Simmering sweet potatoes spice up this beef stew

Sweet potatoes seem to be the current darlings of foodies, so no surprise that something so standard as beef stew gets a sweet-potato infusion. This spicy version was wonderful indeed.

Cubed butternut squash also was a new (to me, at least) stew ingredient. I even threw in a little leftover zucchini. We let Spicy Beef Stew with Sweet Potatoes cook overnight in the slow-cooker. What an amazing aroma greeted us the next morning! Stew for breakfast? We were tempted but waited (barely) until later in the day.

The magazine source featured a recipe for Herbed Biscuits to accompany the stew. Partners in paradise, I’d say. This made a tough-to-beat combination that we just loved.

Spiced Beef Stew with Sweet Potatoes

1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste

1 (32-ounce) container beef broth (I used lower-sodium variety)

1 (3-pound) boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 pounds small sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 sweet onions, cut into eighths

2 cups cubed butternut squash (about 1 pound)

2 cups frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed

2 celery ribs, sliced

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons ancho chile powder (I used regular chili powder)

1 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 teaspoon dried thyme

Whisk together first 2 ingredients until mixture is smooth. Sprinkle beef with flour, salt, and pepper; toss to coat. Cook beef, in batches, in hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally, 10 to 12 minutes or until browned. Place in a 6-square slow cooker. Add sweet potatoes, next 8 ingredients, and broth mixture. Cover and cook on high 6 to 7 hours or until tender. Makes 8 servings. 

Herbed Biscuits

1/2 cup cold butter, cubed

2 cups self-rising flour

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 cup buttermilk

Use pastry blender or fork to cut butter into self-rising flour until mixture resembles small peas. Add chives, basil, and pepper. Add buttermilk and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly 3 or 4 times. Pat or roll dough to 3/4-inch thickness; cut into squares to form 15 biscuits. (I used a round biscuit-cutter.) Place on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes or until biscuits are golden. Makes 15 biscuits. (Source: Southern Living November 2012)

Sweet Potato Fruit Salad made a sweet menu item on Hearts and Flowers Day

Blame it on flu season. But several Valentine’s Days ago Hubby and I made a pact. After waiting for service for nearly an hour in a crowded restaurant lobby in which we were shoulder-to-shoulder with countless potential flu germs, we decided then and there: no more restaurant meals on Hearts and Flowers Day.

We’d either do take-out or cook and dine at home. Valentine’s Day falls smack-dab in the middle of a highly germ-rife time of year. I began collecting recipes for a dine-at-home Valentine meal for 2013.

As I searched for a salad, I couldn’t pass up this one: Sweet Potato Fruit Salad. I never had encountered the idea of adding cooked, cubed sweet potatoes to a standard fruit (ambrosia-type) salad. This recipe was featured on an old calendar that I recently had been given.

The tossed items are ensconced in a beautiful cinnamon/brown-sugar/sour cream dressing. This menu item was a true love gift for Hubby, who adores sweet potatoes and would be happy to have them added to most anything served.

Sweet Potato Fruit Salad

3 medium sweet potatoes, cooked, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 bananas, sliced

2 apples, dced

1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained and juice reserved

1 1/2 pounds (2 cups) seedless grapes, cut in half

2 oranges, sectioned

1 (3 1/2-ounce) can coconut

1 (8-ounce) carton dairy sour cream (I used fat-free)

3-4 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine first 7 ingredients except reserved juice; toss gently. Set aside. Combine sour cream, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons reserved juice to reach desired serving consistency for dressing. Serve over salad. Chill until time to serve. Makes 10 servings. (Source: Texas Utilities Electric Company calendar, 1986)

Sweet news for grits-lovers: Sweet Potato Grits

A good serving of grits warms the hearts of many of our family members. My delight was boundless when I discovered a new recipe for Sweet Potato Grits. I couldn’t imagine any improvement on the old standby cheese grits recipe I had treasured all these years. But the addition of sweet potato got my attention.

This recipe called for shredded smoked Gouda cheese instead of the usual cheddar. No baking of a casserole was required. The mashed sweet potato was stirred into hot cooked grits at the end of the cooking cycle.

The information accompanying the recipe touted the sweet potato as an official super food: One medium-sized sweet potato has 438 percent of the daily requirement of vitamin A, 37 percent of vitamin C, and only 105 calories. Sweet news, for sure.

