sweet potato Archives

Breakfast Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

March 16, 2015 · by Ari ·

Whether it’s breakfast for dinner or dinner for breakfast, these perfectly roasted breakfast stuffed sweet potatoes filled with drippy eggs, crispy bacon and a drizzle of maple syrup are sure to impress!

Okay so don’t think I’m weird because I love maple syrup on my bacon and eggs. My favorite thing is a stack of fluffy pancakes with drippy eggs, crispy bacon and real maple syrup. The sweet and salty together…sooo good.

My other favorite thing? Stuffed sweet potatoes. Obviously. And what better to stuff them with when ya want something a little different than some protein-packed eggs? I love eggs. They are pretty much the cheapest and easiest way to instantly bulk up the protein in any dish.

For this dish, I used more of my Eggland’s Best eggs. I’m super into them. Compared to regular eggs, Eggland’s Best eggs have 25% less saturated fat, 1o x more vitamin E, 4 x more vitamin D and 3 x more vitamin B12. Whoa! For more information on their nutrition, check out their nutrition info. I’m sold!

I usually eat this as breakfast for dinner, but it totally works as a super filling breakfast–especially if you roast the sweet potatoes and cook your bacon ahead of time. With just a handful of ingredients, it’s naturally paleo, gluten-free and dairy-free. And the perfect bite of sweet and salty deliciousness.

Breakfast Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Recipe Type: Entree

Author: Ari Ziskin

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 1 hour

Total time: 1 hour 5 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients

2 small sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
coarse sea salt
3 slices center cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
4 eggs, cooked to your liking (I did over medium)
pure maple syrup for drizzling, optional

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400. Use a fork to poke several holes into sweet potatoes. Brush each sweet potato with approx 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle to coat lightly with sea salt. Roast until fork tender (meaning a fork easily slides right into the sweet potato), about 45-60 minutes depending on size of your potatoes.
Once your potatoes have cooked, cook up your eggs. Slice cooked sweet potatoes down the middle leaving about an inch uncut. Stuff each potato with 2 eggs and a generous pinch of crumbled bacon. Drizzle with maple syrup of desired (you only need a small amount) and serve immediately

This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of Eggland’s Best.

Toasted Marshmallow Sweet Potato Ice Cream

November 23, 2014 · by Ari ·

With all the flavor of classic sweet potato casserole, this Toasted Marshmallow Sweet Potato Ice Cream is the perfect Thanksgiving or any time dessert. Perfectly spiced, made with sweet potato puree and torched marshmallows.

It’s my favorite week of the year!! I go absolutely nuts for Thanksgiving. It’s my second favorite holiday (my birthday is my favorite because I love to be the center of attention 😉 ), and it’s my holiday to host. The first year I hosted, I made Thanksgiving brunch and dinner. It was exhausting, and it never happened again. Now I just put all my effort into the one meal, which is eaten as dinner, like a normal person, at 6pm. I don’t understand eating Thanksgiving “dinner” at noon. That is Thanksgiving lunch.

My favorite dish has always been my mom’s sweet potatoes. The recipe came from her mom, and she has made it for Thanksgiving every year for as long as I can remember. I just die over those perfectly browned, gooey marshmallows sitting on top of my favorite food. I still refuse to make them because they will never taste as good as hers.

This year I set out to make my favorite side dish into an ice cream, and oh my gosh…you guys. I can’t even handle it. I can’t go a single day without dipping my little spoon into that container. In fact, I knew I had to make a whole other batch to have enough for Thanksgiving! The good news? The recipe is super hands off. It has a lot of components, but the most time consuming part is toasting the marshmallows, and if you want to do that more quickly, you can broil them in the oven. I prefer to use a brulee torch for even toasting, but that is me being type A, and you certainly don’t have to be that meticulous. 😉

Now before you go writing this off as super indulgent, I have to tell you that each serving has only 5.1 grams of fat and 155 calories. I usually don’t count these things, but I was curious because I figured the sweet potato, marshmallows and lower ratio of heavy cream (most ice cream recipes call for 2 parts heavy cream to 1 part whole milk, and I reversed that) would lighten it up a little. Those are the same nutrition figures as many varieties of frozen yogurt! The marshmallows do hike up the sugar content a bit, but this is dessert after all. And it is a Thanksgiving (or any time!) dessert that you can enjoy in moderation any time!

