Zesty Cook » sweet potatoes

Slow Braised Beef with Roasted Cauliflower and Sweet Potatoes

zesty — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 13:00:40 +0000

Happy Hump day all! Hopefully you had a nice holiday weekend and are ready to get back to the grind. The fall is creeping up and routines will soon be created. One routine that we want to work on this year is more family time at the dinner table. So we can talk about the day, share our stories, and have some really quality time. It is easy to forget about this stuff when things get hectic.

For a nice sit down meal give this one below a try. It uses simple flavors and the good quality ingredients to make you feel like you are at a fancy restaurant. The method is simple but involves some time. For the beef, you have a couple of options to make it melt in your mouth. You can throw it in the slow cooker in the morning and let it ride the whole day through, or you can toss it in the oven for 3 hours at 250 F and get similar results.

The ultimate key to great beef is the time you give it to break down and cook and how you season the cut. I chose for a spicy barbecue based sauce with some onion and garlic. Below are all the details on how to recreate this dish.

Ingredients

4 Sirloin Steaks
1 Head of Cauliflower
2 Large Sweet potatoes

Beef Sauce

1 Tbsp. Onion flakes or powder
1 Tbsp. Black pepper
1/4 Cup Ketchup
1/4 Cup Barbecue sauce
1 Tbsp. Dry mustard
1 Tsp. Seasoning salt
1/2 Tsp. Red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp. Coriander
Splash of water

Cauliflower Sauce

2 Tbsp. Olive oil
2 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
Black Pepper
Red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp. Honey
Pinch of salt

Method

In a large bowl combine all the beef sauce ingredients and mix together. Lay the beef in a large baking dish and cover with sauce liberally. Cover with tin foil and bake in the oven for 3 hours at 250 F
In another bowl combine the cauliflower sauce ingredients and give a stir. On a cookie sheet, lay some parchment paper down and drop the cauliflower on the paper. Drizzle the sauce over and coat the cauliflower. Let sit for about 30 minutes. Roast in a 400 degree oven until golden brown, tunring a couple times. I let them go about 30-40 minutes. I also finished them off in the broiler to crisp up some edges and keep the cauliflower crunchy.
For the sweet potatoes, pierce for a fork all over and drop in the oven for about an hour or so.
When the beef is cook, let rest for a minute and serve. I topped it with fresh baby arugula and spinach for some crunch.
ENJOY!

Ok, I am heading out to put junior on the bus for day 2 of school. I will definitely be back in action on Friday for something tasty I hope. Have a great rest of the week and if you have any questions by all means let me know. Before I go, I have a question for you?

What is one routine you want try and get into for the remainder of this year?

Take care

zesty

Rosemary Mustard Pork Chops

zesty — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 13:00:18 +0000

Happy Friday! I hope you are having a great day and in the mood for a quick pork dish. You can whip these rosemary mustard pork chops when you are in rush or if you’re really unsure about what to make for dinner.

For this dish I decided to use a simple sauce to enhance the pork flavor. From there, the pork chops will sit on a large dollop of mashed sweet potatoes. Can you really beat that?

I started off with a simple sear of the pork chops with a little oil and salt and pepper. From there I de-glazed the pan with the base of the sauce and then continued to add flavor. To finish, I jazzed up some sweet potatoes with nutmeg, milk, butter and a dash of brown sugar. Oh dear – I love sweet potatoes!!

Ingredients

4 Pork chops
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. French’s mustard
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 Cup chicken stock
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. rosemary (dried)
1 Tsp. black pepper
1 Tsp. salt

Method

Preheat oven to 350°.
Preheat saute pan/frying pan to medium high heat and dry the pork chops with a paper towel.
Combine soy sauce, mustard, paprika, brown sugar and rosemary in a bowl; mix together.
Season pork with salt and pepper.
Add pork to pan and begin to sear on one side, about 3-4 minutes. Once complete on one side, flip and do the same on other side.
Remove pork chops and place on plate.
De-glaze the pan by adding the chicken stock and scraping all the bits off the bottom of the pan.
Add the sauce mixture from step 3 and let thicken for 2 minutes.
Add pork back on the pan and place into the oven to finish the cooking process; about 12 minutes.
Remove from oven, baste with sauce.

ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: When trying to caramelize meat and/or fish, it is essential that you pat it dry (with a paper towel) to remove any excess moisture on top of the meat. This will eliminate the steaming process and let the meat/fish sear and caramelize more effectively.

I thought I would be somewhat balanced and add some green frozen peas to the plating dish along with a huge serving of garlic mashed sweet potatoes. I hope you enjoy the day and I will see you all Monday.

Question of the day: What are your Christmas cooking traditions?

Take care

zesty

Stuffed Sweet Potato Topped with Cheese and Bacon

zesty — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 11:00:52 +0000

I cannot really believe I wrote that as a title and actually prepared this dish with these ingredients. part of me thinks it is genius and the other part of me thinks that maybe I just ruined a perfectly healthy vegetable and moved it to the dark side. Either way – these sweet potatoes were amazing!

Let me know what you think of stuffed sweet potatoes? Taking the original stuffed potato to a new level – you cannot go wrong. Throw whatever flavors in you like and experiment. Let the power of the sweet potato carry the dish.

Ingredients

Sweet Potatoes ( medium-large )
1 Tbsp. Olive oil
1/2 Tsp. Nutmeg
1/4 Tsp. Paprika
Salt
Pepper
1 Cup Shredded Cheese ( cheddar/mozzarella )
4 Slices Bacon (Fried and crumbled)
3 Green Onions (Chopped for Garnish)

Method

Preheat oven to 400, place sweet potatoes on a sheet and rub with olive oil and salt and pepper and bake for 30-35 minutes.
Half sweet potatoes length wise and scoop out most of the flesh into a mixing bowl.
Mash until smooth; add nutmeg, salt, pepper and paprika.
Stuff sweet potatoes will filling and top with shredded cheese
Arrange on a baking sheet and bake until lightly brown around the edges and the cheese is melted at 400 degrees (about 25-30 minutes).
Garnish with bacon, sour cream and green onion.
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: In step one, we don’t want to bake the sweet potatoes to much. We want the sweet potato to still be somewhat firm and you must allow them to cool before cutting and scooping out the flesh. This will ensure the case ( peel) will stay in tact.

I hope you have a great Wednesday and for all that it is worth – you have to give this recipe a try. I am more than confident that you will be happy with the results. The combination of flavors really enhances the sweet potato and the bacon gives it a nice crunch and saltiness to balance the sweetness.

Along the same lines, here is another post on stuffed baked potatoes.

Take care

zesty

Get Jar Crazy!

zesty — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 12:00:24 +0000

Help The Students Event: Day 14

A special guest post today that will enable you to make anything you ever wanted in a jar! A very fun post – I hope you enjoy! Thanks Heather.

Heather here from Heather Eats Almond Butter, or HEAB for short. When Zesty told me he was putting together some guest posts for fun, healthy and cost saving meal ideas for college students, I knew right away that I wanted to participate. Back when I was in college, healthy food was not a priority for me, but that’s only because I had no idea how simple and tasty it could be! Now that I’m a bit older and wiser, I try and eat as well as I can. However, like many people think, that does not require spending a ton of money on boring tasteless food. With just a few simple ingredients and minimal kitchen equipment, you can make some great meals…you simply have to get creative and think outside the box…or in my case, the jar.

As you’ve probably already figured out from the name of my blog, I love almond butter. Actually, I’ve never met a nut butter that I was not completely infatuated with, and you know what else I love about my nut butters? They come in reusable dishware. That’s right, see that peanut butter jar you have sitting in your dorm room? Did you know that it makes the best bowl ever???

For instance, you can make Oats In A Jar…

1/2 cup quick cooking oats made with water and served in a waning Naturally Nutty Vanilla Almond Butter jar with dark chocolate.

Simply cook some oatmeal or any hot cereal in the microwave and then after it’s cooled a bit, pour it into an almost empty nut butter jar along with your favorite toppings. The best part of Oats In A Jar is getting to all that ooey gooey warm nut butter waiting for you at the bottom. Trust me, you’ll never again be sad when that peanut butter is almost all gone.

Then, after cleaning your jar, you can reuse it as a bowl. How about heating up some soup or chili?

Almond Butter Chili in a nut butter jar bowl.

