Sweet Potato Fries - Baked and Crispy!

I can not tell you in words how fantastic these fries are, really, you just have to make them. 

I'm not sure what is the best part, they are healthy and good for you, or that they are super easy and fast to make? 

Either way, make lots of them and invite a few friends over, they are sure to be impressed!

                   Sweet Potato Fries - Baked and Crispy!

Ingredients: (Printable Version Here)

1 large sweet potato should be enough for 2 people
2 tbsp rice flour (you could also use cornstarch)
2 tbsp of olive or coconut oil 
* Salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne, Cajun spice blend, dried basil


*Here, you can add your favorite blend of herbs and spices such as garlic, cinnamon, curry, pumpkin pie spice, garlic – sweet, savory and/or spicy!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425F degrees. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil or a silicone baking mat. More than one large sliced potato is usually too crowded on 1 sheet, but it depends on their size. You may need an additional sheet. Set aside.

Wash and peel (I leave some of the skin on) the potatoes. Cut off the ends. Cut the potatoes into thin slices about 1/4 inch wide. The important thing is that they are roughly the same size.

Place in a large bowl and toss with rice flour. You want a nice thin coating. Shake off any extra flour. Place potatoes back into the bowl and add the olive oil and seasonings of choice. Toss/stir to coat evenly.

Spread the sweet potatoes on the baking sheet in a single layer making sure the slices are not touching each other. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from the oven and stir em up with a spatula. Place back into the oven for 10-15 more minutes. Rotate the pan to avoid uneven browning, it’s good if the edges are a little brown and caramelized, just not burnt.

For extra crispier fries: Turn the oven off and keep the fries inside as the oven cools down for about 10 minutes. Enjoy while still hot.

These fries are fantastic alone, but they also taste great with an aioli dipping sauce, ranch dressing or a try them with a simple plain yogurt with dill mixture!

Hash Brown Egg Nests with Smoked Salmon

Hash Brown Egg Nests with Smoked Salmon

My sweet husband came home from Whole Foods the other day with a special treat, smoked salmon!

Not just smoked salmon, but tequila lime marinated smoked salmon. Yeah. Amazing.

Hard as it was to not devour the whole thing straight from the package, I managed to save a little for breakfast the next morning. 

Inspired by one of my favorite bloggers The Pioneer Woman, (her recipe for Eggs in Hash Brown Nests here), the following is my rendition.

Hash Brown Egg Nests with Smoked Salmon

Ingredients:
Frozen hash browns (3 tablespoons per egg)
Cooking spray
Large eggs (how ever many you want to make)
Shredded smoked cheese (1 tablespoon per egg)
Fresh green onions or chives
Salt and pepper
Smoked salmon (or any topping that you like)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Cook the hash browns in a skillet on the stove-top according to package directions. I like to get them lightly browned but not too crispy. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.

Spray a muffin pan lightly with cooking spray. Scoop 2 to 3 tablespoons of the cooked hash browns into each muffin cup. Use your fingers to gently press the cooked hash browns into the bottom and  sides of the muffin cup to make a nest.

Sprinkle a pinch of shredded cheese in each cup. Next, crack an egg into each nest. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with chopped fresh green onions or chives and top with shredded cheese.

Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes. They are done when the whites are set and the potato nests are golden brown.  

Lightly scrape around the muffin with a butter knife to loosen the nests, they should fall out easily.  Serve with your choice of meat (sausage, bacon, smoked fish etc.) piled on top.

Sweet Potato & Spicy Black Bean Tacos

I had a craving for sweet potatoes and black beans, but the husband was thinking tacos, (not unusual). So, like a healthy couple should, we compromised. The result was Sweet Potato & Black Bean Tacos, and they were awesome!

The natural sweet flavor of the potatoes and the added spices perfectly complimented the black beans. I strongly recommend that you DON'T skip the chipotle sour cream sauce with these tacos, it just works perfectly.

Inspired by one of our favorite recipes, Sweet Potato Hash, we made some slight alterations. Instead of par boiling the potatoes, we simply roasted everything for about 35 minutes.

I am intentionally not providing measurements or exact ingredients, I think this one is all about personal preference, but I will advise you to make extra, the leftover hash was delicious the next morning with eggs!

