Cinnamon Sugar Skillet Sweet Potatoes

Lately, I've really had a thing for sweet potatoes. When I was a kid, I hated them with a passion. The main reason I didn't like them was because they were mushy & overly sweet. I love dessert, but just can't get into the candied or casseroled sweet potatoes that everyone seems to love.

Then I discovered sweet potato fries. Delicious! Those were followed by roasted sweet potatoes, and it went downhill from there. Now I can't get enough of them!

This recipe has cinnamon sugar, but the sweetness is balanced out by a touch of sea salt & pieces of onion. The cinnamon sugar infuses the potatoes with that homey scent & flavor that cinnamon gives, plus it helps to caramelize the potatoes.

I love how the inside of the sweet potato has such a unique pattern. They're very hard, but once cooked, they have such a smooth consistency. They're also super healthy.

 One medium sweet potato has just over 100 calories & tons of Vitamin A, plus beta carotene, Vitamin C, manganese & more. Details can be found here.

I'm always looking for quicker methods to make my favorite foods, so when I stumbled on Jessica's recipe for Sweet Potato Home Fries, I was intrigued. While the potatoes don't cook quite the same as when roasted in the oven, this is a much faster way to achieve very similar results.

Creamy pieces of sweet potato in 15 minutes vs. 50 minutes? I'll take it!

This fun foodie item was my inspiration for the flavoring. It's not over the top sweet & it gives the perfect hint of cinnamon. Plus it's way more fun to use than regular cinnamon sugar. However, if you'd like to make your own mixture, combine 1 T sugar with 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon. I usually use a full teaspoon of cinnamon, so feel free to adjust to your own tastes.

While you could cook this in any shallow pan, I prefer to use a cast-iron skillet because then small amounts of iron seep into the food as it cooks. Iron is super important in our diets & this is an easy way to sneak it in with minimal effort.

From skillet to mouth. Why did I bother with the bowl? It just wastes time.

Cinnamon Skillet Sweet Potatoes

Inspired by Sweet Potato Home Fries

Serves 2-4

2 tsp. virgin coconut oil

1 small yellow onion, chopped

2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2" cubes

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon sugar mixture (or use about 10 grinds from the Trader Joe's jar shown above)

ground cinnamon, optional garnish

Heat a cast-iron skillet on medium heat. Add coconut oil. Once melted, add chopped onion. Saute briefly, about 2 minutes, then add sweet potato cubes. Stir to combine, then spread evenly in skillet & allow to cook without stirring for about 5 minutes. Sweet potatoes should brown lightly before you stir them. Once browned, stir & cook another 5-8 minutes or until cooked through. Season with sea salt & cinnamon sugar. Remove from heat & serve. Garnish with additional cinnamon if desired.

Quick & Easy Stuffed Potatoes

Is it too much to ask for my nail polish to stay on more than 12 hours?

The process of cooking dinner means that I have my hands in water almost every night. Between washing & chopping veggies, cleaning lettuce, & washing dishes, there's always water involved.

That means that anytime I put on nail polish, it's a waste of my time. I try to time it so that I only paint my nails if I know I'm not cooking the following night or we're having something super simple.

For example:

On Wednesday, I painted my nails. Thursdays we always have dinner at my parents' house & Friday I had plans with some friends. I was really hoping it would last till church on Sunday. But no, I woke up on Thursday, did yoga, showered, & noticed that 4 of my nails had already chipped.

It must be a sign. I'm not destined to be a nail polish girl. I love that shine, though! There are much worse things that I could be bothered about, for sure.

Annnnnyway. About these potatoes. They're quick enough that you'll have time to paint your nails, but you better wait until after you make them.

It only took me about 40 minutes to cook, eat & clean up from these. Not too shabby for a healthy meal made from whole foods! We paired them with a big tossed salad, our usual dinner accompaniment.

They were full of flavor & suprisingly filling. I especially liked the slight crunch from the cauliflower & the hint of cheesiness from the nutritional yeast. You could sub in cheese if you'd prefer, but I'm obsessed with this stuff & it's super healthy. This is a great meal for those nights when you're rushed but still want something healthy & satisfying.

