Pioneer Woman Sweet Potato Casserole

INGREDIENTS

• 4 whole Medium Sweet Potatoes
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 cup Milk
• 2 whole Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 cup Brown Sugar
• 1 cup Pecans
• 1/2 cup Flour
• 3/4 sticks Butter

INSTRUCTIONS

Wash 4 medium sweet potatoes and bake them in a 375-degree oven until fork tender, about 30-35 minutes. When they are finished cooking slice them open and scrape out the flesh into a large bowl.

Add 1 cup of (regular grandulated) sugar, 1 cup of milk, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon of salt. With a potato masher, mash them up just enough—you don’t want to be perfectly smooth.

Now, in a separate bowl, add 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup pecans, chopped (that means measure a cup of pecans, then chop them), ½ cup flour, and ¾ stick of butter. With a pastry cutter or fork, mash together until thoroughly combined.

Spread the sweet potato mixture into a regular baking dish and sprinkle the crumb mixture all over the top.

Bake in a 400-degree oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Streusel Topping

Sweet Potato Casserole with Crunchy Pecan Streusel

Cook Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes

Yield: 6-8

Ingredients

• 4 sweet potatoes, cooked and peeled
• 1 tablespoon of butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla
• Pecan Streusel Topping:
• 1 cup of chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons of melted butter
• 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Prick sweet potatoes, using a fork, a couple of times on all sides.
3. Place sweet potatoes on oven rack and bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until potatoes are done.
4. Remove sweet potatoes from oven and let sit for 5-10 minutes until potatoes have cooled.
5. Remove skin and place the potato flesh in a large bowl.
6. Next add melted butter, honey, and vanilla. Mix together with a hand blender until potatoes are creamy and smooth.
7. Place mashed potatoes in a 2 1/2 quart round corningware baker. {or in a 8x8 glass pan}
8. In the meantime, in a small bowl add chopped pecans, brown sugar, melted butter, and cinnamon. Mix together until all combined. Sprinkle pecan streusel over the mashed sweet potatoes.
9. Put sweet potato casserole with pecan streusel in 350° oven for 45 minutes or until topping is browned.
10. Serve!

Coconut Black Bean Stew

I think this is my first original creation.  I adapt a lot of recipes, but I rarely - if ever- come up with something totally on my own.  But tonight I had a few things in my fridge I needed to use up - and only had 5 minutes to cook dinner - so this was the result of throwing things together in a hurry.  And, considering that my entire family (even the picky 4 yr old) gobbled up the WHOLE pan (Grins had 5ths and everyone had at least 2 bowls!)  I would say it was a success.  I'm writing it down so I can remember what I did, since it was so haphazardly thrown together.

2 cans black beans (plus their liquid)

2 cups cubed, cooked sweet potatoes or squash 

1 can coconut milk

4 ounces chopped fresh spinach

Mix in a pot and cook until heated through (about 5 minutes).

Black Bean / Sweet Potato Burritos

Some of our family's most favorite recipes come from an incredible website, "100 Days of Real Food".  This is one we recently tried for the first time and LOVED it!  Whenever I make a new recipe for dinner, I ask the children to give me their HONEST opinion of the meal (one of the few times they are allowed to say if they don't like something - politely, of course!)  Each child gave this meal an enthusiastic "2 thumbs up" - so I decided I'd better record it here so we can make it again and again! :)

Thanks to "100 Days of Real Food" - this recipe comes from their recipe archive.

