Ingredient Spotlight–Sweet Potatoes

I freely admit, I had to restrain myself with today’s Ingredient Spotlight because, well, sweet potatoes are one of my favorite ingredients.  I love to use them in all sorts of dishes from soups to desserts.  They’ve even found their way into sandwich bread from time to time too!

Sweet potatoes are an amazing veggie – in fact, in terms of nutrients, sweet potatoes come out on top.  Yes, they are the best veggie you can eat.  And, they are cheap too!

And, they make a great substitute for pumpkin:

• Sweet potatoes are naturally sweeter than pumpkin, meaning you can significantly reduce the sweetener in your favorite fall dish!
• Sweet potatoes are high in fiber (3x that of pumpkin).
• Sweet potatoes have 4x the amount of Vitamin A than pumpkins.
• Sweet potatoes have 3x the amount of Vitamin C than pumpkins.
• Sweet potatoes have more calcium & iron  than pumpkins.

What are you waiting for?  Make some sweet potato puree and get baking!  You can find some of our favorite recipes here, and also below.  Scroll down to the bottom to make sure you see recipes that others link up too. 

Winter Minestrone Soup

Sweet Potato Pancakes with Apple Topping

Sweet Potato Mac & Cheese {your kids will LOVE this}

Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls

Sweet Potato Gingersnaps

Sweet Potato Baked Oatmeal

Sweet Potato Pie with Gingersnap Crust & Spiced Whipped Cream

Sweet Potato Yeast Bread {makes amazing French Toast!}

Cranberry Sweet Potato Muffins

Sweet Potato Risotto

Sweet Potato Bagels

And, of course, Sweet Potato Casserole… so good, it can be dessert!

What are your favorite Sweet Potato Recipes? 

An InLinkz Link-up

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Crockpot Balsamic Pork Loin with Apples & Onions

One of my longtime friends recently shared this recipe with me in her weekly grocery bag post.  Queen B mentioned how easy and tasty this recipe is, and knowing that her kiddos love this recipe too encouraged me to give it a try. 

It seemed perfect for fall, and I loved the use of balsamic on pork and delicious apples.  I opted to convert the recipe from the oven to the crockpot, which made it even easier.  We’ll definitely be making this one again!

Crockpot Balsamic Pork Loin with Apples & Onions – Adapted from My Recipes

Ingredients

• 1 2.5-3lb pork loin or roast
• 3 T brown sugar
• 1 T minced onion
• 1/4 tsp. minced garlic
• pinch of chili powder
• pepper & salt
• 1/4 C chicken broth
• 1 medium onion, cut into wedges
• 1/3 C balsamic vinegar
• 4 apples (sweet/tart combo preferred)
• 1 T butter

Directions

Pour 1/4 C chicken broth into the bottom of your slow cooker.  Arrange the wedged onion over the top.  Place the pork over the top. 

Combine 3 T brown sugar with 1 T minced onion, 1/4 tsp. garlic, salt, pepper and a pinch of chili powder.  Rub this mixture over the sides and top of the roast.  Then, drizzle 1/3 C balsamic vinegar over the roast. 

Cover, and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

1 hour before dinner, prepare the apples by peeling and slicing them.  We chopped ours into 1-2 inch pieces.  Place into a 9x9 glass baking dish and add 1 T butter.  Bake at 350 for approximately 45 minutes. 

Just before serving, drizzle another tablespoon or so of balsamic vinegar over the pork.  Slice and allow the slices of pork to sit in the juices in the bottom of the crockpot until serving. 

Serve with baked apples, onions and winter squash, if desired. 

Enjoy!

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German Apple Cake

If you are looking for a delicious and quick apple dish, go with this German Apple Cake recipe from What Megan’s Making.  I can always count on Megan’s recipes to be tasty and easy, and this one was no exception. 

In fact, I made this cake when we had some new friends over for games.  We enjoyed it so much before I knew it, we had just one piece left and I realized I hadn’t taken any photos of the cake sliced and served.

