Good Eats: Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Over my long weekend, I got to do a little bit of cooking while I was visiting my parents. It sure is more fun to cook for other people when you're used to cooking for one. My mom and I spent a lot of the weekend running errands and I tried on a ton of wedding dresses. Before we left on Saturday morning I put together a big pot of Taco Chili for my dad to eat while we were out, and last night I tried something new. Over the summer, my friend Olivia shared with me that involved stewed tomatoes and lentils, which make a delicious pair. I wanted to make something a little more hearty and filling, but still simple and healthy, so when I ran across a recipe for lentil stuffed sweet potatoes, I had to give it a try. Originally I had planned to have grilled chicken tenders along with this recipe, but decided keep it simple.

Here's what you need:
Cherry or Grape Tomatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Dry Lentils
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Coarse Sea Salt
Cracked Black Pepper

Preheat the oven to 375. Scrub your sweet potatoes first, then rub them with a little extra virgin olive oil, coarse sea salt, and cracked black pepper. Place them on a foil-covered cookie sheet, then go ahead and put those in the oven. They'll bake for about 45 minutes, until they're nice and fork tender. After those are in the oven, go ahead and cook your lentils according to the package (I cooked 1 cup of dry lentils & we had a good amount left over after filling three potatoes). Next, the tomatoes. Slice them in half & drizzle with just a little bit of your olive oil, then place them on another cookie sheet and roast them for about 20-25 minutes, but keep an eye on them.

Once all your ingredients are done, put it all together. Slice the sweet potatoes down the middle and sprinkle a little sea salt in them before you fill them with about a quarter cup of lentils. Top each potato with as many tomatoes as you like, and you're done! These are filling and perfect for an early fall dinner. Let me know what you think!

Three Ingredient Pumpkin Brownies

I'm a sucker for fall. I'm planning a fall wedding, I own too many pairs of boots, I decorate with pumpkins, and I love to bake things that involve pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice. I came across a quick recipe for pumpkin spiced brownies last week, so naturally I had to try it. In the comments, they were described as really dense, fudge-like brownies.


All you need is a box of brownie mix, a can of pumpkin puree, and a half teaspoon of Pumpkin Pie Spice. Mix all that together, and add more Pumpkin Pie Spice if you're feeling crazy or it's just not pumpkin-y enough. Spread the mixture in a baking dish (I used 8" x 11" and lined it with foil for easy cleanup) and bake it for 25-30 minutes, or until set.


In the end, I was not a big fan of the texture, and I'm not sure how to describe it. But it sure smells good in here!

Southern Cornbread, Made from Scratch

Every once in a while I get a craving for some of my grandmother's southern cooking, so tonight I stopped and picked up some cornmeal and eggs on the way back from work so I could throw together a quick batch of her cornbread. My grandmother is the kind of cook that doesn't always measure and stores some of her recipes in her head.


She taught me to make cornbread from scratch by eyeing the ingredients. You know, "pour your cornmeal about to here, and add this and that, then keep adding milk until it looks like this." Sometime when I was in college she gave me a miniature cast-iron skillet, perfect for making cornbread when you're cooking for one. I sure feel closer to home when I whip up a batch. Tonight I seasoned and sauteed some broccoli and cauliflower in olive oil to go along with it.


I've definitely got some leftovers, as always. Just the other day I read something Erin wrote about toasted cornbread with syrup for breakfast. I may just have to give that one a try. I welcome all suggestions for leftover cornbread.

Sweet & Spicy Soup

With a few days of fall weather coming up here in Texas, it was the perfect weekend to make my first batch of fall soup. Recently I've seen a few different recipes for Sweet Potato Soup, so I chose to adapt this one because, personally I like for my sweet potatoes to be more on the savory side. Besides, there's nothing like a hot bowl of soup on the first cool weekend of the year. 

(the only picture I have is from instagram)

2 large sweet potatoes

1/4 cup butter

3 cloves minced garlic

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

24-ish oz low sodium chicken broth

1.5 teaspoons Sriracha

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2-3/4 Tbsp maple syrup

In a medium-sized pot, melt the butter & saute the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes. Peel and chop the sweet potatoes. Add the sweet potatoes, chicken broth, Sriracha, nutmeg, and maple syrup. Cook on medium heat for about a half an hour [or until the potatoes are soft]. Mash everything up with a potato masher if you want your soup more chunky, or blend it all together until smooth (easily done with an immersion blender). Add salt and pepper to taste, and enjoy!

TV Dinners

Since tonight was the night for the new seasons of Person of Interest and Scandal, obviously it was the perfect time to make my Flatbread Pizza. Both premiers were great, of course. My dad is also a fan of Person of Interest, so we had a running commentary going on via text during the episode. Oh, and Scandal. So. Scandalous. Always leaving us hanging. 

