Tag Archives: Sweet Potatoes

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

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The meal I’m sharing today is definitely not the prettiest meal, but it was the tastiest new meal that we’ve made in a while. And, it’s super simple, healthy, satisfying and is definitely going to be added to our weeknight meal rotation. There are three parts to this meal: the sweet potato, the protein and the toppings (guac!). Here are the details:

Sweet potatoes:
I roast sweet potatoes weekly and here’s how I do it: wash the sweet potatoes, prick them all over with a fork, wrap tightly in aluminum foil, place in the oven (450°) and bake until soft – usually 45 minutes to an hour, depending on their size. 

Protein:
For this particular meal, I used ground pork (that I buy locally!). I cooked it in a skillet with the green chile sauce pictured below. The flavor of the pork on its own was actually kind of subtle – it did just a have bit of spice to it – but was excellent in the dish as a whole. You could really use any protein you wanted in this recipe – meat or plant-based. I think almost anything would work!

Guacamole:
I love making gauc and usually do it the same every time. For this batch, I used three avocados, the juice of two limes, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. I blend everything together until very smooth in my Ninja.

Tomatoes:
I mixed cherry tomatoes with a touch of avocado oil, fresh cilantro, salt and pepper. Simple and delicious.

Putting the meal together is so simple: Split open the sweet potato and fill with your protein of choice. Top with lots (and lots) of guacamole, tomatoes and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro, and enjoy!

This meal was not photogenic, so I didn’t include many photos, but it was oh so nourishing and tasty.

*Note about the green chile sauce I use in this recipe – I am all about making things from scratch, but there are a few things that I will buy already made – things like the green chile sauce I used in this recipe. I am super picky about buying packaged goods, and the green chile sauce that I bought from Wegman’s passed my test. It was made with minimal ingredients and they were all whole, real ingredients that I would have used at home.

Vegan Sweet Potato + Black Bean Chili

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Happy November, everyone!

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This chili definitely matches the weather here. There is a definite chill in the air, making me crave warm, comforting things. 

This chili also matches the colors here. Oranges, reds, yellows. 

This chili + autumn right now = meant to be. 

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Let me tell you about it.

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It is packed with veggies. It’s mildly spicy (you can make it spicier!) and has a hint of sweet. It’s warm, filling and comforting. It’s healthy, gluten free and secretly vegan. 

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I started with my favorite classic base of red onion, garlic, carrots and celery. I added a ton of assorted peppers – some sweet some spicy. Then came the sweet potato and black beans. You just can’t go wrong with that combo. I added some diced tomatoes and some crushed, for texture. There is chili powder, paprika and cumin for smoky, spicy flavor, and some cinnamon for some sweet, curious flavor. You have got to add the cinnamon, you guys. It adds something so special. And, of course, I added baby kale. I told you I’ve been adding it to everything lately. I finished the chili off with a touch of coconut milk. The coconut milk makes it so creamy and keeps it completely vegan!

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Now let’s talk about how to make it your own! Use as many and whatever variety of peppers that you please. Want to keep this chili on the mild side? Use all sweet peppers. Want a major kick? Load it up with spicy peppers! The spices. I used chili powder, paprika and cumin, which is a pretty good combo, but go with the amounts that you like. Start with a little and add more as you go and taste. You can always add more spice but you cant take it away (I learned this the hard way with chili once). 

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Make this chili, serve it to someone you love and enjoy this beautiful season! 

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Enjoy! 🙂

Vegan Sweet Potato + Black Bean Chili
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Ingredients
  1. Olive oil
  2. 2 garlic cloves, minced
  3. 1 medium red onion
  4. 2 celery stalks
  5. 2 medium carrots
  6. 1 large sweet potato
  7. 1-2 cups assorted sweet + hot peppers
  8. 1 15-ounce can of black beans, drained and rinsed
  9. 1 tablespoon chili powder
  10. 1 teaspoon paprika
  11. 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  12. Large pinch of cinnamon
  13. Salt and pepper, to taste
  14. 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
  15. 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
  16. 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  17. 1 15-ounce can coconut milk
  18. Several large handfuls of baby kale
Instructions
  1. Start by prepping all of the veggies. Dice the red onion, celery, carrots, sweet potato and peppers to all the same size (mine were relatively small).
  2. Add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large pot. Once hot, add the minced garlic and diced onion and cook for several minutes, until the onion has softened.
  3. Add the celery, carrots and peppers and cook several more minutes, slightly softening the veggies.
  4. Add the sweet potatoes, and again, cook several more minutes to cook veggies.
  5. Add the black beans and chili powder, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, salt and pepper to the pot. Stir well to incorporate the spices.
  6. Add both cans of tomatoes, brown sugar and coconut milk to the pot. Stir well.
  7. Bring the chili to a boil and then cover the pot and reduce heat. Simmer over low heat until sweet potatoes are tender.
  8. Taste the chili along the way and add more seasoning according to your taste.
  9. Before serving, add several handfuls of baby kale and stir, until kale has wilted.
  10. Enjoy!
The Dreaming Foodie https://www.thedreamingfoodie.com/

Sweet Potato + Sage Hand Pies

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Is it okay to share with you three hand pie recipes in one week?

