Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

Twice baked sweet potatoes...really, do I need to say more?  Tasty and healthy...comfort food that's not going to make you reach for your stretchy pants!!  Oh...and did I mention...easy?  My favorite word!

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

1 large sweet potato, halved lengthwise
1 tbsp butter/margarine
2 tbsp plain Greek yogurt
1 tbsp cinnamon sugar
2 tbsp chopped nuts (optional)

1.  Preheat oven to 400.  Place potato halves cut side down on a foil lined baking sheet.  Bake for 35 minutes or until tender.

2.  In a small bowl combine remaining ingredients and mix well.

3.  Once cooked, carefully spoon out the center of the potato halves, leaving a shell.

4.  Add the scooped potato to the mixture.  Mash and combine well.  Spoon back into the shells.

5.  Top with nuts and bake for an additional 3 minutes.

If you're more into the traditional sweet potato and marshmallow combination...replace the nuts with mini marshmallows and bake for only one minute or until they are nice and gooey...careful not to burn them!

Braised Beef Tenderloin

Recently, I purchased a package of pre-seasoned beef tenderloins.  The first one that I cooked, I baked in the oven...and I did so 'blind' as I do not have a meat thermometer (I know...shame on me...).  Needless to say, it was overdone and dry.  Since the package contained FOUR tenderloins, I figured I'd better either get a meat thermometer or find a better way to cook it.  You'd think that I drove my happy ass to the store and bought a meat thermometer.  Nope...of course not...that's too easy!  Instead, I set out to find a better way to cook it without one.

The first recipe I tried was for a braised beef tenderloin.  Most people probably wouldn't think to braise a tenderloin...I certainly hadn't thought about it before now.  Turns out, it's very good.  It cooks the meat evenly without overcooking it...it retains moisture and flavor, too.  Above all...it's crazy easy!

Braised Beef Tenderloin
1 petite beef tenderloin (mine was about a half a pound...the package in the photo contains 2)
4 cups of your broth/stock of choice (I used half beef and half homemade veggie stock...that's what the frozen cubes are)
Vegetables and seasonings of choice for flavor (For this recipe, I used a half cup sliced mushrooms, half a small onion and 2 tbsp minced garlic)


1.  Bring broth, seasonings and vegetables to a simmer in a large saucepan.

2.  Add meat and let simmer for 30 minutes.

3.  After 30 minutes, remove meat to serving dish and slice.  Serve with any veggies that were in the broth and spoon a little broth over the top.

Caramel Apple Dip

When I was a kid, my dad made this amazing caramel apple dip for me.  It was so good that I used to use the apple slices like a spoon when he wasn't looking!  Now that I'm "grown up" I figured I should learn to make it for myself.  Turns out...the magic dip isn't all that hard!  It only needs three ingredients that you might have lurking in your kitchen already...and you can make it ahead for a party if you need to.

What you need:
1 8oz package cream cheese
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping
apples for dipping

1.  Cut cream cheese into cubes and soften in the microwave (30 seconds on high).  Using a hand mixer, blend until smooth.
2.  Add brown sugar.  Cream together until smooth with mixer.
 3.  Add caramel sauce.  Mix well.  Serve with apple slices!

That's it!  See...really easy.  If you're watching your sugar intake, you can substitute the caramel sauce for the sugar free version and swap regular brown sugar for the Splenda brown sugar blend (just be sure to consult the measurement conversion chart).  Yum!

Three Simple Recipes, One Healthy Meal

Before I begin the recipe portion of this post, I'd like to say thank you for reading!  Readership has spiked and I'm very excited to have all of you on my blog!  Please feel free to make comments and suggestions...I'd love to hear from you!

For tonight's dinner I decided to go simple...fish and veggies.  Light, healthy yet satisfying.  On the menu: balsamic glazed tilapia, oven roasted broccoli and corn on the cob.  Yum!



Roasted Broccoli:
2 cups broccoli florets
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper

1.  Toss broccoli in olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Put in a baking dish and bake for 20 minutes at 425.

2,  When done (you should be able to stick them with a fork and ends will be browned), sprinkle with cheese and lemon juice...toss to coat.

Corn on the Cob:

2 ears of corn, shucked and cleaned
4 tbsp butter/margarine
garlic powder
Cajun seasoning

like this

1.  Cut lengths of foil big enough to wrap each ear in.  Add butter and seasonings (place in the center and arrange it so that it will go the length of the ear...as pictured).

2.  Add ear on top of butter and seasonings.  Wrap tightly.

3.  Place in a baking dish or on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes in 425 oven.  *Cook times may vary based on the size of the ear of corn.