Sweet Potato & Spicy Black Bean Tacos (print this recipe)

Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes -diced (1 medium is enough for 2-3 servings)
Green bell pepper - chopped
Onion, yellow - chopped
Garlic - finely chopped
Jalapeno pepper - seeded, finely diced
Cumin
Cinnamon
Allspice
Salt & pepper
Parsley or cilantro

Spicy Black Beans
Black beans
Onion, white or yellow - diced
Cilantro
Lime juice
Cayenne pepper
Cumin
Corriander
Salt & pepper


Chipotle Sour Cream Sauce
Sour cream (about 4 oz)
Chipolte juice from the can (about 1/2 teaspoon)
Cilantro
Lime juice
Salt

Fresh corn tortillas

While you are roasting the potatoes, in a medium bowl, mix together the ingredients for the spicy black beans. In a separate small bowl, combine the chipotle sour cream sauce. Be careful with the chipotle juice, a little goes a long way! Warm your tortillas, and pile it all on to your liking.

Sweet Potato Hash... The Other Yams?

With so much going on these days, we are happy we only need to bring ONE dish to the family Thanksgiving meal. This year we are going out on a limb and trying something different. Instead of the standard mashed yams smothered in gooey, melty marshmallows, (although that does sound really good!) we are going to try a savory but still sweet, Sweet Potato Hash.

We accidentally created this dish a couple months ago and we both fell in love with its sweet and savory flavors with just a tiny bit of heat from the jalapenos. It is certainly a dish to enjoy all year round.

Let's just hope Aunt Marilyn will forgive us.....she loves those sweet marshmallows!

Sweet Potato Hash

Printable Recipe

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

3 large sweet potatoes, diced into small cubes

3 tbsp. olive oil

2 1/2 cups sweet onion, coarsely chopped

2 green peppers, coarsely chopped

2 jalapeño peppers, finely diced (remove seeds for less heat)

4 cloves of roasted garlic, finely chopped

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. fresh ground pepper

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground allspice

2 tbsp. fresh basil, chopped

2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

Bring large pot of water to a boil and add diced sweet potato. Boil for 5-8 minutes, until potato cubes are cooked through. Drain the water and set the sweet potato cubes aside to dry while you cook the pepper and onions.

In a large cast iron skillet, heat 1 tbsp. of oil and add the onion, garlic, green peppers and jalapeno. Stir often and sauté until the onion becomes translucent, about 5 minutes.

Drizzle another tbsp. of oil to the skillet then add the cubed sweet potatoes, salt, pepper, cinnamon, allspice and fresh herbs, combine well.  Keeping the skillet at medium heat, arrange the hash in a single layer and continue cooking until potatoes, onions and peppers have slightly browned.

Wishing you and yours a very fulfilling and grateful holiday season!

Favorite Soups and Stews to Warm You Up!

As you can see from my lack of posts lately, I have been in a blogging funk.

It's certainly not because we have not been cooking some great stuff, we have made some fabulous meals lately,  I just haven't felt like writing.

Since we write this blog as a team, my partner in crime is stepping up and giving me that extra "shove" that I need. By that, I mean Mark has come up with a 'blog menu' of dishes that he will prepare with the specific intention of posting. The list includes some exciting and exotic dishes featuring some unusual spices and ingredients, I am sure you will be intrigued too!


In the meantime, here are a few of our most popular soups and stews to help inspire and keep you warm during these cool and rainy days.

Butternut Squash & Red Pepper Soup

White Bean Chicken Chili

 Mushroom Barley Soup

Egyptian Split Pea Soup

Albondigas

Check back soon, new and exciting dishes are on the way! I'm getting inspired just thinking about it!

Savory Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Yup. Another sweet potato recipe. We just can't get enough.

It really is all about simplicity. There is nothing fancy or complicated about the recipe. Just look at the list of ingredients, nothing but goodness.... you can't go wrong.

We served this as a side dish with some fabulous rib eye steaks and grilled corn on the cob, it was one of the best meals we have EVER made.

Savory Mashed Sweet Potatoes
print version

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

2 medium sweet potatoes, roasted

2-3 cloves soft roasted garlic

1 green onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp. softened butter

1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary stalks (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven at 425. Cut potatoes cut into quarters (or at least equal sizes) and place on a roasting pan covered with foil. Optional: we like to roast a whole bulb of garlic wrapped in foil, though you will only need about 3-4 cloves for this recipe. Roast for about 40 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Another option: include 2-3 whole sprigs of rosemary in the roasting pan, it infuses a subtle rosemary flavor to the potatoes.

