Beans &  Roasted Corn Lasagna

 

Topped with a Couple of Slices of Avocado - Perfection!

 

Recipe was inspired by Kathy Hester's "The Vegan Slow Cooker"

For a copy of the recipe on one page, click here:

Preparation time:  10 minutes

Bake time: 45 minutes

Serves:  8 generous portions

 

Ingredients:

• 1-2 large sweet potatoes (2 pounds), peeled, & thinly sliced (that's the only work you'll have to do) Tip:Parboil the sliced sweet potatoes until just tender--this will cut the cooking time. Too Busy to Bother Tip: Use Taylor's canned sweet potatoes--no sugar or syrup--might need 3 cans.  
• 2 16 ounce jars of your favorite salsa (I used chipotle)--enough for almost 4 cups of sauce (I used over-priced Guy Fieri's Chipotle salsa & LOVED the flavor.  It does have canola oil in the ingredient list, but it lists as 0 fat, which means it's less than .5 a gram, & still unacceptable if you follow Esselstyn's diet strictly.  Just saying...)
• 8 ounces of Upton's Naturals Chorizo flavored seitan (substitute with 2 links of Field Roast Mexican Chipotle "sausage", or 8 ounces of Trader Joe's Soy (Gluten-free) Chorizo, or make your own with this recipe. (you can substitute tomato paste or more beans or broth for the oil)
• 1 package of Food for Life corn tortillas  (12 count)
• 1 can (15 ounce) black beans, drained & rinsed
• 1 1/2  to 2 cups of Trader Joe's Roasted Frozen Corn--about 1/2 of a package (can substitute regular frozen corn)

Preparation:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.  Pour 1/4 of the salsa (scant cup) on the bottom of a 9 X 13" baking dish

3.  Cover the sauce with a single layer of the tortillas (1/3 of the package)--it's OK to cut some in half

4.  Top with 1/3 of the chorizo, 1/3 of the sweet potatoes, 1/3 of the roasted corn, & 1/3 of the black beans

5.  Now top with 1/4 of the salsa, and repeat the layering, starting with the tortillas.  You'll do this two times.

6. Cover the final layer with the rest of the salsa, spreading it well.  Cover the lasagna with non-stick foil & bake for about one hour to 1 hour & 15 minutes--until the sweet potatoes are tender, and everything is nice & piping hot.  Tip: Parboil the sliced sweet potatoes ahead of time to shorten the cooking time.

7.  If you are able to eat avocados, adding just a little on top adds a nice balance to the spiciness of this dish.

 

Sour Cream-Like Topping - Optional

This was so quick to make & it added a nice cooling taste to this spicy dish.

Soak 1/2 cup of cashews in 1/2 cup of water for 30 minutes.

Add 1/4 cup of lime juice to the cashews & water & blend in a high-speed blender (VitaMix) for a minute or two until creamy.  

Add a sprinkle of pepper & salt if you like.

 

Is this recipe a nutritional powerhouse or what?

 

Nutrition Facts Healthy Librarian's Chipotle Chorizo Sweet Potato Lasagna
Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories	298
Total Fat	2.2g
Saturated Fat	0g
Trans Fat	0g
Cholesterol	0mg
Sodium	529mg
Carbohydrate	50g
Dietary Fiber	11.1g
Sugars	5.7g
Protein	15.2g
Vitamin A 93% Vitamin C 72% Calcium    11% Iron 29%

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Constance Braid]

Have to say I did miss you! I wanted to tell you that I made Sonya's Pre-workout Chocolate Banana Chia Power Pudding and it was amazing. I did not have hemp seeds at the time, but it was still delicious. I had some before I swam laps this morning and I truly did feel more energetic. I like the way it thickened into a real pudding texture in the fridge. I have been working on being a vegan (with some bad exceptions) for about a month. Got the Vita Mix, which I am still learning to use, and I have tried a lot of your recipes--all have been unusually tasty. It does take some extra time and I hate not using butter on popcorn. I am excited about this lasagna! Thanks. (I also got addicted to Big Love!)

