Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese

Tags

cooking, food, mac and cheese, macaroni and cheese, pasta, recipe, recipes, sweet potatoes

This is a mac and cheese upgrade.

With less cheese!

?

As sinful as that sounds, it’s sweet, simple, different, healthy, and hearty.

Don’t misunderstand me, though. Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (with sliced hot dogs) will always have a special place in my heart (and I do often stash one away in the back of the cupboard…), but on a typical CW day, as usual, I try to eat healthy.

(Minus the large spoonfuls I eat of Chocolate Peanut Butter Dreams at 10:45 p.m…..but let’s just say I…er…balance things out.)

Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese (Inspired by Cooking Light)
>> Click here for printable recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 large or 3 medium sweet potatoes (2 pounds)
• 1 (4 oz) can diced chiles
• 1 cup fat free milk
• 2 tbsp light cream cheese
• 1 1/4 cups Monterey Jack cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (13 oz) box whole wheat penne

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Prick the sweet potatoes with a fork in several places. Wrap in foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour or until they are soft. Then decrease the oven temperature to 375 degrees F.
2. Let the sweet potatoes cool for 5 minutes, then slice in half lengthwise and scoop out flesh. Mash in a large bowl. Add in the diced chiles, milk, 3/4 cup of the Monterey Jack cheese, and cream cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Meanwhile, cook the penne according to the package directions. Drain and add to the sweet potato mixture. Mix thoroughly.
4. Place the pasta in a large oven-safe dish. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup of Monterey Jack cheese. Bake for 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and slightly browned.

My Two Cents: Instead of loading this up with bread crumbs, half and half, and mountains of cheese to give mac and cheese the creamy thickness we’re all used to, the sweet potato does the trick.

The addition of the chiles gives the dish a little oomph that you traditionally don’t get from your boxed mac and cheese.

And while we’re at it, let’s just look up the nutrition facts of sweet potatoes. *Googles* Ah! Sweet potatoes are packed with Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and fiber. They’re also full of flavor

If you don’t want to wait around as the sweet potatoes bake in the oven (though I love taking this time to work out), you can peel them, boil them, and then mash them. This will take you about 15-20 minutes instead of an hour.

I do hope you enjoy!

Roasted Maple Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potatoes

Tags

chicken, chicken thighs, easy meals, food, maple syrup, recipe, sweet potatoes

What words come to your mind when someone mentions Autumn?

For me it’s pumpkins, falling leaves, foliage, apples, apple picking, pie, sweaters,

and maple syrup.

For me, maple syrup heightens any dish that it’s in—any time of year. But it really belongs in Autumn — adding depth to pumpkin pies, stuffings, and this — a perfectly sweet glaze to these chicken thighs, sweet potatoes, and onions.

Roasted Maple Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potatoes (From the Good Housekeeping Cookbook)

Serves 4

Prep: 15 min Roast: 40 min

Ingredients

• 4 large bone-in chicken thighs (1 ½ lbs), skin and fat removed
• 2 small sweet potatoes (1 lb total), peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 small onion, cut into 1 inch pieces
• ½ (16 oz) bag baby carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. In jelly-roll pan or shallow roasting pan, combine chicken, sweet potato, onion, carrots, maple syrup, salt, and pepper; toss to coat.
3. Roast chicken mixture, stirring vegetables once and turning chicken halfway through roasting, until juices run clear when thickest  part of thigh is pierced with tip of knife and liquid in pan thickens slightly, 40-45 minutes. Serve with your favorite greens or vegetables. (Might I suggest edamame?!)

My Two Cents: I can’t think of a simpler or more delicious  meal to enjoy on a cool Autumn evening!

If you don’t have pure maple syrup (which I didn’t when I made this), that Aunt Jemima’s that you have sitting in the back of your fridge will work just fine. Though, investing in some pure maple syrup for the season is always a wise (and tasty) choice.

