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Showing posts with label Sweet Potatoes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sweet Potatoes. Show all posts

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Baked Chicken Strips and Sweet Potato Waffles

Have you ever heard of Chicken and Waffles?  Served together, as in on the same plate? No?  Well, I had never heard of such a meal either until moving to the South.  I saw this meal on a handful of menus around town and it was mentioned a few times in conversations, but I never really thought about it.

The most common description for this meal is a piece of fried chicken served on top of a buttermilk waffle, then everything is drizzled with maple syrup.  It sounded a little odd, but intriguing at the same time.  So I had to make this meal just for fun and I thought my kids would get a kick out of the idea of chicken and waffles for dinner.  The funny thing was, we all loved it!

We decided to make our own interpretation of this meal and try to make it a bit healthier.  Instead of using fried chicken, we went with lightly breaded and baked white meat chicken strips.  Not "authentic" according to most sources, but healthier.  The recipe below for chicken strips can be used for lots of other meals, too, and you can even spice them up a bit to suit your own taste.  (See the note below for alternate spices.)


The waffles were another project altogether.  I've read many recipes for pumpkin waffles, which are quite tasty, but since I had some leftover mashed sweet potatoes, and I had always wanted to try a waffle made out of sweet potatoes, the recipe kind of came together on its own. Sweet potatoes + chicken + maple syrup? It was sounding better and better!

This was the first time I've used a waffle iron but I'm already in love with it.  The waffles had a light airy texture inside and the exterior was nice and crispy.  Perfect!  In addition to maple syrup we also tried a drizzle of honey on the waffles and it was also delicious, but we all voted in favor of the maple syrup.

Although this recipe seems a little strange I do hope you get to try it.  The flavors are an amazing combination and the sweet potato waffles are really a unique treat which would even work well for breakfast..lol.  So here is my question for you... Have you ever tried Chicken and Waffles? Is it really a Southern meal? Leave me a note below, I'd love to hear what everyone thinks of this somewhat classic dish.

3 -4  Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut into 3/4-inch strips
2 TB  Canola Oil
1 cup  Bread Crumbs
1/4 cup  Shredded Parmesan Cheese
1/2 tsp  Kosher Salt
1/4 tsp  Ground Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl combine the chicken and canola oil (**see note)  and stir to evenly coat the chicken.

In a second bowl combine the bread crumbs, cheese, salt and pepper.

Dip the chicken strips in the bread crumb mixture and place on the prepared baking sheet.  Bake 10 minutes, turn, and bake 5 - 8 minutes longer or until the chicken is cooked through.

**Note:  If you plan on serving the chicken as part of a different meal than the Chicken and Waffles, and you would like the chicken a bit more spicy, add 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or 1 teaspoon Frank's Hot Sauce  to the oil and chicken, then proceed with the recipe as above.  This is a fast and easy way to make chicken strips for kids without all the processing you get in the store bought chicken nuggets.

Sweet Potato Waffles

4 TB  Butter, softened
1 TB  Sugar
1  Egg, separated
1 cup  Milk
1/4 tsp  Kosher Salt
1/4 tsp  Nutmeg
3/4 cup  Flour
1 cup  Mashed Sweet Potatoes (leftovers work great)
2 tsp  Baking Powder

Use a hand mixer to cream together the butter and sugar.  Add the egg yolk and blend, then gradually add the milk, slowly incorporating it into the mixture.  Add the salt and nutmeg and blend until smooth.

Beat in the flour, sweet potato and baking powder until smooth.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg white until you have stiff peaks.  Using a spatula, gently fold the egg white into the waffle batter, combining the ingredients without over stirring.

Heat a waffle iron up to temperature according to your user guide.  Add about 1/3 cup of batter for each waffle and cook for 4 -5 minutes or until the waffles are set.  (Check your users guide for the appropriate amount of batter to use and suggested cooking times.)

To serve, place two waffles on a plate, top with one chicken strip and drizzle with maple syrup.  Enjoy!!