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I was going to wait until next week to show you this one, but I just couldn’t wait!

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These sweet potato hand pies are just so good!

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To start, they are simple. I used store-bought dough. Homemade would be lovely, but if you’re in a time crunch, store-bought is the way to go. Roast some sweet potatoes. Mash them with goat cheese and sage. Stuff into hand pies. Brush with egg wash. Bake. Four ingredients. It’s that simple.

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Second, they are delicious. Kind of remind me of Thanksgiving. I said the same thing about these. Yes, I love Thanksgiving meal so much that I could be happy eating food that reminds me of it all year long. Or the actual meal itself. I would have no problem at all eating a Thanksgiving meal right now. Anyone else?

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Back on the topic of how delicious these are: the sweet potato + sage combination is one of my favorites. It will never get old. It’s a classic. Just add goat cheese and that classic combination just got even better. Add flaky pie dough? Divine.

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Yes, a mini savory sweet potato pie for your Friday. 🙂

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Ingredients:
*This will make 14 hand pies
2 9-inch round pie crust dough
2 medium sweet potatoes
2 oz. goat cheese
1/4 cup fresh sage, chopped
Egg wash — you can either use egg white mixed with water or egg yolk mixed with milk, I tried and liked both
Coarse sea salt, for topping

Start by roasting the sweet potatoes. Preheat the oven to 400*. Peel the skin off and then dice the sweet potatoes. Add the sweet potatoes to a bowl and drizzle them with olive oil and toss well so that they are coated. Place on a baking sheet and roast them in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until they are very soft. Turn the oven heat down to 350*.

Add the roasted sweet potatoes to a bowl with the goat cheese and chopped fresh sage. Using a potato masher or fork, mash everything together well. The texture should be like mashed potatoes.

Prepare your work surface. Lightly flour a flat counter top and get your rolling pin ready. Roll out the two 9-inch pie crusts. Then, cut the circles for the hand pies. I used a 4-1/2 inch round container and it made five rounds. I then rolled the excess dough back out to get two more rounds. I got seven rounds each time from one 9-inch pie crust. You can use a cookie cutter, cup or container to cut the rounds and the size is up to you. I was very happy with 4-1/2 inches. I wouldn’t want to go to much smaller but bigger would be fine.

Once you have the rounds cut out, spoon about 1 tablespoon of the sweet potato mixture onto each. Using a pastry brush, brush egg wash along one side of each round. Fold the round in half, making a half circle, or moon shape. Using your fingers, pinch and fold the edges of the half circle. Then use a fork to push down the edges to really seal the hand pie closed. Make two small slits in the top of each hand pie with a knife and then brush the top with egg wash. I then sprinkled the top with coarse sea salt.

Place the hand pies on the baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the hand pies are just slightly browned on top.

Enjoy!

*Notes:
*I had a little bit of the sweet potato filling left over, so the next day I mixed it with some noodles, reserved pasta water and parmesan cheese. Delicious!

Sweet Potato + Black Bean Burgers with Curry Ketchup

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I’ve made more burgers for you!

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I don’t exactly consider these veggie burgers. The last burgers I made for you were definitely veggie burgers. They were packed with veggies. These burgers are simpler, with much fewer ingredients. They really only have one veggie in them + sweet potatoes and beans.

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Are sweet potatoes veggies? Greg and I always do this thing where we count the number of veggies in the meals that we eat. I feel like I always count sweet potatoes.

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I loved the black bean + cilantro burgers I made for you, but they are just a bit time consuming. They don’t take that much time, but this time around I wanted something that can really be whipped up any night of the week, easily and quickly.

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The roasted sweet potatoes lend the perfect texture to these burgers. They are soft + binding. Also, delicious + flavorful. The black beans add  great texture as well, and go great with sweet potatoes. I love caramelized red onion, and also think that they + sweet potatoes are a great combination.

