Sweet Potato Chili

I bought a bag of sweet potatoes from a farmer at a gas station in Florence, SC. When I saw the about 10 medium sized sweet potatoes staring at me in the brown paper bag, I felt like I got a steal for $2! Sweet potato chili, sweet potato pot pie, and sweet potato fries are some of the uses thus far.

Slow Cooked Sweet Potato Chili (canyoustayfordinner)
Ingredients:
28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
14 ounce can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1” pieces
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
15 ounce can kidney beans
15 ounce can black beans
1 lb ground beef sirloin (optional)
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in the base of your slow cooker and stir to mix well. Cook on low for 10 hours.

Chicken Pot Pie with Sweet Potato Biscuits

We are here in 80 degree weather where the college students in this town walk around in shorts and a t shirt. I was beautiful weather this week!

Chicken Bones Soup
This is how you can make chicken broth or chicken soup out of leftover chicken (bones, back, wings, etc).
Ingredients
raw chicken carcass
water- enough to cover body
1/4c salt
Add ins: carrots, potatoes, celery, corn, peas, pasta, rice, quinoa

Directions
1. Cook chicken body in water and salt. Boil up to 3 hours. Strain and remove bones and fat. Add broth and chicken back to pot.
2. Add in vegetables, etc and cook till tender.

Chicken Pot Pie with Sweet Potato Biscuits
I made chicken pot pie with leftovers of a soup I made while still in Charlotte (and therefore had a stove). I saved all the vegetables and made these sweet potato biscuits to put on top. It was great!

Sweet Potato Biscuits
2 sweet potatoes, cooked
1 ½ c flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
6 Tbsp butter
½ c milk
(another recipe used less butter and an egg)

Directions
Combine dry ingredients. Chop in butter. Stir in milk, don’t over mix. Bake biscuits at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Note: When I added it to the pot pie, I first cooked/warmed the pot pie. Then I topped it with dollops of the biscuit dough and returned to the oven until cooked and golden brown. This allows the pot pie to be done without over cooking the biscuits.

Family

Some of my family came up this weekend- Mom and Dad, Laura and Tamara. :-) Our first visitors! We had fun exploring the city. Last night, we went out to a neighborhood of Charlotte called NoDa (stands for the main street NOrth DAvidson). They had an Art Walk. It was fun and adventurous- by the time we got there, after 8pm, it was dark. We walked along this artsy area of the city lit by buildings and streetlights and stepped in the businesses and strolled along the sidewalks. Oh, and I made dinner! Reuben Rolls as appetizers (=awesome, will for sure make these again!), Vegetable Salmon Chowder, Popovers, and Pumpkin Whoopie Pies. I think I cooked an amazing meal!

Reuben Rolls (from spabettie)

Makes 12-14 rolls
1 can chickpeas, drained
1/2 cup thousand island dressing (recipe follows)
1/2 sweet onion, caramelized
12 thin slices cheese – cheddar or swiss
2 large dill pickles, chopped
12-14 egg roll wrappers
oil for frying

Mash chickpeas, combine with thousand island dressing, set aside to ‘marinate’. Caramelize the onion.
To assemble rolls: arrange a wrap in a diamond shape, place 2 tablespoons thousand island chickpeas in bottom corner. Top with one slice cheese, one tablespoon caramelized onion, one tablespoon chopped pickles.
Heat 1-2 tablespoons oil in pan over medium heat, add 3-4 rolls at a time, turning frequently so they get an even light brown crunchiness all around. Remove to a drying rack or paper towel. Serve warm with thousand island dressing.

Thousand Island Dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup ketchup
1/4 cup dill pickle juice
1 dill pickle, finely chopped
1/3 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon sugar

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Keeps covered in fridge for 2+ weeks.

