Super Sweet Potato Streusel

I’m sure you’ve been wondering about my fall potluck sweet potato dish that I referenced what feels like forever ago. I made a small batch using just 1 sweet potato but my recipe would feed about 8 as a side dish. I hope to make it for one of my holidays meals coming up.
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All the butter in this makes it so good…Paula Deen would approve. Personally, I wouldn’t scrimp on the quantitiy but I’m sure butter/margarine substitutes would work just fine. I figured I’d use actual butter since there were so few ingredients.

Ingredients:

3 sweet potatoes, peeled & boiled
1 & ½ sticks of unsalted butter, separated, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tbs flour
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or nutmeg, ginger, and allspice)
1 cup chopped walnuts, pecans, or almonds

Directions

Boil peeled potatoes until cooked all the way through.
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Mix sugars, flour, pumpkin pie spice, and 1 stick of butter until crumbly.
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Puree potatoes with ½ stick of butter until no lumps remain.
Roast nuts in a skillet on medium for about 5 minutes and add to crumb topping mix.
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Transfer potato puree into a baking dish.
Top with streusel crumbly topping and bake for 30-40 minutes until golden and crisp.
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This was awesome! It felt like baking and it still came out great! This sweet potato dish feels like it could be dessert, but that’s kind of the norm with sweet potatoes.

I made a lot of topping because I like the texture combinations but making less would lighten this one up. I loved how rich and sweet it was. The topping gets too powdery if the butter is melted or too warm. You’re going for hunk o chunks of butter.
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Mmmm. So easy and it traveled well! I reheated the leftovers after the potluck and had it for lunch another day.

Are you watching your pennies this spend-happy-season? Here’s the breakdown:

Sweet Potato Streusel Costs:

3 sweet potatoes: $2.37
1 & ½ sticks of unsalted butter: $1.50
1 cup brown sugar: $0.32
1 cup white sugar: $0.65
2 tbs flour
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or nutmeg, ginger, and allspice)
1 cup chopped walnuts, peacans, or almonds: $3.99
total =  $8.83 / 8 servings =$1.10 per person as a side dish

 

Stop, drop (cheddar biscuits), and roll!

I got an itch I had to scratch. TMI? Well, I was itching to make biscuits. I figured they were do-able since bread & yeast seems scary. They were amazing! I loved them!
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They had so much flavor and were simple to assemble. I don’t bake a lot but these made me feel like a successful baker! Just wait till my kitchen is bigger than a shoe box!

Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits

(adapted from Epicurious)

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cornmeal (preferably stone-ground; not coarse)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
6 oz extra-sharp Cheddar, coarsely grated (2 cups)
1 1/3 cups well-shaken buttermilk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Whisk four, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
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Blend in butter until the mixture is crumbly. A pastry blender will work best but fingers will do a good job too.
Stir in cheese and add buttermilk, stirring just until combined.
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Drop 12 lumps onto a greased or parchment lined cookie sheet.
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Bake until golden, about 15 minutes.
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I nixed the Parmigiano-Reggiano and scallions but I’m sure both are great additions. I also made my own buttermilk since buying buttermilk seems unnecessary for a small amount so rarely. Epicurious also thought there would be 8 large biscuits. I’m here to tell you I made mine pretty colossal and there were 12.

To make buttermilk: mix 1 ⅓ cups milk with 1 ½ white vinegar or lemon juice. Let it stand a few minutes before using.

I was feeling very southern so I served these with some honey barbecue wings. The wings had been chillin’ in my freezer forever and it was time to clear some room in there. I defrosted them and marinated them in barbecue sauce and honey. Honey Barbecue…duh! I also made slightly freezer burned green beans since it’s not dinner in my book without a veggie.
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I was so excited about the biscuits. It made a lot and I ate them for breakfast for days on end. Mr. J isn’t in love with drop biscuits to the extent that I am because of the cornmeal and the crumbly nature, rather than the flakiness of regular biscuits. I attemped some other biscuits for Thanksgiving and they weren’t good so I’ll stick with these guys.

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Here’s a variation on these biscuits as a Chicken Pot Pie Biscuit Topping.

Pumped Up Risotto

I love risotto and always think of it as a fall/winter comfort food. It is surprisingly easy and I even love it reheated. I like it better than regular rice, which we don’t eat a lot of at home.

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On my honeymoon I had some AMAZING risotto with shrimp and arugula which was a fantastic reminder to make some at home. I also was gifted a broccoli risotto recipe that I’m looking forward to making. I added it to my fall-to-make list.

