Sweet Potatoes | Eat Your Heart Out

Chicken and Smoked Sausage Stew

November 29, 2012 by Stephie 9 Comments

I have a confession: I am really weirdly picky about soup.

Cheese had better be involved. Also, if there is cream in that situation, that’s even better. Bean-based soups are pretty good, too. But broth-based soups? Not exactly a fan. In fact, I tend to avoid them if possible. Sure, I’ll eat them…they just aren’t my favorite.

So when I found a broth-based stew recipe in Midwest Living magazine, I was surprised to find that it was calling to me, begging me to make it happen in my kitchen. I mean, of course I had to alter it quite a bit…but the general structure is still there. And there isn’t a drop of cream or speck of cheese in sight. And you know what? I really liked it. WEIRD, I know.

In fact, my father has declared this to be his new favorite soup of all time. Big statement, right there. I think he would eat an entire pot of this soup by himself if he could. But if you’re going to eat a giant pot of soup, this might be the one to choose. It’s hearty and will warm you up from the inside out, but is full of all sorts of winter veggies to keep you healthy during these long, cold months. Plus, it freezes extremely well, making it a great option for making ahead and reheating later. Consider serving it on top of some brown rice for some extra hearty goodness.

Maybe this is all a sign that I’m starting to grow up and appreciate soups that are actually good for me…Yikes!

Adapted from December 2012 Midwest Living Magazine.

Chicken and Smoked Sausage Stew

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

½ cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped carrot
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 quart low-sodium chicken stock
2 cups cubed sweet potato
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon each dried parsley and dried oregano
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup cooked chicken
1 13-ounce package smoked turkey sausage, sliced
½ bunch kale, stems removed and cut into manageable pieces

Instructions

In a dutch oven, saute onion, carrot and garlic in the oil until onion is soft. Add stock, potato, undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, dried herbs and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and simmer 20-25 minutes, until potato is tender. Stir in chicken, sausage, and kale. Simmer until heated through and kale is wilted.
Will last for about 4-5 days in the refrigerator and 3 months in the freezer.

Notes

The longer this sits, the more the flavor of the smoked turkey sausage mingles with the rest of the soup. You might consider making this the night before, then reheating and adding the kale just before serving.

Filed Under: Main dish, Soups Tagged With: Allergy friendly, Chicken, dairy-free, Fall, Gluten-free, Healthy, kale, Main dish, Quick and easy, Soup, sweet potatoes, Vegetables, winter

Sweet Potato Caramel Apple Bread Pudding

October 14, 2012 by Stephie 10 Comments

I know, I know. While everyone else is going pumpkin crazy, I am clearly obsessing over the sweet potatoes. But how could I not? They’re just wonderful.

Any sweet potato farmers out there lookin’ for a lady to romance?

I told you last week that I would be bringing you another amazing bread pudding recipe, and you know that I like to keep my promises. And while last week’s recipe was good, the truly awesome thing about this recipe is that it utilizes just about every wonderful fall flavor I can name.

We start at the top with a caramel pecan sauce. Yep, things are starting off right.

Then we work our way down to a lightly sweet potato-flavored bread pudding. Ok, I can totally handle this.

And then, just when we thought things were perfect enough, we hit a layer of sweet, brown-sugar-and-butter-kissed apples at the bottom. Oh sweet child in Heaven, take me now; my life might be complete.

There is a chance that this might just be the perfect fall dessert. And if there were to be, I don’t know…say, a poultry-filled holiday looming in the near future, these bread puddings might be just the thing to replace that boring pumpkin pie.

But that’s just some crazy-talk for ya.

On a slightly different note, those of you who frequent EYHO may have noticed that my posting schedule has somewhat deviated recently from my normal Tuesday/Thursday schedule. That is because I have had the immense honor of guest posting on some amazing blogs – have you checked out my Raisin Bread Pudding and entered the Coffee-mate giveaway on The Realistic Nutritionist yet? And on Wednesday I will be featured on yet another great blog…so be sure to check back to see what is up!

Recipe adapted quite a bit from Southern Living.

Sweet Potato Caramel Apple Bread Pudding

Yield: 6 six-ounce ramekins

Ingredients

For the bread pudding:

5 cups cubed bread (preferably a crusty Italian bread or something similar)
½ cup half-and-half
½ cup milk
1 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato
2 eggs
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon vanilla

For the apples:

2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar

For the caramel pecan sauce:

½ cup light brown sugar
¼ cup butter
½ cup light corn syrup
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup chopped pecans

Instructions

Place cubed bread into a large bowl.
In a medium bowl, whisk together all other bread pudding ingredients. Pour over the bread and stir to thoroughly combine. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours or up to 8.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease six 6-ounce ramekins; set aside.
In a small bowl, toss together the apple slices with the lemon juice and cinnamon.
In a skillet, melt together the butter and the brown sugar over medium-high heat. Add the apple slices and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the apples are just starting to soften around the edges and are coated in the butter and brown sugar. Remove from heat.
Divide the apple slices evenly into the bottoms of each prepared ramekin, topping with any remaining brown sugar sauce.
Spoon the chilled bread mixture on top of the apples.
Place ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 50 minutes, covering with foil after 30 minutes.
During the last 15 minutes of baking, prepare the sauce: In a medium skillet over medium heat, toast the pecans 3-5 minutes (stirring frequently), or until toasted and fragrant. Remove from heat.
In a small saucepan, cook the brown sugar, butter and corn syrup over medium heat, stirring frequently, about 3-4 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and pecans.
When the bread puddings have finished baking, remove from the oven and drizzle with the caramel sauce. Bake for an additional 5 minutes (uncovered), until sauce is heated through and begins to bubble. Serve warm.

