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Chipotle Sweet Potato Mash

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How can something so healthy taste so good?  This chipotle sweet potato mash will leave you pondering that question.  In my opinion, starchy white mashed potatoes take a massive sideline when compared to the flavor of these sweet potatoes mixed with the richness and smokey heat of chipotle in adobo.  And unlike traditional mashed potatoes that can be a bit tricky to create the right consistency of fluffy and light, you can’t screw these mashed potatoes up…like, it’s impossible.

Start off by boiling or steaming the sweet potatoes until fork tender.  Peel off the skin and add the naked potatoes back to the pot.  Throw in a chipotle pepper and a bit of adobo sauce from the can and a pat of butter and mash away.

If you aren’t familiar with chipotle peppers in adobo, look for a can that looks like this. It’s simply chipotle peppers packed in adobo sauce.  Freeze the remaining peppers and sauce from the can in a small ziplock bag or mason jar for next time.

Lastly, season the potatoes with salt and pepper until the taste is spot on and there you have it…the most flavorful and addicting side dish on the planet!  You can pair these sweet potatoes with a protein like chicken, salmon or steak and you just like that you will have yourself a healthy, easy and delicious meal with barely any effort.  Don’t you love it when that happens?

Chipotle Sweet Potato Mash
 
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Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into large slices
  • 1 chipotle pepper packed in adobo, finely chopped
  • 2 tsp adobo sauce from the can
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • kosher salt to taste
Instructions
  1. Heat a large saucepan of boiling salted water. Boil sweet potatoes for approx 25 minutes until tender and cooked through.
  2. Drain sweet potatoes in a collander and remove outer skin. Add sweet potatoes back to saucepan. Add chipotle pepper, adobo sauce and butter and mash with a potatoe masher. Season with kosher salt to taste.

Red Potato Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette

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When most people think of potato salad they imagine the creamy, mayonnaise based potato salad. Personally that’s not my jam, not much of a mayo girl to be honest.  This is more of an Italian style potato salad, I grew up eating this and in my opinion it blows the mayo potato salad out of the water.  I realize I’m probably just slightly biased considering how I feel about mayo, but oh well!  You will never know unless you try it for yourself.

This is an easy potato salad to put together, it requires boiling potatoes and green beans, mixing up a dijon vinaigrette and cooking some baby bell peppers on the grill.  In the past I had never added peppers, but we decided to kick this up a notch by adding the grilled peppers and I’m so glad we did…I will never make this potato salad without them again!

Once the veggies are cooked just toss with the dijon vinaigrette and season with kosher salt and cracked pepper.  It’s makes a great side for a get together or to bring to a party.  We also love to make it on a Sunday so we can munch on it all week. So it’s time to ditch the mayo potato salad and give this a try.  Let us know what you think!


Red Potato Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette
 
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Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 1 package tricilor mini bell peppers - the grocery store sells them pre-bagged
  • 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
  • 3 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
  • 3 Tbsp good quality olive oil
  • 1½ lbs red-skinned potatoes, halved - may need to quarter the larger potatoes.
  • ½ lb fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1" pieces
  • ½ C roasted peppers, chopped
  • S&P to taste
For the Vinaigrette:
  • 1 small shallot, chopped
  • 3 Tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
  • ⅓ C good quality olive oil
Instructions
  1. Heat the bbq on high.
  2. Heat a large saucepan of salted water to boil.
  3. Cut mini bell peppers in half, remove stems and seeds. Rinse and pat dry.
  4. Add dijon, balsamic and olive oil to a medium bowl and whisk. Add cut bell peppers and stir to coat with marinade. Season with S&P.
  5. Place peppers skin side down on grill and cook for approximately 10 minutes until soft and slightly charred on the skin side. Set aside to cool.
  6. Add potatoes to the pot of boiling water and set the timer for 8 minutes. After 8 minutes add the green beans and set the timer for an additional 4 minutes. Drain potatoes and green beans into a collander. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Add potatoes, green beans and roasted peppers to a bowl, add vinaigrette and stir to coat. Season with S&P. Be careful not to break up the potatoes when stirring. Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve.
For the Dijon Vinaigrette:
  1. While the potatoes and green beans are cooking assemble the dressing. Add all ingredients to a blender and blend in high for about 30 seconds.