Place potatoes in a medium sized bowl, add the garlic and butter and mash by hand, until well combined and slightly lumpy. Mix in green onions and parsley and serve warm.

Roasted Garlic

Smashed Potato Leek Soup

I have been craving potatoes all the time lately. Sweet potatoes, red, yellow, russet, fries, mashed, blended, you name it, I want it. 

Honestly, I don't think I have ever eaten Potato Leek Soup before, but for some reason I wanted "us" to make it. I'm glad I did, because it turns out I love it! 

We combined several different recipes and made up some other parts. We like our soup a little chunky and not pureed like most recipes called for. With a little extra cooking time on the stove, and a little "smashing", it turned out perfect.

Smashed Potato Leek Soup Recipe (Printable recipe)

Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

1 yellow or sweet onion

4 garlic cloves minced

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 large leek

2 bay leaves

1 tsp crushed thyme

1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced

8 medium-sized potatoes

1 cup white wine

4 cups of Vegetable broth, or just enough to cover the potatoes

1 tsp salt

8 oz half and half

¼ cup fresh chopped parsley

Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions:

Wash and peel the potatoes, and set aside.

Roughly chop the onion, then dice by hand or quickly chop in a food processor. Add onions and garlic to Dutch oven or large soup pot with the olive oil over medium heat. Stir frequently

Meanwhile, wash the leeks and chop them up in 1/4 inch slices, using the white and light green parts. Finely mince the rosemary and thyme.

When the onions have become translucent, add the leeks, bay leaves, thyme, and rosemary, cook for about 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.

Dice the potatoes and add them to the pot when the leeks are soft. Add the white wine and then the broth until the liquid level just covers the potatoes. Add a teaspoon of salt and then bring it all to a boil.

Turn down the heat until the soup is at a steady simmer, cover it and let it cook for about an hour and a half. 

Once the potatoes are falling apart and the base looks creamy, slowly add the half and half, and mash the potatoes against the side of the pot till you have a nice creamy consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste and increase heat for the last 15 minutes. 

Garnish with chopped fresh rosemary and/or parsley and serve with some good crusty bread. Enjoy!

Spiced Sweet Potatoes on the Grill

We have been experimenting a lot with sweet potatoes lately, mostly trying to perfect baked sweet potato fries. We have gotten pretty good at them, learning that a higher heated oven and thinner cut potato gives us the best results.

This was the first time we grilled them.

It turns out you pretty much have to boil them on the stove for a few minutes before you grill them. Even though they taste really good just plain, the flavor of the grill adds a whole different layer, and this hot and sweet spice mixture will leave you wanting more.

These sweet potatoes turned out fantastic! We served them with steak and some skewered mushrooms, onions and bell peppers. We will definitely be including more sweet potatoes on the grill this Summer!

Spiced Sweet Potatoes on the Grill

Serves 2-3 - Printable recipe here

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes (about 1.5 pounds)
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp fresh chopped rosemary

1 tsp fresh thyme

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

Cover potatoes with cold salted water in a large pot, and then bring to a boil. Simmer until slightly resistant when pierced with a sharp small knife, about 10 minutes. Drain and let cool, slice potatoes lengthwise.

In a small bowl mix together salt, herbs and spices, then add honey, apple cider vinegar and oil, stir well. Brush this mixture on both sides of the sliced sweet potatoes.

Grill potatoes on a lightly oiled grill rack over medium heat, until they have nice grill marks and potatoes are cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Serve potatoes warm with other veggies, steak, pork, chicken….. or just eat them plain, they have a wonderful natural sweet flavor and nice texture. And it’s true, everything tastes better when it's grilled!

Tostitos Seasoning Mixes

We were thrilled to receive a package of new Dip Creations from Lays/Tostitos the other day. It’s always fun to try new products and get creative trying to come up with new recipes. After a few trials and errors, we discovered a few new favorite combinations.

Our package contained 2 packets each of the Garden Onion, Country Ranch and Freshly Made Guacamole season mixes. Dip Creations seasoning mixes are made from all-natural ingredients, like real onions, garlic and a combination of other herbs and spices.