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I made these burgers vegan by using Dijon mustard as a “wet” ingredient rather than an egg. I’m not vegan, but I’m vegan-interested. I also thought recently – if people who eat meat try to go meatless once a week (Meatless Monday), what can already-non-meat-eating people do? They can try to go vegan once a week. So, here is my attempt at once-a-week vegan eating. Dijon instead of an egg. I’ll take it. 🙂

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Also, I topped these burgers simply. Some greens and some curry ketchup. Yes, curry ketchup!

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I first heard of curry ketchup from Greg’s mom. She said she made it and I was immediately super interested. I had never heard of it. And then, Greg and I went out to eat with his sister and we had fries with curry ketchup. It did not disappoint at all. I loved it!

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I followed this recipe. And love it. It will be good on so many things! And, if you don’t want to make your own ketchup, you can undoubtedly just stir some curry powder into ketchup from a bottle.

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You’ve got to try this. Sweet potatoes + black beans + caramelized red onion + curry ketchup = one delicious burger.

Ingredients:
2 medium sweet potatoes
Olive oil
1 medium red onion
Salt
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 – 15 oz. can black beans
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 350*. Peel and cube the sweet potatoes. Combine the sweet potatoes with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Toss well to coat the potatoes. Roast on a baking sheet for about 30 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are very soft.

While the sweet potatoes are roasting, dice the red onion. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a pan on the stove over medium-high heat. Add the onions to the hot oil with a pinch of salt. Stir, and let cook over medium-high heat for about five minutes, or until onions begin to brown. Turn heat down to medium-low and cook for 20-30 minutes, or until onions are caramelized.

When the sweet potatoes are done roasting, add them to a bowl and mash them using a potato masher. I left mine semi-chunky for texture, but they can also be mashed well so there are no chunks left. Add the black beans to the bowl and mash again, to incorporate the beans. Add the red onion, breadcrumbs and Dijon mustard. Stir well to combine everything. The mixture should be thick + gooey.

Add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a pan over medium heat. Form the mixture into patties and cook in the oil for about five minutes on each side, or until the burgers are golden brown, slightly crispy and warmed through.

*Notes:
-You could definitely use an egg here instead of the Dijon, if mustard is not your thing. If using an egg, substitute one egg for all of the mustard. Using the mustard definitely gives the burgers a mustard-y taste.
-To make this gluten free, just use certified gluten free breadcrumbs.
-Click here for the curry ketchup recipe. Seriously so delicious!

Baked Sweet Potatoes with a Crumb Topping

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I’m really, very lucky when it comes to food.

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I am surrounded by people who are great cooks and bakers. My grandma and both of her daughters — my mom and my aunt — are masters in the kitchen. There is never a lack of delicious food at family gatherings because of them.

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With Greg, I am even lucky. His mom and his sisters share a love of food, cooking and baking, too, and they make so many amazing things.

This recipe is from Greg’s mom. She made it two Thanksgivings ago and also a couple of times since. I am so in love with this dish, I just had to get the recipe.

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I have always loved sweet potatoes. My grandma makes the best sweet potatoes — simply cubed, cooked and then sauteed in a little butter and brown sugar. So good. They have always been a favorite of mine.

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And I’ll be honest. I’ve always been afraid of sweet potato casserole. I just love the taste of sweet potatoes so much, that, I’m afraid a lot of extras (marshmallows) will conceal the taste. And, something else you should know, I don’t love the word casserole.

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But this — this slightly sweet, creamy, smooth dish is just so good. The topping is slightly crunchy and adds just the perfect flavor and texture to the sweet potatoes — which still taste like sweet potatoes.

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I could have this dish with every meal for the rest of my life and be a happy girl.

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I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Thank you to Greg’s mom for such a delicious recipe!

Method:

Preheat oven to 350*. Grease a 9-inch baking dish or 12 ramekins, as shown in photos.

Start with:

4 c. cooked sweet potatoes
1/3 c. sugar
2 eggs
3 Tbsp. butter, softened
2/3 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Place ingredients in a bowl. Mix with a handheld electric mixer until smooth. Spoon mixture into baking dish or ramekins.

Next:

2/3 c. brown sugar
1 c. oats (I used old fashioned)
1/3 c. flour
1/2 c. butter, cubed

Combine ingredients in a bowl and, using the back of a fork or a pastry blender, mix the ingredients until “crumby.” Spoon crumb topping onto sweet potato mixture, either in a baking dish or ramekins.

If using a 9-inch baking dish, bake for 45 minutes in a preheated oven. For the ramekins, bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

Enjoy!