Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Sweet Potato Gnocchi 

So I got a wild hair and decided to make homemade Gnocchi.I followed the recipe I found here: http://www.vanillagarlic.com/2009/10/scratch-another-new-years-resolution.html 

BUT I changed the recipe a bit.  I omitted the russet potatoes completely, along with the maple syrup.  Really I was looking for a basic recipe, and had a difficult time finding one.

 His basic recipe is grand and I really followed it

Roll it out, chop into uniform pieces and boil for a few minutes                                                    (over boiling will result in TOUGH Gnocchi.  I promise. It's not good. Really.)

My modified version:

To be completely honest, I microwaved the sweet potatoes (about 4 minutes for the first, add 1 minute for each extra potato) Check for doneness when you take them out.

Mash the hell out of the potatoes. (after you remove the skin) 

Then add all of the other ingredients to the bowl.

Knead the dough until ingredients are mixed. (don't go crazy)

Flour your counter (or "surface") take a hunk of dough roll it into a snake shape (as pictured above) I placed my cut Gnocchi on a cookie sheet as I cut them.  For no reason, quite frankly.

2 pounds of unpeeled sweet potatoes

2 cups of all-purpose flour

1 egg

1/4 cup cottage cheese

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

Boil water, add gnocchi, when it rises to the top, turn off the stove, and grab a utensil to extract from the water.

If you boil these too long, man, they are tough!  

We topped them with Parmesan Cheese, and sauce for the boys, I added Shredded chicken, cilantro, and just a bit of sauce for me.

Enjoy!

Half HamBurger / Half VegBurger

 Be Sneaky!

I was craving a black bean burger, but there is NO way my husband and kids would go for that.

At first I thought I'd sneak in some finely chopped veggies.  Then it became a full on Veggie Burger Invasion.

I chopped up some mini peppers (orange, yellow and red)
Then I added 2 tablespoons of Taco Seasoning.
I used the food processor to chop up half a can of black beans (after I rinsed them)

add it all to half a pound of super lean ground beef.
make into sliders.
Cook in olive oil over medium high heat until crisp (see above)

Then ~ oh then ~ 

wrap them up in a nice little package of Crescent Rolls.

It's such a nice package.

**It is so exciting when a recipe is perfection.**

Bake according to the crescent roll package.

Enjoy a tasty tasty treat. Everyone in my family gobbled these down!

Recipe

1/2 Pound Ground Beef

1/2 Can black beans (rinsed)

3-4 mini peppers

2 tbsp taco seasoning

use food processor to mince peppers, move to bowl, add seasoning. use food processor again for black beans - 2-3 pulses only. Mix with ground beef and peppers and form into palm size or slider size burgers pinch centers to prevent puffing.

2 tablespoons olive oil for cooking burgers

cook burgers 2 - 3 minutes on each side until slightly crisp.  Try one, but stop at one!  :)

1 can of Crescent Rolls

Wrap cooked burgers in crescent rolls in desired shape.  Bake according to package directions.

Serve.  

Have for breakfast the next day.

Then for lunch.

Then wish you had made many many more.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

Sweet Potato Pancakes - ways to use sweet potatoes

Put a medium sweet potato in the microwave 4 minutes (or until soft)

Get the rest ready while it cooks then cools a bit

Dry Ingredients

1 Cup flour (any kind, whole wheat, all purpose, pastry)

1/2 cup quick oats

4 tbsp Flaxseed meal

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp cardamon (or cinnamon)

couple dashes cloves

couple dashes nutmeg

1 tbsp sugar (yes that is all you need)

Whisk together

Wet Ingredients

1 1/2 cup skim milk

1 egg (large or 2 small)

about 2 tsp vanilla

Whisk together

Pour into dry ingredients

combine until all wet then STOP - if you mix too much you'll have tough pancakes

Mash sweet potato with about 1/4 cup milk (want it slightly damp) Mash it good.

Dump into pancake mix (which has now had time to activate all the baking soda/powder) mix in

use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to pour pancakes on to 350 degree griddle or cook on stove top on a flat ish pan.

2 - 3 minutes per side. (when the bubbles are immense and the edges look dryish FLIP!)

drizzle a little teensy bit of syrup  on top and enjoy one of the healthiest breakfasts you can.

Flaxseed meal REPLACES oil - adds fiber and a bag will last forever - sugar is not necessary because you'll be putting syrup in top

Freeze them or refrigerate 

You're getting protein, fiber, omegas, beta carateen, etc..

My kids love these and also enjoy helping me make them.

Best chicken nuggets

Home made chicken nuggets using what you have. (I call them "who needs McDonald's")

This batch we tried Doritos, Cheerios, and gold fish (military style red, white & blue)

First slice your chicken into 1x1" squares, dredge in flour (we use kings)

After dredge in a milk/egg mix (about 1 cup skim & 2 eggs, I also added about 2tbsp honey)

I filled 3 sandwich zip top bags about 3/4 full with each flavor and crushed with back of large spoon.

About 4 pieces of the chicken fit into each bag at a time, shake (like shake and bake) then put in medium heat pan with canola (or your favorite oil) oil 1/2" deep

Tonight they cooked about 2 1/2 minutes per side, check temp or slice one open for doneness.

Top row is goldfish cracker, center is Cheerios and bottom is Doritos.

We've used honey nut Cheerios in the past and they are super delish, tonight was plain Cheerios and it came out sort of bland. These are the results of only 2 chicken breasts!! Seriously cheap meal, and everyone is happy because they choose their own flavor.

Here is what you'll need:

1 deep pan

1 cup skim milk

2 eggs

(Optional) honey 

1/2-1 cup dry cereal, chips, or other crushable food. *per bag* the more daring the choice, the more exciting the outcome.

1 1/2 cups flour (white, whole wheat etc)

2 large shallow bowls

3 sandwich sized zip top bags.

Serving fork for turning chicken in pan

Whisk for blending wet ingredients

Turn the pan on to warm it while you crush the dry ingredients in the bags. Then add oil just before you're ready to place chicken in.

Total prep / cook time for me was 1/2 hour, add 10-15 minutes your first try.

Kids will LOVE & even ask to help crush, be aware it may cause a huge mess. Supervise to ensure bags don't break, but do let them help!