Obviously pizza is always a good decision, but this is my own light version that can be customized to your heart's content. I generally use the same ingredients every time I make it, but sometimes I make a buffalo chicken version or veggie-only. When life gets busy, I tend to chop up all my vegetables at one time and keep them in the fridge so I can toss them together really quickly. Plus, the whole pizza is only 5 points+ if you're down with the Weight Watchers.

1 FlatOut Light Original [or Light Italian]

Prego LightSmart or VeggieSmart Pasta Sauce

Pepperoncini Peppers

Olives

Bell Pepper

Tomatoes [I usually use Roma]

Turkey Pepperoni

White Mushrooms

Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese

Preheat the over to 350, and I always spray my cookie sheet with a little Olive Oil because FlatOuts have a tendency to stick. Put down your FlatOut first, then put down your sauce--I use about 2 tablespoons to cover it. After that, I put down about a half cup or so of mozzarella, then top it off with all of your veggies and pepperoni. Bake it for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the FlatOut is crisp around the edges. 

Last night I did a little baking & put together tasty Diet Coke Red Velvet Cupcakes with Toasted Marshmallow topping. I guess I'll go ahead and share that one, too. 

This one's really simple:

1 can Diet Coke

1 box Red Velvet Cake Mix

Jumbo Marshmallows

Preheat your oven to 350 & line your muffin tin with some cute cupcake liners. Combine the Diet Coke and cake mix, mixing with an electric mixer [or whisk if you're old school] until the mixture is smooth. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way and bake according to the instructions on the box. A couple of minutes before they're done, pull the cupcakes and top each one with a marshmallow, then bake them for 2-3 more minutes until the marshmallows are melted and barely brown on top. 

These puppies are only 4 points+ each; enjoy. 

A Breakfast Recipe

This morning I put together a little recipe for a baked spinach, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich. 

Here's what you'll need:

2 eggs

A handful of baby spinach

Light butter

Non-stick cooking spray (I used olive oil)

2 slices light/thin-sliced bread

1 slice light American cheese

Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 425, and spread a little butter on the bottom of one of your bread slices & place it (butter side down) on a cookie sheet sprayed lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Layer your cheese slice and top with the second slice of bread. Cut a hole in the center with a cookie cutter (or whatever you have on hand). Chop the spinach and combine the eggs & spinach in a small bowl. Pour the egg/spinach mixture into the center of the bread and sprinkle salt & pepper on top. Bake for approximately 10 minutes until the eggs are set. (ww pts+ value: 7)

On an entirely different note, I finished reading The Baker's Daughter and I really enjoyed it! Next up for book club is The Night Circus--I started reading it at the end of December, but classes started back, so I never finished. I can't wait to see how it ends. Have any of you read it?

Cooking y'all.

After a strangely stressful week, I decided that tonight was a good night to try out a new recipe. I don't know about all of you, but growing up in the deep South around the the ladies that I did, there's nothing much more relaxing that cooking yourself a good dinner. Somehow I just happened across a recipe for Bacon Cheeseburger Wraps on Emily Bites and it seemed like a good one to try out on a Friday night. And these turned out pretty fantastic with a cup of tea, y'all. So I couldn't help but share the recipe.

Bacon Cheeseburger Wraps from Emily Bites
Yields 4 wraps. WW P+: 8 per wrap (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)
1 lb 95% lean ground beef  (I substituted ground turkey for ground beef, as always)
1 T McCormick Hamburger Seasoning
4 Laughing Cow Light Queso Fresco & Chipotle Wedges, cut into pieces
2 T Ketchup
2 t Yellow Mustard
1/3 cup 2% shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 T Hormel Real Bacon Bits
4 light original Flatouts 
½ a medium tomato, cut into pieces
1 – 1 ½ cups shredded lettuce
Directions:
1.    Bring a large skillet to medium heat. Add the ground beef and hamburger seasoning and cook until meat is browned. Drain meat. Clean skillet and set aside.
2.    Place meat in a medium bowl and add the cheese wedges, ketchup, mustard, cheddar and bacon bits. Stir to combine. Microwave on high for one minute. Stir again until meat is evenly coated.
3.    Spoon a quarter of the meat mixture (around a generous ½ cup) onto the center of each flatout and spread the mixture lengthwise, leaving about an inch at each end. Evenly distribute the shredded lettuce and tomato pieces across the top of the meat. Fold in the short ends of the flatout over the filling and then fold in the long ends to cover it. 
4.     Lightly mist the large skillet with cooking spray and bring over medium-low heat. Place the wraps fold-side down onto the skillet (I did them in batches of two) and let them cook for 3-4 minutes or until golden. Flip the wraps and continue to cook until golden on the bottom. Cut in half and serve.


I have yet to try one of her recipes that I didn't like, so check her out! There are tons of cute, individual serving "cupcake" recipes--I haven't tried any of them yet, but they're on my list of recipes to try!


Happy weekend, friends!