Crash Hot Sweet Potatoes

This is a play off of the regular crash hot potatoes which I have never made before but I am hoping to make soon. It was on the Tasty Kitchen site but I changed it up a bit according to the kinds of spices we had already.

2 Medium to Large Sweet Potatoes
1/2 tbsp Kosher Salt
2 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tbsp Melted Butter
1 1/2 tbsp Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
1 tsp Chili Powder
1/2 tsp Paprika
1/4 tsp Onion Powder
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Black Pepper

Peel sweet potatoes and slice about 1/3 inch thick. Boil potatoes for about 12 minutes. Remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Slightly mash each slice but make sure the slice remains intact. Mix together the seasonings and in a separate bowl mix together the olive oil and butter. Coat each potato slice with the olive oil mixture then sprinkle generously with seasoning on both sides. Repeat until all slices are done. Roast at 450 for 20 minutes then carefully flip and roast for 10 more minutes.

Spicy Sausage Dip

This is my friend Leslie's recipe. It's so easy and I love easy (if you couldn't tell already). It's a great dip to take in the fall and winter!

1 lb hot sausage
3 8oz blocks cream cheese
2 cans rotel tomatoes

Brown the sausage and drain. Add the cream cheese and tomatoes and melt until everything is combined and warm. Either serve in a bowl and reheat in the microwave as needed or serve in a crock pot on the keep warm cycle.

Menu Plan Week 41

Sunday - Dinner for my sister in law's birthday!
Monday - Garlic and Herb London Broil with Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes and Roasted Asparagus with a Balsamic Brown Butter
Tuesday - Roasted Vegetable Soup with Cheesy Biscuits
Wednesday - Poppyseed Chicken Casserole with Broccoli
Thursday - GOING TO THE FAIR! (yes that deserves all caps! I will take pictures of the delicious heart attack food we eat!)
Friday - Plans with my parents!
Saturday - All depends on the football game and where we watch it. I am hoping to make these guys though Chicken Salad Stuff'ems

Pumpkin Waffles

I was going to use one recipe the decided it was too complicated and I was too tired to do it so I googled pumpkin waffles and ended up with an easy and amazing recipe from epicurious.com, these are perfect for a cold fall night or morning. I love breakfast for dinner so these were a huge hit for me!

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Sift together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. In a separate bowl whisk together eggs, milk, buttermilk, pumpkin and butter. Add the dry ingredients until everything is incorporated. Brush oil or spray the waffle iron. Spoon batter into the waffle iron and cook accordingly.

Bistro Chicken

When I saw this recipe I knew it would be good but I didn't expect it to be as delicious and wonderful as it was. It was really good and so easy. It felt much fancier than it actually is. I already want it again and I just had it. I found the recipe on Tasty Kitchen and did make few changes so here is my version.

2 Tablespoons Butter
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
3 Chicken Breast (skinless, boneless)
1 teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoons Freshly Ground Black Pepper
½ cups Chopped Onion
1 can (14 1/2 Oz. Can) Diced Tomatoes, Undrained
1/2 teaspoon Dried Thyme Leaves
1 can (10.5 Oz. Can) Condensed French Onion Soup
1 cup Shredded Swiss Cheese

Heat oven to 375. In a nonstick skillet melt the butter and olive oil. Cook the chicken just until it has browned on either side then remove, it does not need to be cooked all the way through. Place the chicken in a baking dish. Add the onion and saute until it is soft and translucent, do not caramelize. Add the tomatoes, thyme, salt and pepper, cook until sauce has reduced a bit, about 5 minutes. Add the french onion soup and let the sauce cook for another 5 or so minutes. Pour sauce over chicken and cook in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove and sprinkle cheese over the chicken then place back in the oven until the cheese is melted.

Parmesan Crusted Asparagus

Gray and I both love asparagus but I am always looking for a new way to cook it. This was so easy after a long day and tasted far better than the little amount of time it took to make. The recipe, if you can even call it that, is from Eat at Allie's.

