Garlicky Roasted Potato Salad

Every time I make something with potatoes I immediately want to know WHY I don’t cook with them more. Especially when they’re cooked with roasted garlic, fresh dill, and parmesan.

It’s good to throw in something green once and a while too. Like green beans! I need to eat more of those too. I should probably just eat every single food each and every day. Whoa…or not. I’m too lazy.

So if you’re feeling like getting down and dirty with a fabulous side dish – dig in!! I’ve got you covered. Roasting vegetables is always a good idea.

To make this, chop sweet potatoes and yukon golds into uniform cubes and throw them in a bowl. Cut the fresh green beans in half and add them to the bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. Using your hands, toss potatoes and green beans until all is coated.

Spread them on a non-stick baking sheet. Take the garlic heads and chop off the top to reveal the top of each clove. Rub the head chopped side down in the oiled bowl to coat with olive oil. Place garlic heads face-up on the baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, flip and bake for 15-20 more.

While the potatoes are roasting, in a separate bowl combine 1/4 cup olive oil, parmesan cheese, dill and parsley and whisk.

Once the potatoes are done, remove from the oven to cool and set garlic heads aside for 5 minutes. Once cool enough to touch, squeeze roasted garlic into the olive oil mixture. Using a whisk, smash and stir the garlic into the olive oil.

Dump potatoes and green beans into a large serving bowl and cover with the garlic and olive oil mix. Toss to coat throughly and serve. I added a bunch of parmesan for the topping. Unreal!

Garlicky Roasted Potato Salad
serves 4-6
Recipe taken from How Sweet Eats

Ingredients:
2 medium sweet potatoes, washed, peeled and chopped
10 small yukon gold potatoes, washed, quartered, not peeled
1 pound of fresh green beans
2 heads of garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons fresh dill
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Chop the sweet potatoes and yukon golds into cubes and throw them in a bowl. Cut the fresh green beans in half to shorten each piece and add them to the bowl. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and salt and pepper. Using your hands, toss potatoes and green beans until all is coated. Spread them on a non-stick baking sheet.

Take the garlic heads and chop off the top to reveal the top of each clove. Rub the head chopped side down in the oiled bowl to coat with olive oil (there should be some left in the bowl). Place garlic heads face-up on the baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes, flip pan and bake for 15-20 more.

While the potatoes are roasting, in a separate bowl combine 1/4 cup olive oil, parmesan cheese, dill and parsley and whisk. Once the potatoes are done, remove from the oven to cool and set garlic heads aside for 5 minutes. Once cool enough to touch, squeeze roasted garlic into the olive oil mixture. Using a whisk, smash and stir the garlic into the olive oil.

Dump potatoes and green beans into a large serving bowl and cover with the garlic and olive oil mix. Toss to coat throughly and serve. I added a bunch of parmesan for the topping. Unreal!

Two Potato Chili and Cumin Gratin

Did someone say October? Good, because this month is my favorite.

When I think of October I think of fall colours, cute boots, and the first hints of rosy cheeks. I start getting excited for pumpkin sweets, tea, and comfort food. But most importantly a lot of great “life” things happen this month.

October is the month of my boy’s birthday, our dating anniversary, and our soon to be wedding anniversary. It’s the time of year where we get to go hiking amongst the changing leaves and not sweat every ounce of water we drink. Overall, it’s good. It’s the month I look forward to every year, and by far my favorite season to cook in.

Here is a recipe for potato gratin made with sweet potatoes, white potatoes, cheese, and a creamy chili-cumin flavour to kick it up. I highly recommend this dish, and hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Whisk together all of the ingredients except the potato slices. Make a layer of potato and sweet potato slices in a deep 9 x 13-inch baking dish.

Pour over some of the cream mixture.

Repeat until all of the ingredients are used up.

I like to add some cheese on top at the end – it’s a good idea. Cover with aluminium foil and bake at 350°C for 35-45 minutes.

Remove the foil and continue to bake until golden brown. Allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before serving….then devour!

Two Potato, Chilli and Cumin Gratin
Recipe taken from K.O Rasoi
(Serves 4-6)

Ingredients
3 medium potatoes (500g), peeled and sliced thinly
3 medium sweet potatoes (500g), peeled and sliced thinly
1 1/4 cups half and half (or heavy cream)
60g cheddar cheese
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp chilli powder
1 clove garlic
1 tsp salt or to taste
¼ tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp garam masala

Directions:
1. Whisk together all of the ingredients except the potato slices.

