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!

Weekend Away: Bulldog Bash

This weekend was Bulldog Bash in Starkville, so of course we spent our weekend there. We drove over late Friday night and watched a little bit of The Black Crowes concert in the Cotton District and got to see a couple of people, but it was too hot to spend much time in the crowds. We really kicked off the weekend on Saturday morning with a hearty Southern breakfast, a few good friends, and lots of coffee at Starkville Cafe before walking around downtown.



Then we spent the afternoon tailgating in the Junction, visiting with family and some of our friends from college. We went out to the game—-our dear ol' State was playing LSU this weekend. Though it wasn't a pretty ending, it was a great night for a football game and the stadium was full of fans proudly wearing the maroon and white.



This morning we met up with MrLanke, as usual, for Sunday brunch before heading back to get ready for the work week. Today we went to Restaurant Tyler, filling up on mimosas and thoroughly unhealthy breakfast foods. Fried Green Tomato Benedict for me, Sausage Biscuit Benedict for the mister, and a French Toast Sandwich for Lanke.



On our way out of town, we stopped to get a big cup of Blueberry Cobbler coffee from Strange Brew to get us through the long drive home. I walked away for one minute and the mister had picked up a bag of The Great Pumpkin Spice for each of us. Then we drove home through the rain that's supposed to bring us some fall weather.

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.

The Little Things

On the way home from work, I decided to try out another little coffee shop for a Friday night treat. I stopped at Bennu coffee and tried the Pride & Prejudice mocha. So good. 
(I also spotted a funny little mural across the street from Bennu)

But the best part of this lovely Friday evening was coming home to find a package from my sweet mama in my mailbox. She sent me two issues of the Mississippi arts and entertainment review (one with good ol' Elvis on the front) and the newspaper from my hometown. 

It's the little things, y'all.