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Cajun Sweet Potato Biscuits

Cajun Sweet Potato Biscuits

by | Nov 16, 2022 | Recipes

These tender, low fat biscuits are a perfect way to use up extra sweet potatoes (or yams). I sometimes bake an extra sweet potato for dinner and use it to prepare these slightly sweet and spicy biscuits within a couple of days. They come together quickly and contain more fiber and vitamins than traditional biscuits. Serve hot from the oven or warm with butter, jam, honey, cream cheese or sharp cheese or serve on the side with a bowl of soup, beans or stew.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour or white whole-wheat flour (all purpose flour works too)
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar
  • 1/8 – ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger OR nutmeg
  • ¾ cup cooked, peeled, mashed sweet potato or yam (canned works too)
  • 2 Tablespoons melted butter or margarine OR refined coconut oil
  • ½ cup milk (any kind, unsweetened and unflavored)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a metal baking pan with parchment or foil.
  2. Combine dry ingredients in medium large bowl. Whisk well.
  3. In a smaller bowl, combine the mashed sweet potato, melted butter and milk, stirring well.
  4. Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture.
  5. Knead the dough 5 or 6 times, turning the dough over itself to create layers.
  6. Flatten dough to ¾ inch thickness.
  7. Cut with a 2-½ inch biscuit cutter.
  8. If you want biscuits with lightly crisp browned outsides, evenly space biscuits in prepared pan so they aren’t touching. If you want them all over soft, place them closer together.
  9. Bake the biscuits in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until bottoms are golden.

Yields about 12 biscuits.

Recipe Source: Judith Berman-Yamada, Kitchen Maven

Find more Kitchen Maven recipes in the recently published Cookbook, “Thrifty Comfort Cooking for Challenging Times” where 100% of author royalties go directly to the Oregon Food Bank to assist folks dealing with food insecurity. The cookbook is available on both Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com. It’s an eclectic cookbook to suit all diets and contains over 100 recipes.

Cinnamon Baked Pears

Cinnamon Baked Pears

by | Nov 9, 2022 | Recipes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 ripe pears
  • 3 Tablespoons chopped walnuts
  • 2 teaspoons honey (see Notes) orbrown sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 Tablespoon dried cranberries

Directions

  1. Wash hands with soap and water.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  3. Cut pears in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon or melon baller.
  4. Place the pears in a baking dish. Fill centers with walnuts and drizzle about half a teaspoon of honey over each pear.
  5. Sprinkle each pear half with cinnamon and cranberries.
  6. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until pears are soft when poked with a fork. Serve warm.
  7. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

Notes

  • Honey is not recommended for children under 1 year old.

Photo and Recipe Source: https://foodhero.org/recipes/cinnamon-baked-pears

Meatball Soup

Meatball Soup

by | Nov 2, 2022 | Recipes

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 Tablespoons uncooked white rice
  • ¼ cup grated carrot or zucchini
  • ½ cup finely chopped onion, divided
  • 1 ¼ cup finely chopped tomato, divided
  • 1 egg
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon chopped fresh oregano or ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon chopped fresh mint or ¼ teaspoon dried mint (optional)
  • 8 ounces ground meat, 15% fat or less (beef, chicken, turkey or pork)
  • ¼ cup plain bread crumbs (optional)
  • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • 6 cups low-sodium broth (any type)
  • 1 or 2 sprigs fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
  • 2 cups chopped vegetables (fresh, frozen or canned)

Directions

  1. Wash hands with soap and water.
  2. For meatballs: In a medium bowl, mix together the rice, carrot, ¼ cup onion, ¼ cup tomato, egg, salt, oregano and mint, if desired. Mix in ground meat. Add bread crumbs to help the mixture stick together, if desired.
  3. Using the palms of your hands or a scoop, roll the mixture into balls about 1 ½ inches in diameter. Set the meatballs aside and wash your hands with soap and water after handling raw meat.
  4. In a large saucepan, heat oil on medium heat. Add ¼ cup onion and 1 cup tomato and cook for 1 minute.
  5. Stir in broth, oregano and garlic powder, if desired. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer.
  6. Add meatballs to the broth.  Cover and simmer until the internal temperature of a meatball reaches 165 degrees on a food thermometer, about 20 minutes.
  7. Add vegetables to the soup and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.
  8. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

Notes

  • Top with a squeeze of lime juice and chopped cilantro.
  • No breadcrumbs? Use 1 Tablespoon cornstarch instead.
  • Thanks to the Food Hero Latinx Workgroup for this recipe.