Friday, October 4, 2013

Autumn Pork and Apple Stew

For day four of Soup Month 2013, we have a hearty autumn soup complete with sweet potatoes, juicy apples, baby carrots, lean pork sirloin and to top it off, a bottle of apple ale.  All of the ingredients combine to create a perfect blend of fall flavors.

What's great about a hearty stew like this is that the flavor gets even better as it sits.  All of those distinct flavors combine and intensify and create a wonderful broth.  Leftovers, if there are any, are delicious, so this is a great weekend meal that you can enjoy for lunch during the week.  Serve with a loaf of crunchy French bread and a cold bottle of Redds Apple Ale or a glass of good crisp Chardonnay like a Rodney Strong Chalk Hill Reserve 2009.


Preparation time for this stew is just about an hour, and this is a really easy recipe to make.  For the beer we chose a Redds Apple Ale, but you could use any good ale or cider beer.  The next time I make this I'd like to try it with Angry Orchard Hard Cider or maybe Strongbow Cider, both of which sound excellent.  Enjoy!!

3 TB  Unsalted Butter
1-1/4 lb  Pork Sirloin, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 stalks  Celery, chopped
1 small  Onion, chopped
1 cup  Baby Carrots
1 tsp  Cumin
1  Rosemary Sprig  (or use 2 tsp Dried Rosemary)
1 tsp  Ground Black Pepper
1/3 cup  Flour
3 medium  Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cubed
2  large  Baking Apples
3 cups  Chicken Stock
1 bottle  Redds Apple Ale Beer

In a large pot melt the butter over medium heat, add the pork to the pot and cook until browned.

Add the celery, onion and carrots to the pan, stir, then add the cumin, rosemary and black pepper to the pot.  When vegetables are just tender, add the flour and stir to evenly coat all of the vegetables.

Add the potatoes, apples, stock and beer to the pot and bring to a simmer.  Lower the heat and cook uncovered until the potatoes are soft and the meat is tender, about 20 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and let stand for 10 - 15 minutes before serving.  This will allow the stew to thicken slightly.  Ladle into soup bowls and serve.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Continuing with our pre-holiday preparations, it just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without the Sweet Potatoes!  But instead of serving the super sweet, marshmallow topped version this year, try serving the real thing, Mashed Sweet Potatoes.


This recipe lets the natural flavor of the potatoes shine through, with just a touch of honey added for sweetness.  For extra flavor you can add orange juice or maple syrup to the finished potatoes.  This works really well if you are serving a baked ham.

If you have any sweet potatoes leftover, you are in for a treat.  We have several delicious ways to use up any extras such as Sweet Potato Bread, Sweet Potato and Oatmeal Muffins, or Sweet Potato Cookies with White Chocolate Chips and Cranberries.

6  Medium Sweet Potatoes, scrubbed
3 cups  Water, or enough to cover potatoes
1 tsp  Salt
1/4 cup  Butter, softened
3-4 TB  Honey
1/2 tsp  Salt

Cut off the ends of the potatoes and peel, removing any bruised spots. Chop potatoes into small 1-inch cubes, place in a large saucepan and add the water and salt.  Boil about 20 minutes or until just fork-tender.  Drain potatoes, return to the pan and add the butter.  Whip with an electric mixer until potatoes are smooth, then add honey and 1/2 tsp salt.  Serves 6-8.

Options:
For Orange-Flavored Sweet Potatoes: Add 2 tablespoons orange juice along with the honey.
For Maple-Flavored Sweet Potatoes: Prepare as above, substituting maple syrup for the honey.


Friday, October 5, 2012

Coconut-Curry Sweet Potato Soup

Today for our next Soup Month recipe we have a creamy Coconut-Curry Sweet Potato Soup.  This is another great way to serve sweet potatoes and highlight the savory side of this delicious potato. 

These tasty orange potatoes are one of the healthiest foods you can include in your diet and here are a few reasons why.  Sweet potatoes are full of antioxidants, vitamin A and especially beta-carotene.  In order to absorb the most beta-carotene it is important to include a small amount of fat in the dish and in this case we used coconut milk, which adds a delicate sweetness to the soup.