2. Make a layer of potato and sweet potato slices in a deep 9 x 13-inch baking dish and pour over some of the cream mixture. Repeat until all of the ingredients are used up.

3. Cover with aluminium foil and bake at 350°F for 35-45 minutes.

4. Remove the foil and continue to bake until golden brown. Allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.

5. Grab a spoon and devour.

Kale and Navy Bean Soup {Vegetarian Collection}

School started up again Tuesday, and I was sooo not ready for it. I want to continue eating fresh peaches and running outside in a tank top. I don’t want to do homework! YUCK!

I do love fall though – my favorite season, so there is a bright side to this whole September thing.

I’d like to say that I crossed every single item off of my summer bucket list, but sadly, I can’t. I didn’t go to a drive-in movie theater and I didn’t make homemade pickles…but I DID…go camping on a lake with my boy.

I also made strawberry jam with handpicked strawberries..

AND something unexpected, and not on my list at all…I got engaged!! So who cares that I didn’t make pickles!? They can wait until next year.

I’m also continuing with my 30 things to do before 30 list, and have it coming along nicely. On that list is to cook my way through a cookbook from front to back, and I have made soooo many awesome recipes from Canadian Living’s The Vegetarian Collection (my book of choice). This is a recipe from that book, and I’m excited to share it with you since it was so tasty. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

To begin, heat oil over medium heat in a Dutch oven; add onion, garlic, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes.

Add broth, 4 cups of water…

And then add your potato, sweet potato and beans. Bring to boil.

Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until vegetables are almost tender, about 20 minutes.

Add kale and parsley, simmer, covered, until kale is tender, about 20 minutes.

That’s it! I highly recommend this soup. Enjoy!

Kale and Navy Bean Soup
Recipe from the The Vegetarian Collection
Makes 8 regular and 10 small servings
Per 1 of 10 servings: 202 calories | 10g protein | 4g total fat | 35g carbohydrates | 4g fibre | 5 WW points +

Ingredients:
2 tbsp (30 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper
6 cups (1.5 L) vegetable stock
4 cups water
2 cups (500 mL) diced peeled potato (about 2)
1 large sweet potato
2 cans (19 oz/540 mL) navy or white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
6 cups (1.5 L) shredded deveined kale or spinach
1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp (10 mL) lemon juice

Directions:
In Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat; add onion, garlic, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes.

Add broth, 4 cups of water, potato, sweet potato and beans. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until vegetables are almost tender, about 20 minutes.

Add kale and parsley, simmer, covered, until kale is tender, about 20 minutes.

Note: To make-ahead: Let cool for 30 minutes. Refrigerate until cold. Transfer to airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Like this soup?
Try other Vegetarian Collection recipes like this Lentil Feta Salad!

Banana Sweet Potato Bread

Guess what I got for Easter?

A KitchenAid stand mixer!! Yes, for Easter. My man is full of surprises, and decided to take me on an Easter egg hunt to find it. Not your normal Easter egg hunt though. I had to solve a clue that lead me to the next clue, and so on. Here are some examples of the clues I got:

CLUE: The wavelength of light between 300 MHz and 300 GHz.
ANSWER: Microwave
The next clue was in the microwave, and yes, I had to Google this answer.

CLUE: “Turns out they were all dead the whole time…”
ANSWER: Lost.
The next clue was in the DVD box.

CLUE: “What ingredient fo all of these recipes have in common? 1. Jamie Oliver’s Crunchy
Garlic Chicken, 2. Joy The Baker’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Ball Cookies and 3. Pioneer Woman’s Fancy Mac & Cheese”.
ANSWER: Flour
The next clue was in the flour bag.

As you can tell, this hunt wasn’t easy. I EARNED that stand mixer! Not only did I have to use the internet for half the clues, but each clue came with an envelope with a letter on it, and I had to “unscramble” the words at the end. It ended up saying “My Closet”. The stand mixer was waiting for me in there. HURRAY!!

So naturally I baked in the stand mixer the next day, and can’t believe how easy it is to use! I’m in love with a machine…I’ve heard warnings of this happening.

I made bread. Are you as obsessed with banana bread as I am? I can’t get enough of the stuff and I love trying new combinations of flavours with it. This is certainly a new favorite of mine. It’s filled with bananas and sweet potato puree that meld together like a puzzle piece. Who knew these two were meant for each other? I dig it.