Sweet Potato Grits

2 cups milk

1 cup uncooked regular grits

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup cooked, mashed sweet potatoes

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded smoked Gouda cheese

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

garnish: fresh cilantro sprigs

In a large saucepan over medium-hgh heat bring milk and 1/2 cups water to a boil; gradually whisk in grits. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes or until thickened. Stir potatoes and next 4 ingredients into grits. Makes 6 servings. (Source: Southern Living October 2012)

Sweet potato fries are all the rage; here's a healthy take on them

I mentioned that the food demonstration we observed this week when we visited the Chickasaw Nation Nutrition Services had more goodies in store besides the marvelous Autumn Spice Cake that we sampled after the demo.

Also amazing were the Southwest Sweet Potato Fries and the dipping sauces that accompanied them. Food Demo Specialist Kathy Bean sliced some sweet potatoes into strips (similar to the size of restaurant fries) and then placed them in a zip-top bag that contained spices. The spices consisted merely of cumin and a Southwest chipotle seasoning (the one she used was produced by the Mrs. Dash brand of salt-free seasoning).

Several shakes of the bag to evenly distribute the seasoning over all of the potato wedges—then the potatoes were arranged onto a cooking-spray sprayed pan. After I returned home from seeing these prepared and from sampling them, I had to try cooking these myself. After I baked the potatoes for about 20 minutes in a 425-degree oven, as the recipe instructed I turned them once and cooked the other side of the fries during the remaining cooking time (15 to 20 minutes).

The Southwest kick these oven-baked fries had to them by having been dredged into these two simple seasonings was incredible. These were terrific by themselves but were even better with the homemade dipping sauces that Kathy had arrayed on the counter. The one I chose to try with the Sweet Potato Fries was Honey Mustard Sauce, featured below. I tried the fries warm straight from the oven and cold straight from the fridge after I had stored them a while. I found them to be good warm or cold, if you can believe it.

Kathy had extolled all the health benefits of sweet potatoes, not the least of which was the fiber aspect (one serving of the sweet potato fries, with a serving estimated to be about 10 fries) was 5 grams of fiber. Oven-baking them instead of frying in oil on the stove gave them a zero-gram fat and cholesterol content with only 85 grams of sodium. She spoke of how sweet potato fries are becoming a popular restaurant menu item.

Now, with this recipe for Southwest Sweet Potato Fries, appreciators can make their own, the healthy way.

Southwest Sweet Potato Fries

2 pounds sweet potatoes

2 teaspoons no-salt Southwest chipotle seasoning (prepared with Mrs. Dash brand)

1 teaspoon cumin

cooking spray

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cut each potato into 4-inch chunks; then cut chunks crosswise into strips. In a large zip-top bag mix Southwest and cumin seasonings. Add potatoes and toss until coated. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Arrange potatoes in a single layer. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Turn once until potatoes are lightly browned. Makes 6 servings.

Honey Mustard Sauce

1/2 cup light mayonnaise

2 tablespoons yellow mustard

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons honey

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

Combine ingredients in a bowl. Chill. Makes 10 1-tablespoon servings.

Crustless Sweet Potato Pie a lightened-up version of a fall favorite

Sweet potatoes were among the other items we hauled back from the Chickasaw-vendor roadside markets. Hubby fretted that the size of the potatoes, which were on the medium-to-small side and said they wouldn’t be too terrific for baking. I said no problem; I had a recipe that called for mashed ones that were just this size.

A gooey sweet-potato casserole with the nuts-and-marshmallow topping is highly popular this time of year and is a standard Thanksgiving accompaniment; I could tell this recipe (Sweet Potato Pie without the pie crust) was a lightened version of that one. The bottom layer consisted of the mushed-up sweet potatoes, with spices, butter, milk, and brown sugar added. The top layer was like a pecan pie, with nuts sprinkled on and a corn-syrup topping poured around. So it was like digging through a pecan pie layer to get to the potato layer. Sweet! But not overly sweet. I used it as a veggie to go with my main course last night, but it would be just as great saved for dessert with maybe a little fat-free whipped topping dotted on.

