Food

I keep forgetting to post the recipe for these cheesy sweet potatoes, which is crazy, because it was soooo good and super easy to make!

We were making food for the SuperBowl and I wanted to make something healthy considering we had the deep fryer out and Andy was putting just about anything he could find in it. So I grabbed our leftover sweet potatoes and thought I’d bake them. Well, I baked them. Then I baked them again and added cheese. So they were kind of healthy. I mean, they were baked after all. Right??

They even were good the next day. All I did was pop them in the oven for a bit to reheat them and they were good to go. If you want them even more creamy, you can add a bit of butter when making the stuffing.

Twice Baked Cheesy Sweet Potatoes

Gather
4 Large Sweet Potatoes
1/4 Cup of Milk
1 Cup of Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Salt
Pepper
Cayenne Pepper
Garlic Powder

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Pierce each sweet potato with a knife, then line on a baking sheet and cook for 45 minutes. Allow potatoes to cool so you can scoop out the insides.

Carefully slice potatoes in half lengthwise. Then, using a spoon, carefully scoop out the insides of the sweet potatoes without breaking the skins and place insides in a bowl. Place skins back on baking sheet.

In bowl, add milk, 1/2 teaspoon of each pepper, salt, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder. (You may adjust seasoning to your liking.) Stir to combine. Add half of the cheese and stir once more to combine.

Scoop mixture back into potato skins, then top with remaining cheese. Place back into oven for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and browned.

Remove from cooking sheet and serve.

A few days ago we bought a bundle of asparagus. We used to eat it all the time. We’d drizzle olive oil on it, add a few seasonings and bake it until it was crispy. I’m not really sure why we stopped making it, or really even why we stopped purchasing it. All I know is the other day we ended up with a bundle in our fridge and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

So this afternoon, after Andy came back from a massage at the spa (I bought him a gift certificate for Christmas), I had food ready for him, included a side of bacon wrapped asparagus. We had some leftover bacon from yesterday’s breakfast, so while the chicken was baking, I threw it all in the oven on a cookie sheet and we had asparagus. It looked a lot fancier than it really was. Believe me, this one is simple to make and will make you look like a pro chef with only three ingredients!

Bacon Wrapped Baked Asparagus

5 strips of uncooked bacon
1 bundle of asparagus
Black Pepper, to season

Preheat oven to 450. While oven is preheating, cut off the white ends of the asparagus, where it has been sitting in water at the grocery store. Rise asparagus and pat dry. Lay evenly along an engrossed cookie sheet (with sides).

Cut bacon strips in half. Evenly place them over the asparagus length wise so they only overlap a little.

Place cookie sheet in preheated oven and cook for 15-20 minutes or until bacon is crispy. Your asparagus should be crispy, too. Sprinkle fresh ground black pepper over the asparagus and bacon.

Plate asparagus in small bundles, using the crispy bacon to create a sort of “ribbon” around the bundle. Enjoy!

Sometimes the best meals are the accidental ones. Like this one. Andy had wanted something hearty for dinner and I hadn’t gone to the grocery store and really didn’t feel like dealing with people, waiting in lines, or figuring out what I should make. So I started pulling things from our cabinets and just throwing them together into a pan. What came out was actually pretty magical, so much so that I’ve made this dish a few times with planning.

Cupboard Clean Out Casserole

1 lb of ground pork sausage
5 medium sized potatoes
1 small can of corn, drained
1 medium green pepper, diced
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
black pepper
salt
rosemary
garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350.

Microwave potatoes for 8-12 minutes or until they are fork tender. Cut into 1/4 to 1/2 pieces and place in a bowl.

In a medium skillet, cook ground sausage until browned, making sure to break it up into small pieces.  Set ground pork sausage aside (into potato bowl), leaving any remaining fat in the pan. Add onions and peppers to pan and cook for 5-10 minutes on medium heat until onions and peppers are slightly browned. Add to bowl with sausage and potatoes. Add about 1/2 tsp of each black pepper, salt, rosemary, and garlic powder. Toss to combine.

Pour mixture into a roasting pan. Top dish with shredded cheddar cheese, then put pan into preheated oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese has melted and browned.

Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes, serve and enjoy.

This was a lazy night. I’ve been straight out for the last two months with Andy and I fully diving into owning our own company and the holidays coming up. We have been SWAMPED with orders for candles and wooden gifts. Don’t get me wrong, I am beyond thrilled and words cannot express how excited I am every time that I hear the Etsy app go off telling us we have a new order. I just feel bad that my blog has been put on hold, especially when I don’t write nearly as much as I used to.

So I’m taking a minute to at least share one meal with you all. When I do have time to cook now, it’s anything that’s simple and easy to do. Cheap helps, too, and country ribs were on sale at the supermarket. (WIN!)

All you need is your favorite BBQ sauce and some country ribs and you’re good to go! Add a side of peas and mashed potatoes and that’s what I call a meal! This is best made on the weekend when you can let it cook for a few hours and then just have it ready to go.

Oven Roasted BBQ Country Ribs

Bottle of your favorite BBQ Sauce
About 3 lbs of country ribs

Preheat oven to 350. Place ribs in a roasting pan, and generously cover and coat ribs with BBQ sauce. Place pan in over and bake for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until meat is fork tender. Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!