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Ingredients

1 cup arborio rice
2 cups chicken stock (or veggie stock)
1 cup pumpkin beer (or white wine)
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
3 slices prosciutto, chopped
3 tbs grated Parmesan
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Directions

Toast the rice on medium low for 5 minutes while liquids are heating separately.
Add ½ cup of liquid mix until absorbed. Repeat until liquid is gone.

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Heat prosciutto until crispy.

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Mix pumpkin, prosciutto, Parmesan, and spices into risotto.

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I liked it a lot. I think there was a bit too much prosciutto but that’s an easy fix…it wasn’t that much of a problem seeing how I ate it for dinner, and 2 lunches in the days following.

The color was awesome and it felt really fall-ish. Sage would have been good in it too.

I’ve never put beer into my risotto so I was definitely a bit nervous about it. I worried what kind of aftertaste it would give. I think it worked though! I wouldn’t have included it if I didn’t have pumpkin beer on hand.

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I’ve made one using tomato juice and zucchini. It’s an awesome vegetarian one and the V-8 is a great addition for even more veggie perks. I’ll have to make that one sometime soon too! If you’re not too pumpkin-ed out after Thanksgiving, make this one when the pumpkin shelves are restocked!

Lunching Couscous

Lunch ideas can be hard to come by for me and sandwiches were never really my thing. I love them with interesting condiments on bakery bread, but making one at 7am and bringing it to work never appeals to me.

I try to mix it up when it comes to lunch. Often it’s leftovers but I used to be so good about picking something, making a regular sized batch, and eating it all week for lunch. It was even more convenient when I’d bring it all on Monday and not have to think about it the rest of the week.  Lately, I’ve gotten off course.

Recently I made couscous for a couple of lunches and it was soooo good. I ate it as a cold salad and was all about it. Tomatoes were my inspiration.
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Grape. Heirloom. Tomatoes.

Ingredients

1 pint grape tomatoes, sliced in halves
1 cup dried Israeli couscous
2 cups vegetable stock
11/2 cups baby spinach
2 slices of bacon, cooked to a crisp
¼ cup shredded Parmesan
¼ cup ranch dressing
drizzle of olive oil

Directions

Toast couscous over medium-low heat until lightly browned
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Add in veggie stock and cover for 7 minutes
Slice cherry tomatoes in halves, chop the spinach chiffonade, and crumble the bacon.
Fluff couscous to separate and allow to cool.
Add spinach, bacon, Parmesan and dressing.
Refrigerate overnight and drizle with olive oil before eating to rehydrate.
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I’ll admit. Ranch might seem a bit weird, but I had it and wanted something creamy. Parmesan peppercorn dressing would be more appropriate. My spinach had lived a good life but wouldn’t have been amazing the next day, which is why I chose to throw it in…like an herb rather than like a salad. Nobody was going to overshadow these tomatoes. No, siree!This was an easily packable and flavorful lunch. It also is super cheap. If I were like whats-her-face on the foodnetwork who makes $10 dinners I’d probably have an impressive lunch cost since this served as 2 lunches for me…and my mum may have bought the tomatoes for me when we were at the farm stand. I’d much rather pack a lunch and afford a fantastic meal in Italy or Spain. In just over 4 weeks time I will be! So excited I can’t even stand it!

This would be a good side dish. Adding basil and fresh mozzarella would be good with Italian dressing. Bring couscous to your next BBQ this summer and be the star next to all the cole slaws and potato salads.
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What are some other lunchable ideas & inspirations?

Fritters are Fun

Zucchini Fritters are something I’ve been making for years. I’m not sure where I originally came up with them but I love them as a side dish. I think Mum made eggplant fritters now that I think about it….hmmm there’s an idea for next time.
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This time I used yellow squash. I think it added a different flavor but it was a good use for the sad yellow squash in my fridge.

Ingredients

1 zucchini or yellow squash
1 egg
½ cup breadcrumbs or wheat germ
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper
¼ cup diced green onion (optional)
¼ cup corn (optional)
¼ cup feta (optional)

Directions

1) Shred zucchini/yellow squash and lay over paper towel to remove most of the liquid
2) Mix zucchini/squash with egg, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, salt and pepper and any other ingredients.
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3) Form into patties and bake 15 minutes at 375. Flip and bake another 10 minutes.
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I bake them instead of frying them since they get too oily and it’s way easier. I use my muffin top pan which definitely helps for the shape. It gets a lot more action from zucchini fritters, crab cakes, and the like especially since I’ve never made muffins.

They’re a fun side dish with only a few ingredients. I made them one night when we had our own salad bar with these on the side. I’ll probably stick to zucchini next time but add in spinach! Or corn! Or leeks! Or bacon! Or whatever!