Honey-Balsamic Sweet Potato Mash

Happy Thursday, readers! This week has been crazy. Well, let me rephrase - this week has been crazy in an awesome way. I was a social butterfly this week! Some girlfriends and I ventured out to experience Paint Nite at a local bar (which was fantastic, by the way!), and the following night I met up with some more friends to share delicious margaritas and Mexican food. So many awesome plans on weeknights? Sometimes (most of the time) my life rules. 

Needless to say, I haven't spent a whole lot of time in the kitchen this week. I did, however, find time to whip up this sweet little side dish. This recipe for Honey-Balsamic Sweet Potato Mash is VERY tasty. It's great, because you can pop your potatoes in the oven to cook while you throw the rest of your meal together, and by the time your main dish is complete, the potatoes are ready to be mashed.

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs sweet potatoes
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup half & half
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• freshly ground pepper

How to:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Prick your potatoes with a fork, and bake on a foil-lined baking sheet until very tender (50-60 min).
• Set the potatoes aside to cool.
• When they are cool enough to handle, halve them lengthwise and spoon out the flesh into a large bowl. Discard the skins.
• Mash the potatoes to your desired consistency, and stir in the remaining ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve immediately.

The original recipe uses heavy cream, but I only had half & half in my fridge. The sweet potatoes still tasted very velvety and rich with this substitution. Additionally, the original recipe suggests using wildflower or lavender if you don't have any honey. I'm thinking it's time for me to purchase these ingredients, so I can see how they change up the dish!

Enjoy!

This recipe is from Williams-Sonoma Bride & Groom Cookbook.

Pasta with Chicken & Tomatoes

Chicken was on sale this week. Like, ridiculously on sale - only $1.69 a pound. Naturally, I bought as many packages as I could without looking like a crazy chicken-hoarding lady.

This recipe for Pasta with Chicken & Tomatoes is a staple in this household. It uses frozen veggies for convenience, although fresh vegetables would work excellently here. 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups uncooked penne pasta
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 bag frozen bell pepper and onion stir fry (from a 1-lb bag)
• 1 chicken breast
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, seasoned with garlic, basil, and oregano
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper

How to:

• Cook and drain pasta as directed on the package.
• Cook the chicken breast in boiling water until cooked through, about 25 minutes. Shred cooked chicken with two forks, or in a food processor.
• Meanwhile, in a 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat. 
• Cook bell pepper mixture in oil until thawed, about 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Stir in chicken, tomatoes, garlic salt, and pepper. 
• Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mixture is hot. 
• Stir in pasta until pasta is well coated and hot.
• Serve.

 Suggestions:

• If you have leftover cold pasta from another dish, this dish becomes even faster - no need to reheat the pasta beforehand, just throw it in at the end and cook the dish an extra minute or two.
• The original recipe I was working from uses 1 lb beef strips for stir fry or thinly sliced flank steak. Instead of using shredded chicken, throw the beef into the skillet after heating the bell pepper mixture, cook for 5-6 minutes until beef is no longer pink, and then continue by stirring in the tomatoes, garlic salt, and pepper. 

Enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie Bundles

Chicken pot pie is one of my absolute favorite foods. I remember back when I was in high school, my mom would buy those Marie Calendar's individual chicken pot pies, and I'd eat one at least once a week when I would get home from soccer practice. It was like my 'pre-dinner' meal. That was then I could pretty much eat whatever I wanted. Sigh. 

The problem with chicken pot pie is that generally it's packed full of calories. Which, I suppose, is what makes it such a fabulous comfort food. I've tried my fair share of chicken pot pie recipes, and nothing has really done it for me. Until I came across the recipe I'm sharing with you today! This recipe for Chicken Pot Pie Bundles has all the savory taste of traditional chicken pot pie, but a fraction of the calories. These bundles are packed full of veggies, and they are perfectly portioned. And because each one of these fabulous bundles is so low in calories (approximately 180 each), feel free to have more than 1 - your secret is safe with me.

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 large carrot, peeled & diced into 1/4 inch pieces (about 1 cup)
• 1 small onion, diced into 1/4 inch pieces (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp freshly chopped tarragon, or 1/2 tsp dried tarragon
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• pinch of ground pepper
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 4 tsp cornstarch
• 3/4 cup frozen petite peas
• 3/4 cup frozen corn kernels
• 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 12 egg roll wrappers (NOT wonton wrappers - get the big egg roll wrappers!)

