Breanne's Sweet Potato Salad

This is all that was left by the time I was able to take a picture

I adapted this from a Bobby Flay recipe that calls for mustard, but I don't like mustard so I used Catalina Salad Dressing instead.  The result is tangy and sweet, yum!

Ingredients
6-8 Sweet Potatoes (or yams)
4 scallions (green onions), chopped
1/4 c white wine vinegar
2 tbl balsamic vinegar
1 tbl of Catalina salad dressing
olive oil (about 4 tbl altogether)
1/2 c parmesan cheese
1/4 c fresh parsley (optional)
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into 1/2 inch cubes.  Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper and spread on a large flat tray and put in the oven for about 40-50 minutes, or until you can stick a fork through one of the larger pieces.  Try not to go too long so they aren't too soft.

Remove the sweet potatoes and sprinkle the chopped scallions over while they're still hot (you could also roast the scallions for the last 10 minutes of the sweet potato cooking time.  That's what I planned to do but I forgot so I just threw them on there while the SPs were hot).

Mix together the white wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, and Catalina dressing.
Slowly add 2 tbl olive oil while whisking to emulsify.

Put the sweet potatoes and scallions in a large bowl and pour the dressing mixture over them.  Toss it all together and sprinkle with fresh parmesan cheese.

You can also add fresh chopped parsley if you want, but I didn't.

After I made this I thought it might be too weird but it turned out to be a big hit!  Thanks everyone for the nice compliments.

Brining A Turkey

Our turkey this year turned out pretty good and Ryan and I think it's because we brined it.  I found this recipe online and instead of tucking my sticky note away never to be found again I thought I would put it here where it will be easy to find in the future.

I filled a cooler with water, enough to cover the turkey about 1-2 inches.  We added 2 Cups of salt per 2 gallons of water (so measure the water as you pour it into whatever container you are using).  After removing the neck and whatever else is inside soak the turkey 1 hour per pound.  We actually did about 14 hours for a 20 lb. turkey.  Put the turkey in breast side down then roll it over half way through.

Before roasting rinse the turkey thoroughly and then pat it dry inside and out.

Pesto Potato Salad with Green Beans

I got a bunch of lovely fresh green beans from my co-op this week, so I was looking for a good, simple recipe to use them in. I don't think I've ever had so many green beans in my life, particularly because I've never liked them before. But I LOVE this salad. We've been eating it for days, it's fantastic even re-heated later.



I found the recipe on this site, which recommends making your own pesto. But I gave in and bought the kind that comes in a jar from the store. If you want the recipe for the pesto you'll have to visit their site.

4 pounds small Yukon gold or red-skinned potatoes, quartered
1 pound green beans, cut into one-inch segments
6 tablespoons (or more to taste) mild vinegar, such as white wine or a white balsamic
1/4 cup chopped green onions (scallions)
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
Parmesan cheese to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
(pesto)

Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 10 minutes. Add beans; cook four minutes longer. Drain well and let cool, then transfer potatoes and beans to a large bowl.

Toss the beans and potatoes with pesto. Stir in vinegar, green onions, pine nuts and season with salt, pepper and/or additional vinegar to taste. Finally, shave some wide flecks of parmesan over the salad with a vegetable peeler.

Serve immediately, or make this up to two hours in advance. It can be stored at room temperature.
(This was good cold, hot, room temp, whatever).

I did this a little differently. I cubed the potatoes and roasted them in the oven with some salt, pepper, and olive oil for about 40 minutes. Then I boiled some water, threw in the green beans for 4 minutes, then drained them and rinsed them with cold water (to stop them from cooking further). Then I just combined the potatoes and green beans with the rest of the ingredients. Yum!

Blackberry Cobbler

I got some blackberries from the food co-op, so I looked up a recipe for them and found this one by Sandra Lee from the Food Network. I made it when Dad came to visit and I thought it was delicious. This recipe makes 8 servings, but I only needed four servings, so I halved everything except the cream soda & pancake mix and it turned out well. I also used three 6oz cartons of fresh blackberries instead of the frozen (that's what I got from the co-op). I was worried about the seeds but they weren't a problem.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds frozen blackberries, thawed
• 1 cup sugar plus more for dusting
• 3 tablespoons instant tapioca
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 (7.75-ounce) packet butter biscuit mix (like Bisquick, or for GF use a gluten-free pancake mix)
• 3/4 cup cream soda, divided

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 8 (4-inch) ramekins with butter flavored cooking spray and set aside.