 

Guess that’s a sign of a good recipe, right? 

German Apple Cake – Adapted from What Megan’s Making

Ingredients

• 2 medium apples
• 3/4 C sugar
• 1/4 C olive oil
• 1/4 C applesauce
• 1 egg
• splash of vanilla
• 1 C white whole wheat flour
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg (optional)

Directions

Mix together 3/4 C sugar, 1/4 C olive oil, 1/4 C applesauce, 1 egg and a splash of vanilla in a large bowl.  Stir well. 

Mix together 1 C flour, 1/8 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. cinnamon.  Add a pinch of nutmeg, if desired.  Add to the wet ingredients and stir until incorporated. 

Peel, core and slice apples into 1/2-1 inch pieces. 

Stir in the apple pieces. 

Place into a lightly greased 9x9 or 8x8 (or 9-inch pie plate) glass baking dish. 

Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes, until center is set and the edges are lightly browned. 

Serve warm, with ice cream, if desired. 

Enjoy!

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Menu Plan–October 27

Hello fall.  You look quite beautiful in our yard.  Two weeks later than last year, but our Blazing Star Maple Tree is taking after its name.  I love it.  I’m pretty sure I just sat and stared at it today.  As we cleaned out the garden, I know winter is coming, but at least for today, I was able to enjoy fall in all its vibrant colors, and bright sunny sky. 

It was a big change from our rainy and cloudy week, which consisted of two really large pots of soup, including that dreamy and 6-ingredient potato soup pictured above, crusty bread and apple crisp.  Yum-o. 

On our menu this week

Sunday
Veggie Scramble
French Bread Pizza

To do: Nothing

Monday
Pumpkin Spice Granola with Craisins
Cheesy Green Beans & Rice {make in rice cooker}

To do: Prep veggies for soup

Tuesday
Leftover Waffles {freezer}
Vegetable Cheddar Soup & Roasted Veggie Open-Faced Sandwiches

To do: Prep for chili

Wednesday
Pumpkin Spice Granola with Craisins
Crockpot White Chicken Chili

To do: Make treat for Friday night

Thursday
Pumpkin Spice Granola with Craisins
Pumpkin Pizza!

To do: Hand out candy ;-) Thaw chicken legs

Friday
Veggie Filled Omelet
Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken Legs, Brown Rice, Steamed Veggies
Get-together: Bring either Apple Rice Krispies, Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels, or Caramel Cranberry Much

Saturday
TBD
Slow Cooker Italian Sausage, White Bean & Kale Soup {new}, Artisan Bread
German Apple Cake

Find more great menus at OrgJunkie’s Menu Plan Monday!

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Apple Raisin Pumpkin Swirl Bread

Saturday morning I had an idea.  What if I made cinnamon raisin bread, added chopped apples and rolled a pumpkin spice swirl into the middle?  I had to try it. 

This bread was fantastic.  I say was because Frog Prince and I polished it off in a matter of days.  We might have made French Toast out of it too, which was so fantastic we didn’t even need syrup. 

Apple Raisin Pumpkin Swirl Bread – Inspired by Will Cook for Smiles

Ingredients

• 1 C warm water
• 1/2 C (heaping) raisins
• 2 1/4 tsp. yeast
• 1/2 C milk
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 T butter, melted
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 C whole wheat flour
• 1 1/4 C white whole wheat flour, plus more for kneading
• 1 small tart apple, peeled & finely diced
• 2 T sweet potato or pumpkin puree
• Ginger, cinnamon & nutmeg
• 1 T coarse sugar

Directions

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine together 1 C warm water (no hotter than 120 degrees F) with 2 1/4 tsp. yeast.  Allow this to sit for 5 minutes, until frothy.  Meanwhile, combine the heaping 1/2 C of raisins with water, enough that the raisins are submerged in water.  Allow these raisins to sit and plump in the water for 10 or so minutes. 

