Super Simple Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Here's a nice alternative to its fried counterpart! Really easy, but very flavorful. They help to satisfy that french fry craving, without the grease remorse!

Ingredients: (serves 2)
1 medium to large sweet potato
1.5 tbsp olive oil
course sea salt and course ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Wash sweet potato and cut into eighths, lengthwise

3. Mix sweet potatoes with olive oil and shake on the S & P.

4. Bake for 30 minutes (I used a stainless steel pan, but you could also use a cookie sheet), or until insides are soft and outsides begin to crisp.

Citrus and Sesame Quinoa with Edamame

This is a great meal or side dish for people wanting a meatless meal with complete proteins. It's actually my first time working with quinoa, so forgive me if I make any blunders! Honestly I just threw some things together and crossed my fingers that the flavors would work out.... : )

Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS (makes 1 "meal" sized portion or 2 side portions):
1/2 cup quinoa
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sesame (optional) I used half white sesame, half black
1 tbsp orange zest
1/2 cup edamame
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp soy sauce

1. Prep the quinoa by soaking in water for 15 - 30 minutes. Rinse when done.

2. Prepare the sauce by heating the olive oil in the pan with the sesame seeds for 2-3 minutes. Add in the soy sauce, honey, edamame, and orange zest. Simmer for 2-3 minutes. Remove and set aside.

3. Bring 1 cup water and 1/2 cup prepared quinoa to a boil. Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes, or until all water has been absorbed and quinoa is fluffy.

4. Remove from heat, mix sauce mixture into cooked quinoa and enjoy.

Stuffed Zucchini

It's been about a month since my last post, because I haven't really had any reason to cook anything new...sadly. My husband works nights, and I work days, so cooking dinner usually consists of me making a sandwich for myself, and packing him something for lunch. (le sigh!) BUT this month we will actually be able to have dinner together! Here is my celebratory recipe for our first at home dinner together in a loooong time!

I wanted to make this lower fat, so I used turkey bacon. It's definitely not the same as the fatty, wonderful, perfect bacon, but it will do! Especially when it's surrounded by other flavors.

Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:
2 zucchini
1 small onion
1 tomato
3 cloves garlic
10 strips turkey bacon (or regular bacon, as the case may be)
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chicken stock

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Prepare your mise en place by chopping the onion and tomato, halving and hollowing out your zucchini (keep the insides), mincing your garlic, and slicing your bacon into 1/4 inch strips.




3. Heat oil in pan and brown garlic. Add in bacon and cook for approximately 5 minutes, until brown and fat (whatever fat in turkey bacon...) has rendered.

4. Add in onion, tomato, and the insides (or innards, if we want to be greusome!) of the zucchini. Saute until all has softened and onions are transparent.

5. Add in panko and 1/4 cup cheese, to make everything pull together.

6. Put even amounts of pan contents into the 4 zucchini "boats".

7. Fill a glass pan w/ chicken stock, and put the boats in the pan. Cover w/ cheese. Bake for 15 minutes, or until zucchini has softened and cheese has become a molten lava of goodness. :)

Black Bean Burgers

After being a vegetarian for a year in high school, I am sensitive to the needs of vegetarians and vegans. You have to take in enough protein a day, but you want to make it taste good and SATISFYING. I mean come on, garden salads and tofu only go so far. These burgers are big and filling (especially with all the fiber) and tasty! Add in more hot sauce, if you want to do a spicy version. I just knew I would be sharing these with people who aren't hot sauce fans. :) I added in a few carrots for more texture.

Enjoy!


Ingredients (makes 3 patties):
-1 can black beans, drained and rinsed well
-2 teaspoons minced garlic
-salt and pepper to taste
-Siracha, or any other hot sauce, to taste. I only used about 1 teaspoon.
-5 carrot sticks (optional, but good for more texture)
-1/2 cup bread crumbs
-1 egg

1. In a food processor or blender, blend together the beans, garlic, s & p, hot sauce and carrots. Mix well, until it becomes a paste-like texture.
2. In a bowl, mix in the egg. This will help to bind the ingredients together while cooking.
3. Add in breadcrumbs until the mixture holds together well.
4. In a pan, heat for 3-4 minutes on each side on medium high heat.

Saveur Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

I have GOT to get off of this cupcake kick. I mean, we all do. Cupcakes are the new black, or so it seems.

With that being said, here is one of the most popular flavor combinations that I've noticed in the past year or two. I feel like red velvet with cream cheese is just the trend of the trends. HOWEVER, it's still good. I got the recipe from Saveur magazine's website. We were going to a dinner get together with some friends, and we were on dessert duty. My three goals for my dessert was that it was: 1. something everyone would like 2. nothing too austentacious 3. something asthetically pleasing (versus maybe a cobbler).

You can find the recipe HERE

Enjoy! (and enjoy the cupcake trend...at least it's a cute one!)