Tag: sweet potatoes

‘Andouille’ yourself a favor and try this recipe

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date March 11, 2021

Roasted vegetables along with andouille sausage combines fresh and spicy flavors. Paired with a side of asparagus, it's the perfect summer meal.

I’m sure no one actually notices, but I’m sometimes worried I have a weird reputation for wandering all over the aisles of my local grocery store.

I always start with the good intentions of going aisle by aisle until I cover the whole store, my list complete and my cart full. But it rarely works out that way.

This past week, I was trying to decide what to make for dinner. I’d already visited the produce section and was checking out my protein options, when a package of andouille sausage caught my eye.

I pulled out my phone and searched for a recipe I could use, landing on a one-pan meal that combined sausage with fresh vegetables.

I headed back to the produce aisle, struggling to unknot the plastic bag I already had in my cart to add another onion and tossing a sweet potato and Brussels sprouts in, too.

And that got me to the recipe I’m sharing with you today. It has tons of flavor, looks pretty on the plate and is super easy to clean up.

This comes from the recipe blog “Diethood.” You can find the original recipe at https://diethood.com/andouille-sausage-vegetables-dinner/. I added extra seasonings in my version.

One-Pan Andouille Sausage, Sweet Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts

Roasted vegetables along with andouille sausage combines fresh and spicy flavors. Paired with a side of asparagus, it's the perfect summer meal.

Course Main Course

Keyword Andouille sausage, Brussels sprouts, one-pan, onion, sweet potato

Ingredients

12 to 14 ounces rope andouille sausage sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
1 pound Brussels sprouts cut into about one-inch pieces
1 medium-sized sweet potato diced into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large yellow onion cut into wedges
3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a large, rimmed sheet pan by lining it with aluminum foil.
Add the sausage, Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes and onion to the pan, and drizzle them with the olive oil. Sprinkle the seasonings over the sausage and vegetables and then stir to evenly coat them in oil and seasonings.
Spread the sausage and vegetables evenly on the sheet, and bake for 27 to 30 minutes, stirring halfway through and removing the sheet when the vegetables reach your desired tenderness. Serve immediately.

This was a fantastic meal. I also bought some fresh asparagus, so I roasted that, too, to go along, and it was so good.

(For the asparagus, line another rimmed sheet with foil, place the asparagus on the pan, drizzle with a couple tablespoons of olive oil along with salt and pepper to taste. Mix to coat the asparagus, and then sprinkle on about six to eight tablespoons of minced garlic and dot the top with about two tablespoons of butter. Bake in the 400-degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until it’s done.)

I don’t know if anyone noticed me zig-zagging my way through the grocery store, and honestly, it doesn’t really bother me too much if they did.

Sometimes, you have to let the ingredients speak to you—no matter what aisle you’re in.

This piece first appeared in print on March 11, 2021.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Tags Andouille sausage, Brussels sprouts, one-pan, onion, sweet potatoes

Side Dish

How ‘yam’ I still surprised at this point?

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date December 17, 2020

Garlic parmesan roasted sweet potatoes are perfect for those who are tired of marshmallow-covered sweet potato side dishes.

I managed to hit the local grocery store at just the right time a few nights ago to score a couple huge steaks on a great sale.

I was pumped about my luck, and I decided to grab a few sweet potatoes for a side dish to go along with them for a killer meal.

When I got home, I proudly presented my purchase to Joey, who immediately looked at the sweet potatoes on the counter and said, “Oh! Are you going to make those savory sweet potatoes again?”

So, yes, in the short time since I discovered the recipe I am sharing with you this week, I have already made this twice, and since there are still two more sweet potatoes in my kitchen, I have a feeling I will be producing this a third time in the very near future—not that I’m complaining.

I have always been a huge fan of sweet potatoes in any form, and Joey likes them but tends to hate how much sugar gets dumped in for a lot of side dishes. This recipe, then, was right up his alley.

The recipe I tried, by Christina Cherrier, comes from the site “Eat Well 101.” You can find the original post at https://www.eatwell101.com/garlic-parmesan-roasted-sweet-potato-recipe. I added extra garlic and herbs, as well as more parmesan, in my version below.