Summer Squash, Leek and Tomato Gratin

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This dish just screams, “Say hello to summer!”  I mean, first of all, the brightly colored squash and tomatoes are to die for…then you line them up all pretty in a dish on top of some beautifully caramelized leeks and top the whole thing with cheese???  Yea, I know, it’s insane!! Yum! This summer squash, leek and tomato gratin is sure to become your new go to side dish!  Your friends are going to be begging you to bring this one to the next gathering or to please just make it and invite them over!

Don’t be intimidated by the layering process.  It’s actually really simple.  Just start by slicing up those leeks and giving them a nice slow saute until they are soft and golden brown.  Slice up your zucchini, yellow squash and tomatoes and toss them with a little parmesan asiago and fresh thyme mixture…then start layering. See how pretty that looks?

 

Top the whole thing with the rest of your cheeses and the fresh thyme and pop it in the oven and let her do the rest! In about an hour you will have the most amazing , flavorful veggie side dish and you won’t be sorry!

Stephanie Heymann Photography

 

Summer Squash and Tomato Gratin with Parmesan and Fresh Thyme
 
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Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 2 Tbs good quality olive oil
  • 2 large leeks - halved and thinly sliced
  • 2 zucchini - cut into ¼ inch thick slices
  • 2 yellow summer squash - cut into ¼ inch thick slices
  • 4 medium tomatoes - cored and cut in ¼ inch pieces
  • 3 Tbs fresh thyme leaves - chopped
  • 1 C freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • ½ C freshly grated asiago cheese
  • 1 clove garlic - minced
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°
For the Leeks:
  1. Heat 1 Tbs oilve oil in a medium skillet over low heat. Add leeks and satue, stirring often, until soft and light golden brown, about 25 min. Add garlic and saute 1-2 more minutes until softened. Set aside to cool.
For the Gratin:
  1. Lightly oil bottom of shallow 2 qt. gratin dish with olive oil. Place tomato slices on a shallow plate lined with paper towels to drain juices.
  2. In a medium bowl, toss zuchinni and squash with 1 Tbs olive oil, 1 Tbsp shredded asiago, 1 Tbsp parmesan, ½ tsp salt and 2 turns freshly ground cracked pepper.
  3. Start assembly by layering leeks on bottom of gratin dish. Sprinkly lightly with a pinch of thyme, a pinch of parmesan and a pinch of asiago.
  4. Begin by laying one row of tomatoes across the pan, be sure to overlap somewhat and sprinkle with thyme, asiago and parmesan. Next, place a row of zuchinni, overlapping tomatoes and sprinkle with thyme, asiago and parmesan. Repeat with yellow squash and then continue with remaining layers, sprinkling each with thyme and cheeses until the gratin is full. Sprinkle the top with remaining cheese.
  5. Cook until browned all over and all of the juices have reduced, about 1 hour. Let cool for 15-20 minutes before serving.
Good Thyme Tip - The leeks can be made the day before as a time saver. Just allow them to cool after cooking and store in airtight container in fridge.

Roasted Cauliflower with Turmeric, Dates & Pine Nuts

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If you’re a cauliflower fan it’s your lucky day!! This dish puts a different spin on your typical roasted cauliflower, we definitely kicked it up a notch by combining together some unexpected flavors like the star of the show, turmeric.

Stych Photography

Turmeric has some MAJOR health benefits.  It is derived from a root, but when you purchase it at the store you buy it in powdered form…although you can occasionally find it in root form at certain specialty stores.  Anywho…..lets talk about the major health benefits like the studies which show the anti-inflammatory properties, it also helps to reduce the risk of cancer.  The list goes on, turmeric is also found to tame heartburn and an upset stomach and even joint pain.  There are more benefits of turmeric but I think we’ve already bragged enough about this powerhouse ingredient…let’s get back to how to make this bomb dish!