Quick & Easy Stuffed Potatoes
Serves 2

2 large potatoes
1 c chopped cauliflower florets
1 1/2 c chopped Swiss chard
1 1/2 T nutritional yeast (substitute parmesan or cheddar cheese, if you'd prefer)
1 tsp. liquid smoke
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried minced onion
1/2-3/4 c unsweetened almond milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
paprika, for garnish

Poke potato skins with a fork. Cook potatoes in the microwave (wrapped in a damp paper towel) using the microwave's preset button (about 5-7 minutes).  While they are cooking, lightly steam the cauliflower. Slice potoatoes in half and scoop out the insides. Reserve the potato skin shells for later. In a large bowl, mix potato insides, cauliflower, Swiss chard, nutritional yeast, liquid smoke, garlic powder, dried minced onion, 1/2 c unsweetened almond milk, salt & pepper. Heat mixture in microwave for 2 minutes. Mash until only slightly chunky. Microwave for another 2 minutes. If mixture is dry, add additional almond milk until you reach desired consistency. Spoon mixture into reserved potato skin shells, filling generously. Sprinkle with paprika & serve hot!

*Alternately, you can bake the potatoes in the oven, but that will take much longer.

Honey Mustard & Onion Potato Wedges

Did you get your fill of potaotes on Thanksgiving? Don't worry. These taste nothing like what you had. They aren't mashed. They don't have butter in them. Instead, they're crispy & flavorful!

You know those pretzel pieces from Snyders of Hanover? The really addicting honey mustard & onion ones? That's what these taste like. Except they're made with just a few ingredients instead of a zillion.

Chop up your potatoes into wedges. You don't have to bother with peeling. Didn't you do enough of that for all those mashed potatoes? Plus, the skins are where the good nutrients are!

Stir them up with the honey mustard marinade & lay in a single layer on a baking tray.

I threw in a bell pepper for color & a flavor kick, but it's not necessary. They're yummy with or without it! Enjoy!

Honey Mustard & Onion Potato Wedges
Serves 4

6 medium potatoes
1 medium onion
1 red bell pepper (optional)
1 1/2 T honey
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. mustard powder
1/2-1 tsp. salt, to taste
1 tsp. dried minced onion

Preheat oven to 375*F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Scrub potatoes and slice into wedges, keeping a uniform size. Chop onion and pepper (if using) into chunks the same size as potatoes. Combine in a large bowl. Whisk together honey, Dijon mustard, turmeric, onion powder, mustard powder, and salt. Pour over potato mixture and stir to coat. Arrange pototo mixture on baking sheet in a single layer. Lightly spray mixture with cooking spray. Sprinkle with dried minced onion. Bake for 20 minutes. Stir to loosen from sheet and then bake for another 25-30 minutes. Potatoes are done when they are lightly browned and crispy. Serve hot!

A Fall Dinner Bowl

Is anyone else excited by the time change? I love that it's light out again when I wake up in the mornings! This morning I could see the roads when I was roller blading. That's refreshing, especially since I took a little spill last week while trying to glide through gravel-disguised-as-asphalt. Oops.

This chilly weather makes me crave warm foods & blankets. When I found this delicious recipe on EatingBirdFood.com for Kale & Sweet Potato Brown Rice Bowls, I knew I had to make it.

I used white beans instead of garbanzos, mainly because we've been eating lots of hummus lately & I thought we could use the nutrients of another bean. They went really well with the other flavors & textures.

Sorry for the dark pictures, but by the time I realized how seriously delicious this was, all natural light was gone. Believe me when I say this was one of the best dinners I've eaten in awhile. It wasn't really hard, either. Chop up some sweet potatoes & throw them in the oven to roast. Dump the rice in the rice cooker/pot on stove & let it cook. Easy!

It was warming & full of nutrition, perfect for a chilly fall evening.

On the side, we had Mama Pea's Bliss Salad. It paired perfectly with the meal! I subbed green bell pepper for the red, cashews for peanuts, & added apple chunks instead of green onions. I liked the hint of sweet that the apple lent to the salad.

I think you should try both of these recipes! They're easy to make & so delicious!!

Baked Potato Chips

Before you all start to think I'm a complete health nut, let me clear things up.

The other night I went home from work and took a 2 hour long nap. Usually I get home and cook right away because I'm starving, but I was starting to get a cold and wanted to sleep more than eat. Weird.

Then when I did wake up, I didn't really want a real dinner. Not so weird. I'm really into snacks.

So we had 3 kinds of chips with a salad for dinner. Yum. If you have salad with anything, it makes a balanced meal, right? Okay, still a little weird.

Here's where the crazy weird part comes. I was sick, the Bup just got home from work, it was 7pm, we were starving, but did we grab some chip bags from the cupboard and sit down with the salad?

Nooooo...we made our own chips. Eggplant Chips. Kale Chips. Potato Chips.

It was nice and toasty in the kitchen by the time we were done with all that baking. I thought I might have a fever, but I checked and my temp was only 98.4. Maybe it wasn't the oven & that glass of wine on an empty stomach was the reason I felt hot.

