Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Chips

Life after spring time change has been pretty neat. Madi is loving the extra sunlight and I'm loving that I can take her on a long walk or run after I get home from work around 5:30pm. The other day I caught Madi and Lily cuddling and playing together on the roof of the pump house. They're two peas in a pod.

I posted a picture of these sweet potato chips when I blogged the recipe for stuffed portabellas. These things are super easy and quick. The one kitchen gadget that makes these things a total breeze is a mandoline. You could do without the fancy tool by slicing the potatoes by hand very thinly or by using the slicing side of a stand up cheese grater. Some food processors have an attachment that does this same thing as well.

Once the sweet potatoes are sliced (I didn't even peel mine, but you are more than welcome to peel yours if you think the potato skin in gross), they just need some oil, salt, and a hot oven.

Cook them until they're crispy on the edges. I left these guys in juuustttt a little too long and a few got burned, but I just threw those ones out.

 

Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Chips Recipe:
- 2-3 large sweet potatoes, washed
- 2 tbsp olive or canola oil
- 1 tsp sea salt

Directions:
- Slice the potatoes using one of the methods listed above.
- Toss the slices with oil and salt.

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Place potato slices on a parchment lined baking sheet (parchment really works the best for this, foil or plain oil will likely leave you with chips stuck to the pan).
- Bake for 10-15 minutes, watch closely for the edges of the chips to get crispy!

These chips would be awesome served with a sour cream curry dip (sour cream, curry powder, pinch of salt). Try it out and let me know how it tastes!

Mud Room Remodel

Well hello, friends! It's been a while. We've been suffering through the winter months over here. Luckily, March has arrived and this week we're several 60+ degree days. I'm sure we'll see a little more snow and some cold days, but the end is near! Jacob and I did manage to sneak off to Florida last week for a 48 hour adventure to pick up a car that my parents had bought. We had a blast and savored every moment of sunshine we had. 

Other than our short trip down south, we've been eating good food (as always), and working on the house.

The old mud room had wood floors and large cabinets. The wood floors were very old, and while they had a very "antique" look, they were falling apart. The cabinets had some charm, but they were also very old and oddly designed. Here are a few of the "before" pictures. This was while we were tearing down the cabinets and getting the room prepped for tile.

We spent my birthday weekend laying tile. It was a party with Jacob's parents and my parents both helping at some point over the long weekend.

Several weeks later, we got some storage units form Ikea and moved everything back into the room. It was a long process, but we are so happy with how it looks!

Madi likes her new space.

Until next time!

Tempeh and Quinoa Stuffed Portabellas

It's been cold 'round these parts. Really cold. This morning, the pipe coming out of our well froze, and Jacob's diesel engine wouldn't run because it was around -12 at our house. Winter is not easy, but we still eat well despite the frigid temps. In fact, since it's dark so early, eating a nice dinner at home is one of the few things that is truly exciting during this time of year. That, and keeping up with the latest episodes of some of our favorite Netflix originals. Orange is the New Black? House of Cards? When are the second seasons coming out??

So, we're tired of the cold. But, this recipe helped us to cope, and maybe it will help you too.

Quinoa is one of those things that just adds texture and some awesome nutrients to just about anything. I like it by itself, as a pudding, in a soup, or made into burgers. This time around is served as the base for the stuffed mushrooms. I cooked 3/4 cup dry (yields around 1.5 cups cooked). I always rinse the quinoa (a flour sifter works well for this since the quinoa will most likely fall through the cracks of a normal strainer). It takes any bit of bitterness away.

Other stuffing ingredients ready to be prepped.

I like to get the pan/oil nice and hot before I add the tempeh to it. That way it gets crispy on the outside.

Tempeh takes on whatever flavor you season it with. A favorite of ours is soy sauce. It's easy and give the tempeh an awesome taste!

Post soy sauce and veggie additions. See that nice browning action going on there? That's what makes it tasty!

The portabellas were wiped with a damp paper towel to remove any dirt. Then, the stems were trimmed, they were seasoned with salt and pepper, and each got a couple of small pats of butter.

Feta and Cheddar. The feta for the filling, the cheddar to go on top of the mushrooms before they go in the oven.

 All the filling ingredients in a bowl! If you have any leftovers, this goes great by itself as a cold salad or on top of a big bed of greens. Yum!

Mushrooms have been over stuffed and topped with cheddar - ready for baking.

And the final product...

Along side some sweet potato chips (home made - coming soon to the blog!) and steamed broccoli. This meal was a big hit.

Tempeh and Quinoa Stuffed Portabellas Recipe:
Yields two large stuffed portabellas (two main courses or 4 side dishes when cut in half)
- Two large portabella caps, cleaned with a damp paper towel
- 3/4 cup dry quinoa cooked according to package directions (1.5 cups cooked)
- 1 package tempeh, diced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 roma tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1 tbsp butter
- Salt/Pepper to taste

Directions:
- Once the portabella caps are cleaned, cut off the stem so the inside of the cap has more room for stuffing.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Place the caps in a baking dish and season with salt and pepper and 1/2 tbsp butter (see picture for reference)
- Saute' the tempeh, onion, celery, and carrot in the olive oil over medium/high heat.
- Once the tempeh starts to brown (5 minutes), add soy sauce and cook an addition 2-3 minutes until veggies are tender.
- Mix the tempeh/veggie mixture with the cooked quinoa.
- Add diced tomatoes and feta. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Pile the stuffing into the portabella caps. Top with shredded cheddar cheese.
- Bake the stuffed caps at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is golden and the caps are tender.