Garlic Parmesan Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Garlic parmesan roasted sweet potatoes are perfect for those who are tired of marshmallow-covered sweet potato side dishes.

Course Side Dish

Keyword basil, garlic, oregano, parmesan, parsley, sweet potato, thyme

Ingredients

2 sweet potatoes peeled and sliced thinly
4 to 6 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter melted
1/4 to 1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated or shredded
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon thyme

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and prepare about an eight-inch baking dish (preferably one with a lid or you can cover it with aluminum foil) by spraying it with cooking spray.
Add all of the ingredients (leave out a bit of parmesan to sprinkle over the top of the dish) to the bag, and shake to coat the potatoes as evenly as possible.
Arrange the slices so they just slightly overlap in a spiral pattern in your baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining parmesan cheese over the top.
Bake, covered, for 30 minutes, checking every 5 minutes after that to see if your potatoes are fork tender.
When they are done, remove from the oven and serve.

Remember that the thicker your potato slices, the longer they will take to bake. Mine ended up being done at about the 40-minute mark.

These are absolutely delicious and a nice departure from a lot of the traditional ways sweet potatoes are served. They have a ton of flavor, and they also reheat really nicely.

With our leftovers, I added in some crumbled sausage and a couple runny eggs for a delicious breakfast.

Eventually, Joey did acknowledge that I got a great deal on my steaks for dinner, and he was pretty excited about them, as well. But if I had to make a wager, I know what he would claim as his favorite part of the meal.

Well, at least he likes his veggies.

This piece first appeared in print on Dec. 17, 2020.

Tags basil, garlic, oregano, parmesan, parsley, sweet potatoes, thyme

Dessert Side Dish

Candied pecan casserole makes for sweet memories

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date December 3, 2020

The only thing missing from this candied pecan sweet potato casserole to turn it fully into a dessert is a graham cracker crust.

For the last few years, some dear friends of ours invited us over for “Friendsgiving” at their home around Thanksgiving time.

It’s always been a great time to get to know new folks and share in a huge potluck meal.

Of course, this year, that meal couldn’t happen, but instead, Joey and I might have begun a new Thanksgiving weekend tradition. I call it “Strunksgiving.”

Adam Strunk and his fiancee, Sam, have been a part of our “COVID bubble” over the past few months, as we’ve been careful to maintain very little contact with folks. During the summer, Adam and Joey spent several weekends hanging outside, smoking a variety of meats, and when Thanksgiving rolled around, they decided to try a turkey.

That idea ballooned into all of us adding side dish after side dish to the menu, ending up with enough food to feed an army. As I often do to my friends, I made Adam and Sam into my guinea pigs and decided to try some new recipes, one of which was a sweet potato casserole that may as well have been on the dessert table.

The recipe I tried comes from the blog “Creme de la Crumb.” You can find the original at https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/candied-pecan-sweet-potato-casserole. (I doubled the vanilla in my version below.)

Candied Pecan Sweet Potato Casserole

The only thing missing from this candied pecan sweet potato casserole to turn it fully into a dessert is a graham cracker crust.

Course Dessert, Side Dish

Keyword brown sugar, marshmallows, pecans, sweet potato casserole, sweet potatoes

Ingredients

Base Ingredients

5 pounds sweet potatoes peeled and cubed
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup butter melted
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup milk

Topping Ingredients

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup butter melted
1 cup pecans chopped
3 cups mini marshmallows

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, and set it aside.
Place the cubed sweet potatoes into a stock pot and just cover them with water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 12 to 15 minutes or until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.
Drain the potatoes and dump them back into your stock pot.
Mash them, and then stir in the eggs, vanilla, melted butter, brown sugar, salt and milk until everything is well combined.
Spread the potato mixture evenly into your prepared dish.
In a small bowl, create the topping by combining the brown sugar, flour, melted butter and pecans. Stir until they’re well combined and sprinkle the mixture over top of the potatoes.
Bake uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, until the topping is caramelized a bit.
Remove from the oven and spread the marshmallows over the top. Bake for another five minutes. (If your marshmallows aren’t as browned as you like after five minutes, flip your oven over to the low broil setting and let the casserole cook under the broiler for a couple more minutes.)
Serve hot.