To make the soup extra easy to prepare we used a crock pot to slowly steam /boil the ingredients.  The prep time was only about 15 minutes to peel and chop the veggies, toss everything into the pot, then a total of about 5 hours to slow cook. 


1/2 large Onion, chopped
2 medium Carrots, peeled and chopped
1-1/2 lbs Sweet Potatoes (about 3 medium), peeled and chopped
1 tsp  Curry Powder
1 tsp  Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp  Freshly Ground Black Pepper
3 cups College Inn Thai Coconut Curry Culinary Broth
1 cup  Coconut Milk
Sliced Toasted Almonds for Garnish


In a 6-quart slow cooker, combine the onion, carrots, potatoes, curry powder, salt, pepper and broth. 

Cook on high for 60 minutes, turn setting to low and cook for 4 hours longer.

Using an immersion blender, puree the soup, add the coconut milk and adjust seasonings as needed.  (You can also use a standard blender for this step, just work in 2 or 3 batches to puree the soup.) 

Ladle the soup into bowls and top with a sprinkle of sliced toasted almonds.  Enjoy!!

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Chicken Pot Pie with Sweet Potato Crust

Some people would call this peasant food or comfort food, but everyone enjoys a home cooked pot pie.   I've always loved to cook chicken pot pies because you can change the ingredients in the filling and take the flavor in a totally different direction.  And that's exactly what we did with this dish.  This is a very easy and tasty way to use up leftover sweet potatoes and chicken into one yummy pie.

For this pot pie I used some leftover baked chicken, sweet baby peas and a generous cup of little pearl onions, with a quick sauce of milk and white wine/herb broth.  I actually cooked the onions in the broth for a bit so the onion flavor would blend into the sauce.

The topping for this pie was going to be something special.  A creamy blend of leftover mashed sweet potatoes, butter, flour and egg proved to be a delicious crust, and it was a nice change from the traditional crust.

This is also a great "plan-ahead" meal that will save you time in the kitchen.  By baking a chicken for Sunday night dinner, and serving mashed sweet potatoes on the side, you already have the two main ingredients of this dish ready to go for a quick weeknight meal. 

For the Crust
2 cups  Mashed Sweet Potatoes
1/3 cup  Butter, melted
1  Egg
1 1/2 cups  Flour
1 1/2 tsp  Baking Powder
1 tsp  Salt

In a medium bowl combine the potatoes, butter and egg; stir until combined.  Blend in the flour,  baking powder and salt and stir until you have a smooth mixture.  Set aside.

To Prepare the Pot Pie
3 cups  Diced Cooked Chicken  (or use leftover turkey)
1 cup  Cooked Peas  (or peas and carrots)
1 cup  Frozen Small Pearl Onions
1 cup  Milk
1 cup  College Inn White Wine & Herb Broth
3 TB  Flour
1 tsp  Salt
1/2 tsp  Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly butter the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish and arrange the chicken followed by the peas in an even layer.  Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, broth and pearl onions and cook over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes until warm, but not boiling.  Add the flour, salt and pepper to the broth mixture, blending well.  Cook until thickened, stirring constantly.

Pour the mixture over the chicken and peas in the casserole dish, then drop tablespoons of the sweet potato batter on top of the pot pie, lightly smoothing the mixture to fully cover the top of the pie.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the sweet potato crust is slightly browned and solid.  Enjoy!!

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Orange Sweet Potato Cookies

We are still having so much fun creating recipes with sweet potatoes and this cookie is one of my favorites so far. These cookies get a double dose of orange.  The orange zest added a bright burst of flavor and was accented even more because the leftover Mashed Sweet Potatoes we used had a touch of orange juice in them.  (See the link above to prepare sweet potatoes with orange juice.)  These were so simple to make and it's a great way to use up leftovers.  Enjoy!

1/2 cup  Butter, softened
1/2 cup  Crisco Shortening
1/2 cup  Sugar
1/2 cup  Packed Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp  Baking Powder
1/4 tsp  Baking Soda
1 cup  Cooked Mashed Sweet Potatoes (leftovers work great)
1  Large Egg
1 tsp  Finely Minced Orange Peel
1/4 tsp  Ground Cinnamon
2 cups  Flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Beat butter, shortening and sugars together until smooth.  Add all remaining ingredients and stir to fully combine.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake for 10 - 12 minutes until cookies are firm and no longer moist on top.  Makes about 30 cookies.

