Buffalo Chicken Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

I found this recipe on Facebook and had it bookmarked for the longest time.  After back-to-back classes of Pilates and yoga, I was hungry!!!  I bought a rotisserie chicken on my way home and had the rest of the ingredients on hand. 

This is easy, flavourful, filling and healthy - you HAVE to try it!!!

BUFFALO CHICKEN TWICE BAKED SWEET POTATOES

Ingredients:

4 medium sized-sweet potatoes

2 heaping cups shredded cooked chicken

1/2 cup diced yellow onion

1/2 cup finely diced celery

1/2 cup shredded carrot

2 tsp coconut oil

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup buffalo sauce (I used Frank's)

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp dried dillweed

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Salt and black pepper, to taste

Sliced green onions, fresh parsley, cubed avocado (optional toppings)

• Preheat oven to 400F.  Wash sweet potatoes and prick skins with fork.  Place in oven on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake for 45 mins to 1 hour (or until soft)
• While the potatoes bake, heat oil in a skillet and saute celery, onion and carrot over med-high heat until softened.  Transfer to a medium-sized mixing bowl and set aside.
• When sweet potatoes are cooked, cut in half lengthwise, scoop out most of the flesh leaving a thin layer so the skins maintain their shape.  Combine with the celery mixture.
• Add shredded chicken to the bowl, along with the mayonnaise, buffalo sauce and spices.  Season with salt and pepper.
• Scoop mixture back into the potato skins and bake for 20 minutes more in a 350F oven.
• Sprinkle each potato with optional toppings.
• Serve and ENJOY!!

**I unfortunately scooped too much of the flesh out of the potato skins and they crumpled.  Instead I placed the mixture in small serving dishes, baked them in the dishes and served as you see in the photo!

Rockin' Moroccan Stew

Years ago I discovered this stew recipe in my "Crazy Plates" cookbook and I had forgotten about it until we recently went to a friend's Moroccan-themed dinner party!  It is simple, nutritious, filling, delicious and low fat....what more could you want?!?!

ROCKIN' MOROCCAN STEW

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil

1 cup chopped onions

1/2 cup each of diced celery and chopped green bell pepper (I only had orange for the dish pictured!)

1 clove garlic, minced

3 cups vegetable broth

3 cups peeled, cubed sweet potatoes

1 can (19oz) diced tomatoes, drained

1 can (19 oz) drained and rinsed chickpeas

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp grated fresh ginger

1 tsp each of ground cumin, curry powder, ground coriander, and chili powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup raisins (I didn't have any so I used dried cranberries)

2 tbsp each light peanut butter, and chopped fresh cilantro

• Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat.  Add onions, celery, green pepper, and garlic.  Cook and stir until vegetables begin to soften (approx. 3 minutes)
• Add all remaining ingredients, except raisins, peanut butter and cilantro.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
• Stir in raisins, peanut butter and cilantro.  Mix well.  Simmer for 5 more minutes.
• ENJOY!            

Caribbean Sunset Soup

The name, ingredients and ease of preparation attracted me to this recipe...the taste made it a family favourite!  There really is very little not to love in this delicious soup!  (BTW, I really must apologize for the quality of the photographs lately...my camera took a dive down the stairs and is quite sick...so I am currently using my Blackberry.  Hopefully I will get a replacement soon so I can resume my usual "food porn" quality shots!! LOL!)

CARIBBEAN SUNSET SOUP

Ingredients:

1 tbsp oil (coconut or olive)

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 tsp mild Indian curry paste

1lb sweet potato (about 1 large), peeled and finely diced

1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped

3 cups vegetable broth

1 cup "Thai Kitchen Lite Coconut Milk"

1 lime

2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

•    In a Dutch oven or medium sized pot, heat oil over medium heat.  Add onion and curry paste and cook, stirring often, for approximately 5 minutes.  Add potato and garlic to the pot and continue stirring frequently for approximately 10 minutes, or until the potato has softened slightly.
• Stir in the broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium low and simmer, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until potato is completely soft.
• Transfer soup to a blender or food processor and blend until totally smooth.  Return to pot and stir in coconut milk. 
• Using a zester or grater, remove the peel from the lime and add 1 tsp of fine zest to the soup.  Juice the lime and add 2 tsp to the soup.  Stir in the cilantro and pepper.  Heat through on medium low.
• ENJOY!          

South Indian-Style Vegetable Curry

This easy one-pot meal is perfect for using up any of those random vegetables in your crisper!  There are many ingredients, but don't let that deter you - the complex flavours created from using these spices and vegetables is delicious!!

SOUTH INDIAN-STYLE VEGETABLE CURRY

Ingredients

2 tbsp coconut oil, or olive oil

1 large yellow onion, finely diced

4 medium cloves garlic, minced

1-2" piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated

1 tbsp ground coriander

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

3/4 tsp ground turmeric

1/2 tsp cayenne

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 cups vegetable broth

1 cup light coconut milk

1-3" cinnamon stick

Sea salt and black pepper

1 small cauliflower, broken into florets

1lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed into 1" cubes

2 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped

2 lrg carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2" thick rounds

1can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

4 lightly packed cups of fresh baby spinach

2 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 tsp finely grated lime zest

2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

• In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally until beginning to brown (2 to 4 minutes).  Reduce heat to medium and cook until the onion is richly browned (5 to 7 minutes more).  Add the garlic and ginger; cook stirring for 1 minute.
• Add coriander, cumin, turmeric, and cayenne; stir for 30 seconds to toast the spices.  Add the tomato paste and stir until well blended with the spices.
• Add the broth, coconut milk, cinnamon stick, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add the cauliflower, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and carrots. Simmer until the vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes.  Discard the cinnamon stick.
• Stir in the chickpeas, spinach, lime juice, and zest;  cook until the spinach has wilted (about 3 minutes).
• Serve garnished with the cilantro and ENJOY!