And oh, the pleasure of being in the same dwelling while this recipe (from “Celebrating a Healthy Harvest”) is baking! Cinnamon and nutmeg-y smells, combined with slightly cooler temperatures yesterday and the arrival of some new pecan-colored boots I’d ordered through the mail, made fall seem as though it was just around the block. How we’re all ready for it!

Sweet Potato Pecan Pie

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 eggs (or 1/2 cup egg substitute)

2 tablespoons skim milk

2 teaspoons vanilla, divided

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 1/2 cups pecans, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together mashed sweet potatoes, brown sugar, eggs, milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Pour into a greased 8-inch-by-8-inch square baking pan. Spread mixture evenly. Spread chopped pecans over the sweet-potato mixture. Combine sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, corn syrup, and butter until completely mixed. Pour this mixture over pecans. Distribute evenly. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until the top is puffed up and golden brown. Cool for 30 minutes; serve. Makes 8 servings.

Sweet potato-chicken stir-fry combo warms all the way to the hair follicles on a cold night

An icy, biting went had blown in from the north. Overnight forecasts sent us to start the faucets dripping as protection in a freeze. Even our puppy dog made haste in from the cold as we let him out to do his business. The night called for a good warm meal—nothing but a skillet supper would fill the bill.

A recent Prevention magazine issue featured some inviting skillet-supper recipes. I clipped this one for Chicken-Sweet Potato Stir-Fry because sweet potatoes are one of Hubby’s heart's-dearest veggie (not to mention that they rate high as a super-food these days). I'd never before seen sweet potatoes in a stir-fry recipe. Healthy ingredients such as red peppers, peas, and cilantro, along with the bright orange of the sweet potato, made the dish colorful and appealing.

Prevention's recipe had called for quinoa as the grain in this recipe, but without that on hand and without desiring to venture out into the cold for a special trip to the grocery, I adapted this to use brown rice as a substitute. Addition of the jalapeno plus the cumin spice gave this stir-fry a little South-of-the-Border kick.

Good and filling, with mouth-watering zest. We thanked the Good Lord for the shelter of a cozy home and a dinner that warmed us from our hair follicles down to our tippy-toes.

Chicken-Sweet Potato Stir-Fry

1 cup water

1/2 cup brown rice

1 medium sweet potato (about 8 ounces), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

4 teaspoons canola oil

12-ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 medium onion, chopped

1 jalapeno chile pepper, finely chopped

1 medium red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 cup frozen peas

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Combine water and rice in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer until liquid has been absorbed, about 20 minutes. Put sweet potato in a small saucepan with enough cold water to cover by 2-inches while rice is cooking. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain. Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in large nonstick frying pan or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to brown, about 4 minutes. Transfer to bowl Return pan to heat and add remaining 2 teaspoons of oil. Stir in onion and jalapeno pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 minute. Add bell pepper, garlic, and cumin. Cook until vegetables start to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in peas and reserved chicken. Cook 2 minutes. Add rice and sweet potato. Cook, stir frequently, until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro, salt, and black pepper. Makes 6 servings.

Hug-in-a-bowl stew contains all the flavors of the holidays

Calling it a "hug in a bowl" is not far from wrong. We needed a big hug; this meal filled the bill.

Having emergency eye surgery definitely wasn't on our to-do list for the week before Christmas. But when a specialist told Hubby "do not pass go" until you get a retinal tear repaired pronto, those seemingly urgent to-do lists became nonessential very quickly. We rearranged our schedules, spent two straight days sitting in out-of-state doctors' office waiting rooms, and got it done.

Bottom line: Hubby emerged from some hellacious surgery pain-free, side-effects free, and with a potentially dangerous eye problem eradicated without a minute to spare. Thanks to the miracle of lasers which performed a retinal spot-weld, his vision should experience no further difficulties. Side bonus: all the waiting-room sitting on my part gave me plenty of time to finish stitching a Christmas stocking for a new grandboy. I certainly got the better end of that deal.

Once back home, we feasted on a soothing meal I earlier had ready to start in the slow-cooker: Turkey, Sweet Potato, and Cranberry Stew. The headline on this recipe from Prevention magazine tub-thumped this by saying, "Conjure up the holidays! Cranberries and ginger give this turkey stew a sweet-tour tang." We felt hugged as we dined on this absolutely marvelous concoction that was a Christmas dinner in miniature. And since Hubby loves nothing better than ANY recipe containing sweet potatoes, the trauma of the past few days was totally assuaged as this stew went down.