Or, another favorite snack/meal of mine is mashed sweet potato in a jar…

Sweet potato in the waning almond butter jar.

All you need is a microwave and a sweet potato. Heat and mash away, and in my opinion, this is the best way to get in your daily veggies!

There are so many possibilities when it comes to meals in a jar. You could fill them with yogurt and fruit, mashed winter squash, cooked grains, or perhaps even some ice-cream?

Again, be creative. Just because you’re living in a small room with little to no kitchen appliances doesn’t mean you have to live on bagels and ramen noodles. I hope this post inspires you to try something a bit different and that you enjoy your time at school. I also hope that a big jar of almond butter makes your next grocery list!

Full Shellfish Festival Recap

Stay tuned tomorrow for a full recap of the Judgment day as well as other sights. I had a lot of fun and had some amazing bowls of chowder. I will share some details tomorrow. Let’s start another week with a smile.

Take care

zesty

Deliciously Grilled!

zesty — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:00:06 +0000

Happy Monday! I am on the road again this week visiting clients in Mississippi and West Virginia. Despite the travels, I have some recapping to do from the camping extravaganza from last week. I had a blast! We had a blast! We ate great, the weather was very nice except one rainy day and the kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

On to the Food

One evening we invited some friends up to the trailer for a dinner at the picnic table. I was tossing around the menu ideas all day when I finally came up with a hoisin honey chicken breast topped with a fresh mango/pear salsa, grilled sweet potatoes with a brown sugar/butter glaze and a simple orange avocado salad. I also did a quick grilled zucchini with a orange garlic marinade to compliment the salad.

The prep was fun and at the same time a little different and challenging with limited supplies. Counter space was definitely at a minimum as well but indeed we did prevail.

Chicken Marinade

Ingredients

5 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
4-5 Cilantro sprigs
2 Tbsp. Hoisin Sauce
2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 Tsp. Ginger
1 Clove garlic
3 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
Salt and Pepper

Method

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and let sit for 1-2 hours before grilling.
Preheat grill over medium heat.
Place chicken and let sear on one side ( about 6 minutes )
Flip and continue cooking on other side until cook through
Remove from heat and cover with foil to let the juices move back to the center of the meat.
ENJOY!

Mango Pear Salsa

Ingredients

2 Mangoes
2 Pears
1/4 Cup cilantro ( chopped )
1 shallot ( finely chopped)
1 Tbsp. Hot sauce
Juice of two limes
2 Tbsp. Olive oil

Method

Peel and chop both the mangoes and the pears
Place in a large mixing bowl and add all other ingredients.
Let flavors come together for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.
Place on top of bbq chicken.
ENJOY!

2 Way Potatoes

Ingredients

3 Sweet Potatoes
3 PEI Russet Potatoes
Fresh rosemary
Drizzle of Olive oil
1 Clove Garlic
Salt and pepper
2 Tbsp. Butter
2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

Method

Peel potatoes and microwave potatoes for 9 minutes
Cut into medallions and place in two separate bowls
For the russet potatoes combine rosemary, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and mix to coat.
Grill over medium heat to achieve char marks and until they are fork tender with a nice crust.
For the sweet potatoes, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and grill over medium heat.
In another bowl, melt butter and brown sugar in the microwave and brush on the sweet potatoes as you grill each side.
Cook until a crust is formed and they are tender on the inside.
ENJOY!

Orange Avocado Salad

For the orange avocado salad, you can refer to the full recipe. The flavors in here are amazing and really a nice fresh flavor for the chicken and the starchy potatoes.

Zesty Tip: When preparing for a dinner party – take the time and organize the menu, ingredients and the prep time. This will allow you to enjoy the company as opposed to sweating in the kitchen.

I am aboard the plane to Alabama and then driving over to Tupelo. I hope you have a super Monday. Stay tuned for a simple grilled quesadillas that impressed the pickiest of eaters.

Take care

zesty

An Oh Canada Sweet Potato Stack!

zesty — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:00:48 +0000

OH CANADA! Where do I start with today’s post. Let’s just say yesterday was a pretty exciting day for Canadians. Not only did we win the Men’s Hockey Gold medal in an exciting game but we won the most gold medals in Olympic history. All I can say is WOW and now I am not sure what I am going to do without any Olympics on for another couple of years.

