Sweet potato pesto bake

This is one of my Mom's favorite recepies. It also can be made with butternut squash which makes for a smoother, sweeter version. But in honor of the end of sweet potato month I thought I would make this delicious bake.

Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes
4 tablespoon of pesto
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons Olive oil

Preheat oven at 400. In a large pot place peeled sweet potatoes until soft. Mash or place potatoes in a food processor and puree. Place 1/2 in a small casserole dish and place 2 tablespoons of pesto evenly on top; on top of pesto place 1/8 cup of parmesan evenly over pesto top off the parmesan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Place the remaining sweet potatoes on top of mixture creating a second layer. Add pesto, cheese and oil. Cover dish and bake at 400 for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Fat Tuesday: Banana chocolate cake topped with candied walnuts

Happy Fat Tuesday to everyone! For Lent this year I am not having any type of sweets during the week days (I understand my limitations). So today I thought well perhaps I should make something to mark the occasion! I have never made banana cake before so I got that off in the oven...then started to make vanilla frosting and thought...hmmm yea chocolate would be better. When that was finished I thought well the nuts really would be better if they were candied...in molasses! I just kind of kept on going and well-- it turned out great!

Ingredients:
5 Bananas
2 cups of pureed white beans (about 1 can)
2/3 cup Corn starch
4 tablespoons of Stevia
2 teaspoons of Baking soda

Preheat oven to 350. Peel bananas and place in bowl. Microwave bananas until soft and mash them as smooth as possible. Puree beans and measure out 1 cup. Mix bananas and beans together then add corn starch. Add stevia and baking soda and mix well. Line two loaf pans with parchment or tin foil and grease. Pour half of the mixture in each pan and bake on 350 for about 45 minutes. Let cool (I even placed mine in the freezer for a bit to cool).

Frosting:
1 cup of Greek yogurt
4 tablespoons of Honey
2 tablespoons Stevia
4 tablespoons Coco powder


Add all ingredients together and mix well. Leave the frosting in the fridge until cake cools.

Walnuts:
1 1/2 cup of Chopped walnuts
3 tablespoons Unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup Molasses



Place all ingredients in a sauce pan and mix on medium heat. Make sure nuts and coconut are covered in molasses. Cook until molasses simmers, turn off heat and let cool.

When cake is cooled remove from pans and carefully place cakes first piece of cake on plate. Cover first piece of cake with frosting and cover top of cake with nuts.




Take second piece of cake and coat the bottom of it with frosting and place on top of piece of cake #2. Repeat the frosting the entire second cake and top with nuts. Viola! Happy Fat Tuesday!

Choco-Moutain Cookies

I bake all the time and am only eating for one...so when I get bored with something I've already made or it gets stale I turn it into something else. SO-- I used some old chocolate brownies to make these cookies. Anything chocolate would work to make these, brownies, cake, cookies...really anything.

Ingredients:
1 cup pureed brownies
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon coconut
1/4 cup milk (almond, soy, etc.)
1 tablespoon ground coffee
2 tablespoons stevia
1 teaspoon honey
1/8 cup chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon coco powder

Heat oven to 350. Puree brownies until all large pieces are crumbled. Pour puree into bowl, add egg and milk and stir. Add remaining ingredients and stir. Batter should have medium thickness. Grease pan and place 1 inch dollops of batter and bake for 20 minutes.

Sweet Potato Chipotle Pot Pie

Continuing our sweet potato month is my sweet potato chipotle pot pie. These are a great twist on traditional pot pies, a little sweet, a little spicy and delightful! This recipe makes two individual pot pies

Ingredients:
1/2 medium onion
1 apple (peel and cubed)
1 cup steamed cauliflower
1/3 cup frozen peas
2 carrots
1 zucchini
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup milk (almond or soy)
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 teaspoons of chipotle powder
2 teaspoons of garlic
1 teaspoon of sage
6 ounces of cooked chopped chicken