 The first thing we did was to make each dip as directed on the package. The Country Ranch mixed with sour cream has really nice flavor and tasted great served with raw carrots and celery. Of course I had to play around a little and added some fresh chopped parsley and chives, which worked very well.

We also really liked the Guacamole seasoning mix. The package directions say to mash ripe avocados and add the mix. We were skeptical, but it was really good just the way it was, a nice texture and great flavor. We had all kinds of back up ingredients in case it needed to be doctored up, but all we added was a little chopped cilantro and about half of a seeded serrano pepper.

We only used half of the guacamole seasoning mix, and since we liked it so much, we decided to add the other half to our chicken marinade. Wow, this may be our new favorite chicken recipe. All we did was mix half of the seasoning mix with about 6 ounces of plain yogurt, the juice of half a lime and a handful of chopped cilantro, mixed it up and poured it over 2 boneless chicken breast and marinated in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.

The Garden Onion package has been more of a challenge for us. We tried sprinkling the dry mix on potatoes before roasting them but the seasoning was a little overwhelming.What we did like was mixing it with sour cream and adding it to our potato salad, it was awesome! Maybe one of the best potato salads I have ever made.

Potato Salad with Lay's Garden Onion seasoning mix

8-10 servings
Printable Version


Ingredients:

10-12 red potatoes

6 eggs, hard boiled

1 1/2 cups sour cream

½ cup mayonnaise

½ package Lays Garden Onion Seasoning

3 tbsp Djon mustard

1/8 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp celery salt

¼ cup black olives, sliced

¼ cup green onions (and/or red onions)

½ cup celery chopped

¼ cup parsley chopped

1/8 cup chives to garnish

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Place the eggs into a saucepan in a single layer and fill with water to cover the eggs by 1 inch. Cover the saucepan and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Remove from the heat and let the eggs stand in the hot water for 15 minutes. Pour out the hot water; cool the eggs under cold running water in the sink. Peel and chop the cooled eggs.

Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and refrigerate until cold. Once cooled, chop potatoes into bite sized cubes.

In a large mixing bowl stir together the sour cream, mayonnaise, Garden Onion Seasoning, mustard, salt, pepper, paprika, and celery salt. Add the eggs, potatoes, celery, onions and olives; mix until everything is evenly coated. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

Albondigas Soup

Comfort food for any culture!

One of most favorite soups in the world is Albondigas Soup. In case you don’t know what that is, it is a traditional Mexican soup with a broth base, seasonal vegetables and spicy meatballs. In any culture, it is the perfect comfort food after a long, cold day.

I wish I had a wise Mexican grandmother to teach me how to make the traditional authentic Albondigas, (or sopa de albondigas) but I don’t. So, with the help of 6 cookbooks and the internet, I think I came up with a sufficient version. Of course I will undoubtedly tweak this recipe, add a little of this or maybe some of that, until it is perfect. In the meantime, here is how I made my first Albondigas soup.

For the Meatballs:

1 ½ pounds ground beef

½ cup finely diced onion

¼  cup finely diced celery

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 eggs

½ cup uncooked rice

2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs

1 tbsp fresh parsley finely chopped

1 tsp dried oregano

salt, ground black pepper

For the Soup:

8 cups chicken stock (I use low sodium)

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 potatoes cut into bite sized pieces

½ cup thinly sliced carrots

½ cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped fresh Roma tomatoes

5-6 whole cloves of garlic

1 tsp red chili flakes

1 bunch cilantro

1 lime
Fresh corn tortillas

How to prepare

---

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine beef, onion, ¼ cup celery, garlic, cumin, eggs, rice, parsley, oregano, and bread crumbs, and salt and pepper. Mix well. Form into 30 small meatballs. Place on baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Set aside.

Place the cut potatoes in a pot of boiling water and cook until just tender, but not too soft. Drain and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large stock pot. Add carrots, remaining ½ cup celery, and garlic.

Sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, chili flakes, and the potatoes.

Add the chicken stock and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add meatballs and continue to simmer on low heat until ready to serve.

Serve hot and garnish with cilantro and lime and corn tortillas.

Potato Salad with Green and White Beans

Here is a perfect example of why I do not cook, but my boyfriend, er um, my husband does. I even screwed up the potato salad.