Although the Olympics are over, the food lives on forever. Today I want to share with you another spin on some sweet potatoes. If you don’t know, I am a large lover of sweet potatoes and I will eat them in any way shape or form. Here is a few of the ways I have featured them on zesty in the past:

It is hard to believe how many times I have feature sweet potatoes but as I am sure you will agree with me…. these little orange babies are tough to beat. Below is the simple instructions I used to create the Sweet Potato Stack.

Ingredients

2 Large sweet potatoes
1 Tbsp. Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Method

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees and line baking pan with parchment paper.
Toss sweet potatoes in olive oil
Add salt and pepper
Bake for 20-30 minutes – watching the sweet potatoes caramelize on the top. Turn the potatoes over and continue cooking for another 10 minutes.

Move the sweet potatoes to the top rack and turn the heat down to 250 to let the sweet potatoes dry a little bit and become even crispier.
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: The huge tip here is the thickness that you cut the sweet potatoes. Cutting them too thin will cause them to burn and become inedible and cutting them too thick will almost cause them to be baked. About an inch thick is the ideal thickness to get the amazing caramelized crust and the soft marshmallow like texture on the inside.

Zesty’s House Cleaning

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Alright Monday is in full wing and things are happening and back to “normal“. I want everyone to have a great Monday and start the week off with a bang. How is the weather in your region of the world? I woke up to heavy rains and high winds… is spring on the way? Let me know your thoughts on mother nature and I will talk to you soon.

Take care

zesty

Guest Post: Sweet Potato and Goat Cheese Gratin

zesty — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:00:31 +0000

Hi, readers! I’m the Page behind Notes On A Page, a blog dedicated to all things food! Since I’m always feeding my family and friends, I focus on simple, healthy, and satisfying dishes. Here’s a comforting cold-weather dish that uses a favorite fall vegetable: sweet potatoes.

Sweet Potato and Goat Cheese Gratin

Ingredients

1 Tsp. salt
½ Tsp. pepper
¼ Tsp. nutmeg
1 Small onion, chopped
2 Sweet potatoes, sliced
1 Cup heavy cream
1 Cup milk
1 Cup chicken broth
4 Oz. goat cheese

Method

Preheat the oven to 400*F.

Heat the cream, milk, and chicken broth in a saucepan. While the mixture is on its way to boiling, mix salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
In a baking dish, layer half of the onions and half of the sweet potatoes (I left the skin on the sweet potatoes, because I like a little heft with my veggies, but feel free to peel the potatoes if you prefer that).

Sprinkle half of the spices over the vegetables. Repeat with the remaining vegetables and spices.
Once the cream and milk mixture has come to a boil, take it off the stove and pour it over the vegetables.

Bake for 45 minutes.

Increase the temperature to 450*F. Take the baking dish out and push the sweet potatoes with the back of a spatula so they are even and absorb the liquid. Bake another 10 minutes.
Take the dish out, sprinkle the goat cheese on top, and bake another 15 minutes or until the cheese browns.
ENJOY!

This dish takes a little while to bake so take it as an opportunity to relax and catch up on your favorite shows (30 Rock, anyone?). You could serve this gratin as the entrée or use it as a side dish at a bigger meal. I hope you enjoyed what I cooked up today! Stop by Notes On A Page and see what’s cooking in my own kitchen. Thanks for reading and a big thanks to Zesty!

Thanks Madeleine for a great recipe. I love sweet potatoes and I know how much everyone else does. This is a definite keeper. I hope you have a great day and I foresee a house update coming soon.

Take care

zesty

Grilled Beef and Sweet Potatoes

zesty — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 11:00:45 +0000

Today is the day!! Our first family excursion by vehicle. I am so excited although somewhat nervous , well not really but you know what I mean. One of my favorite meals was on tap last night. Nothing special, nothing fancy just some grilled beef , grilled sweet potatoes and some sugar snap peas sauteed with Balsamic Vinegar. YUM!

Here are some shots

For the sweet potatoes, I microwave two on HIGH for 9 minutes, then slice them about an inch thick – toss in olive oil, salt and pepper and toss on the grill.