And let me warn you—when you eat this you will immediately crave vibrant foliage and sweaters.

Enjoy!

Whip it up Wednesday: African Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew

Tags

chickpeas, cooking, easy meals, food, peanut butter, quick meals, recipes, slow cooker, slow cooker recipes, sweet potatoes, whip it up wednesday

Slow cookers can be lifesavers if you’re short on time. You simply mix up some ingredients, throw it in a pot, turn it on before you head out the door, and come home to a beautiful meal at the end of the day.

So for this week’s Whip it up Wednesday recipe, I’m featuring a hearty slow cooker meal–African Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew. I picked this meal not only because it’s simple to make, but also because its flavors are so complex. When I saw this in the new Good Housekeeping Cookbook, I can honestly say I swooned. Sweet potatoes, peanut butter, cilantro, tomatoes, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, chickpeas, and green beans? It sounded amazing, and it was

NOTE: This picture below might look like a pile of mush, but it’ll be one of the best tasting piles of mush you’ve eaten in a while. Like I said, slow cooker recipes are lifesavers if you’re short on time, but I never said they were pretty

African Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew (From The Good Housekeeping Cookbook)

Serves 6

Total Prep: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 cups loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves and stems (about 1 bunch at the store)
• 1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup water
• 3 lbs sweet potatoes (4 medium), peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 pkg (16 oz) frozen cut green beans

Directions:

1. The Night Before: In a blender or food processor, blend garlic, cilantro, tomatoes (with juice), peanut butter, cumin, cinnamon, ground red pepper, and salt until pureed.

2. The Day Of: Peel and cut the sweet potatoes. In your slow cooker, pour in the peanut-butter mixture and stir in the water. Add sweet potatoes and chickpeas; stir to combine. Cover the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours until potatoes are very tender.

3. Ten Minutes Before Serving: Cook the green beans according to package directions. Gently stir into stew. Serve hot with a fresh loaf of bread, rice, or simply in a bowl by itself.

My Two Cents: Don’t be afraid of the preparation for this dish. I used to be turned off to blenders before I got into cooking, but they are such great gadgets. Because of the blender, the only chopping involved is the chopping of the sweet potatoes, and that only takes 10 minutes before you walk out the door for work. It’s incredibly easy to throw together, and it’s definitely worth it.

This is a vegetarian dish, but the end product almost fools you into believing that there’s meat in it because it’s so filling. The sweet potatoes literally fell apart at the end–which is why it looks like mush But that made it all the creamier. The chickpeas also ended up with a silky texture.

Chris loved this dish, too (which is a sure sign the recipe is good.) He kept taking heaping bowls of it throughout the week and every time he ate it said “it’s like eating butter.”

But do you see butter in that ingredient list?

Enjoy!

Friday Fave: Sweet Potatoes

Tags

food, friday fave, recipes, sweet potatoes

Did you know that 1 cup of sweet potatoes has 377% of your daily dose of Vitamin A in it?

Did you know that Vitamin A is necessary for your eyes to form light-absorbing molecules and helps you to see colors?

Did you know that 1 serving of sweet potatoes has 4 grams of fiber in it? (That means, if you eat two slices of Fiber One bread, you’re more than halfway there for your daily dose of 25g, which nearly no one ever gets.)

Did you know that sweet potatoes with nothing added to them have no fat?

Did you know that sweet potatoes taste good?

There are many many reasons to love sweet potatoes, and that’s why they’re this week’s Friday Fave.

I personally don’t think people think about their nutrition enough, and don’t plan out their meals so that they’re eating the right types of food to maintain a healthy weight and/or getting enough nutrients and vitamins. I can even blame myself for this. Sometimes I opt for the pasta dishes with little vegetables and a lot of cheese. Or sometimes instead of eating that banana that’s going bad on the counter, I’ll eat a handful of Cheez-its.

