Tag Archives: potato

Hot Chili Nights

The weather hasn’t quite given us the green light for chilis, roasts and crock pot comfort meals, but I say “so what!” I spotted this sweet potato chili recipe in a Better Homes and Gardens at dance class last Friday and jotted down the main ingredients, but kind of did my own thing as far as preparing it.

3 large sweet potatoes {I guess you could also use yams}, peeled and cut into medium sized chunks {aka not too big and not too small!}

1/2 pound ground turkey, browned {this was not part of the recipe ~ I added it, but this would also be perfect as a vegetarian meal}

onion, chopped

red pepper, chopped

garlic, minced {however much you like…we like A LOT}

1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

14.5 ounce can petite diced tomatoes with jalapeños

2 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

dash cayenne

chopped cilantro and sour cream for garnish

I used 2 large sweet potatoes ~ peeled and cut them. Chopped a brown onion, red pepper and massive cloves of garlic. Sauté onions, peppers and garlic in olive oil until soft, stirring often. I browned the ground turkey in a separate pan, but you could brown it along with the veggies I suppose. Add the sweet potatoes, tomatoes {I ended up using a big fat can [28 ounces, I think] of petite diced}, and about 1-2 cups water {depending on how thick or soupy you like it}. Bring to a boil then turn down and simmer {covered} for about 20-25 minutes until potatoes are fork tender. Add the cooked meat and beans, heat through. Ladle it up and serve with cilantro confetti, a dollop of light sour cream and several dashes of Tabasco.

I love chilis because you can make a big pot and eat it throughout your busy week for lunches and dinners. The flavors also seem to get better the second and third day {can you tell we’re totally OK with leftovers over here?} 😉

Since this has the starchy taters, I didn’t serve any cornbread with it. It was a hearty, filling one pot meal ~ perfect for the {upcoming!} cooler weather. I also recently discovered a chicken basil chili that I will be making next week….stay tuned for that yummy recipe.

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Happy, happy weekending!

{Simple} Sunday

Today was a simple, family day.

: Hot coffee with hazelnut creamer :

: Bike ride to Albertson’s :

: Grilled cheeseburgers with crinkle fries and Sriracha Ranch :

: Quick Slip N Slide action in the backyard :

: Outdoor play-doh fun :

: Football and more football :

: New dinner recipe :

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My sweet, now in CO friend, Alicia, was so kind to send me a subscription to “Real Simple” magazine. I forgot just how much I love this publication. Full of ways to simplify, but still thoroughly enjoy life. Since I am currently obsessed with purging, this mag fits the bill perfectly. Thanks again, Leesh! I love the monthly love in my mailbox.

This month’s issue had a recipe that caught my eye. We’ve been talking about grilling up a pork tenderloin for weeks and when I scouted this one, I knew this was it.

Chili-Glazed Pork With Sweet Potato Hash

Uh, chili powder and maple glazed pork with sweet potatoes? Yes, please!

It was the perfect recipe for our maiden {pork tenderloin} voyage! Jay grilled the pork instead of broiling as the recipe suggested.

The sweet potatoes paired with the Sriracha sauce?

Perfection.

And I love that there is some spinach thrown in to make you feel extra good about this dish. Next time I will add lots more spinach and maybe half the sweet potato to reduce the starch in the meal.

Love. Love. Love.

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And here is some proof that you can break out the water slide in January in So Cal…

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Hope your weekend was full of all things {simple}.

{Dessert} Island

How adorable is this Turkey Day dessert table by the ever so talented Amy Atlas?

{details}

Confections for the {kid} in all of us!

I love the “corn cookies” on a stick.

I don’t know about you, but I always have room for dessert on Thanksgiving {and everyday for that matter}.

I wanted to share an easy pie recipe with you…

Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie

Courtesy of Paula Deen.

Just a little something different than your usual suspects…apple, pumpkin & pecan.

I love shopping for the bird and all the trimmings.

Think about putting some sweet potatoes on your list this year….you won’t be disappointed!

Happy Monday ~ only about 2 days left!

