Sweet Potato Fries!

You can do this with regular potatoes, but it is definitely better with a sweet potato or yam.

2 large sweet potatoes
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 cup corn meal
1/2 cup baby rice cereal
1 tbs seasoning salt
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Slice the potatoes lengthwise. Cut down until your pieces are about 1 inch wide by 1/2 inch thick by 3 inches long (approximately). In a large mixing bowl, toss potatoes in olive oil and coat well. In separate bowl, combine corn meal, baby cereal and seasoning salt. Pour half of the breading mix over the potatoes and toss to coat. Add remaining breading mix and toss to coat evenly. Spread potatoes across a baking sheet (I use the bottom of the broiler pan). Lightly spray top with cooking spray. Cook on oven rack approximately 4-6 inches from heat, at 450 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. Potatoes will be lightly crispy on the outside and soft and tender on the outside. No need for condiments. :-)

Easy Shephards Pie

2 tbs oil
1/2 white onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 green onions
1 carrot sliced
1/2 lb ground Italian sausage
1/2 lb lean ground beef
1/2 cup left over spaghetti sauce
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and sliced
1 1/2 cups left over mashed potatoes
1/4 c butter
1/2 c sour cream
1 tbs ranch mix
1 cup frozen peas
1 egg yoke
1/2 c warm water.

Start sweet potato to boil in water. Cook the onion, garlic, green onion, carrot in oil till tender. Add meat, cook through. Add spaghetti sauce. Removed from heat.

When sweet potatoes are tender, drain water, add butter, ranch mix and sour cream. Mash. Add left over mashed potatoes and combine.

Pour meat into casserole dish. Spread peas across top of meat. Spread potatoes on top. Beat egg yoke, add warm water and whisk to combine. Pour over top of potatoes (makes crunchy top).

Put under preheated broiler for 3-4 minutes until top gets crispy.

Original post with credits here

Steak and Potato Soup

The original recipe, I guess I should say, the inspiration for my actual dish, came from the Oct/Nov 2005 older issue of Cooking Pleasures Magazine. You can find the original recipe in entirety on the CCA website here. *It was named Beef and Mushroom Soup in the magazine and included tomato paste and brandy.

Sarah's "Steak and Potato Soup"

1 1/2 lb steak, cut into 1 inch pieces
Oil for frying
1 oz dried shiitake mushrooms **
2 cups hot water
4 cloves minced garlic
1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
4 stalks of celery with tops, chopped
2 cups sliced button mushrooms
1 bay leaf
2 cans beef broth
2 tbs butter
3-4 yukon gold potatoes (about 1-2 lbs)
1 tsp salt
1 tbs onion soup mix

Place dried mushrooms in bowl of hot water to rehydrate for about 30 minutes. Save the water for the broth. Cook garlic, onion, celery and button mushrooms in butter until tender. Strain dried mushrooms and chop. Add broth and reserve mushroom liquid to vegetables, add bay leaf, heat to boil and reduce to simmer for at least an hour. The longer you simmer, the thicker and richer the broth becomes. In separate pan, fry slices of steak over medium-high heat to sear the sides. Add steak to broth for at least 30 minutes. 30 minutes before serving, add potatoes salt and onion soup mix and cook until potatoes are tender. Remove bay leaf before serving.

**Dried Mushrooms are found in the Asian food aisle of the grocery store, generally on the top shelf in a 1 or 2 oz plastic bag. They are great to keep on hand for soups as they are very flavorful. Fresh porcini and shiitake mushrooms are expensive and the flavors are good but don't seem as concentrated, as is with the dry. I was just reading that dried shiitakes are commonly used in Chinese medicine and are high in iron, protein and fiber, so get a bunch and serve them often!

I had made steak earlier in the week, intentionally making more with the thought of this soup. I still sliced and seared the meat, as it will become more tender in the soup (falling apart).

*I do not necessarily endorse CCA or Cooking Pleasures magazine. I have found some great recipes through them and they provide product recommendations for some of the newer gadgets and even ingredients sometimes. Most of the recipes are complicated and/or time consuming AND tend include unusual or gourmet ingredients. The subscription is a little pricey and ultimately leads to seemingly endless harassment to become a lifetime member for several hundred dollars, which will in turn get you a great cookware set and the 6 issues a year for life, supposedly. I might consider it if I didn't already have good cookware. I have said no on many occasions over the phone, email and through the mail, but I continue to be solicited over a year from the last subscription. If you are looking for a good cookware set, this would be a great way to acquire a quality set at a discount.