Toasted Marshmallow Sweet Potato Ice Cream

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 16 hours

Yield: about 6 cups

Serving Size: 1/2 cup

Toasted Marshmallow Sweet Potato Ice Cream

Ingredients

1 medium sweet potato
1 x 10 ounce bag of marshmallows (mini or regular)
2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons brown sugar (dark brown sugar preferred)
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon bourbon, optional

Instructions

Pierce sweet potato several times with a fork. Roast at 400 degrees until very soft (you should easily be able to slide a fork right into the sweet potato), about 60-80 minutes. Let cool for about 15 minutes until it is easy to handle, then remove skins.
Place marshmallows on a large cookie sheet lined with silpat or parchment paper. Either torch with a brulee torch, or broil until browned, about 5-10 minutes. Once marshmallows are well browned all around, place them and peeled sweet potatoes in a blender or food processor and blend/process until smooth and combined.
In a small sauce pan, combine 1 cup whole milk with brown sugar and maple syrup. Bring just to a boil, then reduce heat and stir constantly until brown sugar is fully melted and combined. Transfer to blender/food processor and add remaining milk, heavy cream, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg. Blend/process to combine for about 15-30 seconds. Transfer to a large bowl or tupperware. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
Freeze according to ice cream maker instructions. Add vanilla and bourbon (if desired) in the last 2 minutes of freezing. Transfer to a freezer safe container to finish freezing completely.

Notes

Before serving, let the ice cream soften for about 10 minutes at room temperature for optimal scooping.

https://arismenu.com/toasted-marshmallow-sweet-potato-ice-cream/

Crockpot Curry Soup with Sweet Potato, Chicken & Kale

September 28, 2014 · by Ari ·

Rich, creamy, warm and comforting curry soup with sweet potatoes, chicken & kale is incredibly easy to make in your slow cooker with NO prep time! Healthy, paleo, gluten-free & dairy-free.

Can we talk for a second about trying to make curry soup look pretty? I mean, it’s YELLOW and the sweet potatoes I used were yellow. Side note: I totally prefer the lighter colored sweet potatoes, you? The first time I used them I thought they were mislabeled because for most of my life I knew nothing about vegetables. Anyway, I love them, and I think they are sweeter and softer than the orange ones.

Oh, and ummm cooked kale? The ugliest. If this soup weren’t so freaking delicious, I would have said F it, called it quits, and just pouted while sadly eating straight from the crockpot. Seriously, it’s super fun to live with a food blogger who gets super grouchy when things don’t go her way. The other night I had a melt down because I took like 5 zillion pictures of steam coming off my mac & cheese only to realize the wine glass I had set in the background was still empty. Life is hard sometimes.

Anyway, this soup was totally worth it, pretty or not. With the bold curry flavor, the creamy coconut milk and my very favorite food (sweet potatoes, in case you’re new here), you really can’t go wrong. The chicken cooks up perfectly in the crockpot with extra work involved, and the kale adds a little nutrient + flavor bonus. I love kale. I’m such a cliche.

This soup is perfect for the busy fall months when you want something delicious and warm waiting for you when you come home–it makes weeknight dinners a breeze, and it tastes way more indulgent than it actually is, so it’s a win-win!

Crockpot Curry Soup with Sweet Potato, Chicken & Kale

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 5 hours

Total Time: 5 hours, 5 minutes

Yield: 6-8 servings

Crockpot Curry Soup with Sweet Potato, Chicken & Kale

Rich, creamy, warm and comforting curry soup with sweet potatoes, chicken & kale is incredibly easy to make in your slow cooker with NO prep time! Healthy, paleo, gluten-free & dairy-free.