Stych Photography

It’s really quit simple…add your spices to a bowl (turmeric, cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon) throw in the cauliflower and drizzle with olive oil.  Mix it all up and throw everything on a parchment lined baking pan.  Roast for 30 minutes, flipping cauliflower at the halfway point.  During the last few minutes while the cauliflower is roasting, add butter and garlic to a small saucepan and cook until melted.  Chop dates into small pieces and set aside.  Remove cauliflower from the oven and transfer to a serving bowl.  Drizzle butter/garlic over cauliflower and sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and chopped dates.  There you have it cauliflower lovers, simple and ah-mazing side dish that you can have on your table tonight!!

Stych Photography

 

 

Roasted Cauliflower with Turmeric, Dates & Pine Nuts
 
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Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 head cauliflower, cleaned and chopped into florets
  • 2 Tbsp good quality olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 2 Tbsp pine nuts, toasted
  • 4 Tbsp butter
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 6 large medjool dates
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl add olive oil, turmeric powder, cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt and mix. Add cauliflower and toss to coat.
  2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread cauliflower out evenly on baking sheet. Bake 30 minutes, turning halfway through cooking.
  3. While cauliflower is cooking chop dates into small pieces. Add butter and garlic to a sautee pan until melted.
  4. Remove cauliflower from oven and transfer to a serving dish. Drizzle butter over top, sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and chopped dates.

Orange Balsamic Wild Rice Salad

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Not gonna lie, we just took your standard wild rice and cranked it up to like a 10!!  This orange balsamic wild rice salad is outa this world.  The flavors are insanely perfect together and it also has the added bonus of being really filling and easy to make.  Winning!! The inspiration for this salad came from ingredients that were on hand and the use of a little imagination.  So we had some brussel sprouts and just roasted them in the oven.  While that was happening, we prepared the wild rice according to package directions and then added some deliciously tart dried cherries, pistachios and beautifully creamy goat cheese (we already know that pistachios and goat cheese are a match made in heaven, right?)

Next came the piece de resistance…we tossed it all together with an orange balsamic vinaigrette.  Yes!!  We are all about using up all the deliciously sweet oranges that are growing on the tree out back.  (We so wish you could smell the orange blossoms on the tree right now…the backyard literally smells like a tropical island, which is rare in the desert, but not so rare this time of year, when the fruit trees are blooming) Yum.  So, anyway, what better way to incorporate some fresh citrus but to blend it into a balsamic?  We should add that you most certainly do not need to have an orange tree of your own for this dressing, just grab an orange next time you are at the grocery store and you are good to go!  We hope that you love this salad as much as we do!

 

 

Orange Balsamic Wild Rice Salad
 
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Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 1 C long grain wild rice - cooked according to package instructions
  • 1 C brussel sprouts, trimmed and halved
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • pinch kosher salt
  • 2 Tbsp pistachios, shelled
  • 3 Tbsp dried cherries
  • ¼ C goat cheese, crumbled
For the Orange Balsamic Vinaigrette:
  • ¼ C fresh squeezed orange juice
  • 3 Tbsp chopped shallots
  • 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • ¼ C good quality olive oil
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a roasting pan with parchment paper. Line brussel sprouts on pan and drizzle with olive oil and a pinch of kosher salt, toss with hands to coat. Spread on pan evenly, roast in oven for approximately 20 minutes until golden brown.
  2. Cook wild rice according to package instructions. Strain and rinse with cold water. Add rice to a medium mixing bowl. Add brussel sprouts, dried cherries, pistachios and goat cheese.
For the Orange Balsamic Vinaigrette:
  1. Add all ingredients except olive oil. Use an immersion blender or a blender, while blending slowly add in olive oil.
  2. Drizzle desired amount of vinaigrette over salad and toss to coat. Store remaining vinaigrette in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. Toss salad to coat and refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Sautéed Vegetables with Ricotta

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Sautéed vegetables with ricotta is a winning flavor combination. Thanksgiving is over and it’s possible that you might still be in a food coma.  Chances are you might need some more veggies in your life about now….I know I do!  Think of this dish as a hearty, warm spinach and veggie salad, the spoonful of ricotta on top finishes it off perfectly…and let’s face it, everything is better when it’s topped with ricotta!  The inspiration for the dish came about by simply getting creative with the ingredients that were in the fridge.  Turns out it was a giant win, we love it when that happens!! There is just something that works perfectly with this combination of flavors.