In a bowl combine thawed blackberries, tapioca, lemon juice, 1/4 cup of cream soda and sugar.

Transfer to ramekins.

In a large bowl combined biscuit mix and remaining (1/2 c) cream soda. Mix until well blended. Sprinkle biscuit mix over berries.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Serve warm.

I also dusted these with powdered sugar and put a few whole blackberries on top to look nice. It really tasted good.

Acorn squash stuffed with sausage and apple

3 acorn squash, halved and seeded
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground sage
1 lb pork sausage (regular seasoning)
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1 celery rib, finely chopped
4 oz. mushrooms, chopped
2 apples, cored and chopped (macintosh)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup fine breadcrumbs (optional)
1/2 teaspoon sage
1 tsp. each salt and freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped, plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)


1. Combine the melted butter, garlic salt and 1/4 tsp. sage; brush over cut sides and cavity of squash. Salt and pepper to taste.
2. Bake cut side up, at 400 degrees F for 1 hour, until squash is tender but still holds its shape.
3. Meanwhile make stuffing: Fry pork sausage until light brown. Remove the pork with a strainer to a large bowl and leave drippings in the pan. Add onion, celery and mushroom to the pan; saute 4 minutes. Stir in apple and minced garlic and saute 2 more minutes.
4. Take the pan off of the heat and add the pork back in (with the breadcrumbs if desired).
5. Taste and season with sage, salt or pepper if needed (depending on your sausage you may not want to add more seasoning).
6. Stir in the egg and parsley.
7. Fill the squash halves with stuffing - they should be slightly mounded.
8. Return to oven and bake for 20 more minutes, until the egg is set.
9. Garnish as desired with parsley and shredded Parmesan cheese.

The recipe called for two acorn squash but I had so much stuffing I could have filled three. I also made this without breadcrumbs and it held together fine. I sliced a little bit off of the bottoms of the squash, so they would sit without wobbling in the pan, but it burned the bottoms a little bit. It was more work than I am used to, but it was SO delicious.

Potato Crusted Fish

1 cup Instant Mashed Potatoes
Zest of 1 lime
2 large eggs
1 cup flour (I used gluten-free featherlite flour that Jacque recommended to me once)
8 tilapia fillets
vegetable oil

Season the flour with salt and black pepper in a shallow dish.

Beat the eggs in another dish.

Mix the instant potatoes, lime zest, 2 t. salt and 1/2 t. black pepper in a third dish.

Dredge each fish fillet in the seasoned flour, dip in the eggs, then coat with potato mixture.

Place a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add about 1/2 inch of vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, place the fish in the pan; cook until golden brown and crisp – about 3 minutes. Turn and cook until golden on the other side – 3 more minutes.

Add more oil as needed, let it come to temperature before adding more fish.

Peach Cobbler

For the top:
2 cans sliced peaches, cut in half
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix dry ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup almond meal
1/4 cup sweet rice flour (or white rice flour)
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup white rice flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum

In separate bowl mix wet ingredients:
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup milk (can substitute soy)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix well. Pour batter into 8x8 cake pan. Spread out the peaches on top of the batter. Sprinkle the whole thing with 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean. You can serve with Cool Whip or Vanilla Ice Cream. Yum!

Foccaccia Bread

1 cup sorghum flour
1 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup millet flour
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon dried minced onion
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

Put these dry ingredients into a bowl, and whisk them until they're combined. In a separate bowl, proof (put together and wait 5-10 mins to see if rising):

1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 1/4 cup warm water
a dash of sugar

Mix together:

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon of honey

Stir everything up together. It should be a thick batter, like a cake batter. In a large casserole dish, preferably a 13 x 9 inch pan, drizzle a few teaspoons of oil into the bottom. Drop in the dough, and with a flat spatula, spread the dough to the edges. Sprinkle the top of the dough with more sea salt, some more Italian seasoning, and some parmesan cheese.

