Tag: sweet potatoes

Easy Sausage, Potatoes, Peppers and Onions

Published on by Life with Lisa WashingtonLeave a comment

It’s back to school and here’s an easy recipe that will be a go to for you and your family. I love making this for my family because it’s quick, healthy and fills their bellies. When school starts back we all are in the grind of life, adjusting to a new school year schedule. There are footballs practices, ballet rehearsals, music recitals and a thousand other things we have to focus on, so let dinner be one thing, you pour Love into, but not lots of time. But hey it can taste like it. 😉

Note: A short cut here for this recipe is to precooked the potatoes the night before or use frozen potatoes. I prefer to precook fresh potatoes the night before, fresh ingredients really does make a difference. If you do, cook them until they are mostly tender and not mushy. They will cook later in the recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Tablespoons olive oil

4-5 Sweet Italian Turkey sausage links

10 medium red potatoes, cut in half

1 large yellow onion, sliced

3 bell peppers, any color, sliced into strips. I used what was in the fridge.

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 cup Low Sodium Vegetable Broth

1 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Sea salt to taste

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Add the red potatoes to a pot of boiling water, cook until mostly tender, they will cook in the saucepan with the sausage and peppers later. Drain and set aside.

*If you are using precooked potatoes or frozen, skip this step above.

While the potatoes are cooking, Poke each sausage a few times with a paring knife or fork (this helps release steam as they cook).

In a large skillet with a lid, heat olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, add sausages and brown gently and slowly. Cook for 3- 5 minutes, turning occasionally to gently brown on all sides. (They should not be fully cooked.) Once browned, remove sausages to a plate. Set aside.

Increase heat to medium high. Add onion and pepper slices. Toss to coat in oil and sear vegetables until slightly blackened, stirring often. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute.

Add vegetable broth, to deglaze the saucepan, scraping bottom of pan with a wooden spoon to release bits. Simmer the vegetable broth until reduced by half.

Add Italian seasoning. Stir well to combine. Add sausages and the potatoes. Add salt to taste and gently toss. Bring to a simmer then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer until potatoes and peppers are soft and sausages are cooked.

Broccoli and Parmesan Cheese with a twist

This is a simple recipe, but it has a twist. Instead of using water to steam the broccoli you use vegetable broth. It gives the broccoli so much flavor. In a sauce pan add a bit of oil on heat the stove on medium heat . Toss in 2 cups of broccoli florets. Stir the florets around in the pan to help coat them with the oil. Add in a 1/3 cup of low sodium vegetable. Place the lid on top of the pan and allow to steam until the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat and add parmesan cheese on top, place lid back onto the pan to help the cheese melt. Serve immediately. Enjoy

Vegan Sloppy Joes Stuffed in a Sweet Potato

Published on by Life with Lisa WashingtonLeave a comment

Growing up as a kid. I absolutely loved eating sloppy joes. They were one of my all times favorites, but not the healthiest. So what does a girl do when she is taking on a 30 day vegan challenge and craving sloppy joes. No problem, add beans, instead of meat. This recipe has everything in it that I remember about my Mom’s sloppy joes growing up, that sweet, sour and smokiness that made them so good. I addd french lentils to this recipes, but you can add white northern beans or dark kidney beans, if you like. I mushed up some of the lentisl to give texture and left the rest whole. Lentils are high in plant based protein and fiber, so you are not missing any protein and it’s good for you. I hope you will use this recipe in your “Meatless Mondays” or any time of the week.

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FOR THE LENTILS

COOK ACCORDING TO PACKAGE INSTRUCTIONS, BUT YOU WILL NEED A CUP OF LENTILS FOR THIS RECIPE AND I USED

LOW SODIUM VEGETABLE BROTH AND WATER FOR THIS RECIPE, FOR MORE FLAVOR.

FOR THE SLOPPY JOES

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 small white onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced

1/4 cup poblano peppers, diced

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

1 15 oz. can organic tomato sauce

2 Tbsp brown sugar,

2 Tbsp low sodium vegan Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

INSTRUCTIONS:

COOK YOUR LENTILS ACCORDING TO PACKAGE INSTRUCTIONS. I USED HALF VEGETABLE BROTH, INSTEAD OF JUST WATER. Once cooked, rinsed and drained, set aside.

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat your oil. Once heated, add, add oil, onion, garlic, bell peppers and poblano peppers. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and stir to combine.

Sautè for 4-5 minutes,until the peppers and onions are tender and slightly browned. Add in the tomato sauce, brown sugar, worcestershire sauce, chili powder, cumin,garlic and smoked paprika, Stir to incorporate the spices.

