Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad

Yes this recipe is tasty even though it is a vegetarian recipe.  Most people assume that if it’s all natural, organic and vegetarian that it probably doesn’t taste that good.  Well, this will have you questioning that belief.  The mixture of sweetness from the cinnamon flavored sweet potatoes and raisins verses the tangyness from the mustard flavored dressing and onion will send your taste buds into a frenzy.  Now I can’t say that its vegan mainly because there is honey in the dressing, but boy is it close.  I hope you enjoy these flavors as much as I do.

 

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Serving Size: 4 to 6

Ingredients:

Salad

  • 2 Large Sweet Potatoes peeled and cubed
  • 3 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
  • 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
  • 2 to 3 cups cooked Quinoa
  • 6 cups Spinach and Arugula salad mix
  • 1 Red Onion thinly sliced
  • 1 cup of Walnuts or Pecans
  • 1 cup of Raisins or Craisins

Salad Dressing

  • 2 to 3 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
  • 3 to 4 tbsp Dijon Mustard
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1/4 tsp Black pepper
  • 1/4 cup Honey
  • 1 to 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
  • 1 clove Garlic finely chopped or 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder

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Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Wash and peel/skin sweet potatoes.  Cut them into small cubes and place in medium size bowl.  Add the olive oil and salt and pepper.  Make sure sweet potato cubes are coated well with olive oil, salt and pepper before spreading onto the baking sheet.

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  3. Bake sweet potatoes for 45 to 50 minutes in the oven.
  4. While sweet potatoes bake, whisk together Salad Dressing Ingredients to your liking.  Cover and set it in the refrigerator until ready to serve.  DSC_0561
  5. Boil the quinoa in a medium sauce pan with 4 quarts water for 10 minuntes.
  6. Drain the water from the quinoa and let it cool in a medium bowl.  DSC_0564
  7. Wash and dry spinach and arugula and place in large bowl.
  8. Peel a red onion and thinly slice before adding it to the leafy greens.  DSC_0562
  9. Sprinkle in preferred nuts and raisins.  DSC_0563
  10. Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven and sprinkle them with cinnamon.  Let them cool before mixing them with the cooked quinoa.
  11. Add a small amount of the dressing to the sweet potato and quinoa mix and stir until well blended.
  12. Add the remainder of the dressing to the salad portion and mix well.  Serve  in bowls and top with sweet potato and quinoa mix.

Enjoy a sweet and tangy vegetarian mix while indulging in great conversations with loved ones. Tasty and healthy, such a win, win!

 

Thanks for the inspiration SkinnyMs blog.  You came up with a great recipe that I tweaked just a bit :).  It’s one for the recipe book.  And it’s such a great one to save for the fall season!

Katie

PeachPearPlum

Autumn Fruit Salad

This delicious Autumn Fruit Salad is similar to a yogurt parfait. Sweet, crunchy, and perfect as a side dish this fall season.  Both kids and adults love it.  So get your favorite knife and get ready to chop because you’ll be asked to bring this to family gatherings all year long!

Ingredients

8 small apples

4 green pears

1/2 bag of seedless red grapes (cut in half)

2 lemons or 2 tbsp lemon juice

6 oz maple greek yogurt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extravt

1 cup of whipped cream

1 cup chopped wlanuts

1/4 cup brown sugar

Autumn Fruit Salad

Directions

1. Rinse fruit thoroughly

2. Cut apples and pears into small pieces and discard the cores.

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3. Sprinkle lemon juice over the cut apples and pears.  Stir and mix well.

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4. Cut grapes in half and add to the apples and pears.

5. In a separate bowl, mix together; maple yogurt, vanilla extract, whipped cream, cinnamon and brown sugar.

6. Chop the walnuts or purchase pre-chopped walnuts.  You may add the walnuts straight to the fruit or add it to the dressing.

7. Pour 1/2 the dressing to the fruit and stir. Add in more dressing as needed.

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8. Serve and ENJOY.  (Keep in the refrigerator if serving later.  It will last a 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator.)

 

Thanks for reading.  Hope you find time to try out this delicious recipe!

Katie

 

Mama’s Sweet Potato Casserole

There is nothing like moms cooking.  This dish is a Thanksgiving family tradition.  My mom always brought the sweet potato casserole to our large family gathering among other dishes.  This sweet and crunchy recipe pairs well with turkey or ham and of course some cranberry sauce.  With the small addition of marshmallows on top, I’d say its perfection.

 

Ingredients

Sweet Potato Mix

3 to 4 cups of sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed

1 cup sugar

8 tbsp butter (room temp)

½ cup evaporated milk

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

Topping

4 tbsp butter melted

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup flour

1 cup chopped pecans

Mama's Sweet Potato Casserole

Directions

  1. Rinse/wash sweet potatoes before placing in a large pot on the stove.  Bring sweet potatoes to a boil and turn to medium/low heat.  Leave them to cook for at least an hour (until your fork and easily penetrate the sweet potato. (I use 4 to 5 medium sized sweet potatoes)   
  2. Drain the hot water.  Using a cutting board, place each sweet potato on it to peel.  Use the fork to hold the sweet potato still while you slice and peel each sweet potato.  Place sweet potatoes in large mixing bowl.  
  3. Add in the butter and sugar.  Using a masher, mash the sweet potatoes until ingredients is well blended.  
  4. Add in the evaporated milk, nutmeg and cinnamon and mix again.  
  5. Spray your baking dish (9x13in) with butter.  Add in the sweet potato mix.  Smooth it out and place to the side.  IMG_3492
  6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  7. To make the topping, melt butter in a small pot on the stove.  Once melted, add in the pecans, brown sugar and flour.  Mix well with a small spoon.  
  8. Sprinkle the topping onto the sweet potatoes.   IMG_3498
  9. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.
  10. When time is up, take the casserole out of the oven and sprinkle marshmallows on top.    
  11. Change the oven settings to broil and place casserole back in the oven for 5 minutes (watch carefully so that you don’t burn the marshmallows).  
  12. Remove when completed and let cool before serving.  IMG_3528

Hope you enjoy!