As we feasted on it, we counted our blessings for the priceless and oft-taken-for-granted gift of vision.

Turkey, Sweet Potato, and Cranberry Stew

3 pounds turkey drumsticks, skin removed

1 small onion, diced

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup chicken broth

1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

1/2 cup dried cranberries

2 tablespoons flour

In large slow cooker combine turkey, onion, honey, vinegar, ginger, salt, pepper, and broth. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours. Add potatoes and cranberries. Cook until potatoes are tender, 45 minutes more. Remove turkey and pull meat from bones. Pour one-quarter of the liquid into small pot and whisk in flour until smooth. Slowly whisk in remaining liquid. Toss meat, potatoes, and cranberries with gravy and reheat if necessary.

Glazed Sweet Potatoes—look no further if you're still digging around for a Thanksgiving sweet-potato recipe

In an earlier blog I mentioned the heretical act of subbing a new green-bean recipe for the time-honored Green Bean Casserole that's typical Thanksgiving fare. I really stepped across the line this year when I also subbed Glazed Sweet Potatoes for the traditional, pecan-topped sweet-potato "candy" that families have used for decades. I love that version—Sweet Potato Casserole that appears in my first cookbook, Way Back in the Country, and that was introduced in our family by my cousin, Jana. But I was itching to try a new sweet-potato recipe this year; we gave a high-five to the outcome.

Glazed Sweet Potatoes is simple enough—prepared with fresh sweet potatoes with a glaze of maple-flavored syrup (we used sugar-free syrup) mixed with brown sugar, butter, and spices. But oh, what a hit! I truly believe it was the star of my "drive-by" Thanksgiving dinner that we pulled together for our family time days ago. I even prepared it twice before Thanksgiving. I had some fresh sweet potatoes left over and decided to create it a second time.

Anyone who wants a sweet-potato dish on the Thanksgiving table but who doesn't want to go to the fuss (although a worthwhile fuss, I might add) of the traditional casserole would be smart to whip this one up quickly. Recipe courtesy Taste of Home magazine. Although he's complimentary of everything, Hubby deep-down likes his sweet potatoes rather basic, so with this dish he was enthralled, to say the least!

Happy Thanksgiving cooking! Today's the marathon day! Enjoy yourselves in your kitchen and relish in the foods of this great holiday.

Glazed Sweet Potatoes

2 pound medium sweet potatoes or 2 cans (18-ounces each) sweet potatoes, drained

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup maple-flavored syrup (I used sugar-free)

1/4 cup packed brown sugar (I used brown-sugar substitute and used only 1/8 cup)

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

If using fresh sweet potatoes, place in a kettle, cover with water, and cook covered for 25-35 minutes or just until tender. Drain; cool slightly. Peel and cut into chunks. Place cooked or canned sweet potatoes in a 2-quart baking dish. In a small saucepan combine butter, syrup, brown sugar, and cinnamon; cook and stir until mixture boils. Pour over potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until mixture is heated through. Makes 8 servings.

Real men DO eat quiche-like frittata, especially when health-laced spinach is a main ingredient

From my recent preparation of Fruity Spinach Salad, the one that contained sliced pears and dried cranberries, I had half a bag of fresh spinach remaining. On the same Prevention magazine page as that yummy recipe was another spinach suggestion. I don't have an ovenproof frying pan, so I was hesitant to try (recipe recommends placing the frittata in the oven briefly to broil at the end), but I gambled that the dish would be just as successful without being brown on the top and prepared it anyway. I was glad I took the gamble!

It turned out a bit like a crustless quiche and was served in pie-shaped slices. A bit of patience is required while the preparer waits for the egg mixture to set over the medium-low heat at the end, but the rewards are great.

Real men DO eat quiche--at least the real man under my roof does, especially when that quiche-like frittata is laced with spinach, always acclaimed to be one of the world's healthiest foods. And once again my conscience is assuaged--I used up the remainder of those spinach leaves that were left over in the fridge, always a challenge to me since spinach can wither quickly.