Add in the cooked lentill, stir to combine.

Continue cooking the mixture over medium-low heat until completely warmed through and thick, stirring occasionally – about 5-10 minutes.

Taste and adjust flavor as needed.

I added the sloppy joes on a sweet potato with some homemade vegan coleslaw.

Pan Seared and Poached Halibut with sweet peas in a lemon caper broth topped with Sweet Potato Chips

Published on by Life with Lisa WashingtonLeave a comment

Halibut. One of my favorite fish to make. I use to be so intimidated about making fish, until I was on Food Network’s All Star Academy and my mentor, Alex Guarnaschelli had me make Arctic Char for one of the elimination challenges, her  mentoring gave me the confidence to never be scared of fish again. The thing that blew me away the most, was during judging. Adam Richman, Man Finds Food, told me my Arctic Char could be served in a restaurant and he would order it, Yes!!

The key to any ingredient is understanding the ingredient itself. If you have never used a particular ingredient, I would suggest to research it. Ask a chef or someone you know that  is an excellent cook that has used it before, successfully. Cooking is an adventure, so dive in with an open heart.

Now, back to the recipe. I had a few of my fans wanting this recipe, so I hope you guys enjoy it, but make sure, before you get started to Set the Table with Love. Enjoy.

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Pan Seared and Poached Halibut with sweet peas, sweet potato chips in a lemon caper broth

Pan Seared and Poached Halibut:

Ingredients:

4, 5 oz. halibut filets

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon no salt herb garlic seasonings

2 tablespoons of organic butter

1 shallot, finely minced

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup of dry wine

3/4 cup of chicken stock

1 bay leaf

1 tbsp capers

5 springs of thyme

1 tablespoon of cold, unsalted butter

1 cup green peas,  frozen peas thawed out
Instructions:

Place a large lidded skillet over high heat. Once hot, season the filets with the salt, garlic seasoning, then add the unsalted butter and then place the halibut filets in the pan. Sear on one side, without moving, for 3 minutes.
After 3 minutes carefully flip the filets and then move the heat to low. Add the lemon juice, chicken stock, dry wine, shallot, bay leaf, thyme and capers. Place the lid on the pan and cook  on low heat.  Cook for 3-5 minutes, or until halibut is just opaque.The fish will keep cooking so do not over cook it. When desired doneness is reached, pull the skillet off of the heat and remove the halibut from the pan and place the fish on a warm plate and lightly cover with foil. Use braising liquids from the pan to make your broth. Add the cold butter into the liquid and whisk until combined. Keep the broth on low heat add the green peas into the broth and allow to warm through.  Keep the broth warm, on a very low heat.

Sweet Potato Chips

1 medium sweet potato, sliced with a mandolin

sea salt to taste

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees and position oven rack in the center of the oven.
    Rinse and dry your sweet potatoes thoroughly and slice them with a mandolin, or use a knife and slice them as thinly as possible.
  2. Toss slices in a touch of olive oil to lightly coat, then sprinkle with salt.  Lay a piece of parchment paper onto a non stick baking sheet.
  3. Lay out in a single layer on a baking sheet.
  4. Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, then turn the potato slices over, and bake for another 6-7 minutes , watch for the edges, they will start to get darker, pull them before they burn. Remove once crisp and golden brown. Some may feel a little tender in the middle but take them out and let them rest for 10 minutes, so they can crisp up. To assemble this dish, I put the chips on top of the halibut as a garnish with a lemon wedge.

Assemble:

Add broth into a bowl, add halibut in the middle of the bowl and top with sweet potato chips and lemon slice( optional).

Purple Sweet Potato Soup with Maple Coconut Cream

Published on by Life with Lisa WashingtonLeave a comment

I will make this blog, quick and sweet. But don’t get that twisted. The flavor will still be explosive. I will let the recipe do the talking. I have this recipe in an earlier blog, but I used butternut squash and regular sweet potatoes. I  decided with this recipe to use purple sweet potatoes, instead. Boy, I could not wait for this soup to be done, for one reason only,  outside of tasting it, the color. Purple soup! Yes! Purple soup. 

Vegan Purple Sweet Potato Soup

Remember to Set the Table with Love. 

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Vegan Purple Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large sweet purple potato, peeled and small cubes

1/2 cup onions, peeled

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 tsp fennel seeds

1/2 tsp thyme leaves

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

3/4 cup vegetable broth or more for consistency

1 tbsp maple syrup

Sea salt and pepper to taste

Coconut Maple Cream

1/2 cup canned coconut milk, you want the cream part of the milk. Refrigerating the coconut milk will make it more solid.