veggiericotta

Freshly sautéed vegetables topped with a generous dollap of creamy ricotta is all this meal needs.  Serve it as a side or as a meal, you will love this combo!

ricottabite

Sautéed Vegetables with Ricotta
 
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Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • 2 zuchinnis, chopped into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 ear corn, steamed and kernels removed
  • 2 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
  • 2 C packed fresh spinach
  • 2-3 Tbsp low fat ricotta
  • S&P to taste
Instructions
  1. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and sautee for 1 minute, being careful not to burn. Add chopped zuchinnis and cook, flipping occasionally browning all sides. Add spinach, tomatoes and corn. Cook until spinach is wilted, season with S&P to taste. Transfer to serving bowl and dollap ricotta on top.

Cauliflower Gratin with Gruyere

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Still looking for a last minute Thanksgiving side to put on your table?  We have the perfect solution for you. Serve up this cauliflower gratin with gruyere cheese…yes, there will be a gruyere party going on in your mouth.  Who can resist that? Clearly not us!

Start by roasting up the cauliflower so it’s nice and golden brown and ready to be mixed with one of our all time favorite cheeses.  I love this cheese and always have but for some reason my mouth just won’t let me say it right.  Courtney and I had some laughs as she tried to coach me on how to pronounce it, but I really think there is no hope for me on that. At least I can still eat it, which is the only thing I really care about when it comes to gruyere.

caul2

While the cauliflower is getting all roasty and toasty in the oven you can focus on whipping up the  cheese sauce.  We have cut out a lot of fat by using fat free milk and only a small amount of butter. So you can look at this dish the same way that I look at buying clothes when they are on sale.  I don’t really spend money on clothes, I actually save money because the clothes are on sale.  Same thing with this dish, you are actually saving fat and calories because you aren’t using full fat milk and tons of butter and cheese.  How do you like my concept??  Haha, I think it’s a good one, so basically it’s guilt free!

caul1

When the cauliflower comes out of the oven, transfer it to a casserole dish.  Pour the cheese sauce over the cauliflower and sprinkle some panko bread crumbs on top and pop it back in the oven.  When it comes out of the oven you will have this ooey goey, gruyere filled cauliflower heaven.

caul3

Thanksgiving side dish done, your guests will love this!

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Cauliflower Gratin with Gruyere
 
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Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 1 head cauliflower - chopped into florets
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large shallot, minced
  • 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 2 Tbsp flour
  • 1½ tsp kosher salt
  • ½ tsp course ground pepper
  • ½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
  • 1¼ C nonfat milk
  • 1 C grated gruyere cheese
  • 3 Tbsp panko breadcrumbs
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a roasting pan with parchment paper. Spread cauliflower florets evenly on pan, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with ½ tsp salt. Roast for 25 minutes until golden brown.
  2. While cauliflower is roasting heat a large sautee pan over medium heat and add butter. Once butter is melted add shallots and sautee for 1 minute. Add flour and mix, it will create a thick paste. Slowly add the milk ¼ cup at a time, whisking to incorporate. Once all of the milk is added add remaining salt and pepper and red pepper flakes if you want a little kick to the dish. Continue to whisk over medium heat until it thickens, do not let the milk boil. Add gyurere cheese and stir until melted, remove from heat.
  3. Remove cauliflower from oven and turn the oven down to 375 degrees. Use a 8X8 casserole dish or similar size, add roasted cauliflower and pour cheese sauce over the top. Sprinkle breadcrumbs evenly across the top. Bake for 20 minutes until it begins to bubble around the sides. Turn the oven to broil, remove when the cheese and panko topping turns golden brown. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Spiralized Beet Salad