Thanks mom for sharing your delicious sweet potato casserole dish.  It brings back many fun childhood family memories. And tasty ones 🙂

Katie

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What’s your favorite dish that your mom always made?

Caramelized Pear Scones

Originally I was going to do a pear and dark chocolate scone, but all the batches I made just didn’t do anything for me.  I then began racking my brain of ingredients that would go well with pears… cinnamon, ginger, etc.  The list went on but then the light bulb went off and my taste buds watered as the word caramel came to mind.  Caramelized pears are a perfect flavor for these unique and tasty scones!

Recipe Ingredients:

2 cups flour sifted

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup of butter (or 1 stick of frozen butter)

1/4 cup vanilla greek yogurt

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 egg

Caramelized Pears Ingredients:

1 cup diced pears

4 tbsp butter (1/2 stick)

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Topping:

1 small jar of caramel (or you can make your own using butter and brown sugar)

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Directions:

1. Prep an area with a mat and pan with parchment paper.

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2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

3. Sift the flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Set to the side.

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4. Melt a 1/2 stick of butter in a medium frying pan over medium heat. When it begins to foam, sprinkle in 1/2 cup of brown sugar over the top and cook until bubbling and dissolved (about 3 mins).

5. Add in the pears to the caramel sauce and let cook.  Rarely stir the mixture until caramelized and pears begin to release their juices.

6. Sprinkle in the cinnamon and stir again.  Turn the stove off and let the caramelized pears cool.

7. In a small bowl, whip together the heavy cream, egg and vanilla greek yogurt. Then mix it into the dry ingredients/batter.

 

8. Grate the frozen stick of butter and add it into the batter.

9. Fold in the cooled caramelized pears into the batter.  Place batter mixture onto mat and gently press it out into the shape of a log.

10. Using a pizza cutter or dough cutter, slice it into 6 to 8 pieces similar in size.

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11. Once all the pieces are sliced, transport them onto the tray and lightly brush them with heavy cream.

12. Bake them in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes (until golden or until you can slide a toothpick in and out of the scone and it comes out clean).

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13. Once scones are cooled, drizzle caramel sauce over the top and serve.

Hope you enjoy these delicious scones 🙂

Katie

Wild Tea and Vibrant Tea Defuser

A sweet tasting tea in a ‘HOT’ container.

Amazon has been a useful tool lately and a great way to send gifts across the country.  I had never heard of The Wild Crew before.  It wasn’t until recently that I was gifted this tea along with this cool drink container.

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The tea is sweet and has a red vibrant color.  There was no need for honey, sugar or cream.  It tasted so great all on its own. You only need a small portion to make such a great flavored tea.  The Wild Crew has a decent selection of teas – all are loose leaf.

Here is where this ‘mug’ comes in handy.  It has a defuser that can be removed if you want to have a different drink (coffee, water, etc).  But if you prefer a good tea… you add a small portion of loose leaf tea, close the lid to the defuser and insert it into the ‘mug’.

I proceeded to heated up some water and poured it over the defuser. I let it slowly steep the tea.  It only took moments to begin smelling the delicious aroma. I made sure to close the ‘mug’ shake and let sit for about 10 minutes.  This container will stay hot for hours so be careful when taking your first sips.

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The main reason I have come to enjoy this tea is the fact that I am doing my best to learn how to make my own tea.  When you open the Wild Tea, you see so many different dried fruits, herbs and tea leaves that it makes me think I can make my very own.  I have been learning about loose leaf teas, dehydrators, and much more.  I would love to be able to make another area for jobs to become available when I open my tearoom.  How neat would it be to see  hard working people (mainly those with disabilities) take on a job making delicious loose leaf tea and have the opportunity to see people enjoy it?  I know I would be a proud owner.

If you have any suggestions for delicious loose leaf tea that might be easy to put into steps please feel free to share.

Thanks,

Katie

I do not receive compensation for this post. However I do receive compensation if you link on either item through amazon:

Organic Berry Loose Leaf Tea, Wild Tea 6, Herbal Tea With Hibiscus, Elderberry, Currant and Cranberry (4 ounce)“>Wild Tea #6 or VIBRANT ALL IN ONE Travel Mug – TEA INFUSER Bottle WITH 2 PIECE STEEPER STRAINER COMBO – Insulated HOT COFFEE THERMOS – Cold FRUIT INFUSED Water – LEAK PROOF Tumbler Double wall Stainless Steel 17oz“>Vibrant All in One Mug 

If you are interested in other products as well as The Wild Crew tea visit: http://www.wildfoods.co

and follow them on instagram: @WildFoodsCo