1 tsp maple syrup

Directions:

In large saucepan on medium heat, add the olive oil.  Add purple sweet potatoes. Stir and cook for 10 minutes or more, until soften. Add onions and garlic. Stir and cook for 3 minutes. Add fennel, thyme and spices. Stir.  Add vegetable broth. Turn up heat and allow to come to a boil. Turn off the heat and remove the pot and allow the soup to cool down, before adding to the Vitamix.

Prepare Coconut Maple Cream.

In a food processor add coconut cream, maple syrup and a pinch of sea salt. Process until smooth.  Do not over process the coconut cream, where it liquifies. You want it to be smooth like a whipped cream.  Place in a bowl and set in the fridge.

Once the soup has cooled down.  Add the soup to your Vitamix or blender. Blend until smooth. Add the tbsp of maple syrup and blend.  If the soup is too thick add a little more vegetable broth. Taste it for seasonings. Add more sea salt or pepper, to taste.

Add the soup back into a sauce pan to heat up. Heat the soup up on medium heat, while constantly stirring. Remove from heat. Serve immediately in your favorite soup bowl. Add the coconut maple cream in the middle of the soup and garnish with thyme leaves.

Food can be healing art ~ Vegan Garam Masala Roasted Sweet Potato Soup

Published on by Life with Lisa WashingtonLeave a comment

I love to eat. I love food. I love flavorful food. I love the smells of different spices. My best friend Tami laughs at how I cook. I take my spices and I smell them each. I can tell by the smells which spice will pair well with the next to bring out the best in the ingredients the will be adorning.

I started to soup out with wanted to make a Thai Sweet Potato soup. I love Thai food but I am very allergic to lemongrass. Yes, I could eliminated the lemongrass, but I wanted something authentic. So I went with Garam Masala. Garam Masala is broken down as this, garam means (“hot”) and masala means (a mixture of spices) is a blend of ground spices common in North Indian and other South Asian cuisines. It is used as an every day season, just as we use season salt, but healthier.  The word garam refers to “heat” in the Ayurvedic, meaning “to heat the body”. These seasonings elevate body temperature. This is one reason why I love Garam Masala, it has healing properties ,because of the spices and herbs to are used to make it.  The seasoning recipe can be different just a bit according to the region. In my recipe I used Simply Organic Garam Masala, which includes cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, black pepper and coriander. You could make your own if you like, but this is a very good one that is just enough spice for me.

This soup was made for one or two servings. It’s Vegan and get’s its creaminess from the coconut milk. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have today for lunch.

Vegan Garam Masala Roasted Sweet Potato Soup
Vegan Garam Masala Roasted Sweet Potato Soup

Vegan Garam Masala Roasted Sweet Potato Soup 

* This is a rough recipe, off the top of my head, LOL. I would suggest adding the vegetable broth and coconut milk a little at a time and blending, if you need more, use more based of your preference of thickness.  Enjoy!! 

1 large sweet potato, peeled and roughly chopped

1 1/2 cup organic vegetable, maybe more if you like it a little thin

1/2 cup creamy coconut milk ( canned ), you want the creamy part of the coconut milk, not the water

1 tbsp. olive oil or coconut oil ( but melted coconut oil)

1 tbsp. organic maple syrup

1 tbsp. garam masala

1/2 – 1  tsp. cayenne pepper, based on your spicy preference. I used 1/2 tsp.

1/2 tsp. sea salt

coconut milk whipped for garnish and a sprig of mint

Vegan Garam Masala Roasted Sweet Potato Soup
Vegan Garam Masala Roasted Sweet Potato Soup

On a cookie sheet place two layers of parchment paper and add the chopped sweet potato. You can add oil and maybe salt, if you like during the cooking process, but I just put my potatoes on the parchment paper and baked on 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes, or until tender.

In a blender, Vitamix or Ninja, add all the ingredients, starting with the potatoes. except the whipped coconut and mint. Blend thoroughly, until all ingredients are smooth. If it’s too thick add more vegetable broth and a little of the coconut milk. Just a little at at time. Blend and add to a pot, warm it up on a medium heat , stir and pour into a bowl.

I added the rest of my coconut milk, some maple syrup and a little sea salt in my Ninja. Blended it all together and you have a nice whipped coconut cream. I drizzled it over my soup making these designs and added a sprig of mint.

