Our Favorite Sides - Oven-roasted Sweet Potato Fries

From time to time, Ryan and I really want something sweet/salty/spicy, all in one.  And healthy to boot!  So these Sweet Potato Fries definitely do that trick.  I'm sure you could season however you want, but this is our preferred flavor.

Ingredients:

1 tsp Lawry's Seasoning Salt

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 tsp chili powder

2 large sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices

3 Tbsp E.V.O.O.

Some people may prefer their sweet potatoes cute into fries, however, I find it much easier to use my Pampered Chef Crinkle Cutter and therefore make slices, rather than fries.

Preheat the over to 425 degrees F.  In a small bowl, combine seasonings, set aside.  In a large bowl, toss sweet potatoes with Olive Oil, sprinkle with seasoning mixture and toss to coat. 

 On a pan (I find it easier and less messy to use a pan with sides) sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, arrange potatoes evenly around the pan.

Roast, turning once in the middle, for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender and golden.  Easy as that! 

Simple huh? Our simple side was served with our simple evening meal...steamed asparagus and a Johnsonville Turkey with Cheddar Brat (only 120 cals!) on a slice of Sara Lee's Delightful Wheat Bread! 

What are some simple sides that you enjoy cooking?  Any recipes you think I should try out and maybe feature on my blog?! :)

Our Favorite Meals (Healthy Addition) - Baked Ziti with Turkey Sausage

This is actually a Weight Watchers recipe, so all credit goes to weightwatchers.com, but we absolutely love this healthy dish! You get plenty of food for low Points (WW) and low calories and fat.  This is the perfect comfort-food dish that's pretty easy to make!


What you need:
3/4 pound(s) raw turkey sausage
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped (we don't like green pepper, so we just use extra peas)
28 oz canned diced tomatoes (I use Petite Diced, they're jucier)
10 oz frozen green peas, thawed (we use lots)
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp fennel seed (we omit this because it's icky and use garlic powder instead)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
12 oz whole-wheat pasta cooked according to package (we use Ronzoni Smart Taste)
6 oz shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

 And don't forget your appetite!

Preheat your oven to 350*

Cook sausage in a large saucepan and brown over medium heat, stirring often, for about four minutes.

Drain off any fat, then add the onion (and green pepper if you are using it).  Cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes, peas, tomato paste, oregano, basil, thyme, fennel (garlic powder for us), salt and pepper.  Bring to a simmer, then reduce head and cook uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring often.

Stir in the cooked pasta and half the cheese.

Spread evenly into a 9x13-inch pan and top evenly with remained cheese.

Bake 35-minutes or until cheese has melted and the casserole is bubbling.


Apparently, we were so ready to eat it we didn't take any final pictures, but let me assure you, it looked and tasted delicious! Bon appetite! :)

Our Favorite Meals - Cajun Chicken Pasta

INGREDIENTS:
4 ounces pasta (really any kind will do)
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning (or more if you desire)
2 Tbsp butter or margarine
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, slice (*SUBSTITUTION ALERT: We don't like green peppers so we used jalapeños instead!)
4 fresh mushrooms, sliced (if you don't have a picky eater like my husband!)
2 green onions, chopped
1 cup heavy cream (SUBSTITUTION: We used half-and-half so it was a little "healthier")
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp lemon pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese


The first thing I did was start boiling some water for the pasta.  Then, according to the recipe, you are to toss the chicken in a ziploc bag with the Cajun seasoning.  I actually coated the chicken in Cajun seasoning the night before and refrigerated it for 24 hours that way.  Over medium heat, saute the chicken in butter or margarine until cooked through.

In the meantime, I added pasta to the boiling water to cook until al dente.  While the chicken and pasta were cooking, I prepared my veggies.  I sliced the red pepper, chopped the green onions and got out some pre-sliced, jarred jalapeños.

Eventually, it was taking the chicken too long to cook through, so I cut it into smaller pieces.  About the same time, was pasta was done, so I drained it and set it aside.  I then added the peppers and onions to the chicken to saute together for a couple of minutes.

Mmmm....smells delicious at this point!

Reduce heat, and add the cream and all of the seasonings.  I didn't actually measure out each seasoning, I just used however much of each one I wanted to.

Stir together and heat through before adding the pasta.  Once it is simmering, add the pasta and heat through again.

Stir it up nice and good and then plate up, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and enjoy! :)

I had some grape tomatoes on the side with mine, which tasted awesome with the spicy pasta! Bon apetit! 

Our Favorite Meals - Pad Thai

There is a restaurant in Davenport called Exotic Thai and it is phenomenal!!  But we try to not go out to eat too often, especially to the same place too many times.  So one time, we were strolling through HyVee, our local grocery store, in the "oriental" section (I hate that word) and we saw Pad Thai sauce...sounds yummy.  So we checked out the recipe on the back and picked up all the necessary ingredients.  The first time we made it, it was really good, but not spicy enough...so we have made some alterations to that original recipe.  We buy chili oil to cook in instead of regular veg/olive oil, and we had chili garlic sauce to the pad thai sauce.  We also add broccoli or some other veggie, even though it only calls for chicken or shrimp.


It takes about a half an hour to do it all, if you time it right.  You start off by soaking the noodles (25 minutes).  While they are soaking, you cut the green onions and chop the peanuts (we didn't have peanuts last night).  Also, now is the time to prepare your meat.  If it's shrimp, you pretty much just have to remove the tail.  If it's chicken, you cut the raw chicken breast into little pieces.  Once all that is done, and following the recipe on the back, you see how much time is left for the noodles and start cooking.  I'm not posting the whole recipe right now, but if you really want it, shoot me an email.  But like I said, we kind of alter it for our own tastes.  You could buy the "A Taste of Thai" pad thai sauce and rice noodles and follow the recipe yourself and make the alterations you see fit.  Here are some yummy pics...enjoy! =)


Some shots of most of our ingredients:

Side note: This chopped cilantro from Trader Joe's is awesome!! It's so convenient! Yumm yum yummmmm

The beginning of the cooking process:

It's all done! DELICIOUS!