Spicy Sweet Potato Salad

Did you know there is a difference between sweet potatoes and yams? It’s common for most people to confuse the two!

Sweet potatoes are yellow to cream-colored inside, drier than yams, with a mild, nutty taste, where as Yams are moist and sweet and orange when you cut into them.

Be creative with your sweet potatoes and yams!  They can be used in most recipes calling for potatoes, pumpkin, squash and even bananas when use in breads, cakes and cookies. They are high in fiber, high in antioxidants, have a low glycemic index and are an excellent source of potassium.

Ingredients:

8 large sweet potatoes

1 c olive oil

sea salt and ground black pepper

1/2 c white wine vinegar

2 medium red bell peppers

4 tsp ground cumin

2 tbsp grated orange zest

1 c sliced scallions

1 c fresh minced basil leaves

1.5 jalapeno peppers,minced

1/2 raisins

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into bite- sized pieces. Put them on a baking sheet, drizzle with 4 tbsp of the oil and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast turning occasionally, until crisp and brown outside and just tender inside, about 30 minutes. Remove and keep on the pan until ready to dress.

2. Make the dressing while the potatoes cook. Put the remaining oil in a blender along with the vinegar, bell pepper, cumin and zest. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Puree until smooth.

3. Toss the warm potatoes with the scallion, basil, jalapenos and raisins. Add 1 c of the dressing and toss to coat, adding more if necessary. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve immediately or a room temperature.

I found this recipe in a little booklet that came with my last purchase of yams- you can find more recipes here!

xo erin

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tacos

 

 

If you know me…you know I LOVE me some tacos! The saddest part was that my avocados were nowhere near ripe….but I wanted these tacos so bad I couldn’t wait! Although avocado does makes everything better…am I right?! SO make sure you have some ripe avocados 🙂 Happy Taco Tuesday!

ingredients

4 small sweet potatoes

black beans (540 ml can)

1 large garlic clove, minced

1/4 small onion

1/8 jalapeno

2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

sea salt and pepper to taste

1/4 red cabbage thinly sliced

2 carrots shaved with vegetable peeler

1/3 c cilantro

corn tortillas

lime (if you would like more juice on top of tacos)

1 large avocado

cream sauce

1/4 coconut cream

juice from 1/2 lime

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp parsley flakes

1 large garlic clove, minced

sea salt and pepper to taste

directions

1. Cut sweet potatoes into big chunks and boil until tender ( about 20- 25 minutes)
2. While sweet potatoes are boiling warm black beans on the stove.
3. You can also make your cream sauce while you are waiting, add all ingredients to mini food processor and mix together.
4. When sweet potatoes are done, mash with a potato masher. Add garlic, onion, cumin, jalapeño, smoked paprika and salt and pepper. Once combined, mix in black beans.
5. Wrap corn tortillas in paper towel and warm in the microwave for 30 seconds…you may need to add more time depending on how many tortillas you have!
6. Add sweet potato mixture to taco shells and top with cabbage, carrots, avocado, cream sauce, avocado and lime juice

*This made a lot, so you can have left overs for lunches during the week!

xo

Ramen Soup

Ingredients: 

1 chicken breast

1.5 tsp Chinese 5 spice

1 tsp butter

1/2 Tbsp + 1 tsp olive oil

1/2 Tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp ginger, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1.5 Tbsp soy sauce

1.5 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 c veggie broth

4 mushrooms, chop some and leave some whole

1 zucchini, spiralized

1 scallion

1/2 jalapeno

Ramen egg:

1 egg

3 Tbsp water

1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 Tbsp soy sauce

Directions:

1. Cook the chicken: Pre- heat oven to 350F. Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper & Chinese 5 spice. Heat the butter and 1 tsp of olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken, and cook until golden brown, about 5-7 minutes. Flip the chicken over and cook for another 4-5 minutes, until golden. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast for 15, until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from the oven, transfer the chicken to a plate and cover with foil until ready to serve.
2. Make the soft-boiled eggs: Fill a pot with enough water to cover the eggs, and bring to a boil. Gently lower the eggs (still cold from the fridge) into the boiling water, and let simmer for 8 minutes (for a soft, but set-up yoke). Let your eggs sit in an ice bath for at least 5 minutes and then peal. In a zip lock bag add 1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 3 Tbsp of water and add peeled egg to the bag. Let it merinade.
3. Make the ramen broth: Heat 1/2 Tbsp olive oil & 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil in a large pot over medium heat, until shimmering. Add the garlic and ginger, and cook for a few minutes until softened. Add the soy sauce and rice wine vinegar, and stir to combine. Cook for another minute. Add the veggie broth, cover, and bring to boil. Remove the lid, and let simmer uncovered for 5 minutes, then add the chopped mushrooms. Simmer gently for another 10 minutes, and season with salt, to taste.
4. Assemble the ramen bowls: Meanwhile, chop the scallions and jalapeño. Slice the chicken into thin pieces. Set aside. Add the zucchini noodles and left over whole mushrooms to the veggie broth and let it cook for 2-3 minutes, until soft. Add the sliced chicken. Top with scallions & jalapenos.

* if you would like to make it Whole 30 or Paleo use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce and ghee instead of butter.

xo erin

Stove Top Chili

Chili for a chilly day! I often have too much baking at home to eat before it goes back so I have a collection of baked goods in my freezer. I was part of Calgary’s first gluten free bake sale this year and got some Jalapeno & Cheddar gluten free corn bread from Anejo! I froze it because I had lots of food to eat at the time and enjoyed it with my chili last night! I probably should have eaten it the day of so it was fresh, but it was still delicious!

Ingredients:

1 pound of hamburger or ground turkey

Half an onion chopped

2 cloves garlic minced

3 stalks of celery chopped

½ green pepper chopped

1 jalapeno (remove seeds) chopped fine

Season with salt and pepper

1 large tin of diced tomatoes

2 tins kidney beans (rinsed)

1 tin chick peas or black beans (rinsed)

2 tins pork and beans

2-3 tbsp chili powder

Directions:

1. Saute hamburger or turkey, onion, garlic,celery, green pepper, jalapeno, salt & pepper until meat is cooked.
2. Add tomatoes, kidney beans, chick peas, pork and bean & chili powder. Mix, bring to boil and then let simmer 30-45 minutes. Sometimes mine is simmering an hour. Stir occasionally.

xo erin

{ everything but the kitchen sink } PIZZA

I needed to use up all of the ingredients in my fridge and this is what came of it- a wanna be BBQ chicken pizza! Also, I was out of sweet potatoes…AH the torture! So instead, I used candy cane beets for the crust! I was worried it would have a strange flavor but it was actually delicious!

Ingredients:

grilled chicken breast

red onion

artichoke hearts

jalapeno

orange and yellow peppers

pineapple

mozzarella cheese

kalamata olives

Sauce

1 c crushed tomatoes

1 tsp chulula sauce

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp fresh basil

1 clove garlic, minced

Directions:

1. Make your crust. (I used beets instead of sweet potatoes)

2. While the crust is cooking, grill your chicken and chop your veggies.

3.  In a small sauce pan bring the ingredients for the sauce to a boil and then let it simmer to bring out the flavor.

4. Once the crust is beginning to brown remove from the oven, spread sauce on the crust, grate however mush cheese you would like, and top with your toppings. I didn’t measure amounts, so you can add however much or little you would like! I topped my pizza high!

5. Place back into the oven for about 8- 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Add a couple of kalamata olives on top, slice and serve!

xo erin