Ingredients
 2 sweet potatoes (I use white Cuban sweet potatoes - my favorite!)
 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
 2 teaspoons cumin, divided
 ½ to1teaspoon chili powder (depending on your heat preferences)
 ½ teaspoon salt
 ¼ teaspoon pepper
 8 ounces organic black beans, drained and rinsed (I use canned for
convenience)
 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded, ribbed, and chopped
 ½ cup chopped red onion (about 1 small onion)
 1 small jalapeno, diced (optional - I leave it out if cooking for my kids)
 6 whole-wheat tortillas
 1 cup grated organic cheddar cheese (optional because they are
delicious without)
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Peel and cube sweet potatoes and coat lightly with 2 tablespoons of the
olive oil (toss in a large bowl to evenly coat). Spread potatoes evenly on a
roasting pan and sprinkle with1teaspoon cumin, chili powder, salt, and
pepper. Roast for 20-25 minutes or until soft through but not mushy.
3. When potatoes are finished roasting, add the other 2 tablespoons of olive
oil to a large skillet on medium heat. Add red pepper and red onion and
sauté until slightly softened.
4. Add black beans to skillet and continue to sauté on low heat. Add
remaining 1 teaspoon cumin and chili powder to skillet mixture. Stir
contents thoroughly until heated through.
5. Gently add the roasted sweet potatoes to the skillet mixture along with
salt and pepper to taste. Turn to low and cover skillet to keep warm.6. Meanwhile, place the tortillas one by one in a dry (no need for oil)
stainless steel or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Heat about 30 seconds
on each side.
If using cheese: sprinkle grated cheese on the tortilla after it is heated on
one side.
7. Move warmed tortilla to a platter and add the desired amount of the
sweet potato filling to each. Then fold to close and secure with a tooth
pick.
Serving Suggestions
Serve with a mixed green salad topped with your favorite salsa (a
mango/cilantro/lime salsa is perfect with this recipe!). Also use leftover filling to
make quesadillas and freeze for a later meal or packed lunch.

Buttercup Squash Soup

Last week, I acquired some buttercup squash from a friend.  I don't believe I had ever cooked to buttercup squash, so I decided to give it a try - but I wasn't quite sure what to do with it.  So, naturally, I "googled" buttercup squash recipes.  Most links led me to recipes for 'butterNUT' squash - apparently a lot of people confuse the two.  But, one link (Dr. Ben Kim) actually led me to a recipe for Buttercup Squash soup.  I tried it - and it was a winner!  Even the kids gobbled it down!  So, it made it to my blog! (Only a fraction of recipes that I try actually make the cut!)  Without further adieu, here it is (courtesy of Dr. Ben Kim):

Here are the main ingredients: one buttercup squash, two sweet potatoes, two leeks, one yellow onion, two carrots, vegetable or chicken broth, extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, and sea salt and pepper.

Here's a closeup look at buttercup squash - it looks kind of like an acorn squash, but it's tastier than acorn by a country mile.

Chop butternut squash into quarters, the sweet potatoes into one-inch rounds, and roast in a baking pan or casserole dish at 400 F for a good 50 to 60 minutes or until squash and sweet potatoes are tender.

Next, you'll want to give your leeks a good wash to remove dirt that is typically embedded within its deeper layers. An easy way to do this while maintaining enough form to allow for easy chopping is to cut the leeks in half, then slice them lengthwise, and put them under running water for a few seconds. Here's how we do this:

Once your leeks are washed and ready to chop, dice up your leeks, carrots, and yellow onion, and saute in extra virgin olive oil over medium heat for about 15 minutes, or until everything is soft.

If garlic and/or ginger get thumbs up in your home, add as much as you'd like while the leeks, carrots, and onion are cooking down. This is also a fine time to season with sea salt and pepper to suit your tastes.

Once your buttercup squash and sweet potatoes are tender, peel their skins and add them to your leeks, carrots, and onions. It's easiest to wait until the squash and sweet potatoes have cooled down some before peeling their skins off.

Next, add three cups of vegetable or chicken broth. Transfer all ingredients to a blender or use a hand-held blender right in the pot to give things a whirl until you have your sweet and savory buttercup squash soup.

Though great as a stand-alone meal, if you want to add extra flavors and textures, try topping with fresh cilantro or avocado slices.

Sweet Potato Chicken Curry (with coconut rice)

(Recipe and picture courtesy of Workitmom.com)


4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 onion
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
2/3 cup orange juice
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
3 tsp curry powder
1 clove garlic, minced


Dice onion, chicken and sweet potatoes.  Place in crock pot.  Mix spices into orange juice and pour over chicken/sweet potatoes/onions.  Cook on low for about 6 hours.


Tastes great served with Coconut Rice! (Cook rice as usual, just replace 1/2 of the water with coconut milk.  So, for 2 cups of uncooked rice, cook in 2 cups of coconut milk and 2 cups of water.)