Oven-Baked Sweet Potato Wedges

Sweet potatoes are soooo delicious. They are very different than their fellows in the potato family, both in flavor and methods of cooking. Oven-roasted potatoes are a nearly foolproof dish-- chop the potatoes, toss them in a bit of oil and spices, and bake at a high temperature, flipping once. Sweet potatoes aren't as simple; if you followed this easy method with them, they would cook in their own juices and be soggy, as opposed to crisp and delicious.
Though a step longer, the recipe for roasting sweet potato wedges is still pretty darn easy. First you need to dry them out, placing them (on a rack) in the oven at a low temperature. Then, toss them in oil and increase the temperature- bake on more time directly on the sheet, flipping once.




Ingredients

2 large sweet potatoes
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon brown sugar*
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

*note: sugar seems a bit redundant in a recipe for "sweet potatoes", but I find they don't brown as nicely and evenly without. With salt and pepper added, it shouldn't taste extra sweet.





1. Preheat oven to 325F. Line a cookie sheet with foil (or grease). Place a wire rack on the baking sheet.

2. Peel potatoes and cut them in half. Slice each half into 4-8 wedges, depending on the size of your potatoes and the thickness you prefer.

3. Arrange the wedges on top of the wire rack, not touching the cookie sheet directly. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until slightly shriveled and dry looking.

4. Place wedges in a bowl. Remove the wire rack from the cookie sheet, but put the cookie sheet back in the oven to stay hot. Preheat the oven to 475F.

5. Gently toss wedges with oil, salt, sugar, and pepper until all are evenly coated. When the oven is ready, arrange the wedges directly on the cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway through.

6. Enjoy!

The best. pasta. dish. ever.

Yeah, its creamy and green. Yeah it looks a bit funky. But this is THE tastiest pasta dish I have ever tried. And I made it myself! With just a handful of simple ingredients and a food processor. The entire recipe takes about 20 minutes to whip up. There is no cream in this pasta at all. What makes it so creamy and good then? AVOCADO (omg yummy).

This is definitely the good twin to alfredo's evil twin. When made with whole wheat pasta this is so healthy. Avocado is loaded with monounsaturated fatty acids (that's the "good" kind of fat) and has more potassium than bananas! (Also note: avocado is a berry. Who knew?)


Ingredients
1 medium avocado, peeled & pitted
1/2 lemon
Fresh Basil
2 big garlic cloves
Lemon Zest
Salt & Pepper
6 oz. whole wheat pasta







Throw the avocado in the food processor with fresh basil and garlic. Squeeze juice from lemon half into the mixture. Blend until creamy and add salt and pepper to taste. Lemon zest is optional, but it adds a really nice texture. Boil the pasta and strain it. Immediately throw the avocado sauce in and mix well. Serve immediately!

Pho!!

My favorite vietnamese dish is definitely pho soup. If you don't know, pho is vietnamese "beef noodle" soup. That makes it sound so plain- there is so much more to it than that. I can't believe I can get a large order of it, complete with fresh basil, cilantro, and everything else, for just $7. It cost way more than that to make it because of the long ingredient list. It is a simple soup however, so if you're feeding a crowd or have a few ingredients growing in your backyard, it's worth making. The best part is, the broth is given alongside all of the fresh ingredients, so each person can assemble their own bowl to their liking. Can't go wrong there!



Ingredients

Beef broth (I use a low sodium version)
Rice noodles
1/2-1 lb steak pieces, brisket, chicken or even tofu (it needn't be beef)
1 red onion, sliced into thin strips
fresh cilantro
fresh basil
green onion
garlic cloves
jalapeno or thai chili pepper, sliced
bean sprouts
lime slices

Lentil Bean Stew

Yum! Delicous! Double this recipe and freeze some, because you will want lots and lots of this yummy, thick, vegetarian soup.




Ingredients
1 bag lentil beans
8 cups water
handful of chopped carrots
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
splash olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 block (280 grams) frozen chopped spinach


1. First, rinse the lentis good to remove all dirt, make sure there are no rocks in them!
2. Put lentils in water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and continue to cook for about 30 minutes, meanwhile preparing vegetables.
3. Chop onion and carrots, saute in oil for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and remove from heat.
4. After the lentils and water have cooked for about 20-30 minutes, add the veggies
5. Add block of frozen spinach and continue to cook for another 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Salt and pepper to taste. Yum! Healthy! Soup! Serve with cornbread :-D

Baked Purple Potato Chips

Behold! Purple potatoes.



Mmm, mm! Potato chips! Who doesn't love potato chips? And better yet, who doesn't love them when they're PURPLE!





Super easy recipe! Just slice the potatoes (I used "purple fingerling" ones, but any will do) with a mandolin slicer. Then in a bowl, combine with a hefty swig of canola oil and salt and pepper. Place the potato slices on parchment paper and bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes depending on how soft/crispy you want them. Then just try to wait for them to cool off a bit before you eat them all.