Vegetable Salmon Chowder (adapted from eatingwell and a slow cooker mag)

Ingredients
olive oil
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1cup chopped carrot
1 cup chopped celery
2 1/2 cups frozen cauliflower florets, thawed and coarsely chopped
4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups water or milk
2-3 6-ounce boneless skinned salmon, preferably wild-caught
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives or scallions, or 1 1/2 tablespoons dried chives
1 1/3 cups instant mashed potato flakes, or 2 cups leftover mashed potatoes
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation
1. Heat oil in a large pot or saucepan. Saute onion, garlic, carrot, celery, and cauliflower, until the vegetables just begin to brown. I cooked it in 2-3 batches (since I love veggies and added so many, it was better to not brown it all at once).
2. Add broth, water or milk, salmon, chives, potato flakes (or leftover mashed potatoes), and dill and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook, maintaining a gentle simmer, until the until potato flakes are cooked. Season with salt and pepper (or try to omit for a more sodium friendly version).

Popovers (bakewithamy)

1 cup flour
1 cup milk, at room temperature
1/2 tsp salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 Tbs unsalted butter, melted

Instructions
1. Butter or spray nine 3/4-cup glass custard cups or 10 1/2-cup muffin cups. If you’re using custard cups, place them on a jelly-roll pan, leaving space between each cup. If you’re using muffin pans, you’ll need to use two 12-hole muffin tins because, to give the popovers ample air circulation, you won’t be filling all of the holes.
2. Pour all the ingredients into the container of a blender and whirl until smooth. (this can also be done in a food processor or in a bowl, using a rotary or hand held beater) Strain the batter if it is at all lumpy.
3. Baking the Popovers For the custard cups, pour 1/3 cup batter into each cup, dividing any extra batter among the cups. For the muffin cups, use 1/4 cup of batter for each cup, filling alternate cups in each tin so that every popover has puffing space. Bake, without opening the oven door, at 425 for 25 minutes, until the popovers are puffed, nicely browned and crisp on the exterior. Turn the temperature down to 350 and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes to help dry out the interior, which, no matter what you do, will always be a little doughy in the center. However, my correction would be to turn down the temp and decrease the time! Mine came out slightly burnt so I would suggest 425 for 15 min then 350 for 20 minutes. Serve immediately.
Note on storing: Popovers are at their puffiest right out of the oven. You can hold them at room temperature for a few minutes, or wrap them airtight, freeze them for up to a month, and reheat them in a 350 oven for 10 to 15 minutes, and they’ll taste good–but never as good as just baked.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling (adapted from Martha Stewart)

Makes 12-14
3 cups Flour
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar*
1 cup oil
3 cups pumpkin
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
*I used ½ the sugar the recipe called for, and I also used a combination of ½ cup br sugar and ¼ cup agave syrup.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Shift together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, beat together brown sugar, oil and pumpkin. Add eggs one at time, mixing well after each addition, followed by the vanilla. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.
3. Using a pastry bag with a round tip, or a big zip top plastic bag with one corner snipped, squeeze out concentric circles of batter, starting from the middle and working outward until the circles are about 2 inches in diameter. Bake for 11 minutes and cool on a rack.

Cream Cheese Filling
1 – 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened
4 oz unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
a pinch of cinnamon (optional)
3 Tbsp maple syrup or agave (optional)

Beat together cream cheese and butter. Stir powdered sugar, vanilla. Add cinnamon or maple syrup if desired. Frost flat side of half the pies and top with another piece. Enjoy right away or chill overnight.

Around the World: Portugal

We were in Whole Foods and were admiring the vast array of dried beans one day, when I saw Fava beans. I knew I had found a recipe I wanted them for but couldn’t exactly remember why but I bought them anyways. I found the recipe and remembered it was for my Around the World Series- Portuguese Favas. Therefore, we are eating foods selected from Portugal tonight. And might I add that the dessert was one of our favorites. Patrick, not really being a dessert person, put this up there as his #2 on the favorite dessert list, with his most favorite of all time being my Peach (and Blueberry) Galette. He said “I never thought a pastry would be one of my favorite desserts” but this simple custardy dessert is indeed. And this potato/kale soup was very good as well, a nice compliment to the spicy fava/onion dish.