If you enjoy sugary sweet potatoes, this is the dish for you. The brown sugar and marshmallows contribute their traditional sweetness, while the pecans offer up a nice, extra crunch to take it all over the top. I actually halved this recipe and made it in an 8-inch dish, and it was a great amount for us.

It got two thumbs up from the tiny assembly.

We had a wonderful time with just the four of us, with great conversation and way too much overeating, but we decided before the pie was served that we were definitely making a regular tradition of sharing a meal together. It looks like “Strunksgiving” is here to stay.

This piece first appeared in print on Dec. 3, 2020.

Tags brown sugar, marshmallows, pecans, sweet potato casserole, sweet potatoes, Thanksgiving

Side Dish

You’ll be sweet on these roasted potatoes

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date December 19, 2019

Roasted sweet potatoes have just the right amount of sweetness to be a nice addition to dinner.

Despite it being the week before Christmas, I have yet to make my normal pile of sweets.

I generally bake at least a double batch of peppernuts, and there’s often something that requires melting almond bark in my double boiler and spreading waxed paper on every open counter space.

I actually have a variety of baking chips and some nuts already sitting out, ready to be mixed into some delicious treats, but I just haven’t gotten into my Christmas baking spirit yet.

But I did have some nice sweet potatoes sitting on my counter that I decided needed to be part of dinner this past week, which I suppose loosely counts as holiday cooking.

I wanted to make them as a side dish, and while I was a little nervous that the brown sugar in the recipe I chose would produce something more dessert-like, I was pleasantly surprised. It had just enough sweetness to highlight the flavor of the potatoes but not enough to make you feel like adding some whipped cream on top.

I found this recipe on the blog “Wine and Glue.” It’s by Lisa Longley. You can find it at https://www.wineandglue.com/brown-sugar-roasted-sweet-potatoes. This was such a simple, straight-forward recipe that I didn’t change it from her original. Also, don’t let the cayenne pepper make you nervous, it just enhances the flavors rather than making the overall dish spicy.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Roasted sweet potatoes have just the right amount of sweetness to be a nice addition to dinner.

Course Side Dish

Keyword brown sugar, cayenne, cinnamon, roasted, sweet potatoes

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter or margarine melted
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt to taste
2 large sweet potatoes peeled and cut in half-inch cubes

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450 and line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy cleanup.
Dump the cubed potatoes and all the ingredients onto the pan and mix together with a spoon or your hands until the potatoes are evenly coated.
Spread the potatoes out evenly and bake about 20 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the potatoes are fork tender.

The caramelization on these sweet potatoes was really pretty, and while I rarely peel any kind of potatoes for recipes, I think that was a good step in this case.

We ate these alongside some perfectly cooked steaks, and it was a fantastic dinner. There were also leftovers that reheated well out of the fridge for a later meal.

I’m sure I’ll find myself mixing up plenty of sugar-filled treats sometime in the next few days, filling my plastic containers with all kinds of goodies to share.

The smell of anise, cloves and cinnamon filling the house is one of my favorite parts of the holidays. I wish you luck with your own holiday baking (and eating) and a very, merry Christmas.

This piece first appeared in print on Dec. 19, 2019.

Tags brown sugar, cayenne, Christmas, cinnamon, roasted, sweet potatoes

Side Dish

Sometimes speed is what cooking is all a’sprout’

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date November 28, 2019

Caramelized sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts are a flavorful and colorful side dish.

I recently found myself going on a whirlwind trip through the grocery store, quickly grabbing something to make for dinner on my way home from work.

Joey and I were all geared up to watch a basketball game, and I (of course) ended up getting caught in the office far later than I wanted. And (of course) I’d already volunteered to be the chef for the night.

I started in the meat section and found some amazing, thick pork chops, and then I hurried over to the produce area to try to come up with a side dish.

I normally avoid already prepared vegetables—mostly because I’m cheap, but I took a look anyway since I was in a hurry. I found a marked-down bag of already-washed Brussels sprouts and already-cubed sweet potatoes.

I pulled out my phone and quickly searched online for a “Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes” side dish and was thankful that the Internet is always at my fingertips, making it easy for me to know that a recipe was readily available when I got home.

