Veggie Chips

Perfectly salted! Naturally sweet!

Sweet potatoes. Taro. Squash. Carrots. Green Beans. Oh my!

The Carrots are my personal fave with their light, light crunch!

I got these at Sunflower Market. I will be back for them. Amen.

Sweet Potato Crisp

I went to a potluck the other night and thought about what to bring. With my recent craving for sweet potatoes I happened to have about half a dozen sweet potatoes sitting in the fridge. Perfect! What a great way to get rid of them...but how? Pioneer Woman had the answer....Sweet Potatoes!! After making this I realized she had poorly named the recipe. Sweet Potatoes just wasn't enough. I'm adding Crisp to the end because that's pretty much what it is. And just an FYI: This is a very sweet sweet potato recipe. I think next time I may add less sugar.

Sweet Potato Crisp

4 whole Medium Sweet Potatoes
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Milk
2 whole Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup Pecans
½ cups Flour
¾ sticks Butter

Wash 4 medium sweet potatoes and bake them in a 375-degree oven until fork tender, about 30-35 minutes. When they are finished cooking slice them open and scrape out the flesh into a large bowl.

Add 1 cup of (regular grandulated) sugar, 1 cup of milk, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon of salt. With a potato masher, mash them up just enough—you don’t want to be perfectly smooth.

Now, in a separate bowl, add 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup pecans, chopped (that means measure a cup of pecans, then chop them), ½ cup flour, and ¾ stick of butter. With a pastry cutter or fork, mash together until thoroughly combined.

Spread the sweet potato mixture into a regular baking dish and sprinkle the crumb mixture all over the top.

Bake in a 400-degree oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Baked Sweet Potatoes

I don't know if it's because it's the holidays, or if it's because the little person inside of me is making me crave them, but lately I've had a thing for sweet potatoes. Mmmmm...I get excited just thinking about them...I know...sad. But it's true. So what's my solution for this strange addiction I've been having? It's SIMPLE...Baked Sweet Potatoes.

Wash and scrub some sweet potatoes and dry them. Poke them with a fork all over. Pop them in a oven at 425 deg for about an hour until soft. Cut a slit in them and pinch in the sides to fluff. It's that easy!

But a plain baked sweet potato may leave much to be desired. My desire...a little bit of butter and cinnamon sugar to taste. YUM!

Grilled Veggie Sandwiches

Ok....these are our new favorite sandwiches...no lie!

Grilled Veggie Sandwiches

And to make Alex a little happier, next time we have these I'm going to add some oven roasted turkey breast with it. I'm sure he's not alone when he's not fully satisfied with just veggies in his sammy.

Enjoy!

Zucchini Soup

We love this soup! And it's even better when you use the zucchini from your backyard. I put a little bit of crumbled bacon for a little salty crunch!

Ingredients:

3 T. butter

3 medium onions, sliced thin

2 cloves garlic, crushed

26 oz. chicken broth

4 medium zucchini, sliced thin

2 stalks celery and leaves, sliced thin

1 T. minced parsley

1 t. salt

1/2 t. each of dried dill, crushed basil, and ground pepper

1 c. milk, add before serving

Heat butter in a skillet and saute the onion and garlic, but do not brown. In a large soup kettle, combine chicken broth, zucchini, celery, parsley, and seasonings. Stir in the onion mixture. Bring to a boil then lower heat and for simmer 30 minutes.

Blend the veggies in batches in a blender until all of the soup is blended. Return to the soup kettle and stir in milk. Heat through. Serve hot or cold.

Broccoli, spinach, or cauliflower may be substituted for the zucchini.