Caldo Verde (Portuguese Green Soup) 

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
1 quart cold water
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
ground black pepper to taste
1/2 pound kale or collard greens

Directions:

1. Rinse the kale/collard greens and dry with paper towels. Cut and discard the stems. Roll up the leaves and cut into thin slivers, julienning the leaves. Set aside.
2. I a large pot, cook olive oil, garlic, and onion for 3 minutes. Add sliced potatoes, cook until browned about 3 more minutes. This browning gives the soup a good flavor!
3. Add 1-2 cups of water and boil for about 20 minutes until potatoes are soft. Mash or puree the potatoes with some small chunks still in the soup.
4. Stir in the rest of the water and add salt and pepper. Simmer for a few minutes. Then stir in kale and simmer for about 5 more minutes, until kale is tender. Stir in another tablespoon of olive oil for flavor.

Portuguese Favas**

Ingredients
5 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 large onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons red pepper flakes
1 mini can (about 1 cup) tomato sauce
2 cups hot water
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons paprika
salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 (19 ounce) cans fava beans*

Directions
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until golden brown. Stir in red pepper flakes, tomato sauce, hot water, parsley, salt (add this at the end if using dried favas), pepper and paprika.

2.Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Gently stir in fava beans. Remove from heat and let stand for several minutes to allow flavors to meld.

*I used dried fava beans. These require a bit more work! They need to soak overnight. In order to easily shell the beans, I would also suggest boiling them for 10 minutes, draining, and rinsing in cold water. Next, squeeze each fava so it pops out of its shell. These uncooked beans must be cooked for at least one hour, adding salt only at the end so the beans don’t dry up. I had a hard time figuring out how long to cook and how to get them out of the shell with a lot of contradicting sources on the web. I finally figured it out. This is a good reference.

**This a great sauce. The concept of using so many onions to thicken is genius. We put leftovers on pasta mixed with regular pasta sauce. Delicious! This would probably also be good as a base for cooking meat or casseroles.

Queijadas

Ingredients
3 eggs
2 cups white sugar*
3 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In a blender, combine eggs, sugar and butter. Blend until smooth. Pour in flour and milk, a little at a time, blending until smooth again. Stir in vanilla.
3. Pour into muffin tins, filling 3/4 full. Bake in preheated oven 45 minutes, until golden brown. Serve hot or cold.

*Use less. I used ½ cup of sugar, ½ cup agave and it was plenty sweet. Very delicious!

Suggestion: Top with fresh fruit, jam, or coconut before or after baking. Substitute almond or lemon extract for vanilla. Try alternative sources of sweetener like agave.

Tuscan Bean Soup (with Kale chips)

“Hey Patrick. I made some Kale Chips…but I ate them all.” Haha, he got a kick out of that. Story: I used kale in the soup and decided to make a couple batches of chips with leftover kale. We have a small oven so I made two trays. When the first one came out of the oven it was mostly eaten before I even realized it (it was about ¼ cup of crisps). When the second batch came out of the oven, I bumped it on a nearby chair and they, in slow motion, floated up in the air and down onto the floor. That was Patrick’s share. I still have some left over kale so maybe he will get some the next time I make it…or not. P.S. they’re super easy to make. Wash and cut into small pieces. Coat the pieces with olive oil and seasoning (salt, paprika, etc) bake for less than 10 minutes at 350F until crisp, not chewy.

