sweet potatoes

Quick and Easy Cinnamon Roll Waffles

March 4, 2015

So funny story…I wrote the whole post to the recipe that I was going to post today. And then I tossed it.

Yep. Yep, I just wiped it clean. Ugh!

I had written about how I was dedicating the recipe to my blogging buddy Amanda and how she is so amazing and inspiring. We often make each other’s recipes, like how I recently made her Paleo Coconut Flour Waffles and she has made my Waffled Hashbrowns. In addition to Amanda trying them as directed, she also tried them with Sweet Potatoes and it was a bust! Twice!

I felt bad about that and wanted to figure it out so I go to work!

But I couldn’t consistently make them work well enough to share. I had amazing waffles and then ones that completely fell apart and stuck to the waffle iron. I just didn’t feel confident enough to share the recipe for the “Sweet Potato Waffles with a Triple Berry Sauce” that I had been working so hard on.

So, I said, “EFF IT!!!! LET’S MAKE CINNAMON ROLL WAFFLES!!!”

Yep, I went from homemade Sweet Potato Waffles with warm sauce made of strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries to these 1 ingredient Cinnamon Roll Waffles. Ha! It might be lazy but it’s damn delicious!

It’s exactly what you think it is…
Open up the package> put cinnamon roll on waffle iron> close> cook> drizzle frosting

Thankfully, Amanda NAILED a waffle using sweet potatoes this week. I cracked up as soon as I saw the post because it felt like ‘great minds think alike’ moments. You seriously have to check out her Paleo Sweet Potato Waffles.

Quick and Easy Cinnamon Roll Waffles

Makes 5-8 waffles, depending on the can of cinnamon rolls you purchase

Ingredients

1 Can of cinnamon rolls ( I used the Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls)

Process

Preheat your waffle iron.
Spray with non stick cooking spray then put down 2-4 cinnamon rolls, depending on the size of your waffle iron.
Cook for 2 to 2 minutes and 30 seconds.
Remove from waffle iron and drizzle the icing immediately over the waffled cinnamon rolls.

Turkey Shepard’s Pie with Sweet Potato Mash

September 12, 2014

I’ve figured out the rest of the pies I am going to feature this year!!!

I don’t think I’ve ever been so prepared when it comes to blogging before. Woohoo!! Price and I formulated the list and I think it’s pretty awesome! It was fun to go through my Pinterest boards to come up with ideas for what to make and when.

I’m gonna keep the list a secret but I can share there are 4 apple pies on there. So many apple pies!!! Damn, I love apple pies. They are so good. And it’s even better when you get to use the apples that you picked right off the tree. Last week’s Deep Dish Apple Pie was pretty epic so I’m hoping that the rest are as great as I imagine them to be.

As well, I imagine you’re gonna like this one too. We realized that I didn’t make many savory pies this year so I’ve added a few of them to the list, like this one!

Shepard’s Pie is one of my favorite casseroles. Ah ha… okay… so you caught me! Shepard’s Pie is a casserole and not a pie but I am going to take some liberties with the name.

Speaking of pie stealing names… Boston Cream Pie! Whoopie Pie! Boston Cream Pie is a cake and Whoopie Pies are a cakie cookie. Totally makes sense… ha!

Anyway, I used to make this for myself ALL THE TIME when I was in high school. I loved having something ready for when I got home after my internship or after one of my babysitting jobs. It helped me not get something junky on the way home. I would have something healthy when I arrived home that I could heat up. I would always used lean ground turkey, fresh veggies, and a low fat garlicky mashed potato on top. I focused on keeping things really healthy by not loading it up with butter and cream so I would add herbs and other seasonings to amp up the flavors.

And I think I pulled that off with this Sweet Potato Topped Turkey Shepard’s Pie as well! I used a lean ground turkey to keep the fat down, as compared to using ground beef chuck. But this recipe is more at my life’s current pace now with frozen veggies… hello convenience! As well, with keeping things nice and easy, I didn’t peel the sweet potatoes, but you certainly can if you prefer it that way.

This is the best kind of recipe for back to school dinners and fall comfort food. It makes a big batch that is great to enjoy solo, with plenty of leftovers, or as a big family. Eat up!!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

Turkey Shepard’s Pie with Sweet Potato Mash

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

2 pounds sweet potatoes, cut into 1″ cubes
3 Tablespoons butter
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
6 medium carrots, halved lengthwise, quartered if large, and thinly sliced
2 pounds ground turkey
8 oz frozen pearl onions
8 oz frozen peas
8 oz frozen corn
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
6 oz tomato paste
3/4 Cup water
1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce

Process

Preheat over to 400 degrees.
Fill a medium sized pot with salted water, add the potatoes and bring to a boil. Boil for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender. Drain, and return to the pot, removed from heat. Add the butter and mash together with a potato masher.
In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium high heat. Add the carrots and saute for 2 minutes.
Add the ground turkey to the carrots. Break apart the turkey into small pieces while browning it. Cook for 3 minutes.
Add the frozen vegetables, seasonings. Saute for a 2 minutes. Move the filling to the outside of the skillet to create a clear space in the center.
Add the tomato paste in the center of the skillet, break apart and cook for 1 minute. Mix the entire mixture together and add the water and Worcestershire Sauce. Cook for another 2 minutes.
Evenly pour the filling into a 8 x 13 pan. Top the filling with the mashed sweet potatoes.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes prior to serving.

