By Professional development week. Teachers-only days, no students, classroom setup and curriculum planning and the meetings where someone explains the new district initiative that will take twice as much time as the old initiative and accomplish approximately the same things. I love my colleagues. I love my school. I sat in the second-row-from-the-left in the all-staff meeting and felt like myself in a way I had not felt since June of last year.
I called Patty at lunch on Monday to check on the babies and she said "they're fine, stop calling, plan your year" which is the most my mother has ever been my mother. I said okay and went back to my team meeting and felt guilty for forty-five minutes and then felt okay. They are fine. She knows what fine looks like. Stop calling.
My classroom is smaller than last year's and has a window that faces the parking lot, which is not the view I would have chosen, but the custodian Mr. Garcia helped me rearrange the furniture and now it has a reading corner and a calm-down corner and enough space for my students to move around during the transitions, which is what matters. I have twenty-two students this year. I have already looked at all their files. I have already started building a mental map of who is going to need what.
Sunday was a full prep day. Ryan had the babies while I cooked for three hours: a big pot of vegetable beef soup, two trays of baked chicken thighs, a batch of white bean and sausage stew. The freezer is fully stocked. The labeled containers are in rows. The school year starts Tuesday. We are as ready as we are going to be, which is as ready as anyone ever is for anything real.
The vegetable beef soup and the baked chicken thighs and the white bean stew are in the freezer, labeled and ready — but what I keep coming back to for the actual school-night dinners, the ones where Ryan and I are eating standing up at the counter at 6:45 while someone is crying in the other room, is something I can pull together fast and feel good about. These black bean and sweet potato rice bowls were exactly that: the kind of meal that feels like you planned well, because you did, and that nourishes everyone without requiring anything extra from a person who has already given everything she has to twenty-two students and two babies and one new classroom with a parking lot view.
Black Bean Sweet Potato Rice Bowls
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 50 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 3/4-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup salsa (store-bought or homemade)
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 cups long-grain white or brown rice, cooked
- 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- Juice of 1 lime
- Optional toppings: sour cream, shredded cheese, hot sauce
Instructions
- Roast the sweet potatoes. Preheat oven to 425°F. Toss diced sweet potatoes with 1 tablespoon olive oil, smoked paprika, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Spread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 25–30 minutes, flipping once halfway through, until tender and lightly caramelized at the edges.
- Season the black beans. While the sweet potatoes roast, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the black beans, salsa, and chili powder. Stir to combine and cook for 5–7 minutes until warmed through and slightly thickened. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Warm the corn. Add the thawed corn to the black bean mixture in the last 2 minutes of cooking, or warm separately in the microwave.
- Assemble the bowls. Divide cooked rice evenly among four bowls. Top each with roasted sweet potatoes, seasoned black beans and corn, and sliced avocado.
- Finish and serve. Squeeze fresh lime juice over each bowl and scatter cilantro on top. Add any optional toppings as desired. Serve immediately, or pack into labeled containers for meal prep — store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. (Store avocado separately to prevent browning.)
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 480 | Protein: 14g | Fat: 13g | Carbs: 78g | Fiber: 13g | Sodium: 420mg