Healthy Sweet Potato Fries (by Mommypotamus)

2 sweet potatoes, peeled, and cut into strips
1-2 tablespoons coconut oil, warmed up to liquify it
salt and pepper to taste

Line a cookie sheet or baking dish with aluminum foil and then place the sweet potato strips onto the foil.
Pour the liquid coconut oil over the sweet potatoes and use hands to mix it all evenly together.  Then sprinkle
salt and pepper and make sure all sweet potatoes are spread out in a single layer so that they can cook
evenly.  Place in oven on top rack for 30-40 minutes.  Done.

Variation:
Add cinnamon or chipotle pepper to spice it up!

Sesame Noodles

adapted from Good Housekeeping.com (click the title to go to the original link)

This is becoming one of our "regular" meals.  It's very easy and yummy.  If you *must* you could add some shrimp or even chicken.  I serve this with gyoza (Chinese dumplings) alongside.

I've halved the original recipe because it makes a lot.  I also limit the spicy-ness for my kiddos.
You can make the sauce earlier in the day to save some time.

Ingredients:

- salt
- 8 oz. spaghetti (whole wheat, regular or even rice noodles)
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/8 cup rice vinegar
- 1/8 low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/8 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 Tbsp Asian sesame oil
- 1/2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 tsp sugar
- pinch crushed red pepper (or more if you like it spicier)
- 2 cups carrots cut into match sticks (save yourself some time and buy the packaged kind)
- 2 small cucumbers (I used Persian cucumbers) cut into matchsticks
- 2 green onions thinly sliced
- 1 Tbsp sesame seeds toasted (optional)
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions

1. Heat large pot of salted water to boiling over high heat. Add pasta and cook as label directs.
2. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, with wire whisk or fork, mix orange juice, vinegar, soy sauce, peanut butter, oil, ginger, sugar, and crushed red pepper until blended; set sauce aside.
3. Place carrots in colander; drain pasta over carrots. In large serving bowl, toss pasta mixture, cucumbers, and sliced green onions with sauce in bowl. If you like, sprinkle pasta with sesame seeds. Garnish with green onions and cilantro.

Bodacious Broccoli Salad (from Allrecipes)

INGREDIENTS

• 8 slices bacon
• 2 heads fresh broccoli, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 large red onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/8 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS
1. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, and crumble.

2. In a large bowl, combine broccoli, cheese, bacon and onion.

3. Prepare the dressing in a small bowl by whisking together the red wine vinegar, sugar, pepper, salt, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Combine dressing with salad. Cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Refried Black Beans

1 can black beans
1/2 cup white onion
1/8 to 1/4tsp salt
1/8 to 1/4 tsp pepper
garlic
jalapeno (optional)

Directions

mash 2/3 of the beans
add the other 1/3 of the beans with 1/2 cup water and bring to boil
add the onions, garlic, salt and pepper and lower heat
let cook on low for about 10 mins or until onions are tender

Ratatouille

Rachael Ray made this on her show today.  It is supposedly just like the one on the movie Ratatouille.

• 2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus additional for drizzling
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
• 2 jarred whole roasted red peppers, chopped
• 1 small (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 2 small yellow squash, thinly sliced
• 2 small green squash, thinly sliced
• 2 small eggplant, thinly sliced
• 2 to 3 small Yukon Gold potatoes or a handful of baby Yukon gold potatoes, thinly sliced
• 3 to 4 sprigs thyme, leaves removed

Preheat oven to 425ºF.

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add the onion, garlic and roasted peppers to the pan and cook until the onions begin to get tender, 4-5 minutes.

Set up a food processor or blender and add the contents of the pan to the machine. Add in the tomato sauce and puree everything up (it should be about the consistency of thin tomato sauce). Season with salt and pepper and pour it out into the bottom of a casserole dish or sauté pan.

Swirl your dish around so that the bottom is evenly coated with sauce then arrange your veggies on top in a spiral pattern, alternating each veggie type, until you've filled the pan (like he did in the movie!).

Sprinkle the thyme leaves over the top along with some salt, pepper, and a drizzle of EVOO. Cut a piece of parchment paper into a round the size of the pan (if you're not feeling artsy-craftsy, you can also use a square sheet of paper: Cut four slits in from the corners towards the center of the sheet – this will lay over the top of the dish just fine too). Lay it over the top and place the whole pan into the oven. Bake the ratatouille until the veggies are tender, about 45 minutes.

Serve the ratatouille with some crusty bread alongside.

knife will work just fine.

Broiled Crisp Veggies

1 lb. of your choice of either frozen or fresh vegetables ( I love using broccoli, asparagus and zucchini)
2 tblsp. olive oil
2-3 tsp. pepper
2-3 tsp. garlic salt

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl or ziploc bag and then spread evenly on a cookie sheet that has a rim. Preheat oven on broil to 375 degrees. Veggies are done when they are a bit crisp on top and maybe even a bit blackened.

Roasted Rosemary-Onion Potatoes

This is my contribution to my families Thanksgiving Meal this year. I thought it would be a nice alternative to the traditional Mashed Potatoes. It's definitely more figure friendly.

4 medium potatoes (I'm using however many red potatoes equal that - for color)
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons fresh or 2 teaspoons dried rosemary leaves
1 tablespoons fresh or 1/4 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Grease bottom and sides of jelly roll pan, 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 1 inch, with shortening.

Cut potatoes into 1 inch chunks. Mix remaining ingredients in large bowl. Add potatoes, toss to coat. Spread potatoes in single layer in pan.