Photo and Recipe Source: https://www.foodhero.org/recipes/meatball-soup-0?fbclid=IwAR3mgYu2TihsgRszLdTTUWwrzdbhnAbpdy9O9CEF0tYvVo3koS-AyTYMCkk

Pumpkin Breakfast Cookies

Pumpkin Breakfast Cookies

by | Oct 25, 2022 | Lunch & Snack Recipes, Recipes

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 ¾ cups cooked, pureed pumpkin (15 ounce can)
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 ½ cups flour
  • 1 ¼ cups whole-wheat flour
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1 cup chopped nuts (any type)

Directions

  1. Wash hands with soap and water.
  2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  3. In a large bowl, stir together pumpkin, brown sugar, eggs and oil. Mix well until smooth.
  4. In another bowl, stir together the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt. Add to the pumpkin mixture and mix well.
  5. Stir in raisins and nuts.
  6. Drop the dough by a tablespoon on to a greased baking sheet, 1 inch apart.
  7. Gently flatten each cookie with the back of a spoon.
  8. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until tops are dry and begin to brown.

Notes

  • No raisins? Use any type of dried fruit.

Photo and Recipe Source: https://www.foodhero.org/recipes/pumpkin-breakfast-cookies

Pumpkin Ricotta Stuffed Shells

Pumpkin Ricotta Stuffed Shells

by | Oct 19, 2022 | Recipes

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 12 jumbo pasta shells (about 6 ounces)
  • 1 ¼ cups nonfat ricotta cheese
  • ¾ cup pumpkin 
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder or 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 Tablespoons basil
  • ¼ teaspoon sage
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • ½ cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
  • 1 cup pasta sauce

Directions:

  1. Wash hands with soap and water.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
  3. Cook pasta shells according to package directions. Drain and place each on a baking sheet to cool.
  4. In a medium bowl, stir together ricotta, pumpkin, spices and all but 1 Tablespoon of the cheese. Reserve the 1 Tablespoon cheese for topping.
  5. Spread pasta sauce in the bottom of a baking dish that holds all the shells in a single layer. Fill each shell with about 3 Tablespoons of pumpkin mixture and place shells close together on top of the sauce.
  6. Cover pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake for 15 minutes more.
  7. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

Notes:

  • Freeze unused pumpkin and add to soup, chili or pancake recipes.

Photo & Recipe Source: https://foodhero.org/recipes/pumpkin-ricotta-stuffed-shells

Roasted Potatoes & Green Beans with Mustard Drizzle

Roasted Potatoes & Green Beans with Mustard Drizzle

by | Oct 12, 2022 | Recipes

Total Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

  • ½ pound fingerling potatoes
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or other herbs
  • 2-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • ½ cup cooked chickpeas (or canned, drained, and rinsed) patted dry with a paper towel
  • ½ pound green beans
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • Salt and pepper (optional)

Directions:

  1. Heat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, toss potatoes with garlic, herbs, and half of olive oil.
  3. Place in a single layer in a roasting pan and roast for 25 minutes, stirring once or twice.
  4. When potatoes are tender and starting to brown, add the chickpeas and green beans and roast for another 10 minutes.
  5. While that roasts, in a small bowl whisk together mustard, olive oil, vinegar, and honey to form an emulsified dressing.
  6. Season the dressing with salt and pepper to taste.
  7. Transfer the roasted vegetables and beans to a platter and drizzle with dressing. Serve warm.

Recipe Source: Adventist Health Blue Zones Kitchen, https://www.adventisthealth.org/blog/2022/july/recipe-roasted-potatoes-green-beans-with-mustard/

Photo Source: David McLain