Fall Frittata

1 small onion, chopped

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

12 small potatoes, unpeeled (10 ounces)

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided (or salt substitute)

2 cloves garlic, minced

5 cups spinach (about 4 ounces)

8 large eggs, beaten (or 2 cups egg substitute)

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Saute onion in 2 tablespoons oil in nonstick, ovenproof frying pan. Thinly slice potatoes and add to skillet along with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook 10 minutes; stir occasionally. Add garlic and cook until potatoes are done. Uncover; stir in spinach until it is wilted. Remove onion-potato-spinach mixture from skillet and cool in bowl. Into cooled mixture in bowl stir in eggs, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and black pepper to taste. In same skillet in which you just prepared the onion-potato-spinach mixture (that has been removed), heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-low heat. Into skillet with oil pour back in the egg mixture, sprinkled with cheese, until mixture is almost set. If desired, broil briefly to brown. Makes 6 servings.

Sweet potato pancakes nourishing and fibrific way to start the morming

The question nagged: what could I do with the remaining sweet potato I had purchased to make the serendipitous Peanut Butter Pumpkin Soup of a few days past? Sure, I could always serve it to myself for lunch as a baked sweet potato with a little brown-sugar substitute dotted on it. But my question about its use coincided with my desire to find something special for a Saturday-morning breakfast for Hubby on the a.m. we departed for the State Fair of Texas. I wanted to be sure it was a special day through and through (I knew the state fair-part would be).

In my fall recipe collection was a clipping from a Kroger grocery-store flyer; it featured a recipe for Sweet Potato Pancakes. It called for 1 cup mashed sweet potatoes--exactly the amount I could expect to achieve from my remaining sweet potato once it was microwaved. Although the very thought of pancakes sounded sinfully extravagant, this meal wasn't at all. All the substitutions amped it down into a "dining-light" category.

The breakfast with Sweet Potato Pancakes topped with blueberries for garnish truly was memorable and paved the way for an even-more memorable day. As we indulged in state-fair food, our consciences could take comfort in the fact that at least we had started the day healthy with this fibrific and nourishing breakfast!

Sweet Potato Pancakes

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

2 tablespoons sugar substitute

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup egg substitute

1 1/2 cups reduced-fat milk

1 cup mashed sweet potatoes

8 tablespoons light stick margarine melted

3 egg whites, whipped

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar substitute, and cinnamon. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl mix the egg substitute, milk, sweet potatoes, and margarine. Add to flour mixture and stir until ingredients are moist. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks are formed. Fold into pancake batter. Pour 1/4 cup onto a hot griddle and flip when pancakes bubble up. Top with your favorite fruit and low-calorie, sugar-free syrup, if desired. Serves 12 (serving size 2 pancakes).

A profusion of orange on the table makes post-Labor Day seem more fall-like

No denying it; Labor Day officially kicks off fall. Even the temps here in Texas are cooperating a little and (thanks to Tropical Storm Hermine) seeming a little more fall-like. What color is the essence of fall? None other than orange, so this orange-to-the-bone dish was an ideal one for me to try in my post-Labor Day meal prep.

Sweet Potato Casserole, with the addition of brown-sugar to underscore the "Sweet" in Sweet Potatoes, is a fall staple on many tables, but I love this addition of carrots and onion to make Confetti Carrots and Sweet Potatoes an even more healthy and interesting side dish.

The cooked potatoes and carrots are mashed with a hand masher, not a hand mixer as one typically might mash cooked sweet potatoes, so the texture is not buttery smooth but is more "confetti-like", hence the name.

Confetti Carrots and Sweet Potatoes makes a grand side dish for a ham or chicken dinner. But as usual, Hubby and I didn't need anything else but a small fruit salad to turn this dish into a small dinner meal in itself.

Wee definitely got our "orange-fix" for the week to help kick off fall.

Confetti Carrots and Sweet Potatoes

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 1/2 pounds carrots, thinly sliced

6 cups water

1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced

2 teaspoons lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

1/3 cup (or to taste) brown-sugar substitute (I used Splenda)

In medium kettle heat oil and onion until onion is soft. Add carrots, sweet potato, and water. Simmer gently 30 minutes. Remove carrot and sweet potatoes and (using a hand masher and not a mixer) mash thoroughly; add onion. Stir in salt, pepper, butter, and brown sugar. Serve. (If necessary heat in microwave to re-warm before you serve.)