Ingredients

2 medium sweet potatoes
2 large chicken breasts
2 small onions, diced
2 big handfuls kale
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 x 13.5 ounce cans coconut milk
32 ounces chicken broth
1 1/2 tablespoons curry paste
pinch ground ginger
sliced green onions and Sriracha for topping, optional

Instructions

Pierce sweet potatoes several times with a fork. Microwave for 2 minutes, (peel if desired, I didn't) then slice into 1" cubes.
Place all ingredients in your slow cooker and cook on low for 5-6 hours. Remove chicken and shred. Stir all ingredients together and serve. Top with green onions and Sriracha if desired. Leftovers may be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

https://arismenu.com/crockpot-curry-soup-sweet-potato-chicken-kale/

Loaded Sweet Potato Cheesecake Cups

October 27, 2013 · by Ari ·

Individual sweet potato cheesecake cups with a gluten-free gingersnap crust, topped with bruleed marshmallows and drizzled with salted caramel sauce.

Can you believe it’s already time to start thinking about Thanksgiving? I think I might even like Thanksgiving more than Christmas. Maybe it’s because I get to host, maybe because it’s the one day of the year where my entire family gets together, or maybe it’s because of the tradition I enforce every year (despite the whining from the less emotional types) of going around the table before dinner and everyone saying what they’re thankful for. I usually cry. I know that’s shocking.

I feel like it’s also the sense of tradition. It takes a long time to set family traditions, and especially with my ADD cooking personality, it’s difficult to find things that I love enough to make them my traditions. There are a few things we never budge on–Steve’s mom makes the deviled eggs, and my mom makes the sweet potatoes.

Ever since I was a little girl, my mom has made my grandma’s recipe for sweet potato casserole–you know, with the marshmallows on top all browned and crispy? It’s heaven. I have two favorite Thanksgiving dishes. The first is stuffing, and the second–those sweet potatoes. I refuse to make them myself. There is no way I could ever make them taste as delicious as my mom.

So instead, I made cheesecakes. Delicious little individual cheesecakes that take all the best parts of sweet potato casserole + all the best parts of cheesecake and tie them together in a perfect little bow. It all starts with a gingersnap crust (as all fall flavored cheesecakes should) that sits below the sweet potato cheesecake, then topped with brulee’d (or broiled–even better, but a little tricky) marshmallows, then finished off with fluer de sel caramel sauce. Perfection.

Loaded Sweet Potato Cheesecake Cups #glutenfree

I mean, that may not be how you’re supposed to use a brulee torch…

Now let me give you some advice. A little something I learned during this process. DO NOT top the cheesecakes with marshmallows in the muffin tins. They will be almost impossible to get out, and cleaning your muffin tin will be a literal nightmare. I mean, I still got mine out, and I most definitely still ate them (they were just too good to turn down), but it was a huge ordeal. What you want to do is, just before serving, either place the cooked and cooled cheesecakes on a cookie sheet, top with marshmallows and broil for a few moments until they brown, or use a brulee torch. They will get puffier, meltier, and a little messier if you broil them, but that is my preference. The brulee torch is a little cleaner, but it’s not something everyone has, so the choice is yours. Or you can always do both–broil, then (add more marshmallows and ) brulee for the ultimate marshmallow experience. 😉

Loaded Sweet Potato Cheesecake Cups

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 5 hours, 40 minutes

Yield: 12 cups

Serving Size: 1 cup

Loaded Sweet Potato Cheesecake Cups

Individual sweet potato cheesecake cups with a gluten-free gingersnap crust, topped with bruleed marshmallows and drizzled with salted caramel sauce.

Ingredients

For the gingersnap crust:

1 cup crushed gingersnap crumbs (I used gluten-free)
1 1/2-2 tbsp coconut oil, melted (start with 1 1/2, and add a little extra if it needs it--it depends on the brand of gingersnap and how much oil is already in the cookie)

For the cheesecake:

1 lb reduced fat cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sweet potato puree*
1 tbsp bourbon, optional
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

For topping:

Approx 1 cup mini marshmallows
Salted caramel sauce (I used TJ's fluer de sel caramel)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a standard muffin tin with nonstick spray. Set aside.
To make the crust, combine gingersnap crumbs and coconut oil in a medium bowl. Place approx 1 tablespoon of crust into each muffin tin. Press down with your fingers, the back of your spoon, or a shot glass. Bake until set, about 7-10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack while you prepare the filling.
To make the cheesecake, beat cream cheese, sweet puree, bourbon and brown sugar together in a large bowl or stand mixer. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until combined. Beat in vanilla and cinnamon.
Evenly divide the cheesecake batter between your 12 muffin tins.
Bake until lightly browned and just set, about 15 minutes. Turn the oven off and crack the door. Allow cheesecakes to sit in opened oven for an additional 15 minutes.
Cool completely on a wire rack, then refrigerate until fully chilled, about 3-4 hours.
To serve, remove cheesecakes from muffin tin and place on a large cookie sheet. Top each cheesecake cup with a few marshmallows. Either broil until browned, about 3-5 minutes, or brulee using a brulee torch until marshmallows brown. Drizzle with warm salted caramel sauce.
Store remaining cups (without marshmallows or sauce) refrigerated in an airtight container for up to one week.

Notes

*To make sweet potato puree, simple roast sweet potato(es) at 400 until tender, about 40-60 minutes depending on size of the sweet potato. I often do this ahead of time in a large batch.

https://arismenu.com/loaded-sweet-potato-cheesecake-cups/

Loaded Sweet Potato Salad

October 6, 2013 · by Ari ·

A healthy twist on a loaded baked sweet potato and potato salad. Looking for more sweet potato recipes? Check these out!

Last month we hosted a barbecue at our house. I like to do a BYOM&B (bring your own meat & booze)–I make all the sides and desserts, and everyone can choose their own meat (or non-meat) and whatever they want to drink. It saves a lot of money, and you don’t have to worry so much about numbers, RSVPs, etc. It can be more laid back, and it makes it easier to invite all your friends.

I created something like 5 new recipes that day, and they all turned out amazing. Let me tell you, that never happens. It was a miracle. For the sides, I made a Thai peanut slaw (coming soon…) and this baby. There was a big debate over which side was better. Nobody could agree, but I can tell you that this was Steve’s favorite. Mine too. 😉

The recipe is super easy, and other than the time spent cooking the potatoes, it comes together in minutes. I just took a little spin with the concept of my loaded baked potato salad, and it was literally love at first bite. The sweetness of the sweet potatoes with salty bacon and tangy goat cheese…uggghhh–it’s just so right.

And I love how this is a side dish that’s perfect for all seasons–it’s perfect for a summer barbecue, but to me the sweet potatoes scream fall, and it’s such an easy dish to throw together that you can literally take it with you to just about any party, or even eat it as a meal for lunch! The Greek yogurt packs it with protein while the sweet potatoes add healthy carbs, and tons of vitamins. It’s literally the best of every world.

Loaded Sweet Potato Salad

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Yield: 6-8 servings

Loaded Sweet Potato Salad

Healthy, protein and vitamin packed loaded sweet potato salad with Greek yogurt, goat cheese and center cut bacon

Ingredients

2 lbs sweet potatoes
1/2 lb center cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 heaping cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese (I used and herb goat cheese)
Generous pinch each salt and pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400. Pierce potatoes several times with a fork. Transfer to a large baking dish and cook until softened, about 45 minutes. Let cool for 15-20 minutes.
Cut baked sweet potatoes into 1" cubes. Place all ingredients in a large bowl, and lightly toss until combined. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

https://arismenu.com/loaded-sweet-potato-salad/

Sweet Potato Avocado Salad

September 11, 2013 · by Ari ·

You know that feeling when you’re super excited for a long weekend, but getting ready for it is so stressful that by the time you’re done getting ready for said long weekend, you feel like you need a second long weekend just to recover from it? Yeah…I’m there.

Tomorrow morning (at some hour that shouldn’t even be legal), Nicole and I fly to Minneapolis for the Healthy Living Summit. It seems like we’ve been anticipating this day foreeevvvverrrr, and I can’t believe it’s finally here! This week has been spent getting things taken care of at work, and putting the final touches on our presentation. I’m totally nervous, but mostly excited for the next 4 days!

So in my absence, I leave you this salad. I wasn’t sure if it was a salad or a salsa. I mean, it’s actually nothing like salsa, except it kind of reminds me of a salsa? Kinda like this one. Anyway, I first made this salad when I was staying with my friend Karisa this summer, and one bite in I knew I needed to make it again so I could share it with you guys. It is hands down one of my favorite things I’ve ever eaten. The sweetness from the sweet potatoes against the spicy jalapenos and creamy avocado…ugggghhh, it just all…fits. Like a glove.