Filed Under: Desserts Tagged With: Apples, Baked goods, bread pudding, caramel, Dessert, Holidays, Pecans, sweet potatoes

Sweet Potato Cupcakes

October 2, 2012 by Stephie 21 Comments

Sometimes I feel like a salad.

More often I feel like a carb. Pick a carb, any carb.

And it is with that in mind that I apologize for the abundance of sweet carb-filled recipes that may show up here in the next couple of weeks.

I mean, I’m sorry…but I’m not really that sorry. Trust me, I’ve got some great recipes to share with you. Starting with this one.

Sweet potato cupcakes…topped with a lovely brown sugar frosting…and garnished with glazed pecans. Do I even need to say more??

I didn’t think so. After all, it’s rude to talk with your mouth full.

Frosting recipe from Cupcake Project.

Sweet Potato Cupcakes

Yield: 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup white whole wheat flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup cooked, pureed sweet potato
½ cup buttermilk

For the brown sugar frosting:

½ cup unsalted butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
¼ cup milk
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

For the glazed pecans:

¼ cup granulated sugar
1 cup pecan halves
1 heavy pinch cinnamon

Instructions

To make the cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
On a piece of parchment paper (or in a medium bowl), sift together the flours, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and ginger. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks and sugars until pale yellow and no clumps of brown sugar remain. Whisk in the coconut oil, vanilla, pureed sweet potato and buttermilk until thoroughly combined.
Slowly add in the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.
Spoon batter into a lined baking tin and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting:

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium to medium-high heat. Add in the brown sugar; bring to a steady boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and allow to boil for 2 more minutes, stirring constantly.
Stir in the milk and return to a steady boil, still stirring. You should now have a lovely caramel sauce.
Remove from heat and (carefully) pour into a medium bowl. Allow to cool.
Once the mixture is lukewarm, beat in the powdered sugar with an electric mixer until smooth and your desired consistency, adding a bit more powdered sugar to thicken or a bit of hot water to thin.
Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes and quickly garnish with glazed pecans.
Store frosted cupcakes in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

To make the glazed pecans:

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
Combine all ingredients in a medium skillet and heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
After several minutes, the sugar will start to get sticky, and with a bit more time will start to melt. Keep stirring to coat the pecans.
When all of the sugar has melted and is a lovely amber color, Pour the pecans onto the prepared sheet pan. Use two forks to separate the pecans. Allow to cool. Use to garnish cupcakes. Store leftover pecans in an airtight container.

Notes

For a less coconut-y taste, substitute melted butter for half or all of the coconut oil in the cupcakes. Additionally, it is really important that your sweet potato be pureed and not just mashed in order to achieve a good cupcake texture, so give it a whirl in the food processor.

Filed Under: Desserts Tagged With: Baked goods, cupcakes, Dessert, Fall, sweet potatoes

Southwestern Style Veggie Burgers

September 24, 2012 by Stephie 7 Comments

Umm…is it Friday yet?

No? Well, shoot.

I have to make a confession to you: Lately, my weekday meals have been a little on the sad side.

Now, weekends are a different story. Weekends have become my time to work on recipes for the blog, which means that I eat pretty well on Saturday and Sunday.

But during the week? Not so much.

I think a lot of it has to do with my new job. Don’t get me wrong – I love this job more than I even thought possible. But I have been working my @$$ off, and with a variety of other things happening in the evenings, I’m exhausted by the time I get home. I’m lucky to bother doing anything aside from collasping in bed, much less making a balanced meal for just myself.

So I’ve been trying to come up with things that I can make over the weekends and then either freeze for later or eat throughout the week. Chicken and noodles were an option recently. And last week I decided to give these Southwestern Style Veggie Burgers a try.

This recipe makes 8 decent-sized burgers, which means that there is enough to eat and put into the freezer for later meals. Just cook ‘em, let ‘em cool, and wrap ‘em up. Then just let ‘em thaw before reheating in a skillet. Easy. And quick…just what I’m looking for these days!

And hey…remember that taco seasoning from last week?

Yep, that’s totally going in these bad boys.