4.  Carefully unwrap and place in your corn holder and drizzle with seasoned, melted butter.

Balsamic Glazed Tilapia:

2 tilapia fillets
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp minced garlic
salt and pepper

1.  Add garlic and balsamic to small saucepan.  Simmer until it reaches a syrupy consistency...about 10 minutes.

2.  Preheat oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Season fillets with salt and pepper.  Saute approximately 3 minutes on each side or until cooked through.  This time may vary based on the thickness of your fish.

3.  Pour balsamic glaze over fish and spoon it over the fish to coat.

4.  Carefully remove fish to plate and serve.

Caipirinha

Recently, Aaron took me to an awesome restaurant called Texas de Brazil.  The food was beyond amazing, but at around $50 per person, I suggest signing up for their membership...you'll get a buy one get one free pass during the month of your birthday.  Aside from the incredible food, they had a cocktail that I'd never even heard of before (that's pretty hard to find since we just finished our bartending class!).  It's called the Caipirinha and it's Brazil's national drink.  It's made from a unique spirit called Cachaça which is a rum made from fermented and distilled sugar cane and is only made in Brazil.  

The Caipirinha is surprisingly simple with only three ingredients:  Cachaça, sugar, and lime juice.  The sugar and lime is muddled in the glass and the Cachaça is added on top...serve over ice and you've got a very tasty beverage!  If you prefer something a little sweeter, add a touch of your favorite fruit puree and it only gets better.  We loved the drink so much that we went out searching for the Cachaça at our local liquor store.  I will say, it's not the easiest thing to find but our ABC did have it in stock.  If you can't find it locally, it is available online. The brand we tried and eventually purchased was Lablon.  

If you enjoy an occasional cocktail, I strongly recommend you give this a try if you can.  It's delicious!  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE always drink responsibly!!!  Don't overindulge and definitely don't drive!

Recipe for Caipirinha

Cachaça

1 fresh lime

2 tbsp sugar

ice

Cut fresh lime into sections.  

Add sugar, muddle.

Add 2 oz Cachaça.  

Serve over ice.  Garnish with lime wedge.

Foam Tiles=Awesome Photo Op!

A while back, my mother-in-law, Debi, gave me a package of those foam letter/number puzzle tiles.  She said they make great mats for little ones to have tummy time on.  Since we have tile floors, I think we can use all the extra padding we can get for Ayden.  Anyway, I put them down and as usual, I started snapping picture after picture of my son at play.  As I was snapping away, I noticed how cute the tiles were as a backdrop for pictures.  Bright and colorful...and his sweet baby face really popped with all the color behind him.  

Lightbulb...they're letters and numbers...you can SPELL WORDS with them.  Duh.

So I found the letters to his name and spelled his first name, the date and then one row of random letters and numbers to set him down on.  Wouldn't you know it...makes a really cute way to chronical his growth!

5 months

6 months

I know my pictures aren't the best quality, but I think the concept is pretty darn cool!  My only regret is that I didn't think of this sooner.  I still think it'll make a really fun display for his first birthday party!

Goin' Greek

Before you get all excited...no, I'm not running away to Greece with a handsome Greek man.  I'm not that lucky.  (Just kidding, honey!)

I'm sure you've all heard about the Greek yogurt craze that has been going on for a while.  I have been SO reluctant to buy into it.  Yeah, sure it's healthier for you...it's yogurt...but can it really replace my Yoplait?  I doubt it.  Well in an effort to get healthy...I caved.  I bought three different brands of Greek yogurt to see if it was all it was cracked up to be.  The verdict: not a fan.  Honestly, it's not bad, but it doesn't taste anything like 'regular' yogurt.  I suppose my expectation was my first problem.  It's not the same thing, so why should it taste the same?  I found that it's much more tangy than yogurt and if I'm going to eat it say, for breakfast, I'd go with the Fage that has a 'two compartment' container where the larger compartment contains plain yogurt and the other, smaller side has a fruit jam that's pretty tasty.  I like it separate so that I can customize how sweet I want my yogurt.

Something I did notice while eating the plain yogurt...it tasted a lot like sour cream, but creamier!  Now, after thinking I'd had an epiphany, I read online that there may have been a few who caught on before me.   Nevertheless!  I'm excited...I'm trying this out.