[The Healthy Librarian]

Constance: Thanks for the "love". So glad you like that chocolate chia pudding. It's the topper for the black bean brownie recipe I'm hoping to post soon. So good! Don't worry, you'll get the hang of the Vita-Mix! RE the popcorn--you have to get a fine mist water sprayer--and mist the popcorn as it comes out of the hot-air popcorn popper & simultaneously sprinkle on your favorite seasoning--like Bone-Sucking Barbecue Rub (my favorite), fine popcorn salt, smoked paprika, nutritional yeast, etc. The water mister keeps the seasonings on the popcorn without any sogginess.

[Sue in Denver]

Yes! You were missed! :-)

[MiMi McGee]

I missed you too! Just looked this morning to see when the last post was and pinned it on Pinterest. Have you signed up for Pinterest yet? This lasagna looks delicious! Thanks!

[The Healthy Librarian]

@Sue: Thanks so much!
@MiMi: I haven't signed up for Pinterest, yet. I absolutely need to--along with Recipage, so I can have all my blog recipes organized & easily searchable. While St. Louis my DIL showed me how Pinterest works--and it's perfect for me. I like to see what I save. Great site.

[Daw]

This looks super yummy. I still need to try the chia chocolate pudding. Going to natural foods store for hemp seeds this weekend. Thanks for the recipe!

[The Healthy Librarian]

@Daw: You will LOVE IT! Bob's Red Mill makes the hemp seeds. They're not inexpensive. Maybe $9-$11 dollars for a package. But, it will last.

[John Sudduth]

Sooo I take it that Lab Rat eats whole grains?

[The Healthy Librarian]

@John: Why would you suspect anything other than whole grains??

[Penny]

Hi, I have missed you but have been checking your Facebook page. This casserole seems a lot like Dr. Barnard's, right? I did find some Soyrizo with 4 grams fat and will look for the Upton's. I'm anxious to try the Chili Relleno casserole, too, sounds so good. I've been spraying my fat free popcorn with Bragg's and nooch since I read here that's what Susan @Fat free Vegan does. Bragg's is available in a small spray bottle. I also found some Bone Sucking BBQue sauce at Whole Foods and will look for the rub. All of these tips really help!

[The Healthy Librarian]

@Penney, happy you've been keeping up with FB! You're right, it's sort of like Dr. Barnard's version, but SO MUCH TASTIER and so much easier to put together. No chopping or sauteeing. And the sweet potato & the chorizo take it to a higher level, IMHO!!

[Jeff]

Hey - I think that was me who recommended Upton's! Love that stuff, and thankfully it's readily available here in the vegan mecca that is Portland, OR.

[The Healthy Librarian]

@Jeff: If it was you--a BIG THANK YOU!! Love it--and plan to use more of it!Lucky you to live in the vegan mecca of Portland, OR. Jealous.

[Lea]

Debby- this recipe sounds delicious! I'm going to make some fat free chorizo crumbles today and see how they come out then make this recipe later in the week.

[Amanda]

This recipe is soo tasty. Just made it this evening, and couldn't help myself going back in for seconds. Plus my roommate, who I shared some with, just asked me for the recipe and is going to make it for a group of 20 tomorrow evening. Kinda funny because I made this at the same time that he made his TJ meat lasagna. I also add kale to each of the layers, which was a delicious addition. Thanks for the recipes and research!

[wendy (healthy girl's kitchen)]

I need this chorizo!!!! Please let me know where to order it from if you do. The website that the company mentioned does not sell this product. I also just yesterday made the Isa Chandra Seitan Sausage and it was, just, well, just okay. I would not make it again. Wish I would have read this post before yesterday!!!

[Constance Braid]

Love the lasagne! It is easy to make and it looks beautiful--very colorful. I used about a half a jar of TJ's peach salsa along with Whole Foods 365 med salsa. So delicious, I definitely overate. Luckily, there will be leftovers for the whole week. Now about those brownies...so far my vegan baking has not been the best...The brownies were pretty sad...not sweet enough and flat, definitely problems with the preparation on my part. Also made Anne Esselstyn's blueberry muffins and they were blah, again could be the prep and the substitutions I made-- for oat milk (almond milk) and oat flour (whole wheat pastry and spelt). I am learning as I go and probably should adhere strictly to the recipe...Thanks for all the recipes and interesting info!

