Baked Sweet Potato Fries

We had some friends over for dinner last night and decided to try and make a healthier version of burgers and fries.  We opted for turkey burgers with home made guac and decided to pair it with one of my favorite sides... baked sweet potato fries. 

Baked Sweet Potato Fries ( Modified recipe original from daddy)

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato 

handful of fingerling potatoes 

Dash of Balsamic vinegar 

Olive Oil 

Sea salt and pepper 

Tony's Chachere Spice 

1. Dice up Sweet potatoes and fingerling into long strips 

2. In a bowl with potatoes add a dash of balsamic and enough oil to get the potatoes damp 

3. Add plenty of salt and pepper and LOTS of chachere ( it gives it a really good spicy tang) 

4. Put potatoes on baking sheet ( make sure they are not crowded since you want to make sure they can get a little crispy)

5. Put in oven for 45 min at 375 turning potatoes every 15 min or so to avoid burning. 

It's super yummy and way better than the fried version :) 

Bread and Pasta

Ella and I decided to make homemade bread and pasta for dinner tonight. Ella really likes to help me make bread dough. She's quite the stirring expert. We let the dough rise while we went to the store to buy fruit and coffee. 

When we came back, I put the dough in a 3x5x9 inch pan and let it rise again. While it was rising I got started on my pasta. I have to use lots of mushrooms in the pasta since Ella has become obsessed with them. She likes a few noodles with her mushrooms.

I also picked some basil, oregano, and hungarian wax peppers from our garden. I love having a garden to pick cooking ingredients from.

I started with a little butter, the mushrooms, some sea salt, some wine. a couple zucchini, a shallot, two cloves of garlic, a handful of black olives I had left over in the fridge, a handful of cherry tomatoes, the peppers and herbs all chopped up and stirred into my pan. I added some black pepper, parmesan cheese and a little half and half to finish it off. This is the sort of pasta that is different every time. and usually delicious.

Getting a picture of freshly baked bread is a little difficult...

Easy Bread

1 cup of water

1 tsp. yeast

4 tsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. oil

Mixture of Whole Wheat White Flour and Bread Flour

1 tsp salt

1. Mix lukewarm water with sugar and yeast in a bowl and let sit.

2. Add oil and 1 cup Whole Wheat White Flour (mix well)

3. Add salt and 1 cup Bread flour (mix well)

4. Keep stirring in flour until a spongy dough forms. (No need to kneed.)

5. Cover and let rise for at least an hour.

6. Place in 3x5x9 greased pan. Let rise again for about an hour.

7 Bake at 400 for ~20 minutes

This is a great summertime side dish or main course when you can get tomatoes that are home grown or locally grown.  I made it last night for Mom and I.  It's quick, simple, nutritious, and delicious.  I can be easily modified and it is great to serve grilled fish over it.

Sauted greens with tomatoes, onions, garlic and quinoa.

4 to 6 cups greens (kale, swiss chard, collard, spinach)
1 onion rough chopped
2 to 4 cloves garlic diced small
4 to 6 medium tomatoes or ~30 cherry tomatoes
1 cup quinoa or you could use another grain
2 tbsp olive oil or 4 strips of bacon

prepare 1 cup of quinoa in a pot with 1 cup of water simmer on low covered for about 20 minutes

In a large skillet heat olive (for bacon lovers fry up some bacon instead)
Add an onion rough chopped.
When soft and 2 to 4 cloves garlic diced.
Saute for a few more minutes then add 4 to 6 medium sized tomatoes cut into 1/2 inch to 1 inch cubes.  I used a variety of tomatoes from the garden including cherry tomatoes.
Saute for about 5 minutes then add ~ 4- 6 cups of greens.  I used kale, but you could use swiss chard, collard greens, or spinach.
Saute on low until beginning to wilt, then add your prepared quinoa and continue cooking until greens are tender.
Salt and pepper to taste
You could add a hot pepper with the onion for a bit more bite

You can serve a grilled fish right on top of this, makes a nice presentation and is delicious.  Mom and I just had it as our main course.

I'm just testing to see if my blog shows up.  I love you girls and will post some recipes.

Baked Zucchini and Yellow Squash

Aaron and I have been cooking a lot because of support raising so I've been trying out new recipes. I just tried this one last night and Aaron really loved it ( but he's easy to please so let me know what you guys think) :).

Easy Cheesy Zucchini Bake
Recipe from: http://www.kalynskitchen.com/

Ingredients:
2 medium-sized zucchini, cut in slices or half-moon slices
2 medium-sized yellow squash, cut in slices or half-moon slices
2-4 T chopped fresh basil (or even less, depending on how much you like the flavor of basil)
2 T thinly sliced green onion ( used a white onion instead)
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
3/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 cup + 1/2 cup low-fat white cheese (I used Pizza Cheese, which is a low-fat blend of Mozzarella, Provolone, Romano, and Parmesan)
1/2 cup coarsely grated Parmesan (I would use a little less if you only have the very finely grated Parmesan from a can)
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F/180C.  Spray an 8" x 8" baking dish with olive oil or non-stick spray.  Wash the squash and cut in slices or half-moon slices.  Wash basil, spin dry or dry with paper towels and finely chop.  Slice green onions.

Combine the sliced squash, chopped basil, sliced green onions, dried thyme, garlic powder, and both kinds of cheese and stir together until the veggies are coated with cheese and the herbs are well-distributed.  Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper.  Put the mixture in the baking dish and bake uncovered for about 25-30 minutes.

When the zucchini is nearly cooked through, take the casserole dish out of the oven and sprinkle over the remaining 1/2 cup of grated cheese.  Put the dish back in the oven and bake 10-15 minutes longer, or until the cheese is melted and nicely browned and zucchini is fully cooked.  Serve hot.

So I think we should each try to post a recipe with a picture whenever we make something delicious or disastrous. :)