Set the Table with Love and Eat Soup! 🙂

Baked Purple Japanese Sweet Potatoes with Ginger spiced Pineapples

Published on by Life with Lisa WashingtonLeave a comment

No dessert. No problem. So I am doing a spiritual cleanse. You know the first thing I crave is something sweet. I make my own sweet treats and they are usually made with organic sugar, maple syrup or honey. Lately maple syrup, because of some disturbing things I heard about bee farms. :(.

So I am super craving something yummy and says, Dessert!!  Desperate times call for desperate measures.

I made these yummy and sweet purple sweet potatoes and added some pineapples on top after they baked with a little ginger, cardamom and cinnamon. They are so delicious. Sweet craving conquered.

Japanese Purple Sweet Potatoes with Ginger Pineapples.
Japanese Purple Sweet Potatoes with Ginger Pineapples.

Baked Purple Japanese Sweet Potatoes

2 small to medium sweet potatoes

1 tsp olive oil, or not

2 sheets of parchment paper

1/2 cup pineapples, diced

1/2 tsp ginger powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cardamom

pinch of sea salt

Heat oven to 400° F. Pierce each sweet potato several times with the tines of a fork. Place the sweet potatoes on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper, drizzle with oil if you like. Bake until tender, about 45 minutes. Make a slit in the top of each sweet potato. In a bowl add the pineapples and the spices together. Add the pineapples in the middle of the slit of each potatoes. I removed parchment paper from the cookie sheet and put the potatoes back onto the cookie sheet  (because the paper will burn under a broiler, so please remove it.)

I drizzled a little coconut oil over the potatoes and put them under the broiler until the tips got a little caramelized, keep an eye on them, because they will burn.  Remove from the broiler and carefully plate. Enjoy your Nature’s Sugar.

Sweet Potato Pecan Cranberry Pancakes ( Gluten and Dairy Free)

Published on by Life with Lisa WashingtonLeave a comment

I love sweet potatoes. They are amazing for your skin and an overall wellbeing. They are packed out with Vitamin A, B6, C, D and also they contain iron, which is important in helping us produce red and white blood cells, keep our immunity going strong and help us to metabolize proteins.  They are also high in carotenoids, like beta carotene, which is the precursor to vitamin A in your body. Carotenoids are powerful antioxidants that can help prevent cancer and protect against the effects of aging.

Hey owning a natural and organic skin care company, that is a plus for me to eat sweet potatoes. lol.

Last night I made my family their favorite, Sweet Potato Soufflé, some people call it Sweet Potato Pound, but mine is so light and fluffy my husband calls it a soufflé.  I did a new spin on my original recipe. I made it Vegan. I did not tell my family until after they ate it. My husband was so surprised and said, “Honey I like this version better.” SCORE!!

My diet is 90% vegetarian, vegan and raw. I am still working on my boys, but little by little they are coming around. They ate almost the whole pot. I went to look in the fridge and noticed there was only about a cup and a half of Sweet Potato Soufflé left, it gave me an idea; Sweet Potato Pecan Cranberry Pancakes for breakfast!

This is a throw together recipe but I think this is what I did to create these yummy Vegan pancakes. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. This will be my second Vegan recipe I will try on my boys next week. LOL.

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SWEET POTATO PECAN CRANBERRY PANCAKES ( GLUTEN FREE, DAIRY FREE)

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First thing First, my recipe for Sweet Potato Soufflé 

6 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into big cubes

3/4 cup almond milk ( unsweetened )

1/2 cup organic coconut oil

1/2 organic honey ( you can use maple syrup, but my son is allergic)

1 tbsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp sea salt

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender, 20 to 30 minutes.
With an electric mixer on low, blend potatoes, slowly adding milk, about 1/2 a cup at a time. Use more or less to achieve desired texture. Add coconut oil and honey or maple syrup to taste. Blend until smooth. Serve warm.

Sweet Potato Pecan Cranberry Pancakes

1 1/2 cup Sweet Potato Soufflé

1 cup organic gluten-free oats ( process a 1/2 cup into flour, put the rest to the side)

1 tbsp organic coconut oil

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup pecans, chopped

pinch of salt, to taste

Directions:

In a large bowl combine the sweet potatoes, floured oats, cranberries, pecans and salt until well incorporated. Add the remaining gluten free oats and stir. This should give the pancakes a nice oat coating. If you need more oats just add a little at a time until you get the desire consistency. In a sauté pan add the coconut oil to a medium heat. Shape the mixture into the desired size of pancakes you would like. Add to the oil and cook until golden brown on each side. Mines took about 2-3 minutes on each side. Plate and drizzle with a little honey or maple syrup.