[The Healthy Librarian]

@Lea, I hope you like it. Let me know how the homemade chorizo turns out.

@Amannda, so happy you liked the recipe as much as I did. I really like your addition of a kale layer. Brilliant! Did you use Upton's?

@Wendy: I hope you like Upton's. You can order it from Vegan Essentials--click on the locations at the Upton's site & you'll see it. WF said if they don't have room to display it, they are willing to order a case, if you can buy one. But, I have my doubts--they've yet to come through ordering anything. Heinen's may, or Mustard Seed. A friend is going to pick some up for me in 10 days when she travels to Ann Arbor--the WF there carries it.

@Contance: So glad you liked the lasagna, & I love the idea of mixing TJ's peach salsa (one of my favorites) with WF's 365. Yes, it's easy to overeat this. I feel so badly that your brownies didn't turn out. Could be for any of a number of reasons--that teeny tiny food processor, maybe the baking powder was over processed. Who knows. Anyway--accept my apologies for the food flop. RE: Ann Esselstyn's blueberry muffins--I'll send you my husband's revision of Ann's recipe--with oat milk, part oat flour, part rolled oats (no whole wheat flour)--a lot more blueberries--maybe 1/2 of a 1 pound bag. Uses silicone muffin cups & bakes on convection. THey're fabulous--and trust me--he's no baker!

[EC]

This recipe was the first one I tried from this blog that was a complete bust. The thinly-sliced sweet potatoes were so crunchy after 50+ minutes in the oven that my guests thought they were carrots. The flavor was also so-so (but that may be because these are common flavors in Texas cuisine). I ended up with an uninspired meal and lots of leftovers. With more spices and less crunch, it could be improved - and it is certainly easy - but it has a long way to go to be something special. I have had great luck with your other recipes, however!

[The Healthy Librarian]

@EC: Gee, so sorry. So far everyone who's tried it really liked it. Not sure why your sweet potatoes were still crunchy after 50 minutes. Mine really were thinly sliced & I cooked the lasagna until the sweet potatoes were soft. Now, I think the flavor of the salsa would make a big difference (& GF's Chipotle was very flavorful), and roasted corn also makes a difference. What can I say--there are a lot of variables that could make the difference between a knock-your-socks off dish, and a boring one. Did you use the Upton's Chorizo?

[elizabeth]

Are you sharing your husband's revised recipe for Ann Esselstyn's blueberry muffins? I would love to try it out.

[Upton's Naturals]

Thanks so much for checking out our seitan! We have recently gotten word that your Whole Foods region is going to be bringing in three varieties (traditional, Italian, and chorizo) of our seitan sometime around mid-March to early-April. You will be able to find it in your store then! Until that time, the products are definitely available on the Vegan Essentials website!

[Betty Amer]

I made the Mexican "lasagne" today and, like EC, even with 50 minutes in the oven and very thinly sliced sweet potatoes, they were underdone. I did like the flavors. (Am not near a WF or TJ, so used Fresh Market Chipotle Salsa; but did have Field Roast on hand courtesy of a friend who had picked them up in Charleston's WF for me.) Luckily we had good friends to dinner who knew I was trying out a recipe for the first time.

[wendy (healthy girls kitchen)]

Made it. Loved it. Thanks Deb!

[Penny]

I tried this Mexican Lasagne and it is delicious! Love it and thanks.

[JK]

I finally made it! Loved it! I added Kale to one of my layers and removed some of the tortillas for more nutritional punch and fewer carbs. Ohmygosh it's good and I'm looking forward to leftovers tonight!!!

[Stacy]

I made this last week and it was absolutely delicious. So easy too!!! I sliced the sweet potatoes very thin, baked covered for 45 minutes and they were perfectly done. Also I used the Field Roast sausages because I happened to have them already, next time I might use 3 links instead of 2. Thank you for sharing, I will definitely be making it again!