I found the recipe through my Google Reader on the Serious Eats website called Healthy and Delicious Potato Salad with Green and White Beans. I know my cooking abilities are limited, but this one sounded easy enough that even I could make it.

I did pretty good until I took the potatoes off the stove after 10 minutes, but then I forgot about them, and after about 30 minutes they were near mush. To make it worse, I totally undercooked the green beans. Not my best attempt at cooking!

In the end, the potatoes were too soft, the beans too hard, but the flavor was actually really good. We still ate it all up. I might add a bit more fresh herbs, but next time I will ask Mark to make it!

Potato Salad with Green and White Beans

- makes at least 6 -
Adapted from Moosewood's Simple Suppers.

Ingredients

5 red potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 pound green beans
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/3 teaspoon table salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1/3 cup very thinly sliced red onions
1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed and drained

Procedure

1. Fill a large pot with water. Salt it and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, cut the potatoes in half lengthwise. Then, cut each half into 1/2-inch slices (half moons). When water is boiling, add potatoes. Cook about 10 minutes, until they're barely tender.
2. While potatoes are boiling, chop stem ends from green beans and cut each bean in half. Then, in a large serving bowl, combine oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste. Whisk together. Add basil and onions. Stir again.
3. After potatoes are cooked, remove them from boiling water using a slotted spoon or spider. Dump in bowl with vinaigrette. Add green beans to the hot water and cook about 4 or 5 minutes, until they're crisp-tender.
4. Drain green beans and add to bowl on top of potatoes. Pour in white beans. Mix everything thoroughly, but gently. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm (great), cold (pretty good), or at room temperature (very good). If there are leftovers, store 'em in the fridge and give 'em a good stir before re-serving.

Roasted Potatoes with Herbs

Here's a simple and inexpensive recipe for a delicious potato dish that compliments many main courses.

4-5 small potatoes
1/2 yellow onion sliced into half rings
Fresh or dried rosemary
1/2 tbsp. dried thyme
1/2 tbsp. oregano
2 tbsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Chop new or red potatoes into bite sized pieces and put into a medium casserole dish. Add onion slices and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with rosemary, oregano, thyme, salt and black pepper. Mix all until potatoes are evenly coated. Roast in oven for about 40 minutes, stirring after about 25 minutes, until potatoes are soft and slighted browned.

Warm Potato and Green Bean Salad

We were trying to come up with something different to serve with salmon, and came up with this surprisingly tasty salad. 

Preheat oven to 375

Quarter, or half about 5-6 small red potatoes, depending on their size, and place them in a 6 x 9 casserole dish.

Slice half of an onion into thin half rings.

Chop 3-4 cloves of garlic.

If desired, throw in some sprigs of fresh rosemary.

Combine all in casserole dish, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and mix well.

Bake for 25 minutes, then check and stir. Once potatoes are almost done, remove from oven add a hand full of green beans and a handful of grape tomatoes. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and salt and pepper if needed. I also like to add a dash or two of Worcestershire sauce and lightly toss. Put back in the oven for another 12 to 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft.

Note: I thought the beans could be replaced with asparagus and would be just as good or better!

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Thyme

 Our contribution to the Thanksgiving feast

After much contemplation, the dish ended up being a combination of multiple recipes, and it turned out fabulous! It's not too sweet, the spices are subtle yet noticeable, and there is not AS MUCH butter as we used to cook with.

To feed 12 people

10 medium sweet potatoes

10 cloves garlic

1 cup softened butter

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup brown sugar

4 tbsp fresh thyme or 4 tsp of dried thyme

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp red chili flakes

1 tbls kosher salt

First, you gotta peel all those potatoes. Slice into 1/2 inch pieces and place in a large bowl. Mix in oil, thyme, chili flakes and salt. Arrange in a single layer on a coated cookie sheet, bake in oven at 400 degrees for at least 40 minutes or until lightly brown.

Transfer the cooked potatoes to a large bowl. Add about half of the butter and with a good potato masher, mash away! Mix in the brown sugar and cinnamon and if it looks a little dry, add a little more butter. When mixture is at desired consistency, transfer to a large glass casserole dish and cover.

This can be made early and refrigerated until ready to eat. Just heat casserole dish in oven at 350 for 15 minutes, or reheat in microwave at appropriate settings.  Garnish with fresh thyme.