Adapted from Edible Perspective

Southwestern Style Veggie Burgers

Yield: 8 burgers

Ingredients

1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
3 cups cubed sweet potatoes (skin on), cooked
½ cup fresh or frozen corn
½ cup finely chopped onion
1 4-ounce can green chilis
½ cup cooked quinoa
6 tablespoons rolled oats
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
½ teaspoon salt
1 heaping tablespoon taco seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease or line a large sheet pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, mash half of the black beans completely. Add in the remainder of the beans, lightly mashing just to combined (less than half of the beans should be left whole).
In a large bowl, mash the cooked sweet potato until each piece is mashed, but the mixture is not creamy.
In a food processor, pulse the rolled oats several times until the oats are mostly ground – you are looking for some of the mixture to be a flour consistency, while the rest is small pieces of oats.
Add the onion, green chilis, corn, black beans, quinoa, flaxseed, ground oats, salt, taco seasoning and olive oil to the sweet potatoes, mixing until just combined. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and/or taco seasoning as needed.
Using a ½-cup measuring cup, portion the mixture into 8 balls. Flatten the balls into ½-inch thick patties, placing them on the prepared sheet pan.
Bake for 30 minutes, flipping after 15 minutes.
Serve warm with your favorite fixings!

Notes

To refrigerate or freeze burgers: Place on a cooling rack to cool completely. Store burgers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days; alternatively, wrap individual burgers first in plastic wrap, then in foil, and place in a zip-top bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, allow frozen burgers to thaw completely. Head in a lightly greased pan over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes per side, or until heated through.

Filed Under: Main dish, Sandwiches Tagged With: Allergy friendly, beans, Gluten-free, Healthy, Main dish, Oats, Quinoa, Sandwich, sweet potatoes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Roast Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

September 3, 2012 by Stephie 15 Comments

Hello, all! I hope everyone had a fun, relaxing holiday weekend. Before we get to the meat of this post (…see what I did there? Please don’t de-friend me…), I have a couple of quick things to mention.

1.) Last week’s whole wheat English muffins were featured today on the Love to Bake Global Blog Carnival over at TheFamilyFeed. Pop on over and check ‘em out!

2.) Have you all met Julia over at The Roasted Root yet? She’s lovely and I just adore her. She recently nominated me for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award (I told you she was sweet!). So, as part of the award, I am supposed to tell you 7 things about myself and then pass the award on to 15 other bloggers – although, for the sake of my sanity, I’m going to go off-book a little here and nominate 7 instead (mostly because I like parallelism…).

So! 7 things about myself…

Apparently I’m a freak and like parallelism. I probably paid too much attention during high school English class.
I recently started a new job. It’s keeping me crazy busy right now and I couldn’t love it more.
I also recently auditioned for/joined a community choir. Our 1st rehearsal is this week. I’m excited to be singing with a group again!
It’s almost scarf-wearing and light-layer weather again and that makes me happy.
Along those lines, the arrival of fall means my dark nail polish is acceptable again. Hallelujah. (Not that it really stopped me from wearing it before.)
I need everyone to slow down on the getting married. There’s no way I’m going to be able to keep up with all of these name changes.
Now that it’s Labor Day weekend, I’m especially glad the ice cream shop near my apartment is open year-round, because I’m totally one of those weirdos who craves ice cream in December.

And now, 7 awesome blogs to nominate:

For those nominated, you can now…

Link back to the person who nominated you.
Post the award image to your page.
Share 7 facts about yourself.
Nominate 15 other bloggers (…or your own designated number…cough…) and let them know they’ve been nominated.
Post the rules in your blog post.

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming…

I already said I was glad it was almost fall again for my dark nail polish, light layers and scarves. But I think what probably goes without saying (although I’m going to say it anyway…ever notice how people always do that?) is that I’m also excited that it is sweet potato time of the year again!

Yeah. I know. I’m a crazy obsessed sweet potato person. I get it. But they’re so dang good!

This roast chicken recipe couldn’t be easier. It is perfect for a week night when all you want is something comforting but you can’t stand the thought of spending more than 15 minutes of active time in the kitchen. Pop this recipe in the oven and you’re good to go. Since I’m by myself and clearly don’t care much about always having the most balanced meals, this was my entire dinner (and leftovers for a couple of days). But if you actually do want to feed your family something green, serve it alongside a fresh salad, or some lightly sauteed green beans.

If you are a sweet potato-lover, too, here are a few other sweet potato recipes to check out:

Roast Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

Yield: 4 servings

Adapted from Eating Well Magazine, September 2012

Ingredients

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
½ teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 clove garlic, minced
½ teaspoon salt, divided
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of any excess fat
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large red onion, cut into 1-inch wedges
1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

Place a rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 450 degrees. Place a large rimmed baking sheet in the oven to preheat.
Place the diced sweet potato, onion, olive oil and ¼ teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a large zip-top bag. Close and shake the bag to evenly coat the vegetables in the oil. Set aside.
Rinse the chicken thighs and pat dry with paper towels. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the mustards, zest, lemon juice, thyme, garlic and remaining ¼ teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Spread the mixture evenly over the chicken.
Carefully remove the preheated baking sheet from the oven. Spread the vegetables evenly on the pan; place the chicken on top of the vegetables. Return the pan to the oven and roast, stirring the vegetables halfway through, for about 25-30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and beginning to brown and the chicken is cooked through. (A thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken should read 165 degrees.)