This recipe is so simple, and aside from the time spent roasting the potatoes, it all comes together really quickly. Just a few fresh ingredients, and totally fool proof–the perfect side for some grilled chicken or steak for a nice, easy, and healthy weeknight dinner!

Sweet Potato Avocado Salad

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Yield: Approx 6 servings

Sweet Potato Avocado Salad

Ingredients

2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into 1" pieces
3 tbsp olive oil, divided
Salt and pepper
2 large avocados, cut into 1" pieces
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
Handful fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp honey or agave

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400. Line sweet potatoes out on a large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil and season with a generous pinch each of salt and pepper. Roast until tender, but not mushy, about 40 minutes. Let cool slightly.
In a large bowl, add cooked sweet potato, remaining tablespoon olive oil, avocado, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, lime juice and honey/agave. Toss together lightly to coat. Serve immediately. May be served warm or cold. Keep leftovers refrigerated in an airtight container for 3-5 days.

https://arismenu.com/sweet-potato-avocado-salad/

Drink & Dish: Vegan Shepherd’s Pie {with video!}

March 7, 2013 · by Ari ·

Do you guys celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? I’ve never really done much, but green is my favorite color, so I do enjoy an entire holiday dedicated to it. 😉 I really like to get holiday themed pedicures (my bank account doesn’t, but that’s an other story…), and I always get really excited to get something green in March!

To be honest, I had no idea what the heck people even eat for St. Patty’s Day. After some brain storming, Nicole suggested shepherd’s pie, but I didn’t even really know what went inside the thing. I knew it was meat and potatoes, but that was about it.

I did some research, swapper the meat for lentils, swapped the mashed potato topping for a sweet potato puree, and all of the sudden I had a delicious, hearty, and filling vegan shepherd’s pie.

Can we talk about how shepherd’s pie is the hardest thing ever to photograph? I felt like every single photo I took just looked like vegetable mush. In fact, it took me 2 takes (one during testing, and one during filming) to get even a handful of photos that I liked between the two.

I should also mention that this makes a LOT of food. Like, I hope you have a big family, and are looking forward to healthy left overs because it will last you forever, and only gets better the next day! I tested this recipe out on a Tuesday, ate the leftovers all week long, and then made it TWICE for filming. I’ve pretty much been eating nothing but shepherd’s pie for the last week and a half.

In fact, I can’t believe I’ve gone this long not eating this regularly–savory, rich veggies topped with creamy, sweet potatoes? It just screams the makings of a perfect dinner!

Oh, and it’s especially delicious with Nicole’s Irish maiden cocktail (AKA my new favorite drink ever). Make sure to check out her recipe as well! And here’s our latest episode of Drink & Dish!

Vegan Shepherd’s Pie

yield 10-12 servings

3 large sweet potatoes
1 cup low sodium vegetable broth, divided use
1 tbsp corn starch
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
2 large squash (zucchini or yellow), sliced
1 lb cooked lentils
1 cup frozen peas
sea salt, freshly ground pepper, and thyme for seasoning
cashew cream for topping (optional)

Directions:

To make the sweet potato puree, roast sweet potatoes at 400 degrees for 1 hour. Cool slightly, then remove skins and transfer to a blender. Season with salt and pepper and blend until smooth.
In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup vegetable broth with corn starch. Set aside.
Heat olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, carrots and squash. Season with salt, pepper and thyme (I used a heavy pinch of each), and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.
Add lentils, peas and vegetable broth/corn starch mixture. Add an extra 1/2 cup vegetable broth. Cook until all ingredients are heated throughout stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
Transfer to a large casserole dish (or individual serving dishes). Evenly spread sweet potato puree on top.
Broil for 20 minutes. Top with cashew cream if desired. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Sweet Potato Bisque

February 1, 2013 · by Ari ·

You guys you guys you guysssss!!!! I have so many exciting things to share with you!!

First of all, my birthday is on Wednesday, and clearly, I am turning 5. Maturity? Ehhh, not my thing. I have a major case of Peter Pan syndrome, and I have no plans to change in my *gulp* 28th year of life. Twenty eight. That is dangerously close to thirty. And it’s more miles than I have ever ran at once, and I just don’t really feel like I should be an age that is greater than my PDR.

