Candied Sweet Potatoes

Candied Sweet Potatoes

• 4 pounds sweet potatoes, quartered
• 1/2 cup butter                                    
• 3/4 cup of brown sugar                                     
• 3 cups miniature marshmallows, divided
• 1 tsp of ground cinnamon                                     
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg      

Directions    

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add potatoes and boil until slightly underdone, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool and peel.
3. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine margarine, brown sugar, 2 cups marshmallows, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cook, stirring occasionally, until marshmallows are melted.
4. Stir potatoes into marshmallow sauce. While stirring mash about half of the potatoes, and break the others into bite-sized chunks. Transfer to prepared dish.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cover top evenly with remaining marshmallows. Return to oven and bake until marshmallows are golden brown.           

Pumpkin Muffins

Pumpkin Oatmeal Spice Muffins

• 1-3/4 cup of oat flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp banking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• dash of salt
• 2 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 large eggs
• 1 (15 oz) can of pure pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 tbs whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• handful of raisions
• hanful of chopped almonds

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Grease muffin tin with nonstick spray.
3. Set aside
4. In medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, banking powder, salt & spices.
5. Wisk to combine and set aside.
6. In small bowl, combine eggs, pumpkin, coconut oil, milk, & vanilla.  Wisk to combine.
7. Combine wet ingredients to dry ingredients.
8. Fold in raisons & almonds.
9. Scoop batter into muffin tins.  It will be thick.
10. Bake for 22-24 minutes.

These were really, really good, especially with milk.  I get a kick out of grinding the whole cloves with my spice grinder.  They made the house smell nice.

Engine Planter

Love the way this turned out.

Simple Veggie Curry with Jasmine Rice

Simple Veggie Curry with Jasmine Rice 
6 servings
390 Calories
3g sat

• 1tbs olive oil
• 1.5 cups yellow onion
• 1 tbs minced peeled fresh ginger
• 2.5 cups cubed yellow potato
• 2 cups of vegetable broth, divided
• 3 carrots cute into .5 inch pieces
• 1-16 oz bag of frozen broccoli, cauliflower, carrot mix
• 1 cup raisins
• .5 cup low-fat yogurt
• 1 ts salt
• 2 cups cooked long grain rice

Directions

• Heat oil in Dutch oven over med heat.
• Add curry powder and ginger to pan
• Stirring consistently for one minute
• Add potato and 1 cup broth.  Cover and cook 10 minutes or until potato is tender
• Add remaining broth, carrot & frozen veggies
• Cover and bring to boil over high heat, reduce heat and simmer 7 minutes or until veggies are tender, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in raisins, yogurt & salt.
• Serve over rice.

I wasn't sure I liked curry.  This was petty good.  The raisins made it a little sweet.  You could probably add any type of veggie you have in the yard.

Enjoy!!  Let me know if you like it.

Pumpking Spice Thing

DIY Pumpkin Spice Latte
2 Servings

• 2 cups milk (I used 1%)
• 2 T canned pumpkin
• 2 T white sugar
• 2 T vanilla (not a typo. it asks for tablespoons)
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• OR: 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp cloves, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, and a teeny tiny pinch of ground ginger
• 1/2 cup brewed espresso or 3/4 cup strong brewed coffee
• garnish with whipped cream (optional)

Directions

1. This will make enough for 2 people to have a big mug with a bit leftover. 
2. If you are having friends over, adjust the recipe accordingly. 
3. I used a 4-quart crockpot, but as small as a 1.5 quart will work with these amounts.

Always in use 

Chipotle Black Bean and Quinoa Crock-Pot Stew

Chipotle Black Bean and Quinoa Crock Pot Stew
Vegan + Gluten-free
Serves 6-8

• 1-2 dried chipotle peppers
• 1lb of dried organic black beans, rinsed and picked over
• 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and picked over
• 1 28-ounce can organic diced tomatoes
• 1 red onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 dried cinnamon stick
• 2 teaspoons chile powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• 7 cups homemade chicken broth 
• sea salt and pepper, to tastefor topping:
• cilantro
• green onions, thinly sliced
• lime wedges
• avocado

Directions

1. Load all of the ingredients, except the salt, into your slow-cooker, stir to combine. 
2. If you wish to saute the onion, garlic and bell pepper first, you can, but I like to make crock-pot cooking as simple and quick as possible.
3. Cook on high for 4 to 6 hours, or on low for 8 to 10 hours, until the black beans are tender. The time to cook the beans can vary based on the strength of your slow cooker and also the freshness of your beans.
4. Add the salt at the very end, as it will affect how the beans cook, if you add it at the beginning.
5. Remove the chipotles (if you don’t want a mouthful of a whole spicy pepper) and the cinnamon stick before serving.
6. Ladle into bowls and serve topped with fresh cilantro, green onions, a squeeze of fresh lime juice, diced avocado, sour cream, hot sauce, tortilla chips, etc.

This was a hearty, no meat meal, packed with protein.

Spicy Rotini Caprese

Spicy Rotini Caprese
6  1.5 cup servings

• 1 (16 oz) package of whole wheat rotini
• 2.5 tsp of salt-divided
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves-minced
• 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
• 2 pints of grape tomatoes
• 8 oz fresh mozzarella - cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1/4 cup of fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips
• 1/4 tsp of cracked black pepper

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to directions, adding salt to water
2. While pasta cooks, heat oil in a nonstick skillet on medium heat
3. Reduce heat to low, add garlic and red pepper, saute 1 minute.  Add tomato, increase heat to medium and saute 2 minutes.
4. Drain pasta reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water.
5. Add pasta to tomatoes.
6. Stir in mozzarella, basil, remaining 1/2 tsp of salt and black pepper.
7. Add desired amount of reserved pasta water to pasta mixture.
8. Toss well

This was basically an Italian Mac & Cheese.  Who doesn't like Mac & Cheese? This was a good use of my home grown tomatoes and basil.  It may be a bit spicy for the kids.  I loved it.  You could add diced chicken breasts & a bell pepper for a complete super easy, quick meal.

Succlents

I love plants.  At risk of murdering my tender succulents, I tried my hand at a few unconventional succulent "pots".  I like the way they turned out.  My front porch got an upgrade.

Pasta E Fagioli Soup

Pasta E Fagioli Soup
Serves 8

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 
• 1 pound lean ground beef 
• 2 whole carrots, diced 
• 4 celery stalks, diced 
• 1 medium onion, diced 
• 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes 
• 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) beef broth 
• 2 whole bay leaves 
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano 
• 1 teaspoon dried basil 
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme 
• salt and pepper to taste 
• 1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed 
• 1 can (15 ounces) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed 
• 1 cup ditalini pasta, uncooked 

Directions

1. Add olive oil to a large skillet and add in ground beef. Cook until browned and no longer pink. 
2. Place the beef in a slow cooker along with the rest of the ingredients except for the beans and pasta. 
3. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. 30 minutes before serving stir in beans and pasta. 
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Discard bay leaves before serving. 
5. Serve immediately while hot. 

I will make this again. This was easy and really good. I used ground turkey & homemade chicken broth, instead of beef broth. I liked the ground turkey texture in the soup. You could substitute long grain rice instead of pasta. I am becoming a soup snob. The leftover has been just as good. Try it!