Friday, December 2, 2011

Sweet Potato Blondie Bars

My curiosity continues today in finding new ways to cook with Sweet Potatoes.  This began as a way to use up leftover sweet potatoes from Thanksgiving dinner, but now it has become an enjoyable quest to find more ways to use this tasty food in other types of dishes, especially snacks such as these Sweet Potato Blondie Bars.  Remember, sweet potatoes are good for you!  They contain antioxidants, anti-inflammatory nutrients, and they can help regulate your blood sugar, in addition to being a great source of vitamins A and C.

This snack came to be by combining several pumpkin recipes and just substituting the sweet potatoes for the pumpkin on a 1-to-1 basis.  So far the results have been successful and delicious.  Check back for more sweet potato recipes..there are sure to be more in the very near future.  In the meantime, whip up a batch of these Sweet Potato Blondie Bars and enjoy with a cup of tea or hot cocoa. 

2 cups  Flour
1 TB  Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 tsp  Cinnamon
1 tsp  Baking Soda
1 tsp  Salt
2 sticks  Margarine or Butter, softened
1/2 cup  Sugar
3/4 cup  Brown Sugar
1  Large Egg
2 tsp  Vanilla Extract
1 cup  Mashed Sweet Potatoes
1 cup  White Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch baking dish and set aside.

Beat together the butter and sugars on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.  Add the egg and vanilla and blend until combined.  Add the sweet potatoes and blend on low speed until combined, then add the flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.  Blend until all of the ingredients are fully combined, then use a spoon to fold in the white chocolate chips.

Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan, smoothing batter into the corners.  Bake until the edges begin to pull away from the sides, about 35-40 minutes.  Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the bars. If the toothpick comes out clean, the bars are fully cooked.

Allow to cool before cutting if possible, although I failed on this step.  I could no longer wait to try one of these bars and they are amazing when served warm...with a cup of cocoa...Yummy!

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Sweet Potato Bread

This recipe was so much fun to work with!  I'm still amazed how many different ways there are to use leftover sweet potatoes, and this is the best yet.  When I came across the original recipe, although it contained one of my least favorite ingredients (Crisco), I was determined to find a way to lighten up this bread.  I know Crisco has been around a long time and many cooks swear by it, but the only time I use it is for the occasional batch of Snickerdoodles.  Otherwise, I try to find alternate ingredients that are a little healthier and applesauce is my substitution of choice.  I still kept the Crisco, only using 1/3 of the original amount, and replaced the missing portion with applesauce and apple butter.  Since these do contain sugar, I reduced the sugar by a full cup and the results were outstanding!  The taste of sweet potato, which had almost a pumpkin pie flavor, combined with cinnamon and cloves came together perfectly.

The topping added a nice finishing touch, although I did reduce the portion by half, otherwise it seemed like WAY too much icing.  Just a light drizzle of icing makes this a tasty sweet treat that might just be breakfast in the morning.  Enjoy!
   
 
  

1/3 cup  Crisco Vegetable Shortening
1/3 cup  Apple Butter
1/3 cup  Applesauce (sweetened or unsweetened)
2 cups  Sugar
4  Large Eggs
2 cups  Mashed Sweet Potatoes (leftovers work great here)
3 1/2 cups  Flour
2 tsp  Baking Soda
2 tsp  Baking Powder
1 1/2 tsp  Ground Cinnamon
1 tsp  Salt
1/2 tsp  Ground Cloves
1/2 cup  Milk

For Glaze
1/2 cup  Confectioners Sugar
1/4 cup  Pure Maple Syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare 2 loaf pans by lining with foil; set aside.  ** Using the foil liners makes cleanup easy and also allows the bread to cool faster since you can lift the bread out of the pan using the foil liner.

