Vegan Wednesday: Sweet Potato, Bean & Veggie Casserole with Almond Butter Sauce

Hey there, just me again. :) I have had so much to share this week, so I hope you guys aren't tired of me yet, haha!  Well this recipe I'm sharing for @heart-to-heart's #veganwednesday should make a nice peace offering if you are.  Even if you aren't vegan, there are some wickedly amazing foods being shared for the contest every week that anyone with taste buds would enjoy.  Check out the latest post here for rules to join or to check out the links for other entries: https://steemit.com/contest/@heart-to-heart/the-veganwednesday-challenge-week-14-starts-now

Every week there seems to be more amazing healthy food challenges and more people wanting to spread the message of how important it is to take care of our bodies!  It is such a joy to be a part of this community.  I feel like it makes me continually strive to do better in a number of ways.  One way is continuing to create simple but delicious plant-based foods to show how this lifestyle can be so vibrant and rewarding.

My casserole this week was kind of a happy accident.  I had a slightly different dish in mind, but then I got lazy and decided I didn't feel like making all of the components separately.  As much as I love cooking, a one-pan dish is something I'll never turn away from.  Thus, my non-traditional casserole was born!

It is not the prettiest dish ever, but oh my is it tasty!  The almond butter made everything creamy, and all the veggies got happy together in the pan with the seasonings.  I think @dksart really enjoyed the flavor combinations for this one.  Feel free to substitute whatever fresh veggies you can find.  I was just so happy to have some fresh asparagus that I had to add some in!

Sweet Potato Casserole

Makes 8 servings

• 3 small sweet potatoes, chopped
• 1 bunch of fresh asparagus, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 small head of broccoli, cut into florets
• 2 heaping cups cooked beans (I mixed black beans and kidney beans)
• 1 small onion, peeled & chopped
• 4-5 cloves minced garlic
• 1 bunch Swiss chard, woody stems chopped & separated from leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice seasoning
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 cup almond butter (or sub nut/seed butter of choice)
• 1/4 cup organic rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 tamari or liquid aminos
• optional hot sauce

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Place your sweet potatoes, asparagus, broccoli and beans in a 9x13-inch casserole dish and mix lightly.  Sprinkle with your spices.  Mix together your almond butter, vinegar, tamari and optional dash or two of hot sauce in a bowl and set aside.

Cook your onion, garlic and the stems of the chard in a pan on the stove top over medium heat until starting to soften.  Turn off the heat and add in the leafy portion of the chard just to wilt.  Add in your almond butter sauce until everything is coated and creamy.

Finally, combine your onion mixture with the sweet potato mixture in the casserole dish.  Cover and cook for about an hour, stirring occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking.  Check at about 40-45 minutes to see if your vegetables are done.  Remove from the oven when your sweet potatoes are softened to your liking.  Enjoy!

Make sure to check out the latest edition of the #makeithealthy magazine from @woman-onthe-wing for some other amazing healthy articles!  https://steemit.com/makeithealthy/@woman-onthe-wing/the-make-it-healthy-project-magazine-issue-2