Let it rest in a warm oven for 20 minutes, and then turn the oven to 375. Continue baking for about 30 minutes, or until the top is golden and puffy. The oil from the bottom should be bubbling around the edges too.

You can slice these long and skinny to be breadsticks, or into squares or long rectangles that can be frozen and used for sandwiches.

This recipe came from here: http://glutenfreeinslc.blogspot.com/2009/11/gluten-free-herbed-focaccia.html

Vegan Enchiladas

2-3 cups cooked white rice (I used long grain)
1 bell pepper
1 onion
1 can refried beans
1 can enchilada sauce
1 cup salsa
1 cup corn
1 can black beans
corn tortillas
cooking spray
optional: 1 chopped tomato

~So, the original recipe didn't call for rice or corn, but I like those and added them in. You don't have to and it will still taste good.

Preheat oven to 350. Dice and saute onions and pepper in hot oil to soften. Spray bottom of a casserole dish with cooking spray and layer tortillas (I did 6 for a 9 x 13 pan), just make sure to cover the bottom. Warm refried beans on stove or in microwave so they'll spread easily and spread over the tortillas. Spread half the onions and pepper, half of the salsa, and half of the corn on top. Next, put another layer of tortillas on top. Rinse beans and spread on the tortillas with rest of onions, salsa, rice, corn, and chopped tomato. Pour 1/4 - 1/3 enchilada sauce on this. Then, top with one last layer of tortillas. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the whole thing. (It says to just pour the whole can on top, but I think it would taste even better with a little inside.)

Bake, covered for 35-45 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Can serve with sour cream (or vegan sour cream if you have any). They say if freezes really well, too.

Authentic Mexican Rice
Ingredients

1 cup uncooked rice -- your choice
2 cups cold water
2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
olive oil
1/2 onion, coarsely chopped
small roma tomato, chopped into about 4 pieces
hot pepper of your choice, sliced lengthwise (I use jalapeno)
tomato sauce (I'd say a little less that 1/4 cup)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon vegan chicken bouillon
salt, to taste

Directions:

Put a little olive oil (tbsp or so) into a medium-sized pot and heat to a medium temp. Add the rice, uncooked, and brown in the oil. Make sure all the rice is lightly coated with the oil. You do not have to stir the rice around very much at first, while browning, but as the rice becomes browner you want to be stirring it around to make sure it all browns evenly and doesn't burn. It will turn BROWN....its not burning unless its turning dark/black. Towards the end of the browning, add the garlic so that it is sort of sauteed/browned (and the onion, if you like).

Next, dump the water on the rice (it will steam up loudly) and add the remaining ingredients. Stir well and cover (with a small air escape). Reduce heat to medium-low to medium, and let cook for 20-30 minutes. (cooking time and temp varies with your stove....check after 20 min to make sure you don't burn!)

The essential part of this recipe is DO NOT PEEK while the rice is cooking

When it is ready, all the water will be absorbed, the rice will fluff, and each grain will be split open because of the browning. It should be dry, not saucy. You can adjust the spices/peppers to your taste. The recipe can be changed by keeping with the 1 cup rice/2 cups water ratio, and adjusting remaining ingredients.

Goes great with any manner of mexican beans or as a side dish to mexican entrees such as tacos, enchiladas, burritos, etc. Also great by itself!

Serves: 6 large servings

Preparation time: 30-45 min

*I found this recipe on the website--http://vegweb.com

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

This is an Ina Garten recipe, so I can't take any credit whatsoever.

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled
2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Halve the sweet potatoes lengthwise and cut each half into 3 long spears. Place them on a sheet pan and toss with the olive oil. Spread the potatoes in one layer. Combine the brown sugar, salt, and pepper and sprinkle on the potatoes. Bake for 15 minutes and then turn with a spatula. Bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Sprinkle lightly with salt and serve hot.

I doubled the recipe when I made it the other day, and I didn't add any extra salt at the end. I actually didn't get to taste these really, I think I had one. I took some home but gave them to Michael, who also said they were good. So I'm taking your word for it. =)