Sweet Potato Casserole

I really love sweet potatoes. This is a trend I can get on board with! Sweet potato fries, sweet potato tator tots, mashed sweet potatoes...yep, all good. Don't get me wrong- I really like white potatoes and red potatoes too. But sweet potatoes have this nice reputation that make me feel like its better for me, hahaha, and it's a good change.

At Thanksgiving, my dad has always baked or microwaved a single yam and topped it in marshmallows, and usually he's the only one who eats it.
One year my husband and I tried to put something together in place of said yam, and it was so sickly sweet no one ate any of it. sad...

This autumn, on Pinterest, I found THIS. And I thought it sounded really, really yummy. I really wanted to make it...but what if it was yucky?? I didn't want to make the whole 8x11 pan for just my family...so I thought I'd try it out as a side dish for Thanksgiving. Then scoops of it could get thrown away bit by bit instead of "wasting" the whole pan, hahaha!

So, we gave it a shot!

 It smelled soooo dreamy good!!

And it was a huge hit! I could not get enough of it, and I think all the people who had some enjoyed it. YEAY! and phew...

And since we liked it so much, we made it for our Christmas Eve dinner, and then again in January, just for dinner!
I really think it might be my very favorite food right now. My kids aren't huge fans tho, so unless we have company we have to halve the recipe.


Author: Kimberly Sneed
Ingredients

• 3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup butter, melted
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ⅓ cup flour
• ⅓ cup butter, melted
• ½ cup chopped pecans

Instructions

In a medium bowl, combine the first six ingredients.

1. Transfer the mixture to a buttered 1½ or 2 qt casserole dish.
2. Mix remaining ingredients listed in a small bowl.
3. Sprinkle mixture on top of potato mixture.
4. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes

Quinoa Enchiladas

I found THIS recipe on Pinterest and have wanted to try it for quite a long time. I finally did!

First, I had to find out how to make quinoa, lol! it really is just about the same as making rice, but THIS is the recipe/instructions I used. Also, you have to rinse quinoa, apparently...until the rinsing water comes clear. My rinse water was clear from the beginning and it stayed that way, sooo maybe my package was safer?? haha...

So on that note, I found these two links very interesting and informative. HERE and HERE.

I adjusted this recipe...
And this is what my family ate:

olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
14 oz can chicken
15 oz can black beans
4 oz can green chiles
3/4 tbsp chili powder
2 cups enchilada sauce
1/3 cup pepperjack cheese
2 handfuls cheddar

I decreased the chili powder and I switched the amounts of pepperjack vs cheddar because I always have at least one child complain that flavorful food is "too hot", haha.

I started by cooking the quinoa like rice. I rinsed for a long time, haha, then I put them into a dry pot to roast-ish. That makes rice really tasty, so I figured it would work the same. Then I just added twice the amount of water, and let it cook 10 mins. Then I let it sit for 15 before "fluffing with a fork".

I chopped up the onion and put just enough olive oil to just cover the skillet, and then cooked it for 6 or 7 minutes. I added the chicken, the black beans, chiles and chili powder, and heated them all thru. I alternated dumping that mixture and the cooked quinoa into a big mixing bowl. I added the pepperjack cheese to the mixture, then the two cups of enchilada sauce.
I put all of that into a greased 9x13 baking dish, and topped it all with cheddar. I baked it for 15 minutes, and broiled it for about 2.
Then we served it!

I really liked it. I had two servings, which is not super common for me. My husband liked it, tho he did say it reminded him of the texture of tamales. Both kids preferred to eat it like a dip, with tortilla chips, and I think they both added sour cream.

However, if I make it again, I'll half the recipe. The leftovers stuck around for what felt like forever, and we all had some as left overs. So apparently that makes too much food for my family of four.

Sweet Potato Avacado Soup

Today's recipe comes from a facebook page called 10 Pound Challenge with Melanie Douglass. I have followed this page for a few January's now, but I have never actually, officially joined. I just really enjoy the tips and food and workout suggestions. This was actually shared a year ago, but I finally tried it this weekend. 

This is what I did: 

1 sweet potato, as long as my hand and half as wide

1/2 avocado

1 tbsp lime juice

Freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup milk

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

I peeled and baked the sweet potato on a foil covered baking sheet, at 425* for close to 2 hours. I pulled it off the foil, lol, and put all the ingredients in my blendtec. I pureed it on the "whole juice" setting. I did scrape it down once and pulsed a few times to really blend it. Then I microwaved it for 2 minutes to get it hot! haha!

It says it makes 2 servings, and I ate probably 2/3 of it.