The one I found came from the website “My Recipes” and was written by Robert Wiedmaier. You can find it at https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/caramelized-sweet-potatoes-brussels-sprouts. I added more garlic and changed up the instructions a bit.

Caramelized Sweet Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts

Caramelized sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts are a flavorful and colorful side dish.

Course Side Dish

Keyword Brussels sprouts, garlic, sweet potatoes

Ingredients

2 sweet potatoes peeled and diced
1 pound Brussels sprouts halved
6-8 cloves garlic minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons melted butter
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean up.
Combine all the ingredients on the baking sheet and mix with your hands to fully coat the vegetables in oil, butter and seasonings. Spread the vegetables out into as much of a single layer as you can.
Place in the oven for 25 minutes (or until they reach your preferred level of tenderness), stirring the vegetables halfway through.
Serve right away.

My vegetables ended up staying in the oven for about 10 minutes longer than the listed time, just because I tend to really like tender sprouts, but it was such an easy side dish to just toss in the oven while I was cooking my pork chops.

The original recipe calls for spreading them out on two rimmed sheets, which would probably make the cooking go a bit more quickly, but they weren’t very crowded on my single pan, so I didn’t bother with a second.

And I did end up not getting to see a bit of the first half of basketball while I was in the kitchen, but thanks to some quick, prepared veggies, I didn’t have to miss much, our guys sealed the victory, and we had a great dinner.

I’d call that a win.

This piece first appeared in print on Nov. 28, 2019.

Tags Brussels sprouts, garlic, sweet potatoes

Main Dish

‘Curry’ up and eat your veggies this summer

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date June 6, 2019

Eggplant sweet potato curry is a gorgeous dish and a flavorful way to enjoy your veggies.

Most of the time, I pick out a recipe based on what I already have in my fridge or pantry, but every once in awhile, I see something that looks so good that I end up going on a scavenger hunt in my local grocery store, seeking out some new ingredients to add to my arsenal.

This week, I was looking for something vegetarian and landed on this gorgeous curry recipe I found online.

The only ingredient that stumped me a bit was Harissa sauce, but after a bit of investigating, I found a simmering sauce that was a Harissa-based sauce, so I decided to grab it for my recipe. If you’re like me and have never heard of Harissa sauce before, it’s a pepper-based sauce that is generally spicy, although the one I found was decently mild. If you can’t find it in your local store, you could replace it with another pepper-based sauce like sriracha or tabasco.

I used a recipe from the blog “Vibrant Plate.” You can find the original post at https://www.vibrantplate.com/eggplant-sweet-potato-curry-vegan-gluten-free/. I increased the garlic and switched the directions a bit based on what was easiest for me.

Eggplant Sweet Potato Curry

Eggplant sweet potato curry is a gorgeous dish and a flavorful way to enjoy your veggies.

Course Main Course

Keyword curry, eggplant, rice, sweet potato

Ingredients

1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
1 medium-sized yellow onion minced
4-6 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 rounded teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 eggplant
2 medium-sized sweet potatoes
13.5 ounces unsweetened coconut milk I used the light kind
3 teaspoons Harissa sauce
salt to taste
1 cup uncooked long-grain rice

Instructions

Prepare the eggplant and sweet potatoes by cubing each into about 1/2-inch cubes. There’s no need to peel the eggplant, but do peel the sweet potatoes.
Heat the oil over medium heat in a deep pan with a lid or Dutch oven and add the onion. Saute until the onions are soft and add the garlic and saute for a couple minutes until it just starts to smell really good.
Add the cumin, turmeric, and cayenne pepper and stir. Let it cook in the pan for about two minutes to roast the spices a bit.
Add in the eggplant, sweet potatoes, coconut milk and Harissa sauce and stir well.
Put the lid onto the pan and let the mixture simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir again and test the doneness of the sweet potatoes. Keep simmering with the lid on, checking periodically, until the sweet potatoes are fork tender.
While the curry is simmering, cook the rice according to package instructions.
Once the sweet potatoes are done, add salt to taste and serve the curry over top of the rice.

This makes for fantastic leftovers, and the recipe author noted in the post that it freezes well, although our batch didn’t last long enough to find out.