Enjoy and Remember no matter what your table looks like Set it with Love.

Atlanta and Company today/Sweet Potato and Apple Hashbrown

Published on by Life with Lisa Washington1 Comment

One of my favorite recipes from my new cookbook Set the Table with Love. Check it out Set the Table with Love

What an awesome time on Atlanta and Company today. I enjoyed my demo and interview with Christine Pullara. We did this recipe. Check it out.

Click on the link below and watch the video. 🙂

Sweet Potato and Apple Hash brown  Live Demo and Interview

1 extra-large sweet potato [peeled and shredded] 1 medium gala apple ( peeled and shredded) 1/2 tbsp ginger (peeled and shredded)
1 1/2 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 c. gluten-free flour
1/4 tsp. ginger powder
1/4 tsp. of cinnamon
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
2 tbsp. coconut oil for frying

1. Wash and peel sweet potato and apple, then shred them. Using a colander, rinse the sweet potatoes until the water runs mostly clear. Squeeze the rinsed potatoes to remove excess water and empty them into a medium bowl with the shredded apples and ginger.
2. Add flour and all the spices to the vegetables and ginger, mix everything well.
3. Add 2 tablespoons of coconut oil to a cast iron skillet or regular skillet and heat on medium-high. Test the pan by tossing in a couple of sweet potato shreds — if it crackles, the pan is ready. Use a 1⁄4 cup to measure the hash brown mixture into the pan and then use a spatula to flatten them out into a nice circle.
4. Cook for 3 minutes, then flip and cook for 2 more, you may need to adjust time based on your stove. When golden brown they are ready.
5.Remove them from the skillet and allow them to cool for a few minutes on a paper towel-lined plate.

Makes 6-8 small hash-browns

 

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Sweet Potato Balls with a little Thai Indian twist

Published on by Life with Lisa WashingtonLeave a comment

This recipe came out of the fact I had some sweet potatoes leftover from dinner last night. I thought about making my Gluten free sweet potato biscuits but wanted to do something different.

These Sweet Potato Balls are Gluten free and diary free. I love the ginger bite they have and they are not too sweet.  I made a Cinnamon Cardamom and Ginger sugar to dip them in, super yummy!!  Enjoy !

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Ingredients

1 1/2 cup  organic ( already cooked) sweet potato
1/4  cup potato starch
3/4 cup sweet white rice flour ( Bob’s Mills gluten-free flour is awesome!)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 tsp sea salt
3-4 cups coconut or canola oil

Directions

Mash sweet potatoes in a large bowl with a potato masher. If you are using leftover sweet potatoes go to the next step. If you are cooking them for this recipe, allow them to cool.

Add the remaining  ingredients and mix them together well until it forms a dough like shape.

On a counter sprinkle a little Sweet white flour and add the dough onto the flour.  Gently with your hands form it into a smooth ball.  Pull  small amounts of dough from your smooth ball and create smaller balls.

Heat vegetable oil in a deep-frying pan on medium to low heat.

Deep fry sweet potato balls in oil until golden brown, about 2 minutes depending on your stove. Stir the balls occasionally, because they will try to stick.

Drain on paper towels.

Cinnamon, Cardamom, Ginger Sugar

This mixture has a little kick to it.

Brown Paper Bag

1 1/2  cup organic sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 1/2  tsp cardamom

1 1/2  tsp ginger

Add the balls into the bag of sugar mix and shake well. You can also sprinkle the remaining sugar mixture on the balls after placing on a serving platter.

 

 

 

 

Veggie Soup international

Published on by Life with Lisa WashingtonLeave a comment

I am doing a little fall detox. I like to use soup and broths during these times, so today I made a veggie soup but pulled from some international favorites. This soup is loaded with nutrition and flavor. The ingredients I used are packed with vitamin C, antioxidants, beta-carotene, zinc, iron and many more. But the one think I am blown away with is this root veggie, Daikon.

Daikon is a Japanese radish that is eaten raw, shredded, stir fried, and even juiced. But the healing benefits is what got my attention. Daikon has the ability to help remove excess fat and protein from the body when you mix grated daikon with a small amount of soy sauce. Also a tea is made with daikon, shitake mushrooms and seaweed (kombu) this tea is known to lower fever and fight infection.

But the coolest thing about this radish is the fact that there are enzymes found in daikon which has the ability to slow down the production of nitrosamine, a carcinogen found in the chemicals of many processed foods. Nitrosamine attacks our gut, but daikon is used to combat nitrosamine’s effects.

So next time you are shopping look for this little healing radish. Remember to set the table with love.

 

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