We finally sat down for dinner around 8:40pm and it was one of the best dinners we've had in awhile!

Super crispy and thin.

For dessert, we made our own ice cream.

No, seriously, we did. Banana Soft Serve with some chocolate syrup, anyone?

Did I mention weird? But I don't care. I'm happy!

Baked Potato Chips
Serves 2

3 medium potatoes
olive oil cooking spray
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Spray 2 baking sheets with cooking spray. Slice potatoes into VERY thin slices (it's best to use a mandoline). Lay potato slices in a single layer on baking sheets. Spray again (lightly) with cooking spray & season with salt and pepper. Bake for 10 minutes, flip, and bake another 10 minutes. If the slices are not quite crisp, return to oven for 2 minutes at a time. Watch closely as they will burn quickly.


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For some other veggie ideas, check out HappyHealthyMama.com. She coincidentally just did a post on Crispy Baked Sweet Potato & Beet Chips. Double yum!

What I Ate Wednesday

I'm joining the party this week!   For breakfast:

 
Zucchini Bread Oatmeal - I made this last night from a recipe on OhSheGlows.com. It didn't taste exactly like zucchini bread but it was similar and I love having veggies in my breakfast but not tasting them! (Kinda like a Green Smoothie!) I added a peach & a spoonful of pb.  
Plus a mug of Pomegranate White Tea from my favorites store, Trader Joe's! For lunch:  Massaged kale salad w/ EVOO, balsalmic vinegar, garlic powder & s&p, plus carrots & chickpeas. On the side, a slice of homemade cinnamon raisin bread topped with peanut butter. For snacks:  

 Pineapple in the morning and a peach in the afternoon! For dinner:

 Guacamole & Bruschetta (by Mckensie & Dan, our fabulous hosts!), Kale chips (we brought these), & Yuengling Lager (from Charis).  Thanks for hosting us! You made my What I Ate Wednesday post so much more interesting!  

Grilled Sweet Potato Beer Fries

Sweet potatoes are amazing.

I haven't always thought that. They used to make me gag. Then I discovered I could roast them instead of mushing them up and covering them in sugar. I think they're much better as a savory food than sweet.

That's saying a lot because I have one mega huge sweet tooth.

A few weeks ago, right after I found the recipe, we tried Sweet Potato Beer Fries from EdiblePerspective.com. They were delicious, of course, as all roasted sweet potatoes are, but they didn't have as much beer flavor as I was expecting. In fact, I only tasted a verrrrrry slight hint of beer. I was expecting more of the beer bread flavor, where you get the smell/hint of beer in every bite. Maybe I should have soaked them longer? I love Ashley's recipes and these were seriously delicious. We scarfed up every bite! I just craved more beer flavor & wanted to grill them.

We decided to go back to our favorite, Baked Curry Sweet Potato Fries from JoytheBaker.com. I simplified Joy's recipe a litte, skipping the egg white, the turmeric & the yogurt sauce. I just toss the sweet potato slices with the seasonings, lay them on a sprayed baking sheet, and lightly spray them. Seriously delicious. You must try these.

But then I kept thinking about the beer fries and how I wanted to try again. Soaking the potatoes reminded me of the Grilled Salt & Vinegar Potatoes we tried & loved from 101Cookbooks.com. I played around with a few deas, and here's what I discovered.

As you can see from the pictures, we used a combination of sweet potatoes and white potatoes for this batch. The sweet potatoes definitely won my vote, but in case you were thinking about substituting white potatoes, I wanted to see how they compared. I didn't get as much of the hint of beer, so they might need to soak in it a little longer than the sweet potatoes. Let me know if you try it and get better results than I did!

To make your sweet potatoes have that hint of beer, you only need 2 ingredients. Sweet potatoes & beer. Easy? I thought so! Oh, and you need a grill. But it's summer, so that's easy, too.

Pure deliciousness.

Grilled Sweet Potato Beer Fries

Inspired by Sweet Potato Beer Fries & Grilled Salt & Vinegar Potatoes

Serves 2-4

2 or 3 large sweet potatoes

1 12oz bottle of beer (We used Yuengling Lager. Yum!)

Cut the ends off of the sweet potatoes and cut in half. Cut each half into wedges about 1/2" thick. Place wedges in a medium saucepan and pour in the beer. Cover with lid and bring to a boil. Once boiling, stir potatoes and then simmer for 7 minutes. Stir again and simmer another 7 minutes. Turn off heat, remove cover, stir and let set for 15 minutes or until ready to grill. Potatoes should be tender but not mushy. Drain potatoes and place in a grill basket. Grill on medium-high heat for 10 minutes, tossing occasionally.