Also, this week my buffalo deviled eggs were featured on Fox Magazine Online. Ummmm, WHAT?!?!?! When I got the initial email, I just assumed it was, like, the Phoenix chapter or something, and that’s why I was chosen. But then I went to the article, and there was my recipe DIRECTLY UNDERNEATH MY VERY FAVORITE FOOD BLOGGER!!!! And if that wasn’t awesome enough, I was beyond honored to be featured with a couple of my other favorite foodies.

As if this week wasn’t amazing enough, Steve and I booked our anniversary trip to New Orleans! On our first wedding anniversary, we spent maybe an hour together. Steve was back for a short trip from some work in California, and I was in the middle of rehearsals, and it was just…not a great way to spend our anniversary, so this year we plan to make up for it by going somewhere neither of us have been, and enjoying almost an entire week vacation. So freaking stoked. If you have any recommendation for things to do or, ahem, restaurants, TELL ME EVERYTHING.

As for this soup…It’s my favorite soup. I made it about a year ago for the first time, but never got pictures of it, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. It’s rich and creamy like you would imagine a bisque to be, but it doesn’t leave you with that heavy feeling afterwards. Steve claims to hate sweet potato soup, yet ate his entire bowl and went on to rave about it. The maple syrup and sriracha provide a great combination of sweet and spicy.

It also works really well in the crock pot–that’s how I made it the first time, but this time I was short on time, and didn’t prepare ahead of time, so I made it on the stove top. It is equally delicious both ways.

Sweet Potato Bisque

yield 6 servings

2 lbs sweet potatoes
3 tbsp cornstarch
3 cups unsweetened almond milk
1 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tsp sriracha (optional, but recommended)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
dash freshly ground nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400. Pierce sweet potatoes several times with a fork, then transfer to a large cooking dish. Roast for about 1 hour until tender.** Let cool for 10 minutes, then remove skin. Blend roasted and peeled sweet potatoes with an immersion blender (or in a regular blender) until smooth.
In a large sauce pan over medium heat, whisk together cornstarch and almond milk until combined. Add sweet potatoes, maple syrup, sriracha and spices whisking constantly until well combined. Continue to cook on medium heat until soup is hot throughout. Serve immediately. Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 1 week.

**Notes: If you’re short on time, you can bake your potatoes in the microwave in about 8-10 minutes. I’ve done this, and it’s not quite as flavorful as roasting, but it’s still great and works in a pinch.

To make in the crock pot, throw in all your ingredients, whisk together, and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Skinnified Sunday: Chicken & Waffles

May 13, 2012 · by Ari ·

Oh, yes I did.

So, I had never even heard of eating chicken and waffles together, until my friend Ryan mentioned it a couple of years ago. I told him that was gross and that I would never ever eat that.

I’m a big fat liar. So as punishment, I washed my mouth out with huge forkfulls of chicken and waffles. Fair enough.

You know what? It really is freaking delicious. Somewhere along the lines of all my hating on the concept, I got intrigued. Kind of like how I developed my love for Justin Beiber. Yes, I love the Beibs. I understand if that makes you want to never come back, but I just can’t deny it! I’m not too worried though, I will keep you here with waffles. Chicken & Waffle.

Have I mentioned how much I lllooooovvvveeee sweet and savory combos? Almost as much as my love for sweet and salty. Sweet and spicy is good too. Basically I have the world’s biggest sweet tooth, and if I could make all my meals taste like dessert, I absolutely would.

And that, my friends, is why I give you these delicious, sweet, crispy on the outside, soft and cake-like on the inside waffles, topped with crispy faux fried chicken, and sweet maple syrup. AZ peeps, you don’t even have to go to LoLo’s!

Waffle recipe adapted from Bon Appetit. The chicken is just my version of “fried” chicken.