Crust:
1/2 large sweet potato
2 tablespoons corn starch
3 tablespoons corn meal
1 tablespoon egg beaters
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon stevia

Slice carrotts, place carrots, cauliflower, and peas into a pot and begin to steam. Once carrotts become soft place vegetables into large pan with chopped onion, chicken, zucchini, apple and chicken broth. Bring broth to a boil and add milk, stir and bring to a boil. When mixture begins to boil add corn starch and seasonings. Simmer for a few minutes while mixture thickens. Turn heat off and begin on crust

Peel sweet potato and slice. Place slices on cookie sheets and bake at 350 until soft (about 15 minutes). Mash sweet potato pieces in a bowl, add corn starch, corn meal and egg. Mix until smooth but thick, then add nutmeg and stevia.

Place vegetable mixture into two oven safe ramekins until almost full. Take crust mixture and spoon several teaspoons on a cutting board and flatten and shape with a fork, with a spatula pick up the shaped crust and place on top of ramekins (that are full of vegetable mixture). Seal off the vegetable mix with crust and slit the top of the crust to let air out while it cooks. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, when crust begins to turn brown. Let cool for 10-20 minutes before eating.

White Chocolate Pudding Cookies

What a mouthful! Literally! After three batches I think I finally got this recipe down. These are versatile enough to change with the seasons or your preference. I added cranberries and pistachios, but you could make them with chocolate chips, apricots, or your favorite garnish. These are soft batch type cookies not the crunchy type-- just an FYI.

Ingredients:
1 small box of Jello Pudding (white chocolate)
1 1/3 cup of white bean puree
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons of egg beaters (or 1 medium sized egg)
1/3 cup corn starch
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 1/2 tablespoons of stevia
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup chopped pistachios

Heat oven at 350. Place bean puree in bowl with pudding mix and corn starch. Mix well, batter should be thick. Add egg, oil and vanilla while mixing. The batter should become less stiff. Add stevia, baking soda, cranberries and pistachios. Grease pan and spoon tablespoon sized drops of batter onto pan and flatten them out a bit (they wont spread like regular cookies). Bake in oven for about 15 minutes, or until the cookies become golden brown on top. Cool and enjoy!

Breaded Sardine Greek Bake

I was sitting in the car with my Mom last night and I told her what I was having for dinner...she made a face. Sardines get a bad wrap, but really they taste just like white fish and are loaded with omega 3's and protein. Trust me and give them a try!

2 tablespoons corn meal
1/2 can of sardines
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon thyme
1 handful fresh spinach
1/2 tomato
4 artichoke hearts
1 tablespoon chopped black olives
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese
1/5 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven at 350. Mix herbs and corn meal in small bowl, add sardines and mix until they are completely breaded. Take a small casserole dish (individual size) and add spinach. Add tomato, artichoke, olives, and sardines (leaving sardines on the top). Pour olive oil over salad and place in oven at 350 for 20 minutes. Remove dish from oven and top with parmesan.

Sweet Potato Quinoa Muffins

Adding to my sweet potato recipes: I wanted to make a breakfast muffin under 100 calories, high in fiber and protein-- sound like a tall order?? Nope! Quinoa is really the only grain that I eat. It is the only grain that has complete protein and its also gluten free. These muffins have 80 calories, 3.5 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber.

Ingredients:
15 oz can Pinto Beans
1 medium sweet potato
2 eggs
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 teaspoon baking soda

Microwave sweet potato until soft (about 15 mintues). Peel potato and mash. Take 1/4 cup of quinoa and cook. While quinoa is cooking take pinto beans and empty 3/4 of can into a pot and add 1/4 cup of water. Mash pinto beans and boil. Boil beans until water evaportates and beans become a paste. Add sweet potato, beans and quinoa (when its cooked). Add honey, cinnamin and baking soda. When the batter cools add eggs and mix. Empty batter into muffin tins (use cup cake cups). Bake at 350 for about an hour. Let cool and enjoy!