Asparagus
Butter
Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Salt and Pepper

Heat oven to 350. Break the ends off the asparagus and lay in a single file line on a foil lined baking pan. Salt and pepper the asparagus. Top with little pats of butter across the top of the asparagus row then top with parmesan cheese. Bake for 10 minutes and then broil until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Cheesy Zucchini Muffins

These were a great addition to dinner for a few nights! I was really excited about them then right before making them I got nervous. They ended up being very good and I'm glad I made them! The recipe is from Lucy's Kitchen.

2 cups flour
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground sage
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups grated unpeeled zucchini
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup oil
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Mix together flour, cheeses, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, sage, salt and garlic powder. In a separate bowl mix together the zucchini, buttermilk, eggs, oil and worchestershire. Add the zucchini mixture to the flour mixture and combine. Fill muffin cups and bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let stand in pan for 5 minutes then remove to cool. To reheat I would just put them in the oven for a few minutes with whatever else was cooking.

Bacon and Tomato Sandwich with Bacon Basil Mayo

This recipe is from Framed Cooks. When I saw it I knew it was something that my mom would love, so when Gray was going to be one night I decide to go to her house and make these sandwiches for dinner. My dad was home too and just made a regular BLT but then decided he wanted to try the "fancy mayo" as he called it, he proceeded to dip bacon into it over and over and over until I finally made him stop because there is just something wrong with dipping bacon into mayonnaise. Anyways final verdict = awesome. Great twist on an already great sandwich.

Bacon already fried
Tomatoes sliced
Bread toasted
Bacon Basil Mayo (recipe below)

Spread the bacon basil mayo on toasted bread, layer tomatoes and bacon on top then add mayo to the other slice of toasted bread and top the sandwich.

Bacon Basil Mayo

1/2 cup of mayo
1 slice of bacon crumbled
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Fresh cracked pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together.

White Chicken Chili

This recipe is from The Girl Who Ate Everything, it is amazing. We had this the other night while watching a football game with friends and it was perfect, everyone loved it! I am already craving it again!

1 large onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup butter
4 cups half and half
1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
4 cans white beans
2-3 (4 oz) cans chopped green chilies
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts cooked and sliced into small pieces
2 cups grated Monterrey Jack cheese
1-2 tsp. hot sauce
1-2 tsp. of chili powder (depending how spicy you want it)
1 tsp. cumin

Cook onion and garlic in a few tablespoons of butter until translucent (I used 2 tablespoons). Remove the garlic and onions and add half a cup of butter and melt then add the half a cup of flour to make your roux. Stir constantly until it starts to bubble then stir for 3 more minutes. Add back the onion and garlic, also add the chicken broth and half and half. Simmer for 3 minutes or until it gets thick.

Pour mixture into a crockpot and add remain ingredients. The recipe says simmer for 20 minutes but I'm not sure how warm it would be after only 20 minutes. I put mine in the crockpot 2 hours before we were going to eat it and after 40 minutes I turned the crockpot to keep warm.

Ginger Chewies for National Homemade Cookie Day

Ginger cookies and snickerdoodle cookies are my favorites, I know I inherited this from my mom. Growing up we went skiing every winter, my dad and brother would ski every single day but mom and I would only ski 2 or 3 days the other days we would spend shopping and looking for a cookie store with these cookies so that we could sit and have hot chocolate and cookies out in the snow. Maybe I love these cookies so much because I relate them to that memory or maybe I love them so much because they are simply the best. I got the recipes off of What Megan's Making, they are wonderful and chewy and flavorful and my favorite cookies ever.


2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses
about 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Make sure the rack is in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. In a separate bowl, cream together the brown sugar and butter until smooth then add the egg and molasses. Beat for about a minute until everything is incorporated and the color is even. Slowly add the flour mixture and slowly mix as you add it.

Make small balls out of the dough (you make them as small or large as you would like depending on the size of the cookie you want) and roll the balls in granulated sugar. Space them out giving them plenty of room to spread. Bake cookies until the tops are firm but the centers are still soft, they take about 14 minutes. (When they come out of the oven I like to sprinkle them with a little more sugar.) Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer the cookies to a wire rack.