Winter Vegetable Croustade Au Gratin

The picture really doesn't do this casserole justice...I had carrots, fingerling potatoes, celery, sweet potatoes, and parsnips on hand so I hauled out this recipe that I ripped out of a magazine years ago!  This is really delicious, quick and easy ~  my kids and I loved it (Devon even asked to have it for lunch the next day!)

WINTER VEGETABLE CROUSTADE AU GRATIN

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

4 cups of your choice of winter vegetables, peeled, and cut into 1" sticks, or diced

1 tsp fennel (anise) seeds

2 cups old cheddar, shredded

2 tbsp butter, melted

2 slices of whole wheat bread crumbled or diced

3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• Preheat oven to 400F.
• In a large skillet melt butter over medium heat.  Saute onions, garlic, vegetables and fennel seeds for 3 to 5 minutes, or until onions and garlic are golden.  Salt and pepper to taste and transfer to an ovenproof dish.
• In a small bowl, combine cheese, melted butter, breadcrumbs, and parsley.  Salt and pepper to taste.
• Top vegetables evenly with cheese mixture.  Bake 15 minutes, or until vegetables are soft and cheese topping is golden and crusty.

*This dish can be prepared ahead and baked or reheated just before serving.  If you want, you can add cubed, cooked meat or poultry to the vegetables before baking.
**If you are using fingerling potatoes or sweet potatoes, saute first as mine came out slightly crunchy!

What A Great Guy!!!

I just had to blog about this fantastic meal that my husband Greg made for us while the kids were sleeping over at my in-laws!! 
I was out all day long running around with the kids and didn't manage to get home until 7pm on Monday night ~ and this is what greeted me...

In our last CSA box from Cooper's we received organic lettuce greens and a cucumber.  Lisa had brought over a bag of alfalfa sprouts that they're now growing for the CSA and we had an organic tomato in the fridge.  Greg made this lovely salad with an Asian-inspired dressing and then whipped up some sweet potato and russet potato oven fries, seasoned with Montreal steak spice.  He paired this with a lovely Cooper's steak and made a creamy mustard and peppercorn sauce....and then topped it off by opening a fabulous bottle of 2005 Bourgogne Pinot Noir!!!!! 

Then he took me out to "Moxie's" for dessert and mango martinis!  A perfect night with my guy!

Tender Beef & Sweet Potato Saute

I found this recipe in 2010's "Milk" calendar and it caught my eye because it required ingredients that I generally have on hand in the fridge/pantry/freezer and combines all the flavours I love! It notes that you can also spice this dish up with 1/4 tsp cayenne added to the beef, as well as sweeten the dish with 1/4 cup of raisins, sliced green olives and 1 tbsp capers with the green peppers....next time I'm going to try these variations!

TENDER BEEF AND SWEET POTATO SAUTE

Ingredients:

1lb boneless beef sirloin or other grilling steak

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

salt and pepper

1 tbsp butter, divided

1 onion, halved and thinly sliced

2 cups diced sweet potato

3/4 cup reduced -sodium beef broth

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups milk

1 green bell pepper, chopped (I used yellow because that's what I had in the fridge!)

2 tbsp tomato paste

1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted (optional garnish)

• Trim off fat from beef and cut across the grain into thin strips. In a bowl, sprinkle the beef with cumin, cinnamon and 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper. Stir to coat.


• In a large skillet melt half of the butter over medium-high heat. Brown beef strips in batches, adding more butter if necessary; transfer to a clean bowl.


• Reduce heat to medium. Melt remaining butter in the skillet and add the onion and sweet potatoes. Saute for approx. 3 mins. or until onion is softened. Add beef broth, increase heat to medium high and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.


• Whisk flour into the milk and gradually stir into the skillet; bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring often, for approx. 5 mins or until sweet potatoes are almost tender.


• Stir in the green bell pepper. Simmer, stirring often, for 3 mins, or until pepper is tender-crisp and the sauce has thickened.


• Stir in beef with accumulated juices and tomato paste; simmer for 2 mins. or until beef is hot. Season to taste with salt and pepper.


• Serve sprinkled with toasted almonds & ENJOY!!

Brussel Sprouts & Sweet Potatoes with Maple Syrup

I have NEVER liked Brussels sprouts, so when my friend Shannon served them to us one night when we were visiting them, I was panicked! You have to be a good guest and eat what is served you right? Well, I am SO glad that I did eat them because now I am a Brussels convert - and I'm sure you will be too!!

BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH SWEET POTATOES AND MAPLE SYRUP

Ingredients:

4 strips of bacon, cut into 1/2" pieces

1 onion, finely chopped

2lb Brussels sprouts, cut in half lengthwise

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans (optional)

3 med. sweet potatoes, peeled sliced in half lengthwise, and cut into 1/2 moons

1/3 cup pure maple syrup

3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

• Preheat oven to 4ooF. Lightly butter a 2 quart souffle dish (or casserole dish)
• In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crispy. Remove bacon and reserve on a paper towel. Reduce heat to med-low and saute onion until translucent.
• Add Brussels sprouts and saute, stirring frequently to ensure even browning, until slightly soft. Transfer to a bowl and add reserved bacon, salt, pepper and pecans.
• Add potato slices to skillet and saute till brown. Add to the bowl.
• Whisk together maple syrup and melted butter until thickened. Add to vegetables and mix well to ensure everything is covered in the maple syrup mixture.
• Transfer veggies to baking dish and bake in oven for 20 minutes.
• ENJOY!!!