For the peas – I simply just stir fry in olive oil and toss in some balsamic vinegar and cook through (serve crunchy and hot).

Zesty Tip: Next time you grill beef – try turning the meat only ONCE ( Cook completely on one side before flipping and the end result will be juicy and rewarding).

I have a guest post lined up for tomorrow, Thursday and a fun post scheduled for Friday as I am not sure how much internet I will have through the week. I will post you all on the trip once I return.

Take care

zesty

No Fajita Friday

zesty — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:00:20 +0000

Hi I am Becky Fusselman of “Growing Into Rebecca”. I am a weight loss blogger turned into a weigh loss maintainer/food blogger in general after losing over 130lb. Yes, that is right a whole person. I enjoy food in general and am always in the mood for a good peanut butter preferably paired with chocolate.

I said No Fajitas!

I love cooking on Friday’s! It is my normal day off and I get to decide what to make for our dinner together. When I told Kevin I laid out steak for fajitas, he was a bit sad and said “Kind of wish we could just have steak.” Therefore steak and potato night was born. I just took the steaks (which were just a whatever cut as I thought I would be making fajitas) and marinated them all afternoon in a Fat Tire beer. When I placed them on the grill I used a bit of Chicago Steak seasoning which is really just a salt and pepper blend.

While the steaks were cooking Molly our Boston and I ate some snap peas. We are both a big fan of all sorts of summer produce.

Side Salad Ingredients

1 head of romaine lettuce
1 Roma tomato
Half a cucumber
¼ small red onion
2 slices of dill pickle
Topped with balsamic vinegar

We also cut some sweet potatoes thinly and used about 1Tb of olive oil with some chipotle seasoning. These took about 40 minutes at 450 to get nice and crispy on the outside, but yet still a bit soft on the inside.

And with all that the No Fajitas on Friday dinner was served.

To finish off a great meal I turned a store bought angel food cake mix into this.

To make a delicious topping I used one pound of strawberries sliced, a few tablespoons of sugar and water. I cooked them on the stove-top till they reduced in their own juices. I cut the cake into wedges and topped it with the berry reduction.

I have to admit we used the Redi-whip out of a can though. No heavy whipping cream here.

Becky (Growing Into Rebecca)

Who wants Texas Chicken?

zesty — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 11:00:18 +0000

Getting back in the swing of things after Easter and feeling pretty good. Every now and again when the weather is not the greatest I like to think of a nice warm place and then make food that would fit in within that climate. How about some Texas style chicken? Oh yes, I am a big fan of rubs on meat and poultry and this rub did not let me down. I picked up a half of chicken cut up at the local grocery. I am a huge chicken fan but I like to switch up the flavors to keep things interesting.

With this idea, I combined several spices together and gave the chicken a good rub in the morning before work. I then wrapped the chicken up and let it sit in the fridge to intensify with flavor. You can even do this the night before if you have time. When using rubs like this one below, I like to keep the skin on so the flavor will stick better. Once cooked, you can remove the skin if you want before eating it. That is if you are watching your caloric intake or just do not like crispy baked chicken skin.

Below is both the rub recipe as well as the instructions I went with for cooking the chicken. I also made a nice batch of sweet potato fries (which I am literally addicted to)

Ingredients

Chicken

1/2 Chicken cut in pieces
2 Sweet Potatoes

Rub

5 tablespoons paprika
2 1/2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
4 teaspoons black pepper
4 teaspoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon hot chili powder
Grated lemon zest

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare chicken and ensure the chicken is clean and dry. ( I like to pat it dry with paper towel to ensure the rub will adhere better).
Take some of the rub and massage it all over the chicken, pressing firmly to allow it to penetrate the skin. Transfer it to a tupperware dish or a ziploc bag and let it rest in the fridge.

Slice sweet potatoes according to the instructions.
Place chicken on cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 45 – 60 minutes.

ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: When I make rubs, I make them in large batches and store it in jars for future use. This saves a lot of time and adds variety to your dinner. As I have mentioned before… variety is the spice of life.

Have a great Tuesday and make sure you check out the giveaway that is coming up! Get your name entered in the draw to win some zesty gear. Also I do not want to sound like a broken record but I will mention it again – if you buy an article of clothing, all profits will go towards the food bank.

Take care

zesty