I decided to try my new sour cream substitute out on a classic...tacos.  Taco night is sacred in our house.  It must only come on a night where my boyfriend does not have to work the next morning.  He claims this is important so that he can take his time eating and enjoy a few beers with his meal without having to worry about getting up the next day.  If it's not bad enough that I have to schedule taco night, he's painfully picky about his tacos and their toppings.  He MUST have Taco Bell packets (chilled, of course), onion diced very small (chilled) and black olives sliced (also chilled).  Also, the sour cream must be in a bag with the tip snipped just right for easy application.  His mother assures me that his pickiness isn't her fault, and I'm inclined to think she's right...he must just be unbalanced.  I digress...

Since my dear boyfriend has been such a good sport with my other cooking adventures, I opted to offer him his regular sour cream and just try the Greek yogurt myself.  Of course, seeing something new in the kitchen usually piques his interest...he asked what the heck I was putting on my taco that wasn't sour cream.  He tried it and said that, to him, it didn't taste quite like the real deal, but **gasp** BETTER!

Holy crap.  He likes it.  Hallelujah!  So we've made the switch...healthier, keeps better, and I can add fruit and eat it for breakfast.

And in case my word isn't good enough reason for you to go try it, let me just say that 2 tablespoons of the regular Greek yogurt is approximately 28 calories.  Two tablespoons of regular sour cream is about 60 calories.  So by making this little switch you'll save yourself 32 or so calories!  Doesn't sound like a lot...but it adds up!  Let's just say you make this switch everyday for a week...that's a total of 224 calories.  You could 'spend' those calories on a Coconut Creme Frappuccino from Starbucks.  You know...if you're into that sort of thing...

Sources:
Greek Yogurt Nutrition Facts
Sour Cream Nutrition Facts
Starbucks Nutrition Facts

Greece Photo

The Perfect Glass of Iced Tea

I'm sitting here on this beautiful, sunny Florida day thinking to myself, "I'm parched."  Hmm...well considering I'm not purchasing any groceries for a while, I don't want to waste the liter of diet Coke in the fridge, I'm not in the mood for water and my darling boyfriend decided to drink my last Starbucks Refresher...what libation can I concoct?  Well duh...ice tea!  We've had tea bags in our pantry forEVER since we bought some and my dad always gives us a box when he buys them at Publix as a BOGO.

One problem.  I SUCK at making good tea.  I'm so ashamed.  I grew up on iced tea, but for some reason whenever I make it, it's bitter and just in general icky.  Yes, icky...it's a technical term.  Now, the bf likes 'sun tea' where I place water and about a zillion bags of tea in a glass jar and leave it outside for a day or two until the water becomes an almost black liquid that I'm convinced is not fit for human consumption.  Ok, well that isn't really how sun tea ought to be...but that's how he likes it.  He's weird, I know.  But what I'm after is that cool, amber colored liquid that just quenches the most unquenchable thirst.

So, I slink to my computer and pull up my Pinterest board because I seem to remember pinning something about how to make the perfect sweet tea at one point.   And in my shame, I actually read a recipe for making good tea.  Turns out...I've been missing an ingredient that really surprised me: baking soda.

Off I go to make some tea...here goes nothing!
What you'll need:

8 cups water

2 family sized bags of tea (or 6 regular bags)

8 cup Pyrex bowl (or similar)

a pinch of baking soda (not pictured)

A vessel of choice to hold the final product

First step...boil 2 cups of water.  Pour the boiling water (carefully!) into the 8 cup Pyrex bowl.

Add the tea bags, keeping the tags out of the water.  Let steep.  (I steeped mine for about 10 minutes.  It really depends on how strong you like your tea...just remember that it's going to be diluted in the next step.)

Add a pinch of baking soda.
Chemistry Lesson!  Tea contains tannic acid, more commonly referred to as TANNIN.  This is what makes tea bitter.  Baking soda is a base, so adding it to an acid neutralizes it, resulting in a reduction of bitterness!

Remove tea bags, squeezing as much liquid out before you discard them (careful not to burn yourself).  Dilute with 6 cups of cold water.  Pour into a container of your choice and store in the refrigerator.

NOTE!  If you prefer SWEET tea, add sugar while it's still hot.  That's it!  I, myself, prefer to use Splenda and add it to my glass...that way anyone else who drinks it can make it as sweet (or not) as they like!

Apologies

Ok so ....as you know, I vowed to make 10 NEW vegetables in April.  You may have noticed...it's May and there are fewer than 10.

My bad.

I confess I have a bad habit of  becoming over ambitious and losing steam towards the end of the project.  I was getting fed up with the lack of selection in my local produce section and frankly...tired of cooking stuff no one would eat.

So...on to the next!