To begin, make your sweet potato puree. First roast 1 large sweet potato for about 1 hour in a 350*F. After the sweet potato is soft and cooked, let it cool for about 20 minutes. Peel the sweet potato and place it into a food processor until smooth and has the consistency of canned pumpkin. Add banana and puree again.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with baking spray.

Put the puree in a bowl, add the sugar and oil and beat together until fluffy.

Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy.

In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and combine into a batter.

Add the milk and mix in.

Aww, yeah.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan.

Bake the bread for 1 hour 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Banana Sweet Potato Bread
Recipe adapted from Heather Christo
Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:
1 cup very ripe banana, mashed (2 1/2 bananas)
1 cup sweet potato puree (1 large sweet potato)
1 cup sugar
½ cup oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 ¾ cups flour
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ginger
1/4 cup milk

Directions:
To make your sweet potato puree, roast 1 large sweet potato for about 1 hour in a 350*F oven. After the sweet potato is soft and cooked, let it cool for about 20 minutes. Peel the sweet potato and place it into a food processor until smooth and has the consistency of canned pumpkin.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with baking spray.

In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat together the banana and sweet potato until smooth and fluffy.

Add the sugar and oil and beat together until fluffy.

Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy.

In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients.

Add the dry ingredients to the mixer and combine into a batter. Add the milk and mix in.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan.

Bake the bread for 1 hour 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Slice and Enjoy!

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Addiction gets the better of me sometimes. Once I have an M&M I need the whole bag, once I lick the cake batter off of the beaters I need to spoon some into my mouth, and I can pack in a giant theatre sized bag of popcorn into my belly. Hot.

These sweet potato fries are definitely addictive. They have the perfect amount of crispiness on the outside and are loaded with flavour with only a few ingredients! I like adding a tiny bit of brown sugar to them. Don’t leave this out. It adds soooo much flavour! I often get asked what I do differently. Let’s begin, shall we?

Baked Sweet Potato Fries
This recipes serves 4 as a side dish

Ingredients:
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil greased with cooking spray.
2. Halve the sweet potatoes lengthwise and cut each half into long spears. (Soak in cold water for 20-30 minutes before continuing for crispy texture outside. Drain well and pat dry.)
3. Place the potato spears on the sheet pan and toss with olive oil. Spread them in a single layer.
4. Combine the brown sugar, salt, and pepper and sprinkle on the potatoes.
5. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn with a spatula. Bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and serve hot.

Zucchini Sweet Potato Bread

Call me crazy, but I turned my oven on again. I’ve been baking in the early mornings to keep myself less hot and can’t say I regret it. I NEED a new breakfast in my life.

I chose this bread because it was quick and full of good stuff. Good stuff being sweet potatoes, zucchini and walnuts. Yum! I feel like I’m existing off of cheese and chocolate and I sometimes have chocolate cereal for breakfast! Hellllppppp! So, I made this quick bread to put some green and orange in my life. Also, this bread is moist and super tasty. It tastes like carrot cake actually, which makes me feel like I’m eating cake for breakfast. This makes me happy. Let’s get baking!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9x5x3- inch loaf pan and set aside. Sift the first 7 ingredients into a medium sized bowl.

Then, grate your sweet potato.

grate your zucchini…

and chop your walnuts.

In a separate, large bowl, mix the sugars, oil, eggs and vanilla extract.

Beat them together well.

Mix in the zucchini and sweet potato. Mmm it’s looking good now.

Add the dry ingredients and stir just to combine. Fold in the nuts and stir well.

Transfer batter to prepared pan.

Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Cool bread in pan on a rack for 15 minutes. Loosen the edges of the bread with a butter knife and turn out on a rack to cool completely.

Zucchini Sweet Potato Bread
Recipe taken from Joy the Baker
Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar (I used 1 cup granulated sugar and 1 cup brown sugar)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup grated zucchini
1 1/2 cup peeled and grated sweet potato
1 cup chopped walnuts
(optional) you could also add 1/4 cup of raisins or dried cranberries to add some fruit if you’d like!

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9x5x3- inch loaf pan and set aside.

Sift the first 7 ingredients into a medium sized bowl.

In a separate, large bowl, beat the sugars, oil, eggs and vanilla extract. Mix in the zucchini and sweet potato. Add the dry ingredients and stir just to combine. Fold in the nuts and stir well.

Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Cool bread in pan on a rack for 15 minutes. Loosen the edges of the bread with a butter knife and turn out on a rack to cool completely.