Oven Baked Sweet Potato Casserole

Firstly, I must apologize for the lack of updates. It's been a crazy few months for us and things are just beginning to get back to normal. I know I promised some easy to make Thanksgiving dinner recipes and so far, I have only shared the recipe for roast turkey. In the next couple of posts, I will be sharing with you recipes for some of our favorite sides. To get the ball rolling, here is the recipe for one of my all time favorite - the Sweet Potato Casserole. It's really yummy and the best part? It's also really simple to make! Here's how you make it.

Start off by cooking some sweet potatoes (or yams, depends on which part of the country you are from) in boiling water. Just leave the skin on. It's way easier to remove after it's cooked.
Once they are cooked and soft, take them out from the boiling water and remove the skin. The skin should just slide off without any problems. Be really careful though, cos those sweet potatoes can be HOT HOT HOT! Then, add in about 5 tablespoons of butter.
Mash the sweet potatoes with a potato masher. If you do not have a potato masher, you can just use a fork. It works just as well. Make sure that the butter is mixed evenly into the sweet potatoes.
Then, add in some maple syrup. I used pure dark amber maple syrup that we bought from Vermont but you can pretty much use any type of maple syrup that you like. Mix it into the sweet potato mixture.
Once you have mixed in the maple syrup, the sweet potato mixture should be smooth and creamy. If its not, then you would need to mash it a little bit more. Once your sweet potatoes have reached the desired consistency, transfer the sweet potato mixture into a baking dish.
Then, sprinkle on some chopped pecans or pecan halves. Make sure that your pecans are evenly distributed on the top of your casserole. Finally, cover the baking dish with aluminum foil. Pop the sweet potato casserole into a 350F oven. After about 30-35 minutes, remove the casserole from the oven and it's ready to be served! Now, wasn't that easy? Try it, I'm very sure that you will like it too!

Oven Roasted Split Chicken with Vegetables

All kinds of chicken cuts were on sale at our local grocery store last week. I managed to pick up 6 pieces of split chicken (3 whole chicken in total) for less than $5!!! Mind you, they were not tiny. Those are regular sized (I would even dare say that they rather large) chickens. I wanted to make something simple and quick for dinner, so I just roasted one chicken (2 pieces of split) with some vegetables. It turned out to be really good. Here's the recipe.

Start off by cleaning the chicken under cool water and pat it dry with a some kitchen towels. Then, spray on some cooking oil onto the chicken and rub on your favorite chicken marinade. No prize for guessing what I used. Yes, of course I used Chef Paul Prudhomme's Magic Poultry Marinade :P Once you have seasoned the chicken on both sides, place it onto a deep baking dish. You can see from the picture that I placed the chicken on a rack that I set up inside the baking dish. This is to allow all the fat to drain to the bottom of the pan, so that the chicken doesn't sit in fat, while cooking. If you do not have a rack, you can just place it inside a deep baking dish. It might be a little bit more greasy but it still works.
Set the chicken aside. Now it's time to work on the vegetables. Peel and cut up one large sweet potato into small chunks. Depending on the size of your sweet potato, you might need two.
Then, place it into a big bowl together with some red potatoes (also cut into small chunks) and some fresh mushrooms (half them if they are too big). You can also add in some carrot if you like.
Next, pour in some balsamic vinaigrette followed by some lemon juice. Mix it all in with all the vegetables. You do not need a lot, just enough to coat the vegetables.
Once you have mixed the dressing with the vegetables, sprinkle in some dried thyme and rosemary followed by some freshly cracked black pepper. Give the vegetables another good stir and it's done.
Arrange the vegetables around the sides of the chicken. Then pop it into a preheated 400F oven for about 40 minutes.
After about 40 minutes, take out the chicken from the oven. Baste it with some melted butter. This will help to brown the chicken nicely as well as help make the skin crispy. Return the chicken into the oven for another 20 minutes or so and it should be done! Allow the chicken to rest for about 5-10 minutes before serving. I just love this recipe. It's so easy to make! Just prepare everything in one dish and pop it all into the oven. You should try it out, it's yummy!

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Cinnamon

Sweet potatoes are actually really good for you. Unlike the carbo filled regular potatoes, sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A, B6, C, fiber, manganese, potassium and iron. It is said to also have healing properties as an antioxidant food. That's due to the high beta-carotene and vitamin C content. We are trying to cut off regular potatoes from our diet and replace them with sweet potatoes instead. Of course we still do indulge in the occasion baked potato or fries when we are eating out, but I try to avoid regular potatoes whenever I am cooking at home.

Out of all the sweet potato recipes that I have tried, this is probably one of my favorites. I make this a lot, probably at least once a week. It makes a great side dish as well as a snack. It's really simple to whip up and super yummy to eat. Start off by washing and peeling one large sweet potato. Depending on the size of the potato, you can use two or even three if it's really small.
Next, cut it up into bite size cubes. Try to cut them into a uniformed size, to that it will cook evenly.
Once you are done cutting up the sweet potatoes, place them in a large bowl. Drizzle in some olive oil. If you do not have any olive oil, you can just use regular vegetable oil instead.
Then, sprinkle in some cinnamon. Cinnamon is also another food that has a lot of health benefits. Studies show that cinnamon can lower bad cholesterol, regulate your blood sugar, significantly relief arthritis as well as boosts cognitive function and memory. Mix the cinnamon with the sweet potatoes and oil. Make sure that all of the sweet potato pieces are nicely coated.
At this point, you can choose to add in some brown sugar if you like. If I am making this as a side dish, I would omit adding in the brown sugar. I feel that the natural sweetness of the sweet potato is sufficient. However, if you are making this as a sweet snack, just sprinkle in some brown sugar and mix it with the rest of the ingredients.
Next, place the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet that has been covered with aluminum foil. You can lightly spray on some non stick oil on the foil if you like. This is to prevent the potatoes from sticking to the foil. However, it is not really necessary because the potatoes have already been coated with oil. Pop it into a preheated 375F oven for about half an hour or until the potatoes are tender.
After roasting the potatoes for about half an hour, remove the tray from the oven. Use a fork to test the tenderness of the potatoes. It should just slide all the way in, without any problems. Then we know that the sweet potatoes are done! Let me tell you, our whole apartment smells just like the holidays whenever I make this dish. Such a lovely smell, reminds me of Christmas every time I make it. Not only does it smell great and is simple to make but it taste awesome too! Try it, it's goooood!