In fact, until I looked it up for this post, I had no idea that sweet potatoes had that much Vitamin A in them, or that Vitamin A was an essential nutrient for healthy vision. (I especially should take that into consideration because my eyesight is awful!) I also don’t take a multivitamin–so that means it’s all the more important I eat my fruits and vegetables.

Fruits and vegetables also help keep your digestion on track. Too much dairy or processed food can leave you bloated and irregular, but eating natural foods will help keep things flowing the way they should. And that will mean less trouble for you when you get older, when things naturally slow down anyway.

So there’s my little lecture for the day!

And now that we’ve gotten the healthy stuff out of the way, let’s talk about how you can dress up a sweet potato. I for one think they’re okay plain or with a little butter and a dash of cinnamon. Simply bake them, boil them, or microwave them and gobble ‘em up, skins and all. Or you can mash them mixed with sour cream and some Italian dressing. Or, like me, you can bake them, twice, with a nice mixture of cream cheese and cinnamon!

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes (Adapted from kraftrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

• 4 large sweet potatoes
• 1/2 of an 8 oz pkg light cream cheese
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• handful of chopped pecans (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Prick potatoes with a fork. Wrap them in damp paper towels and microwave for 10-12 minutes or until they are soft. Slice them in half lengthwise and scoop out the insides, leaving a 1/4 inch thick shell.

3. Mix together the sweet potato, cream cheese, cinnamon and pecans then scoop back into your shells. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the shells are nice and crunchy and the pecans are toasted.

Alternatives: You can also bake the potatoes until they are soft. I was low on time and decided to do the microwave option. Either one works well.

You don’t have to use cream cheese, or as much as I did. But I did love the taste of it in there!

Eat your vegetables! Enjoy!

Turkey-Spinach Meatloaf with Garlic Sweet Potato Fries

Tags

food, meatloaf, recipes, spinach, sweet potato fries, sweet potatoes

I don’t think enough people take comfort in the comfort of meatloaf. It’s often characterized as this slab of ground meat, flavorless, mystery juice running from it, rubbery, gross.

Meatloaf doesn’t have to be like the kind you found in your middle school cafeteria!  If you add the right ingredients and the right spices, it will truly be a treat.

I found this recipe for a turkey-spinach meatloaf in an edition of Cooking Light. I was drawn to it mainly because of the spinach. My mom used to make a variation of this recipe, except instead of mixing the spinach into the meat, she used to wrap the meat around a mixture of spinach and cheese. It was so good.

So I had to try this variation.

Turkey-Spinach Meatloaf

Ingredients: (Adapted from Cooking Light)

• 1/2 med. onion, chopped
• 1/2 c. bread crumbs
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 (10 oz) pkg frozen spinach, thawed + drained
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 lb ground turkey
• ketchup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Heat a skillet on medium-high. Cook onions for 4 minutes until browned, then add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from heat.

3. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl except ketchup. Mix well and shape into a loaf. Place on a baking sheet lined with cooking spray OR place in a loaf pan. I chose the baking sheet because I thought it would make for a prettier picture. Drizzle ketchup over the top.

4. Cook 40-45 minutes, until firm and the meat is no longer pink.

Garlic Sweet Potato Fries

But oh, the fun doesn’t stop there. I thought about doing some traditional mashed potatoes for the side dish to this meatloaf, but I had 3 sweet potatoes in the cabinet, and they made me crave some sweet potato fries.

There are dozens of sweet potato fries recipes out there, and you can basically do whatever you want with them once you know the basic recipe. Here’s what I did.

Ingredients: (Adapted from everywhere)

3 medium sweet potatoes, chopped in whatever fashion you want–strips, chunks, etc.
olive oil
salt
pepper
garlic powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Drizzle your cut up sweet potatoes with olive oil (1-2 tbsp should do it). Toss to coat.