Tuscan Bean Soup

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

2 medium carrots, chopped

4 rib celery, chopped

1⁄2 yellow onion, chopped

extra-virgin olive oil

~2cups squash, such as butternut, peeled and cut into 1⁄2″ cubes

4 large kale leaves, stemmed and chopped

1 potato, peeled and cut into 1⁄2″ cubes (I had a sweet potato on hand)

Salt and black pepper

1⁄2 tsp. crushed fennel seeds

8 thick slices country-style bread

1 garlic clove

1. Puree half cannellini beans, carrots, celery, and onions with a cup of water.
2. Saute garlic and 2TBSP oil in large pot.
3. Add 4 cups water, remaining carrots, celery, onion, the squash, kale, potato, puree, and salt and pepper to pot with garlic. Cook covered until vegetables are tender about 25 minutes. Stir in remaining whole beans and fennel seeds.
4. Meanwhile, toast bread and rub with a halved head of garlic and olive oil.
5.  To serve, place 1 to 2 pieces toasted bread in the bottom of soup bowls and ladle soup over the top (or in my case, serve bread on the side). Drizzle soup with oil, if desired.

Spicy Sauté Sandwich with Almond crusted Veggie Fries

Spicy Sauté Sandwich- a variation of Kathy’s blog

Ingredients
1 boca burger, eggplant burger, hamburger burger
1/2 red pepper, sliced
1/2 sweet onion, sliced

olive oil
1/4 cup salsa (I made my own)
fine black pepper
Hummus
Bread, bun, or tortilla

Directions:
1. Cook veggies red pepper, onion, and black pepper in olive oil.

2. Thaw your burger of choice, slice into strips, then cook in another pan.

3. Warm salsa or mix in with veggies.

4. Toast bread or crisp tortillas. Spread hummus, add burger slices, add veggies, top with salsa.

Almond-Crusted Sweet Potato Oven Fries

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into thin strips

3 Tbsp smooth natural almond butter

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 400- 425F. Spray baking sheet with nonstick spray.
2. Place the “fries” in a large bowl.  In a small bowl, combine the almond butter, oil, and spices. Drizzle the coating over the fries, and toss the mixture until evenly coated.
3. Put the fries up the baking sheet in a single layer.  Bake 35-50 minutes (depending on thickness of your fries), until the coating is browned and a bit crispy, and the fries are fully cooked.

From dietdessertndogs– She suggests using other root veggies too!

Around the World Series: Spain

The menu for this week was developed with advice from Clint, who had recently returned from about a month in Spain. The first course was a vegetable, Green Beans with paprika, for the second course, we had Tortilla Espanola, and dessert was Flan. The Tortilla Espanola was difficult to do with an old pan and probably a little too many potatoes to flip.

Tortilla Espanola

By The Skinny Gourmet
Serves 8-10

7 large eggs (used more egg whites and less of the yolks)
4 medium potatoes (1 lb total)
1 small spanish onion (1/4 lb)
2 Tbsp plus 1 tsp olive oil
2 tsp kosher salt
black pepper

Wash potatoes, peel (or leave the skins on), and slice the potatoes ~1/8 inch thin. Peel the onion and slice thin.

Layer the potatoes in a microwave or steamer and steam until a slightly firm al dente. They will still cook up somewhat in the olive oil (four plus minutes).

Add the 2 Tbsp of olive oil to a skillet on medium heat. Add the onions and saute until soft and fragrant. Add the potatoes and cook for another 5 minutes until al dente.

In a separate bowl, vigorously whisk the eggs together with the salt and pepper until foamy. Pour the egg mixture onto the onions and potatoes. The egg mixture should just cover them. Cook on medium until the bottom is firm and begins to pull away from the sides.

The dish can either be finished on the stovetop or oven. To finish on the stovetop, you will need to do the classic flip. Non-stick pan is preferable, but with a pan that is not non-stick, use more oil. With a spatula, work your way around the edges of the tortilla, loosening. Agitate the pan to be sure that the bottom is not stuck. Cover the pan with a plate. Flip the pan upside down so the tortilla winds up on the plate with the cooked side facing up. Return the pan to the stove-top and add more olive oil. Using the spatula, slide the tortilla off the plate and back onto the pan. Continue cooking until the tortilla is set throughout.