Full disclosure: I grew tired of it after a while, and I finally added a small pinch of shaved Parmesan to it. I wouldn't want this regularly, but every so often, it would be just fine. Pretty sure this will be lunch tomorrow!

I made two dinners that night: My daughter could live off spaghetti if we let her, and since it's quick and easy, we make it a lot....and I am tired of it!!! But I know the rest of my family really enjoys it, and, I knew they would not enjoy this so much. So I made spaghetti for them and this soup for me. I had them all try it and they all three pulled quite a face, haha, so no, this won't be a common meal around here. Still- a good one for my lunches!
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And here's the information with the original recipe.

1 large sweet potato (baked to soft flesh)
1 ripe avocado
Peel and put flesh in a blender with 1 cup of water. Puree.
Add juice from 1/2 a lime and a bunch of fresh ground black pepper. Puree a few more seconds. If you want it thinner, add a bit of milk or water.
Stir in some Crushed Red Pepper flakes and serve! Cold or hot. It's a thick creamy soup. Yummy! (er, on the scale of a "cleanse" recipe that has no sodium or junk and tons of fiber to promote weight loss wink emoticon. You can play around with other seasonings, like chipotle, cayenne or nutmeg, etc. But red pepper flakes did it for me!

Makes 2 servings and packs some powerful nutrition:
240 calories (per serving)
50% heart-healthy monounsaturated fat
10 grams fiber
4 grams protein (not as high as I like, but it's a complete protein)
350% Vitamin A (want healthy glowing skin?)
50% Vitamin C
30% Potassium, Vit K, Folate, Manganese

Apple Nachos!

Originally I saw this recipe all over Pinterest and I pinned the idea HERE.
I started making it just after school started last August, as a welcome-home-after-school-snack....and then we sort of forgot about it. Today my daughter asked if we still knew how to make that, haha, so I thought I'd blog it.

1 apple, thinly sliced
1 tbsp creamy peanut butter
small handful shredded coconut
smaller handful semi-sweet chocolate chips.

I only used green apples until today- this time I used a Gala apple. I slice it into a lot of thin slices and arrange them flat on a plate. I microwave a tablespoon or so of peanut butter til it's more runny (about 15-25 seconds). Drizzle that over the apple slices. Sprinkle shredded coconut and a few chocolate chips on top.
Depending on the size of your apple, it can serve a quick snack for 1-2 kids.

Autumn Oatmeal

While grocery shopping recently I saw a box of instant oatmeal with 'applesauce & cranberry' as it's listed flavor. At first glance I thought that sounded good then I instantly realized I could make it myself. That's almost always healthier anyway, right?

These were the ingredients I pulled from my cupboard...

These are the measurements I put in my bowl....
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tbsp craisins
1/2 tbsp pecans cookie bits (which means almost pulverized)
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup milk

I stirred it together and microwaved it all for 2 minutes.
And here was my breakfast!

It was very quick and easy. And it was tasty just as it was! I think you could add more water or milk, but I like my oatmeal "dry". Just note that it does get drier as it sits there...haha. You could add some cinnamon or nutmeg, but really, the applesauce and craisins add enough sweetness for me, and that's saying something.

The Moist Perfect Cinnamon Rolls I Have Ever Made

This is a recipe that I took ideas and methods from a recipe that I found on Mel's Kitchen Cafe. Here's a link to original. Perfect Cinnamon Rolls. Mostly I adapted it to make a smaller batch and so that I could do it in a bread maker on the dough setting. Much of the recipe is my bagel recipe with some idea's taken from the Mel. The frosting is copied exactly from Mel minus the maple flavoring. I also added nutmeg and clove to the cinnamon filling because I really like them. One warning, you will use 3 sticks of butter in these, so definitely not an treat to make everyday. However the cinnamon rolls freeze wonderfully and can be saved for enjoyment later. A short 45 seconds in the microwave and it's like they just came out of the oven.

Yeast Proof:
1 cup warm water
1 1/2 tbsp yeast-Active Dry
2 tbsp sugar

Into the bread maker
6 cups bread flour (720 grams)
1 cup scalded milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter (melted in the scalded milk)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk powder
1/4 cup potato flakes
3 tsp salt
1 tbsp dough enhancer
1 egg

Filling
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground clove
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
Dash of ground ginger

Frosting
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
Pinch of salt (not needed if using sweet cream or salted butter)
2 pounds powdered sugar
3 tbsp of milk (NOT SKIM!!!!!! 1% or higher only) or cream.

Bake on 350 for 18 to 22 minutes.