Using an electric mixer on low speed cream together the shortening, apple butter, applesauce, sugar,  eggs and sweet potatoes.  Blend until smooth.  Add remaining ingredients and blend until combined.

Pour batter into the 2 loaf pans and bake for 65 - 75 minutes.  Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of each loaf.  If toothpick comes out clean the bread is done, otherwise return loaves to the oven and check for doneness in another 10 minutes.  Since my oven is a little wacky sometimes, mine were done just short of 90 minutes.

Cool bread on wire racks for 15 minutes, then lift the foil liners out of the loaf pans, peel back the foil and let loaves cool completely.

Combine the confectioners sugar and maple syrup until creamy and smooth, then drizzle over bread.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Sweet Potato Cookies

Now this is a great way to use up leftover sweet potatoes!  Today we have for you Sweet Potato Cookies that get just a bit of sweetness from white chocolate chips and dried cranberries.  You will have to forgive me for the picture, these cookies literally disappeared from the tray and the only two left were going into my daughters lunchbox!  So that's the picture we have, at least until I make another batch of these...which will have to be soon.

My favorite thing about these cookies was how easy they were to make.  I'm a bit of a short-cut baker; I don't usually "bake" but when I do get the urge to bake cookies, I like recipes that I can whip up pretty quickly.  Add the wet ingredients, blend, add the dry ingredients all at once, blend, done! Now that's how easy cookies should be to make!  Bake up a batch of these cookies to snack on after you finish your holiday shopping, add a mug of tea or hot chocolate and enjoy!

1 Stick Unsalted Butter, softened
1/2 cup  Light Brown Sugar
1/4 cup  Sugar
2 TB  Honey
1 tsp  Vanilla
1  Egg
1 cup  Mashed Sweet Potatoes
1 1/4 cups  Flour
1 tsp  Baking Powder
1/2 tsp  Baking Soda
1/2 tsp  Salt
1/2 tsp  Cinnamon
1/8 tsp  Ground Ginger
1/8 tsp  Ground Nutmeg
1/2 cup  White Chocolate Chips
1/3 cup  Dried Cranberries (Craisins)

Preheat over to 350.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, blend the butter, sugar, brown sugar, and honey until smooth.  Add the egg, vanilla and the sweet potatoes and blend until smooth.

Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and all of the dry spices.  Blend until fully combined, then add the chocolate chips and cranberries and finish mixing by hand.

Drop rounded spoonfuls of dough onto cookie sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake about 9 - 12 minutes, turning cookie sheets halfway thru cooking if needed.  Let cool 1 minute on cookie sheets, then move to wire racks to finish cooling.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Sweet Potato and Oatmeal Muffins

Yesterday we brought you a recipe for Mashed Sweet Potatoes and, if you have a little leftover sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving, save them for this yummy treat. The cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves give these muffins somewhat of a pumpkin pie flavor and the sweet potatoes make them ultra moist.

These muffins make a great breakfast and, with the crunchy-crumbly topping, your kids won't even realize they are eating something that is good for them.

1 cup  Old Fashioned Oatmeal
1 cup  Flour
1 tsp  Baking Powder
1/2 tsp  Baking Soda
1 tsp  Cinnamon
1/2 tsp  Nutmeg
1/2 tsp  Salt
1/8 tsp  Cloves
1 cup  Mashed Sweet Potatoes
3/4 cup  Light Brown Sugar
1/3 cup  Canola Oil
1/4 cup  Milk
1  Large Egg
1 tsp  Vanilla

Crumble Topping

1/4 cup  Old Fashioned Oatmeal
1/4 cup  Flour
1/4 cup  Light Brown Sugar
2 TB  Margarine, melted
1 tsp  Vanilla

Preheat oven to 400.  Lightly grease muffin tins, about 15, and set aside.

In a small bowl, prepare the crumble topping.  Stir until fully combined and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine sweet potatoes, brown sugar, oil, milk, egg and vanilla;  stir well to combine.  Next add all of the dry ingredients and stir until moistened.  Fill muffin tins 3/4 full and sprinkle with crumble topping.  Bake 15 - 20 minutes.  Makes about 15 muffins.