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I have to admit that growing up there was no way I was going to touch a beet with a 10 foot pole much less take a bite of a beet salad. I’m sure if my mom would’ve tried smearing hot fudge on top I would’ve considered taking a little taste but it never came to that I guess. I should ask my mom why she never thought of that tactic! Fast forward to my adulthood and I eat beets like they are going out of style. Typically I place them on a parchment lined roasting pan and roast them in the oven, remove the skin once cooled, cut them up and throw them in salads or just eat them as is. Most recently Courtney and I discovered that beets make the perfect spiralized dish, not to mention they look gorgeous this way. Just a warning….yellow beets will turn to a brownish color (not pretty but still good) when spiralized and roasted or steamed. If you want to keep your spiralized beets looking vibrant, stick to red beets. We tossed this spiralized beet salad with creamy goat cheese, salty pistachios, drizzled with our favorite honey lime vinaigrette and set over a bed of frisee lettuce. This salad is delicate but filled with bold flavors and it tastes as good as it looks! I’m glad I got over my beetphobia!!

beetsaladredhands

Stych Photography

Red beets especially can get a little messy so don’t wear your brand new white shirt while putting this salad together!

courtbeetsalad

Stych Photography

Courtney adding the Honey Lime Vinaigrette

beetsalad

Stych Photography

 

Spiralized Beet Salad
 
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Serves: 4
Ingredients
For the Salad:
  • 1 large red beet, peeled and spiralized *See notes on how to prepare beets if you dont have a spiralizer.
  • 1 large handful frisee lettuce, chopped
  • 3 oz goat cheese
  • handful of pistachio nuts, shelled
  • S & P to taste
For the Honey Lime Vinaigrette:
  • juice of 2 large limes
  • 2 Tbsp honey
  • ⅓ C white balsamic vinegar
  • ¼ C good quality olive oil
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place spiralized beets on a parchment lined roasting pan and roast for 5 minutes. While beets are cooking, make the honey lime vinagrette.
  2. In a small bowl add all of the ingredients for the vinagrette except for the olive oil. Slowly drizzle the olive oil while whisking. Set aside
  3. Remove the beets from the oven and set aside to cool. Once cooled, trim the beets so they are the length of a spaghetti noodle. Place the frisee on a large plate, top with spiralized beets, sprinkle with goat cheese and pistachios, drizzle vinagrette over the top and season with S & P.
Good Thyme Tip - Thinly sliced oranges (skin removed) would be a great addition to this salad!
** If you do not have a spiralizer, leave skin on the beet and line roasting pan with parchment paper. Wrap beet in foil and roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Let cool, remove foil from beet and pull the skin off. Cut into slices, approx 1 inch pieces and use in salad instead of spiralized beets.

 

Lemon Basil Zoodle Salad

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Time to break out your spiralizer and get to work on this epic dish. Let us first just prepare you for the best salad dressing ever. You will be licking your bowl and possibly drinking the dressing straight, this is no joke! Then combine your new favorite salad dressing with sprialized zucchinis, tomatoes, feta and toasted pine nuts and we are in business. It’s fresh, it’s healthy, it’s ridiculously good…you need to try it. What are you waiting for…get busy!

lemonbasilzoodle

Lemon Basil Zoodle Salad
 
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Serves: 4
Ingredients
For the Zoodle Salad:
  • 2 large zucchinis, spiralized
  • 1 C cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 avocado cut into ½ inch chunks
  • 3 oz feta cheese, crumbled
  • ¼ C loosely packed fresh basil, cut into strips
  • 2 Tbsp toasted pine nuts
  • S & P to taste
For the Lemon Basil Vinaigrette:
  • juice of 1 extra large lemon or 2 medium lemons
  • 1 clove garlic chopped
  • 1 C loosely packed fresh basil leaves
  • ¼ C 0% plain greek yogurt
  • 1½ Tbsp honey
  • ¼ C good quality olive oil
  • S & P to taste
Instructions
  1. Heat oil in large sautee pan over medium heat. Add fresh zucchini noodles "zoodles" and sautee for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and place in bowl. Add halved cherry tomatoes, avocado, feta, basil and toasted pine nuts.
For the Lemon Basil Vinaigrette:
  1. Add all ingredients except for olive oil into a blender or use an immersion blender. Blend until basil is thoroughly mixed. Slowly drizzle olive oil in the blender while the blender is running until combined. Add S & P to taste.
  2. Drizzle lemon basil vinaigrette over the zoodle salad. Season with S & P to taste.