Question: What's your favorite way to eat potatoes? Do you like regular or sweet potatoes more?

A Very Puffy Story

It's been a puffy weekend.

We had big plans for an exciting Friday evening. It was the first night in awhile that it wasn't raining or threatening to rain, so we decided to dig our potatoes.

I think we got about 9 potatoes before we had to stop. The first plant was in a separate bed, and it grew without us planting it. We dug that and then I moved the crate over next to the rest of the plants. The Bup turned the soil in an empty part of the bed and I planted beet and turnip seeds while he got ready to dig.

We noticed a few yellow jackets, but didn't think much of it until I leaned down to put on my glove and felt a sting on the back of my hand. It didn't hurt too badly, so I put on my gloves and we started digging. He was using the potato fork and I was kneeling down picking up the potatoes when they popped out. Maybe this makes me crazy, but it was fun watching them pop up out of the dirt. There's something so satisfying about harvesting veggies, knowing they came from the tiniest seed and are now ready for eating!

After the first plant, I noticed that the yellow jackets were really swarming. Just as I was about to say something, one latched onto my upper lip and hung on for dear life. I did what anyone would, and started screaming like a banshee. I had to pluck it off, all the while screaming and running inside. When I got to the bathroom mirror, I could see the stinger still in my lip, so I pulled it out. Still screaming. The Bup came running in with me and tried to help, but I was in so much pain and there wasn't anything he could do. I put an ice cube on it, and it immediately felt better. We killed the 2 yellow jackets that followed us inside (those things are relentless!!!) and went back out, only to have the Bup get stung on his ankle. We hurriedly picked up the potato crate to bring inside and decided to stop.

Of course, we didn't have any afterbite or Benedryl, and we still had to go feed my cat, Pixi, at Mom & Dad's, so we walked up there to get it, hobbling (him) and holding ice on my face. When we got home, we watched a movie with more ice. When the movie was over, I still felt awful, and when I looked in the mirror, my whole face was 3 times it's size and even my ears were fat. I hope to never look like that again.

We went to the doctor the next morning because even though I wasn't having trouble breathing or any problems that indicated I was allergic, the swelling still hadn't gone down. Dad recommended ibuprofen in addition to the Benedryl to help, but it was still really bad. The doc said everything was moving along normally and that it could take 24-48 hours for my face to come back to normal. She told me to keep taking the meds and using ice and to let her know if anything got worse.

I think I scared a girl at the farm market, because she turned and ran to her mom when we walked by... sorry.

And now today, I'm still a little puffy. It's weird feeling this way, like I should be able to deflate my cheeks but I just can't. I'd show you a pic, but it's really too scary. And embarrassing.

We found the hole and we're not going easy on those buggers. Tonight, we're spraying the hive so that we don't get stung again.

Let's hope next weekend isn't quite so puffy!

Roasted Curried Root Veggies

Remember the Roasted Squash? And the Roasted Deliciousness? This is better.

It has the added bonus of being nice and soft for this poor girl to gum down. It embarrasses me to admit it, but I had to go to the dentist today to get cavities filled. Yes, more than one. Some people will never let me live that down. There was only one major one, though. I'm proud to say I suffered the drilling naturally. It hurt; it was a icy chill pain. Now I'm probably going to be gumming food for awhile because it sends shooting pains when I chew on that tooth.

These were so good I didn't even notice I was gumming them down!

Roasted Curried Root Veggies

Adapted from Joy the Baker

Serves 2

3 small sweet potatoes

2 small potatoes

1 large onion

1 T olive oil

1 1/2 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 425*F. Spray a large jelly roll pan with cooking spray. Scrub potatoes and slice into wedges. Slice onion into large chunks. Mix together both kinds of potatoes, onion, olive oil, and spices. Spread veggies in a single layer on the pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Stir veggies and spread evenly again. Bake another 20 minutes or until crispy. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato

Fondue Night

Friday night was fondue night. It's becoming a tradition with the girls. Tiffany got Bryttani a fondue pot for her wedding, so of course we had to try it out together! We opened the box, washed the dishes, and got ready to light the candle, only to discover that we were supposed to buy a fuel can. Whoops...  We substituted 5 tealights. We started out using 4 but it wasn't quite hot enough.

Don't you just want to dip things in this?

See how yummy that looks?

We usually do bread and veggies as dippers but this time we tried the recipe's suggestion of red potatoes. They were a good addition, but I like the bread better.

The carrots and celery were refreshing.

And the pink lady apples. Mmmmm...