3. Sprinkle with a bunch of pepper, a little bit of salt, and a lot of garlic powder. Bake for 30 minutes or until the edges start to get nice and brown and crispy. Be sure to check them at the 15 minute mark to toss them so that they don’t get too crispy on one side

Use whatever spices you want—add some cinnamon to make them sweet. Drizzle some honey to make them sweeter. I went with plain and simple, and loved them!

Oh. Oh…I almost forgot. That other brownish looking side dish you see in the background there? Those are mushrooms. Mushrooms coated in butter and whiskey and salt and pepper and onion flakes and other misc. spices Chris put in the pan. They were fabulous. Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a pan, add a bunch of sliced mushrooms, cook until brown, douse in whiskey, salt, and pepper. Divine.

Enjoy this non-cafeteria food dinner!

Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie

Tags

shepherd's pie, sweet potatoes

There are a dozen ways to make Shepherd’s Pie–the meat can either be beef, lamb, or ground turkey. The vegetables can be corn, green beans,  and/or peas. Regardless of your preference, it’s one of the best comfort foods around.

But here’s an interesting twist–instead of using regular potatoes, use sweet potatoes instead! I love sweet potatoes. When my mom cut out carbs from her diet, she replaced regular potatoes with sweet potatoes to have on the side of dishes that you usually have potatoes with. They’re sweet and tangy, and you don’t feel so bloated after you eat them. So I’m used to having them in my diet. Then the other week, my mom discovered a recipe for Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie in a Kraft Food magazine. She tried it and adapted it to her own traditional Sheperd’s Pie recipe–and loved it.

So naturally I tried it too–and also loved it!

So if you’re a fan of the traditional dish, but want to give it a new twist, try my mom’s spin on Kraft’s recipe.

Ingredients:

• 3 large sweet potatoes
• 1 to 1& 1/2 lbs ground turkey (or lean ground beef)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 can of cream style corn
• 1 pkg frozen peas
• 3 tbsp Italian dressing
• 2-3 tbsp sour cream
• dash of cinnamon and nutmeg

Directions:

1. Peel and chop the sweet potatoes into 2 inch cubes. Place in a pot and cover with water. Boil the sweet potatoes for about 10 minutes, or until they can be pierced easily with a fork.

2.  In the meantime, spray a large skillet with nonstick spray. Add about 2-3 tsp of Italian dressing to the pan. Stir in the mushrooms and onions and cook for about a minute. Then add the ground turkey, sprinkle it with some cinnamon and nutmeg, and cook until the meat is no longer pink.

3. Defrost about 3/4 of a bag of frozen peas (eyeball it for the casserole dish you’re using–it will be one layer in it. So pile them on if you love peas.)

4. Once the sweet potatoes are tender, mash them and add the remainder of the Italian dressing and sour cream. Mix well. Taste it to see if you have the right consistency and it’s the way you like it. (It may require more or less of these ingredients, depending on your preference!)

5. Now assemble the casserole. I used an 8×8 square glass baking dish. It was the perfect size. First layer: meat and onion mixture. Second layer: the entire can of cream style corn. Third layer: peas. Fourth layer: sweet potatoes.

6. Bake the casserole uncovered in a 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until everything is heated through.

Variations: If you check out Kraft’s original recipe of this, they said to use chive cream cheese instead of sour cream. They also had green beans as the main vegetable. Choose whichever sounds more appealing. You can also use lean ground beef if you aren’t a fan of turkey, or lamb, which is what the original recipe of Sheperd’s pie was made from…way back when. And when the casserole comes out of the oven, try sprinkling some shredded cheddar cheese on top–makes it extra gooey.

OR, if you want plain old traditional Sheperd’s Pie? Switch out the sweet potatoes for your favorite recipe of mashed potatoes. Yum yum.

Okay, clearly this isn’t the most glamorous picture of food, but now maybe you’ll understand why my family called Shepherd’s Pie “Gook” when we were kids. It looks like a plain old pile of… gook. But it sure does taste good.