How to:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Heat some olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add carrots and onion to skillet, stir frequently and cook until softened - about 5 minutes.
• Add garlic, mix, and cook for an additional 1 minute, stirring frequently.
• Add in chicken, tarragon, salt, and pepper. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink - about 5 minutes.
• Add in peas and corn and heat until thawed, about 2 minutes.
• Whisk together chicken broth and cornstarch in a separate bowl. Add chicken broth to skillet and heat to a simmer. Cook until thickened, about 2 minutes, stirring gently to mix.
• Gently place an egg roll wrapper in each cup of a 12-cup muffin tin. Let the sides of the egg roll wrapper extend over the sides of each cup (see picture).
• Fill each cup with a generous 1/4 cup of skillet mixture.
• Top with Parmesan cheese.
• Gather the sides of each egg roll wrapper and press together to seal each bundle. It helps to wet your fingers with a small amount of water so the bundles seal better. 
• Brush the tops of each bundle with olive oil. 
• Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until bundles are browned.

I found it helpful to fully 'seal' the bundles after I brushed them with the olive oil. These individual pot pies took a some time to prepare  (mostly the prep work - cutting up raw chicken always takes me forever), but the end result was SO worth it. I've never cooked with tarragon before, so I wonder if this is where all the fabulous taste came from. As soon as I added the tarragon to the skillet, my kitchen began to smell amazing. I'm going to find a way to include this magical spice into a few more recipes. 

The original recipe I worked from can be found here.

Enjoy!

Crockpot Beef Stew

In theory, Crockpot recipes are great because you can throw a bunch of stuff into the pot, turn it on, leave it for 6-8 hours, and come back to a delicious hot meal. In reality, Crockpot recipes generally only work for me on the weekends. During the week,  I'm outta the house by 8:00am and rarely get home before 6:00pm. That's 10 hours. I feel like this is generally the norm for people who work 40 hours (or more...womp womp...) a week outside the home.

As I've mentioned numerous times, sometimes cooking a real meal is the absolute last thing I want to do when I get home after standing at a lab bench for 8+ hours. Jake and I probably eat more cereal and grilled cheese than we should. I came across this recipe for Crockpot Beef Stew and knew it would be the perfect thing to try on what I knew would be one of my crazier days in the lab. I prepped all of the ingredients the night before and kept them covered and in the fridge overnight. Then, before heading into work last Wednesday morning, I threw all of the ingredients in the crockpot, turned it on, and left for work. When I finally made it back to the house 11 and a half hours later (vomit), this perfect batch of Beef Stew was waiting for me.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into bite size pieces or 1 inch cubes
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 potatoes, diced
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 2 celery stalks, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cups beef broth

How to:

• Mix together flour, salt, and pepper in a large Ziploc bag or bowl. Add meat and toss to coat.
• Place flour-coated meat in slow cooker and add all remaining ingredients. Stir to mix thoroughly.
• Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours, or on high for 4-6 hours. 

After 11 and a half hours in the crockpot, the meat perfectly fell apart and tasted so flavorful. This really was one of those 'set it and forget it' meals, especially considering I prepped all of the ingredients the night before. 

My recipe is slightly modified from this one.

Chunky Vegetable Soup

Happy December! Jake and I went to pick out our Christmas tree today. It was pretty chilly, and all I could think about was having something warm when we got back to our place. After about 30 minutes of searching, we found the most glorious tree the nursery had to offer. And then it was time to head home, and make some delicious soup.

My recipe for Chunky Vegetable Soup is modified from a recipe I found in the book pictured above (which I purchased for $2.99 at Marshall's - bonus). If you're looking for a healthy bowl of soup that's packed with flavor, this is for you!

Ingredients:

• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 3 medium red potatoes, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano (14 oz)
• 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 2-3 tsp italian seasoning
• 1/2 cup frozen or canned (drained) corn
• Salt and pepper, to taste

How to:

• In a pot, combine all ingredients except for corn and stir to mix.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and let simmer for 25 minutes.
• Add the corn, and return to a boil. 
• Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for an additional 5 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. 
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Discard bay leaf.

Enjoy!