Soymilk Flan

1/2 cup granulated sugar (or less)
2 Tablespoons water (little less if less sugar)
1 cups soy milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolks
pinch salt
1/4 cup sugar

1. You can use a loaf pan and make one large flan or smaller ramekins. Three 6-ounce ramekins or 2 larger ones work well for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Put water on to boil.

2. Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan I would use less- this makes a sauce that ends up on top of the flan. Cook over low heat until sugar melts and mixture begins to darken; stir occasionally. When the sugar mixture turns a dark golden brown – about 15 minutes, remove from the heat. Pour enough to coat the bottom into each ramekin, if using, or pour all into the bottom of the loaf pan.

3. Heat the soymilk and the vanilla in a small saucepan until it is just about to boil. Turn off burner and put aside.

4. Beat eggs, egg yolks, salt and sugar in a bowl with a whisk or electric mixer until they are a light yellow color.

5. Stirring constantly, pour the milk mixture in a thin stream into the egg mixture until they are completely combined. Pour into loaf pan or divide equal among the ramekins.

6. Put the loaf pan or the ramekins into a deep roasting dish and put it on the middle shelf in the oven. Pour boiling water into the roasting dish until the water comes about halfway up the sides of the custard dishes.

7. Bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the custard is almost set, but the middles are still wiggly. Remove from oven and let cool. Refrigerate until ready to eat.

8. To serve flan, place ramekin (or loaf pan) into hot water for 20 seconds, run a thin sharp knife around the edge of the dish and invert it onto a dessert plate. For a finishing touch sprinkle the top with cinnamon.

I had chocolate soymilk and so it turned into a delicious chocolate flan (although I didn’t think it looked pretty enough to take a picture). I also used my flexible muffin cups. Just remember if using that they will probably all need to be flipped out at the same time (but in my case, with filling four muffin cups, two on each side, I could flip it out two at a time).

Back to the Rapids and Chickpea, Potato, and Spinach Jalfrezi

For our first dinner back in Roanoke Rapids, I made this Jalfrezi dish. Well, like most of my dinners, I only used the recipe as a guideline. My version did not have the cuntney, nor the ginger, chilies, red pepper, cilantro, turmeric, and coriander. It was delicious! (Another note, when creating my meals in Roanoke, I have limited resources so when it says to use a stove, I do not have one to use. I make due.)

Chickpea, Potato, and Spinach Jalfrezi with Cilantro Chutney

Ingredients

• 1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and cut into rough 1 1/2-inch chunks
• Kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
•  1 medium onion, grated on the large holes of a box grater
• 3 cloves of garlic, grated on a microplane grater
• 1 tablespoon ginger, grated on a microplane grater
• 4 to 5 small green Thai bird chiles (or other green chiles, if you prefer)
• 1 small red pepper, finely diced
• 8 stems cilantro, leaves roughly chopped, tender stems finely minced and reserved separately
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon hot paprika
• 2 small plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped (canned tomato is fine)
• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, with their liquid
• 8 ounces curly spinach, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoon juice from 2 limes
• For the Cilantro Chutney
• 2 cups picked fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 small green Thai bird chile

Procedures

1. Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water by 1-inch. Season to taste with salt. Bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes are tender but not falling apart, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add grated onion, garlic, ginger, chiles, cilantro stems, and red pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until most of the moisture has evarporated and mixture is beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add turmeric, coriander, cumin, and paprika, and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
3. Add chopped tomatoes, chickpeas, spinach, 1/2 cup of water, and cooked potatoes. Stir until spinach wilts. Add half of lime juice and season to taste with salt. reduce heat to lowest setting, cover, and keep warm while making chutney.
4. For the Chutney: Combine cilantro, garlic, chile, and remaining lime juice in a blender or in the cup of a hand blender and add 1/3 cup water. Blend until smooth, scraping down sides and adding water as necessary. Season to taste with salt.
5. Add more liquid to jalfrezi if necessary and serve with chutney and steamed basmati rice or naan