I love the holes in Swiss cheese. They remind me of the cow that the cheese came from. Maybe they should remind me of mice, but for some reason they don't.

We didn't have shredded cheese or a shredder, so I cut it into "shreds."

We ended up adding more Dijon than that little dollop you see in the picture. It just tasted so good!

Yummy Fondue

adapted from Real Simple

Serves 4

1 clove garlic, minced

1/3 cup fruity white wine

2 T lemon juice
1 T Dijon mustard (plus more to taste)
8 oz Swiss cheese, grated
4 oz sharp cheddar, grated
1/2 c Parmesan Asiago blend, shredded
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning

Assemble fondue pot and light heat souce. Add garlic, wine, lemon juice and mustard. Heat for about 10 minutes or until hot but not boiling. Add cheese about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring to help it melt. Keep adding cheese until it all melts. Add spices and stir. Dip away!

Fun Dippers:
1 loaf roasted garlic bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
6 small red potatoes, boiled and cut into bitesize pieces
1 bag baby carrots
4 celery stalks, cut into sticks
1 small head broccoli, cut into florets
1 large apple, sliced

Season for Soup

Mom gave us a Christmas cactus that is part of the original one my great-grandma grew! And it's blooming!

I have to find a more permanent spot for it, though, because I keep bumping it when I cut the corner too close. It's in our dining room, so we get to enjoy it every evening during dinner.



We've had soup a lot in the past few weeks. It's that time of year! Last night we had Broccoli Potato Chowder with beer bread. The soup tasted WAY better than it looks here. Trust me. I even packed some for lunch today! If the bowl looks half empty, that's because it was. We were so excited to eat dinner that I forgot to take a picture. Note the bite out of the bread. :-) The Bup said I could blame him, but this is my bowl so I guess we're equally at fault.

I made the beer bread with Yuengling Lager. My favorite! The flavor came through nicely. We had a big salad with kale, spinach, mixed spring greens, onion, carrot, green bell pepper, and cucumber. Can you tell I went to the farm market?

Broccoli Potato Chowder
adapted from Cooking Light 

Yield: 6 servings

1 T coconut oil

1  large onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

2  c (about 1 lb) red potato, cubed

2  T  Worcestershire sauce

2 T rice vinegar

1 T liquid smoke

1/2 tsp dried sage

1 tsp  salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

1/4  tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

Dash of hot sauce

6 c low-salt vegetable broth

2 1/2  cups  small broccoli florets

2 T  all-purpose flour

1 14 oz. can coconut milk

1/2  cup shredded cheddar cheese

2  tablespoons  lemon juice

Heat coconut oil in large pot over medium heat until melted. Add onion and celery and cook until softened. Add potato and next 10 ingredients (through broth). Bring to a boil, uncovered, and then reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes or potatoes are tender.

Puree mixture with an imersion blender until most of the chunks are blended. Soup will look nice and thick.

Whisk together flour and coconut milk in a small bowl. Add to soup mixture. Cook over medium heat until soup starts to thicken, stirring constantly. (I walked away a lot during this and didn't stir constantly. It still tasted good.) Stir in broccoli and chedder cheese. Mix in lemon juice and stir. Enjoy!

Note: The original recipe called for lump crab meat. I bet that would be delicious but I didn't have any, so I didn't add any. It was equally delicious without!

Thanks!

I love fall and the harvest that comes with it, though, and this year I'm really looking forward to the Thanksgiving. It's not my favorite holiday, but I really do have so much to be thankful for!

To put me in the mood, I tried Kale and Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes from 101cookbooks.com. We used fresh chives as a topper instead of the scallions and shallots. I'm not sure it needed a topper, though! The potatoes were so good with the hint of kale and garlic. We didn't drizzle the extra olive oil on top, either, because I like the pure potato taste and they just didn't need all that.

This brings me to my next new love: cranberries. The whole berries are SO much better than the dried. The plump tartness just bursts in your mouth. First I tried Upside-down Cranberry Cake from smittenkitchen.com.  I used cinnamon (my favorite!), nutmeg, and almond extract as the flavorings and cut back on the amount of butter some. If I made it again, I'd add about another cup of cranberries. Even without that, though, this cake is perfection. 

That cake put me in the mood for another one. I asked my husband if he wanted chocolate stack loaf or Cranberry-Apple Coffee Cake. The man who LOVES chocolate chose the cranberries. It must be fall! This cake had a subtle lemon flavor, which complimented the cranberries well. I did like the other cake better, mostly because it had a stronger cranberry taste.

Cranberies, I'm very thankful for you!