Original waffle recipe:

2 cups peeled, 1/2″ cubes red-skinned sweet potatoes
1 cup whole milk
2 large egg yolks
1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon freshly grated peeled ginger
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
6 large egg whites, room temperature
Nonstick vegetable oil spray

My Swaps:

1/2 recipe
Reduced fat buttermilk and unsweetened vanilla almond milk for whole milk (-fat, -calories)
Egg substitute for egg yolks (-fat, -calories, -cholesterol)
Sugar free maple syrup for some of the brown sugar (-sugar, -calories)
~~Butter~~ (-fat, -calories, -saturated fat) <–usually I would replace with applesauce or yogurt, but I accidentally just completely missed that part while cooking it, and didn’t realize it until it came time to write up the recipe! Obviously was not super vital to the dish 🙂
Whole wheat pastry flour for all purpose (+fiber, +protein)
Pumpkin pie spice for ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg (+ease)
Added vanilla extract (+yum)

Typical fried chicken recipe:

1 (4 pound) chicken, cut into pieces
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups all-purpose flour for coating
1 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste
2 quarts vegetable oil for frying

My Swaps:

Chicken breast for whole chicken (-fat, -calories)
reduced fat buttermilk + egg whites for buttermilk (-fat, -calories)
Crushed cornflakes and panko for flour (+cruch, +yum)
~~vegetable oil~~ (-fat, -calories, -saturated fat) <– 2 quarts?!?!?!

Skinnified Chicken & Waffles

yield 4-6 servings

For the waffles:

1 medium sweet potato, roasted
1/4 cup reduced fat buttermilk
1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/4 cup egg substitute
1 tbs light brown sugar
1 tbs sugar free maple syrup
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3/4 cup + 2 tbs whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tbs baking powder
dash salt
3 large egg whites, room temperature

For the chicken:

3 chicken breasts, approx 8 oz each
1 egg white, beaten
1/4 cup reduced fat buttermilk
1/2 cup crushed cornflake crumbs
1/2 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs

Directions:

Pierce sweet potato several times with a fork, and roast at 400 degrees for 1 hour.
In a medium bowl, whisk egg white and buttermilk (for the chicken) together and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine cornflake crumbs and panko.
Place a wire cooling rack inside of a large baking sheet. Spray thoroughly with nonstick spray.
Take chicken breasts one at a time through egg white/buttermilk wash, then coat with cornflake/panko combo, then transfer to prepared wire rack.
When sweet potato has finished cooking, reduce oven heat to 375, and bake chicken for 40-45 minutes, until juices run clean.
Meanwhile, peel sweet potato and remove of skin (or eat the skin, because it’s delicious). Transfer skinned sweet potato to a large bowl and beat with a hand mixer for 1-2 minutes.
Beat in milks, eggs substitutebrown sugar, syrup, and pumpkin pie spice. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt, then beat dry ingredients into wet.
In a medium bowl (yes, I was using pretty much every single mixing bowl in my house for this one), beat room temperature egg whites until stiff peaks form. You will need your beater/mixer on the highest setting, and it takes longer than you think.
Fold in half of beaten egg whites to waffle batter. Then slowly fold in remaining half in two batches until just combined.
Let the batter sit until the chicken is almost ready to come out of the oven. Then transfer batter in increments (depending on the size of your waffle iron–I generally use 1/2-2/3 cup per waffle) onto sprayed waffle iron. Cooking time will depend on the iron. Mine has a little light that goes off when they’re cooked.
Transfer waffle to serving plate, top with 1/2 cooked chicken breast, and add light butter and syrup if desired.

Family Dinner

November 20, 2011 · by Ari ·

This week my aunt is in town from Kansas City! She usually is only able to make it out here about once a year, and unfortunately she has to leave on Thanksgiving morning so last night I invited the family over for dinner at my place. I would almost always rather cook and be in my own home than go out, but sometimes I have a hard time figuring out what to make for people with such a variety of tastes. My dad is vegetarian and Steve is a meat-a-tarian, and my grandma is, well, old. I really love spicy foods, but sometimes I worry that it will be too spicy for someone older. Not sure if that even makes a difference?