Sat-Sun Summary

After devouring my heavenly doughy bagel from Noah’s yesterday morning, I got really lazy.

I had good intentions:

~ take down decorations from Holden’s party!
~ clean out/straighten up the garage
~ go to the grocery store
~ do some laundry
~ workout
~ make sushi for dinner

I managed to accomplish ONE of the above mentioned tasks…laundry!

Instead of carrying out the other five chores, I made some banana bread:

…and viewed this gorgeous rainbow after cuddling up on the couch and doing nothing ALL day:

Since I didn’t make it to the store, I raided the freezer for dinner and we feasted on Trader Joe’s Orange Chicken and some of Lola’s lumpia ~ not too shabby.

But today was much more productive. It was gorgeous and Jay played outside with the kids while I ran a couple errands. I decided to make pulled pork and potato salad for dinner.

I found this pork shoulder on sale and grabbed a BBQ pulled pork seasoning package. Thanks for the tip, Lisa!

Just trim outside fat off roast, plop into the slow cooker, combine seasoning packet with 1 cup ketchup, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar, mix and pour over pork….Voila! (Note: I am going off memory on the amounts above, but they’re close – just follow the EASY instructions on the back of the packet.)

8 hours on low or 4 on high and you will have this:

Hawaiian Sweet Roll Pulled Pork Sliders

Scrumptious.

I made some Spicy Ranch Potato Salad to go alongside. (Adapted from my sister’s Ranch potato salad recipe.)

This time I used 2 large russet potatoes (1.88 lbs.) since I only wanted a little bit of potato salad….uh, these 2 taters made a TON of tater salad! Normally I use a 3 lb. bag of red potatoes, quarter them and leave the skins on. This time I skinned the russets and cubed them before boiling. Once they are fork tender, drain, cool and add the following:

1/4 red onion, minced
2-3 stalks celery, chopped (I use a mini food processor) My sister also turned me on to using the leafy parts of the inner stalks which I used to trash. These add a lot of extra flavor so I throw in some chopped leafy parts, too.
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
3/4 package Ranch dressing mix (I swear this is the secret to this recipe)
10-12 jalapeño slices, chopped
2 Tbsp. yellow mustard
1/4 to 1/2 cup mayo depending on your mayo threshold (I’m a mayo girl, but don’t like my potato salads too heavy – if that’s at all possible!?!)
Salt & pepper to taste

Mix all together and chill in ‘fridge for an hour or so before serving.

I was able to go workout while dinner was in the crock pot!

No, I haven’t taken down the decorations or worked on the garage, but there’s always tomorrow, right?

This week’s recipes:

Salmon Cakes & Parmesan Roasted Asparagus

(I picked up a couple gorgeous bunches of asparagus today for 97 cents a pound!)

Oh, and what do you think about flipflopfollies’ new look?

No more cheesy red flip flops and candy cane border!

Kudos to my personal blog bling’er, Jay!

I {L-O-V-E} it, babe! Thank you!

Easy As Pie

Seriously…this pie is easy and the only thing that isn’t from scratch is the shell. I use frozen unbaked crusts that come two to a package AND in a tin! Easy peasy!

Here is the recipe: Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie

Here are the ingredients:

pieingred

Here is what it looks like when it’s making your whole house smell delish:

pieoven

Looks like I need to clean the inside of my oven door…..

Anywhoo, this is what it looks before you cut it and devour it:

piefinal

The recipe calls for a meringue top, but I think the pie is gorgeous without it. Maybe a little vanilla bean whipped cream? But tonight I’m serving it on it’s own and saving the calories for something else!

Burger Bliss

burger

OK, you have got to make these burgers. Seriously!

If you think you don’t like horseradish, you do. If you think you don’t like Rachael Ray, you do.

These are the best. I make them all the time. Perfect for Fall. Turkey & Cranberry. Yum!

Serve with Alexia sweet potato fries (in the frozen aisle) and a simple green salad. I roasted some brussels sprouts to go with this meal, but left them in a little too long and they weren’t very photo worthy.

Here is a link to the recipe:

Turkey Burgers with Horseradish & Cheddar Cheese

Enjoy!