It also didn’t end up being overly spicy. I think I might add a bit more Harissa next time I make it to hopefully increase the spice level a bit, and for those who are looking to incorporate more vegetables without sacrificing flavor, I highly recommend giving this a try.

Plus, it could give you a tour of some new shelves at the grocery store. Who knows what else you might find?

This piece first appeared in print on June 6, 2019.

Tags curry, eggplant, rice, sweet potatoes

Main Dish Soup

Warm soup goes beyond the ‘kale’ of duty

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date February 28, 2019

Autumn rice soup is a nice meal for a cold day.

I started following a few folks on Instagram who post beautiful food pictures regularly.

One is Karin Pfeiff Boschek, who does some of the most spectacular pie crusts I have ever seen. Another is food stylist Judy Kim, who not only posts many of her gorgeous food photos but often chronicles the behind-the-scenes set up for her photography sessions.

I continue to try to improve my food photography, despite terrible lighting in my kitchen and my propensity to bake late into the evening, but sometimes, even though the photo of the recipe I try looks extremely appetizing online, mine just doesn’t turn out the same.

This week’s recipe was one of those. Truth be told, it was definitely my fault. The recipe calls for wild rice rather than the normal, long-grain variety, but as we all know, sometimes the local grocery store just doesn’t carry whatever specialized ingredient you’re looking for, so you have to improvise.

What I did not consider was that my cooking time would need to be adjusted and that the colorful soup photo I saw online would not be quite as pretty with only white rice.

With that in mind, I still really liked my end result—even if it wasn’t a picture-perfect soup—and I adjusted the cooking time below to reflect what I wish I would have done.

This recipe comes from the blog “Gimme Some Oven.” You can find it at https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/cozy-autumn-wild-rice-soup/, where the recipe author also posted instructions to make this soup in a pressure cooker. I added extra seasoning and garlic to my version. I also opted for using regular rice instead of wild rice.

Autumn Rice Soup

Autumn rice soup is a nice meal for a cold day.

Course Main Course, Soup

Keyword kale, rice

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter divided
1 small white onion diced
2 medium-sized carrots diced
2 ribs celery diced
1 pound sweet potato peeled and diced
8 ounces sliced baby bella mushrooms
8 cloves garlic minced
6 cups vegetable stock
1 cup uncooked rice
1 bay leaf
2 heaping tablespoons Old Bay seasoning
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups milk I used skim
about 3 cups loosely packed kale chopped into bite-sized pieces and the stems removed
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

In a large Dutch oven with a lid, heat one tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat.
Saute the onion until it is translucent. Add in the carrots, celery, sweet potato, mushrooms and garlic, and stir regularly, letting them cook for about 5 minutes.
Add the stock, rice, bay leaf and Old Bay and stir to combine, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pot a bit to loosen any stuck-on bits.
Keep the pot on medium-high heat until it just starts to slowly bubble. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes and give it a good stir and check the rice’s doneness. If it’s not quite how you want it, continue to let the pot simmer, covered, checking on it every five minutes or so until the rice is where you want it.
While the rice is cooking, melt the remaining three tablespoons of butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour and let it cook for about one minute. Whisk in the milk and stir frequently, making sure to break up any clumps and letting the mixture thicken significantly.
When the rice is done and the cream sauce is thickened, add the sauce and kale to the Dutch oven and stir to combine.
Add salt and pepper to taste and serve when it is heated through.

If you decide to use wild rice for your version, the original recipe calls for a 45-minute simmer time. I tried that with my long-grain rice, and while the flavors were still nice, the rice was pretty mushy, and I didn’t end up with the amount of liquid in my soup that I should have had at the end.

This wasn’t one of Joey’s favorites. The kale stays quite crisp, despite being added to the hot soup, and he was not a big fan of the texture. If you’re not a kale enthusiast, you could easily add fresh spinach instead.

And be prepared that your soup might not photograph as nicely as you want. I don’t think my concoction would have a chance of appearing on Karin or Judy’s Instagram feeds, but it was nice to have a warm bowl of soup on a cold day—pretty or not.

This piece first appeared in print on Feb. 28, 2019.

Tags kale, mushrooms, rice, sweet potatoes