Once the yeast is ready, add in 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 C milk, 1 T melted butter and 1 tsp. cinnamon. 

Then, one cup at a time, add in the whole wheat and white whole wheat flour.  The dough might be sticky, and if it is at this point, add a little more flour.  Knead at a medium speed on your mixer for 5-6 minutes. 

Drain the water from the raisins and add the raisins along with a little pinch more of flour to the dough and allow the mixture to knead the raisins into the dough for an additional 5-7 minutes. 

Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly greased bowl.  Cover with a towel and allow the dough to rise for about 1 hour, until it has about doubled in size. 

Punch the dough down to remove air bubbles, and then stretch the dough out on a lightly floured surface.  Roll the dough into a rectangle that is about 8-inches long (or as long as your loaf pan) and about 1/2 inch thick. 

Spread 2 T sweet potato or pumpkin puree over the dough.  Sprinkle with ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon, or a pre-mixed pumpkin spice mixture.

Arrange apple slices over the top. 

Roll up the dough and place the loaf seam-side down into your greased loaf pan.  Lightly spritz the top with olive oil or melted butter and sprinkle with 1 T coarse sugar. 

Cover and allow the dough to rise again, about 30-45 minutes, until the dough has risen above the rim of the pan. 

Then, uncover and bake the bread in an oven preheated to 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes.  The bread should be lightly browned and sound hallow when knocked/tapped. 

Remove the bread from the pan, and place on a cooing rack.  Cool completely (I know… it’s so tough to wait!!!) before slicing.  Slice and serve. 

Enjoy!

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Ingredient Spotlight: Winter Squash

Thanks for joining us for this week’s Ingredient Spotlight!  We are talking all about winter squash this week – butternut, acorn, spaghetti, and my personal favorite, buttercup are just the tip of the squash-berg when it comes to winter squash. 

My blogging friend, Liz from Carpe Season just did a post all about winter squash explaining who’s who and what’s what when it comes to squash.  You can visit that post here. 

Here are our favorite ways to enjoy winter squash:

Crockpot Winter Squash (pictured above)

Make Ahead Butternut Squash Bake

Buttercup Squash Baked Oatmeal with Craisins

Butternut Squash Pasta Skillet

Butternut Squash & Spinach Lasagna

Let’s see your recipes --

An InLinkz Link-up

 

Join us next week for Lentils and to start off November, you won’t want to miss Sweet Potatoes! 

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Steak & Mushrooms Sandwiches

If you haven’t guessed already, Frog Prince and I don’t eat a lot of red meat.  When we do, we want to enjoy it in something really tasty, but where the meat isn’t on center stage. 

These steak and mushroom sandwiches provided us a hint of meat with a side of veggies and onions.  We served them on whole wheat buttermilk bread buns and they were outstanding!

Steak & Mushroom Sandwiches – Adapted from A Family Feast

Ingredients

• 1/4 lb. beef, sliced thinly or into small 1/2 inch cubes
• 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 T butter
• 8 oz. fresh mushrooms
• 1/2 large Vidalia onion, sliced and sepearated
• Whole wheat dinner rolls
• Mozzarella or Monterrey Jack cheese
• Montreal Steak seasoning

Directions

Begin by sautéing the beef in 1/2 T butter along with 1/2 tsp. minced garlic and Montreal Steak Seasoning (to taste) until sides are seared. Then cook over medium-low heat in the skillet for 10-15 minutes until beef is cooked to your preferred doneness. 

In a second large skillet, melt the remaining 1/2 T butter.  Add in sliced mushrooms and onion.  Sauté until liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated and the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. 

Add the beef and mushroom onion mixture together. 

Slice open your whole wheat bun, and top with cheese. Place under the broiler for 2 minutes, watching carefully to prevent burning.  Cheese should be nicely melted at this point.  If not, return the the broiler until melted. 

Pile on the beef and onion mixture, and close the bun!

Serve warm and enjoy!  

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