Bake uncovered 20 to 25 minutes, turning occasionally, until potatoes are light brown and tender when pierced with fork.

I used my Pampered Chef Large Bar Pan so I didn't have to grease the pan or turn the potatoes. The potatoes came out perfectly!

Barbecue Peppers and Onions

2 Bell Peppers (I prefer anythng but green)
1/2 medium onion (whatever kind that is in season)
1/2 bottle Sweet Baby Rays Honey BBQ sauce

Cut peppers and onions into pieces slightly bigger than bite sized (they shrink while cooking). Throw them into a skillet, pour BBQ sauce over mixture, cook on medium for 20 to 30 minutes. Stir frequently. This can also be done on the grill if you put all ingredients into a foil packet. It seems to tke a little longer on the grill.

Elegant Artichoke Cups

This is a Pampered Chef Recipe

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
24 square wonton wrappers
1 can (14 ounces) artichoke hearts in water, drained and coarsely chopped
1/2 medium red bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp lemon zest
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 clove garlic pressed
Additional grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly brush wonton wrappers with vegetable oil and press them into mini-muffin pan (oil side down). Bake 6 minutes or just until edges of wrappers are light brown. Remove from oven and let cool.
Meanwhile combine remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. Fill each wonton cup with 1 tbsp artichoke mixture, sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese. Bake 8 minutes or until edges of wontons are golden brown and cheese begins to melt.

Cucumber Salad with Sour Cream

1 large cucumber
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tblsp. vinegar
1 tblsp. chives, chopped
3/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. white pepper

Peel and slice cucumber and put into a bowl. Mix together sour cream, vinegar, chives, salt, and white pepper and pour over cucumber slices. Toss lightly to coat evenly. Chill in refrigerator.
Makes 4-6 servings.

* I add chopped yellow onions or green onions (just depends on what I have in my fridge) instead of the chives!

Creamy Potatoes

Ok, Ladies, I made this recipe, but I didn't quite follow the directions like it said, and it came out scrumptiously, so I will write the recipe the way I found it, but along the way give my recommendations.

2 cups diced potatoes (I used more like 4 cups of the golden potatoes.)
2 cups shredded cheese (I think I used a liberal amount of Monteray Jack)
2 cups sour cream
2 small 14 oz cans cream of mushroom/chicken (I used 2 of Campbell's cream of potato)
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup crushed cornflakes
2 sticks of butter, melted (To me this was way too much, so in the future I think I will half it.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease large 13x9 inch baking pan. Mix all ingredients except cornflakes and butter. Place in pan. Cover dish with crushed cornflakes. DDrizzle butter on top. Bake uncovered for 60-90 minutes until tender.

Some Like It Hot Potato Salad

5 lbs red potatoes
4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1 medium purple onion, chopped
1-2 stalks of celery, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup salad olives, sliced
1 small can black olives, sliced
1 small bottle of bacon bits
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 cups mayonnaise
salt and pepper

Peel and cube the potatoes. Salt. Boil potatoes until just tender. Drain and place into a very large bowl. Pour boiled eggs over the potatoes. In a separate bowl, mix all other ingredients. Fold mixture in with potatoes and eggs. Add more mayonnaise if necessary. Best when serverd warm.

Crisp Asparagus

1 bunch of fresh asparagus
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. pepper
2 tblsp. olive oil

Place fresh asparagus in a shallow glass dish. Sprinkle the olive oil evenly on the asparagus. Do the same for the salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes on 350 degrees on the broil setting (place the glass dish on the top rack). Stir once or twice during the baking process.

Tip: You can add any of your favorite vegetables to the asparagus and add a bit more salt, olive oil and pepper to give yourself more variety.

Eggplant Parmigiana

2 cups spaghettie sauce
2 small unpeeled eggplants (about 1 pound each)
1 large egg
2 tablespoons water
2/3 cup dry bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesane cheese
1/4 cup olive or vetetable oil
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 ounces)

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut eggplant into 1/4-inch slices. Mix egg and water. Mix bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Dip eggplant into egg mixture, then coat with bread crumb mixture.

Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Cook half of the eggplant at a time in oil about 5 minutes, turning once, until light brown; drain. Repeat with remaining eggplant, adding 1 or 2 tablespoons oil if necessary.

Place half of the eggplant in ungreased rectangular baking dish, 11 x 7 x 1 1/2 inches, overlapping slices slightly. Spoon half of the sauce over eggplant. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat with reamining eggplant, sauce and cheese.

Bake uncovered about 25 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and cheese is light brown.

This recipe is from the Betty Crocker's Big Red Cookbook - page 376

Spicy Corn

2 cans shopeg corn, drained
4 oz. cream cheese
3-4 tblsp. chopped jalapenos (from can or jar- not fresh)

Mix all together in pot on stove and heat on medium-low. Done!

El Paso Potatoes

1 1/4 lbs. peeled leftover baked potatotes (or just bake them yourself in the microwave)
1/2 cup bell peppers (coarsely chopped)
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1/8 cup diced jalapenos
3/4 tblsp. seasoned salt

Peel skins off of baked potatoes. Slice potatoes lengthwise into quarters and coarsely chop. Coarsely chop bell peppers. Place potatoes, bell peppers, diced jalapenos, seasoned salt, cheddar cheese and sour cream in mixing bowl, and mix thoroughly with rubber spatula. Lightly coat bottom and sides of a baking pan with grease. Place mixture into the pan. Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes.

Tip: Add more jalapenos for an extra kick.