Sweet potatoes- Not just for Thanksgiving chili

When I came across this website http://www.ncsweetpotatoes.com/blogger-recipe-contest/ I thought it was a great idea because the sweet potato to me is really an unsung hero in the kitchen. They are sweet, nutritious and have a great texture and have a versatility that really allows them to be added to a wide verity of dishes. I often add sweet potatoes in vegetarian dishes when I need more depth of flavor and a nice meaty texture. This chili is my hand down favorite recipe to use sweet potato in. It’s vegetarian, but I promise meat eaters will be happy to eat it. It’s all in the way the potatoes are diced. One sweet potato is diced up very fine so it breaks down in the chili and melts into the sauce. The other sweet potato is left to shine as a meaty component of the dish.

2 sweet potatoes diced (read special directions on how to dice these)
1 cup cooked and drained pinto beans.
1 cup cooked and drained kidney beans 
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 white onion chopped
1 red pepper, diced
1 jalapeno diced
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 can petite diced tomatoes
2 cups water
1 handful or 2 tablespoons of diced cilantro
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
A large splash or about 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons butter
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste

For the garnish (We do this when we are serving chili at a party along with corn bread and corn chips)
1/2 red onion diced
1/2 red pepper diced
1 jalapeno diced

Special Directions:

Peel two sweet potatoes, dicing one into bite size pieces, the other sweet potato dice into very fine pieces. This is a very important step to this recipe and should not be skipped.

 Combine all ingredients into the crockpot and season with salt and pepper. Set on high and let cook for about 8 hours until everything is tender and the smaller sweet potatoes have become very soft.

I feel like there should be more directions to this recipe, but that’s it!  The labor of this recipe is really only in the chopping. It also tastes even better second day, and after freezing as it breaks down the sweet potatoes in the sauce a little bit more, so don’t be afraid to double this recipe!  

This is a great link for picking out the right sweet potato- http://www.ncsweetpotatoes.com/sweet-potatoes-101/sweet-potato-varieties/ I like O’Henry for this recipe.

Mushroom stroganoff- a broccoli adventure

I came across a recipe contest from www.gratitudegourmet.com in regards to a vegetarian or vegan recipe using broccoli. This really got me thinking about how I eat broccoli. I basically only eat it four ways.

1)      In a stir fry

2)      Roasted in the oven with olive oil

3)      In a baked potato.

4)      In soup

It made me realize it's reallytime to expand the ways I cook broccoli. I started thinking about what I think of when I think of broccoli, warm comforting soups on cold nights, steaming baked potatoes in the dead of winter. To me broccoli is a comfort food, so what better way to serve it then in mushroom stroganoff?

Serves 4 adults

4 servings of Egg noodles (or 1/2 small package

2 tablespoon Coconut oil or butter

2 tablespoon flour  

1/2 sweet white onion

2 cloves garlic

10-15 button mushrooms diced chopped into small chunks

2 cups vegetable stock

2 cups fresh broccoli florets broken into small pieces

1 tablespoon fresh parsley

1 cup Greek yogurt

Cook 4 servings of egg noodles in boiling water until nearly tender. Drain and set aside.

While noodles are cooking:

Add oil and flour to a heavy bottom skillet. Cook for about 3 minutes until flour is no longer raw.

Add onion, garlic and mushrooms and sauté for 5 minutes.

Add 2 cups of vegetable stock and season with salt and pepper.

 Allow pot to simmer for about 15 minutes until flavors come together. Stir in broccoli and allow to cook for about 3 minutes, or until broccoli just turns bright green.

Stir in egg noodles, parsley and Greek yogurt and serve warm.

This stroganoff turned out filling, hearty and full of flavor. The meat in this meal isn't really missed due to the hearty meaty flavor and texture of mushrooms.

Vegetarian Red Cabbage Borscht A.K.A Purple Soup!

We started a spending freeze today- where we don’t plan to bring out the debit cards, or cash in our wallets or anything not vital, pre-planned, or required for us to get to work for the rest of the month. Because of the spending freeze, it means making smart choices with the items that we have on hand to maximize flavor, and taste. I decided to start this freeze off with a beautiful hearty soup. Red cabbage borscht!  A flavorful tasty and warm soup perfect the last little bit of winter. This soup is made with pickled beets, shredded red cabbage, orange juice, potatoes and celeriac. It’s topped with two tablespoons of sour cream for a stick to your ribs feel and a little extra protein. My daughter liked it because it was purple, and purple is of course a princess color. I have to be honest, I like it because it's purple too!

In a large Dutch oven combine:

1/2 TBSP butter

1/2 TBSP coconut oil

1 small white onion diced

1 large carrot peeled and diced

1 celeriac peeled and diced

Cook until onion is translucent

Add 2 cloves garlic minced

1 small head of red cabbage shredded

2 small peeled potatoes

1 granny smith apple peeled, cored and diced

Add:

4 cups water

2 cups orange juice

1 can pickled beets diced and their juice

2 TBSP apple cider vinegar

1 TSP caraway seed

1 TBSP dried dill

1 bay leaf

Salt and pepper to taste

Allow this soup to simmer for about two hours until all the flavors are melded together and an amazing soup forms.

On a side note relative to the soup above, for soups like this I fell head over heels in love with my Staub La Cocotte Dutch oven. It allows me to simmer my soup on low, and keeps all of the heat and broth inside the pot. There are times I want a broth reduced to concentrate the flavor, but this is not one of those times. I put so many flavorful things in this soup that I wanted to keep as much flavor in the soup as I could. I’m not a champion of expensive cookware, or kitchen toys, but I believe every home cook should have a heavy enamel coated cast iron Dutch oven for soups and cooking beans. There are of course less expensive brands to start out with, such as Lodge that will do the trick. I promise once you go cast iron though you will not go back to a lightweight aluminum pan for simmering soups.