Easy Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Hello and Happy Late Memorial Day! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I know I did and I ate a ton! I wasn't sure what to show you guys but I decided on a healthy side dish, Roasted Sweet Potatoes. It is so simple and so good. The flavor of roasted veggies is amazing and gets they get a really nice sweet, caramelized flavor. You can do it with any veggie and this time I wanted to show you guys a Roasted Sweet Potato because there is so much nutrition in this potato.

look at that goodness!

Here is how you do it:

2 Large Sweet Potatoes, cut into any shape you like
EVOO
Salt and Pepper or Montreal Steak Seasoning to taste

Pre-heat your oven to 400. Cut your potatoes anyway you like, I did min in triangles. Season with salt and pepper or Montreal Steak seasoning which is my favorite. Toss potatoes with about 2-3 tbs of EVOO and roast in your oven for about 20-25 minutes or until they are browned around the edges. I leave mine so they are still slightly tender. Take out of oven and let cool.

Once cool enough, enjoy!

Greek Yogurt Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

Hello everyone!! How is everyone? I am really tired today. I almost didn’t post today because I am overworked. I have been working extra hour due to my store being a manager short. I wanted to post something though and I have had this recipe for a while, and wanted to post it. It’s a healthier version of ranch dressing. Now this isn’t your Hidden Valley dressing, but this is pretty close. 

I hope you guys try this at least once, it is really good. I lightened it up by using Greek Yogurt instead of sour cream. This way also added more protein to it. 

Here’s how you do it.

Ingredients/recipe

Adapted from Rachael Ray

3/4 cup buttermilk –more if you want it thinner

1/2 cup Greek Yogurt

1 teaspoon of hot sauce

fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped –to taste

1 TBS of dried dill or three TBS fresh finely chopped

3 tablespoon fresh chives, finely chopped

Salt and pepper

First start out by mixing your buttermilk and Greek Yogurt. You can add a little extra buttermilk if you want it a little thinner. Add you hot sauce, parsley, dill and chives. Add salt and pepper to taste-I like extra pepper.

I hope you guys try this; it’s super simple and keeps for about a week or week and a half.              

Enjoy!

Warm weather and a Italian Salad

I am loving this weather! I am not sure where you guys live, but here in the Midwest we are having a very mild winter. It is close to spring, but it’s not quite here yet. Yesterday was in the upper 60’s and today is about the same with some rain. I love the warm weather and I love the time change, because it stays lighter so much longer now. My only downfall is my sinuses don’t know what to do because of this up and down weather

.

I’m going to start this week off with a great salad. It is an Italian salad that I saw on The Sandwich Guy. I made this for a pot-luck because I wanted to do more than just bake something, which I love to do. I left out a few ingredients here and there, but it went over very well. I also made meatballs, but I will show that another time. I made the dressing for it too, but changed it to a mustard vinaigrette because I didn’t like the taste of dressing by itself. This is a delicious salad and there is pasta in it, but you could skip it, for me it didn’t make a difference. 

There was some great food!!

I am really bad at forgetting to get pictures, but here is what it looks like. Trust me it tastes great!

Ingredients/Recipe

Adapted from Jeff Mauro

Sweet Italian Mustard Dressing: 

1/2 cup red wine vinegar-I added a little more

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Salt and black pepper

1/2 cup olive oil

2-3 tablespoons of mustard-or to taste 

Salad:

2 cups ditalini pasta, cooked al dente and cooled

2 hearts romaine, chopped

1/4 small head red cabbage, chopped

1/4 head iceberg, chopped

4 roma tomatoes

1/2 small red onion, minced

Put all your dressing ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend. Taste to make sure your seasonings are right and adjust if needed.

Next add all your salad ingredients and mix. Add your dressing if eating right away or serve on the side. 

You could also use any dressing if you like. You can serve chicken or pork chops on the side or just use this as a side salad. 

I hope you guys like this one and enjoy!

I'm Behind and Mac ‘N Cheese Jalapeño Poppers

Hi and greetings to all. It is Thanksgiving week and do you guys have all your holiday plans set? I will be cooking and baking up a storm this week and I also have been requested to make a cake for someone’s birthday. It is going to busy, busy, busy, but I am going to love every minute of it.

So I know I was suppose to update last week with sides and appetizers for Thanksgiving, but I had some car trouble, major trouble, and then my roommate’s car started acting up. Last week was a rough week to say the least. I hope you can accept my apology.  Things are ten times better now and I am back to blogging.

Here is a another appetizer, but it kind of doubles as a side.  Mac and cheese stuffed jalapenos.  I followed the recipe pretty much to a T. The only thing I would do is roast the jalapenos or blanch them for a few minutes to soften them up. Mine were a little too crunchy. Remember to remove the seeds and ribs to take the heat down. I also had left over Mac and Cheese and served that as a side and it was amazing. This is a must try! Very cheesy and fun. I hope you guys like this!

It is from Rachael Ray and the recipe can be found here. Enjoy!