Anyway, a few weeks ago, Lauren posted a recipe for Pumpkin Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili. I was immediately intrigued and tried it pretty soon after. Let me first say that Healthy Food For Living is probably my favorite recipe blog. I have absolutely loved every recipe I have ever tried and her substitutions have introduced me to several things that I now do on a regular basis. If you’ve never read her blog, check it out. However, when I made this chili the first time it was a little bit of a kitchen flop. You see, I had also recently seen a recipe for chili that you top with unbaked cornbread and then throw in the oven so the cornbread bakes on top. Well, the chili takes at least an hour to set and then the cornbread takes like 40 minutes so by the time it went in the oven it was 8pm and I was hungry enough to start chewing on my left arm. Well I decided it was done before it was and the cornbread to chili ratio was not working. I mean, I LOVE carbs but there was so much bread to so little chili and the bread was not really cooked and although I knew the chili recipe was good because everything tasted good, it was definitely NOT something I would share on here haha.

Last night, I used my brain a little and made cornbread muffins instead 😉 I followed Lauren’s recipe almost exactly with the exception of adding adding some canned green chilis (I’d already opened the can for the cornbread, so I figured might as well), adding a can of corn, and using half regular black beans and half cuban style. I also doubled the recipe because I was cooking for 6.

The chili was delicious. *Almost* perfect. The one thing I would change next time is I would either boil/bake/microwave the sweet potato chunks for a few minutes first to cook them through slightly, or I would put the whole thing in a crockpot and let it cook on low probably all day long. Some of the sweet potatoes were cooked enough, but some of them were not quite as soft as I would have liked, but no one seemed too bothered by it 🙂

For the corn muffins, I took a box of Trader Joe’s cornbread mix, 3/4 cup reduced fat buttermilk, 1 egg, 1/2 can medium heat green chilis and 1/2 cup pumpkin. Mixed everything together, transferred to muffin tins and baked according to directions on the box, although muffins definitely cook up faster, so you have to keep an eye on them.

I left Steve in charge of filling the tins, so we ended up with 1o huge muffins instead of 12 haha. He of course took all the credit for their deliciousness because I let him take over at the end.

The nice thing about this meal is that even though the chili takes a while to cook, once you put everything together, it just does the rest of the work on it’s own which gave me time to visit with the fam.

My aunt Rocky

I’m glad this is documented because I think this is the most conservative outfit my dad has ever worn.

G-ma. I think Steve did a pretty fab job on this picture! Doesn't she look good for 88?!

Steve got artsy with the camera. For a change 😉

Annnnnndddd Janie brought over our Chanukah/Christmas present super early!! She reads the blog so she knew exactly what I wanted!

"Present!!! I love presents!!!"

IT'S THE FLAMINGO!!!!!!!!!!

EEEEEE!!!! The wait is over!!!!

Do you remember how long I’ve been wanting this flamingo light?!?! Since last year!!! Obviously, I was ecstatic! I’ve said it a million times, but I am the easiest person to shop for. It doesn’t take a lot to make me happy, and I love presents so much that pretty much anything with a little bit of thought, I go over the moon for. Janie is actually a really fantastic gift giver. Last year, she got us holiday martini glasses that I can’t wait to break out this year–perhaps an eggnog martini is in my future 🙂 She also got us this

Menorah ornament!!!

Steve and I almost bought that ornament and actually when I was at Target yesterday with Bethany I almost bought the flamingo. So glad we didn’t buy either! Thank you Janie for the amazing kick off to the holiday season!

After dinner we had some cranberry bars for dessert, and took some family pics.

I am not a fan of this picture and I do not find it flattering, but it is necessary for the funniness that is about to come, so I'm taking one for the team, or the greater humor, or something.

After I looked at this photo, I started complaining about my double chin. All the sudden in pictures, it appears without fail. I have to be super careful about my angles because I’m vain and I do in fact care about it. As I started complaining, my dad suggested I try his neck exercises.

Thanks for the tip dad. Clearly, I have something to learn about my strength training from you 😉

“You see how I tighten in the most tensed position?” Oh yes, there is no arguing about tightened and tense position hahahaha. My dad is ridiculous and now you can see where I get my silliness from. My mom is actually pretty silly too. I didn’t stand a chance!

We spent the remainder of the evening loving on the puppies.

Clementine is learning to raise the roof.

And I'm trying to learn from her how to be cute. She is the master.

Can you see the photographer dog favoritism? Poor Winnie always seems left out of all of the pictures 🙁 If I was in control of the camera, there would be shot after shot of Winston in all his glory! 🙂