Slow Cooker ‘Roast’ Chicken

April 13, 2012

You know when you have one of those moments of “well, like, duh!” because something you never considered before made perfect sense. Why didn’t I think of that moment. Well, that happened to me when I was hopping around on Julie of The Little Kitchen and I saw in her sidebar a recipe for ‘Whole Chicken in a Slow Cooker‘. I kept going “that makes sense! Why haven’t I thought of this? It has to be so good! I have to make it!!”

This was one of the juiciest chickens I have ever had (other was beer can chicken- OMG!). It was so moist, flavorful, and cooked perfectly. Any rub on the chicken would work, even just salt and pepper with some lemons in the mix. This is more about technique, not about the ingredients. Don’t want sweet potatoes- fine… just throw some fingerlings in there. I think the biggest thing to consider is how long to cook it. I would not do this on a week day since I am away from home for 10 hours. This would just fall apart too much then. I suggest this on a nice weekend when you want to relax and do nothing or if you have errands up to your eyeballs and you have no time to cook and just have dinner (almost) appear in front of you.

Slow Cooker ‘Roast’ Chicken

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 onions
2 large sweet potatoes
4-5 carrots
3 1/2 -4 1/2 pound whole roasting/frying chicken
Preferred seasoning blend

Process

Remove giblets bag from chicken to discard and rinse entirely. Pat chicken dry completely with paper towels.
Cut all vegetables in large pieces, such as carrots in 2″ long pieces, and the onion in 8 large wedges.
Rub the chicken with your selected rub to completely coat it.
Place onions, carrots and sweet potatoes inside the slow cooker to create a layer on the bottom. Then put chicken on top of the vegetables.
Set slow cooker for 6 hours. Check the internal temperature of the leg, if it is 160 degrees F then it is done. If you used a chicken with a pop up thermometer then remove the chicken when it has popped.
If you crock pot is broiler safe (consult your product information) then put the entire crock pot into the oven for 4-5 minutes. If your crock pot is not broiler safe then carefully remove the chicken and place on a glass baking dish or a large baking sheet. Allow the chicken to rest for 5-10 minutes prior to cutting.

Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Hash

November 29, 2011

There is a restaurant and catering place a few blocks away from us called Bakers’ Best Cafe. We are typically so busy or away on the weekends that we don’t stick around our neighborhood, so it took us a few months to find it and go there. But since then we have been hooked! I order the Hash and Eggs (crispy homemade corned beef hash topped with two poached eggs and hollandaise sauce $9.50). It’s so good! My favorite brunch thing to get is Eggs Benedict, so this is a great spin on it.

While I would love to go there whenever we are in town and not going at break neck speeds, I can’t always justify a $30+ brunch bill. And that not including the mimosas I have a habit of throwing back, which I can make at home for a fraction of the price. So I decided to make something at home that reminds me of the delicious meal I enjoy there. Making this sweet potato & squash hash is a simple way of doing so.

I make this hash without corned beef in it because I don’t just have that laying around (who do you think I am?) and I’m looking for a simple recipe that I can do in my sleep. I think the key with this is letting the potatoes rest after being roasted because it softens up this crunchy pieces a bit. I don’t know about you but I hate super crunchy potatoes with my eggs, so letting them relax in the fridge over night solves that earth shaking problem. Also, it means you don’t have to get up super early to make this. After so the dinner clean up, cut up the squash and sweet potatoes, ditch them in the oven to roast while watching SNL (& skipping the bits Kristen Wiig is in), throw them in a container and in the fridge before going to bed. While making bacon, cut up and onion, then while your eggs cook sauté the onion and then add the rest of the hash to warm up.

I did use bacon grease to cook the onions in to pass on some flavor and is it was easy- basically dump out the leftover grease and don’t clean the pan… Win! Of course you can make this vegetarian by butter, vegan you say?… Use oil. Problem solved. No matter what, it’s gluten free! (Well, check the bacon.)

Sweet Potato and Squash Hash

-serves 4-6-

Ingredients

1 large butternut squash
2 large sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons Lawry’s seasoned salt
pinch of crushed red pepper, optional
1 large onion
1 tablespoon bacon grease, or 1 tablespoon oil

Process

Cut squash and sweet potato in 1/2″ to 3/4″ pieces.
Toss with oil, seasoned salt and crushed red pepper to evenly coat.
Roast at 375 for 40-45 minutes, stirring half way.
Refrigerate over night, or at least cover and refrigerate for an hour
Prior to serving, chop up an large onion. Saute in bacon grease until soft.
Add the cooked potato and squash mixture to the skillet and gently warm through.
Serve with eggs and bacon. And a mimosa or bloody mary can’t hurt!