Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet Potato Fries, yes please!  These are quick and easy to throw together and are more delicious than many sweet potato fries I've tasted in restaurants!  I love, love, love the Redmond salt and the organic garlic pepper!  They're delicious on these!  I've decided I need to double the batch for my family because they devour them!

4 small to medium sweet potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic pepper 

Preheat oven to 450º.  Slice sweet potato into 1/2 inch strips.  Coat with 3 tablespoons olive oil.  In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, salt and garlic pepper.  Pour over sweet potatoes and coat.

Cook in a single layer on a cookie sheet for 15 minutes.  Using a spatula, turn fries over, and cook for another 5 - 10 minutes.  Serve immediately.

Sweet Potato Fries with Paprika

These fries are super easy and are a great way to serve sweet potatoes!  My kids devoured them!  You'll notice there aren't any amounts on the recipe.  I just sprinkle the seasonings on.  Put however much you like on them!  You can even substitute other spices if you prefer.  However, the spices below make tasty fries, without any spice being overbearing - just a good flavor!

3 sweet potatoes
about 1 tablespoon olive oil
salt
pepper
garlic powder
paprika

Preheat oven to 425º.  Slice sweet potato into fries.  Put on cookie sheet and drizzle olive oil on top.  Mix with your hands until the olive oil lightly coats the sweet potatoes.  Sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika on the fries.  Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, until crispy.  Serve immediately.

Pressure Cooker Spaghetti Squash

So who knew you could cook spaghetti squash so quickly?  Yep!  It's a breeze in my pressure cooker!  All you have to do is cut off the ends.  Cut it in half and scoop out the seeds.  Place it in your pressure cooker with 1/2 cup water.  Cook it on high pressure for 8 minutes, and use the Quick Release Method.  That's it!

Pressure Cooker Butternut Squash

I just got an electric pressure cooker and am super excited to start trying it out!  I want to start posting my recipes using it, even though they aren't much of a recipe. So EASY!

I love butternut squash, but often don't have my act together in enough time to cook it for dinner.  Now, it's a breeze!  I cooked it for 4 minutes and the squash was still in chunks, and could easily be mashed.  If you want it more firm, cook it for 3 minutes.

1 butternut squash
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper

Peel squash and scoop the seeds out.  Cut into bite sized cubes.  Place in pressure cooker with 1/2 cup water.  Season it with salt and pepper.  Close the lid and turn on pressure cooker, select high pressure and set time for 3 or 4 minutes.  (Time will begin when unit gets up to pressure.  It takes about 5 - 7 minutes.)  When cooking is done, use the Quick Pressure Release to release the pressure.

Jalapeno Poppers

My friend brought these delicious cheese stuffed Jalapeno Poppers to our Neighborhood BBQ and they disappeared instantly!  I craved them for a week before I finally called and got her recipe to make them for my family!  I was also thrilled to use the gazillions of jalapeno peppers in my garden!  I learned something too.  Red jalapeno peppers are hotter than green ones.  I have some red jalapeno peppers because I left them on the plant too long.  We did a taste test. . . actually I made my husband do the taste test.  Yep - the red ones are really hot!  I let him eat those :)

25 jalapeno peppers
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup cheddar cheese
5 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Put on gloves!!  If you don't you will burn your hands!  Wash the jalapeno peppers and cut off the stem.  Slice peppers in half, take the seeds out, and place on a cookie sheet.  In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese, garlic powder, cheese and bacon pieces.  Spoon into the peppers so it's a heaping amount in each pepper.  (I put in as much as I can, mounding it on the pepper.)

Bake at 450º for 10 - 15 minutes, until hot and bubbly.

Broccoli Salad

This salad is great because it uses fresh broccoli, and it appeals to kids because it also has bacon.  It's quick to put together and it's great to make ahead of time.  In fact you don't want to eat it right after you put it together.  You want to let the dressing merry with the salad.  I've seen similar recipes, but I like this dressing better than others that have more sugar or Miracle Whip instead of mayonnaise.  

Dressing:
Mix and let stand:
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup vinegar
1/3 cup sugar

Salad:
2 bunches broccoli, wash and cut off flowerets
1/2 cup red onion
1/2 lb bacon cooked and crumbled
1 cup Cheddar Cheese, grated

Mix together and let stand and hour or more.

Sweet Potatoes

I love sweet potatoes, (also called yams)!!!  They are my favorite vegetable!  I like them best cooked simply, without all the marshmallows and brown sugar.  I use the microwave to cook them, because it's so fast!

3 - 4 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 - 3 tablespoons butter, sliced
salt & pepper
about 1/4 cup milk

Place sweet potato cubes in a greased glass casserole dish.  Add small slices of butter on top.  Season with salt and pepper.  Pour in the milk.  (The milk keeps the sweet potatoes from drying out.)  Place lid or plastic wrap on top of the casserole dish.  Cook on high in the microwave for 10 - 15 minutes, depending on your microwave.

Pot Roast with Carrots

This is a our favorite Sunday meal!  It's cooks all day while we're at church.  I serve it with mashed potatoes and gravy.  I use the drippings from the roast, add water and beef bouillon and thicken it with a corn starch and water mixture.

3 1/2 pound beef roast
1 large onion, quartered
salt & pepper
garlic powder
3 bay leaves (optional)
baby carrots

Place the roast in the crockpot.  Season with salt and pepper, and a little bit of garlic powder.  Put 3 bay leaves on the roast.  Add the onion quarters.  Cook on high for 2 hours.  Add the baby carrots, and season with salt and pepper.  Turn down to low and cook for 6 - 7 more hours.  Use drippings to make gravy.

Zucchini Rings

My husband loves Zucchini Rings!  He likes them dipped in ketchup!  You can also use this batter to make Onion Rings!

1 beaten egg
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons oil
3/4 cup featherlight flour
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon salt
Zucchini, sliced (about 1/4 inch)

Beat egg.  Add milk and oil.  Stir together.  Add flour, xanthan gum and salt.  Whisk.  You want it to be the consistency of pancake batter.  If it's a little too thick, add some more milk.

Heat about 2 inches of oil in a deep frying pan, on medium to medium high heat.  Coat slices of zucchini in batter one at a time, and place in hot oil.  Fry until golden brown, turning once.  When you pull them out of the oil, place on a plate with several layers of paper towel, to absorb the some of oil and cool.