Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Pistachio-Cilantro Pesto

Breanne and I love ALDI! Sadly, you Utah folk don't get to experience it, but we'll try to share recipes from time to time so you can at least benefit from it somewhat! This is another incredible recipe from their website. When I saw it, I knew immediately it was something we would love, but when I made it Sam and I were both blown away! This flavor combination is fantastic. Well worth the time it takes to shell all the pistachios. (A fabulous activity for 4-year-old fingers, by the way.)

Recipe slightly adapted from ALDI

Sweet Potatoes
4-5 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
1 Tbsp. olive oil
kosher salt, to taste
ground pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp. chili powder
zest of 1 lime, divided

Pesto
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 bunch cliantro leaves
1/4 c. shredded parmesan cheese
1 1/4 cups pistachios, shells removed, divided
3 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1/4 c. olive oil
kosher salt, to taste
ground pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 425. Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet. Toss with oil, seasonings, and half of the lime zest. Bake for 20 minutes or until tender and carmelized. Meanwhile, prepare pesto. In a food processor, combine ingredients (except 1/4 c. pistachios) and chop until desired consistency is reached. Roughly chop remaining 1/4 cup pistachios. Toss warm potatoes with pesto. To serve, sprinkle potatoes with remaining pistachios and lime zest.

Creamy Roasted Red Pepper and Cauliflower Soup with Goat Cheese

YUM! This soup is delicious, especially on a cold wintery day. 

Picture and recipe courtesy of Closet Cooking

4 red bell pepper, cut in half and seeds removed

1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon thyme, chopped

1 pinch red pepper flakes

4 cups chicken broth or chicken stock or vegetable broth

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

salt and pepper to taste

Place the red peppers on a baking sheet with the cut side facing down, broil until the skins are blackened, about 10 minutes, place in a sealable container and let 'steam' for 20 minutes before pinching the skins off and dicing.

Meanwhile, toss the cauliflower in the oil, place it in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast at 400 degrees until tender and caramelized, about 20-30 minutes, mixing once in the middle.

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat and cook the onion until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about a minute. Add the roasted red peppers, cauliflower, broth, paprika and goat cheese and simmer for 10 minutes before pureeing to the desired consistency with a hand blender. Season with salt and pepper and serve garnished with goat cheese.

I found the most tedious part of this to be pinching the skins off the red peppers. But you know what? I just realized that I sliced them thinly first and then broiled them. I highly do not recommend that. I'd be interested in hearing if the skins pinched off easily with the peppers only cut in half.

Also, the goat cheese garnish at the end adds quite a bit of flavor--I highly recommend sprinkling some on top!

Sweet Potato Salad

I made this salad one night when the sisters were coming over and it was a huge hit! I made it again on Christmas Eve but I used white sweet potatoes, which changed the taste quite a bit. I like it a lot better with orange sweet potatoes (I think they differentiate between yams and sweet potatoes out West, but I've never seen yellow sweet potatoes here). I got the recipe from Aldi, my all-time favorite grocery store. Here's another reason to love them!

Picture courtesy of aldi.com

Ingredients

6 pounds small sweet potatoes (orange or red), peeled and diced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided

1 1/2 teaspoons pepper, divided

1/4 cup vinaigrette

1/2 teaspoon cumin

2 pinches chili powder

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice

1/2 cup thawed corn (canned also works, but frozen is better)

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup diced red onion

1 red bell pepper, finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

In a large bowl, toss sweet potatoes with olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Spread onto a large baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until tender. Refrigerate.

In a large bowl, whisk together the vinaigrette, cumin, chili powder, paprika, lime juice, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Add the corn, black beans, red onion, bell pepper, cilantro and chilled sweet potatoes to the vinaigrette. Toss until well combined.

Mango Quinoa Salad

I have really been enjoying the mango-red pepper-black bean-lime taste lately, so I thought I'd add to the abundance of recipes like this already on the blog. This is more of a summery dish, but since at least one of us lives in a place with eternally cheap prices on mangoes and peppers, I thought I'd post it anyway. For the rest of us who will have to wait until these summer fruits and vegetables get back to a reasonable price, this salad is worth the wait! The zing of the pepper, the nuttiness of the quinoa, and the fruityness of the mango makes this salad a big winner. 

Original recipe from Our Best Bites

Salad:

2 cups cooked quinoa

1 can of black beans (rinsed)

1 mango, diced

1 red pepper, diced

6 sliced green onions

1 handful chopped cilantro

Dressing:

4 T red wine or apple cider vinegar

3 T olive oil

2 T fresh lime juice

salt and pepper to taste

Toss the salad ingredients together and then pour the dressing over and mix in. This recipe tastes best chilled--give it a couple of hours so the flavor of the dressing can soak in.

Cream Cheese & Ragu Pasta Pie

I took this picture ages ago and it has taken me far too long to post this recipe...all because I can't think of a sufficient name for it! Annie calls it "Mom's Goulash," because that her mom would make a similar dish and call it "Goulash." But since this really isn't goulash at all, I wanted a name more fitting that would do it justice! This is one amazing pasta dish. It's one of our favorites--Wesley can't get enough of it. I just made a couple of pans of it this weekend and stuck one in the freezer to use after Baby arrives (it's a great freezer meal option!). So if any of you have suggestions for a name that would better describe this pasta, please share...I'll gladly change it!

Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats

3 cups pasta sauce (I like to use this, but you can use whatever is your favorite)

12 oz. penne pasta (I use whole wheat)

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup sour cream (I use Daisy light)

1 egg

1 bunch green onions, chopped

4 oz. mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Mix cream cheese, sour cream, egg, and green onions. Spread a very thin layer of pasta sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Top with half of the pasta. Spread half of the cream cheese mixture over the pasta and top with half of the remaining sauce. Repeat layers. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake uncovered at 375 for 25-30 minutes.

Nutella Caramel Layer Cake

This is the cake I made for Father's Day. I tweaked a few things from the original recipe to make it more affordable, but in the end I doubt there was a highly noticeable difference. It was absolutely delicious! I thought for sure the cookies around the edge would get soggy in our Houston humidity and with the frosting and caramel inside, but they stayed crisp for days. It's a great cake for beginners because the cookies around the edge help keep everything together so if your layers aren't perfect they won't slide around, and the rosettes on top are so easy and also cover any flaws underneath. As a long-time Nutella lover, this cake scored big points in my book!

Recipe adapted from Rebecca's Sweet Escapes

I used my standard chocolate cake recipe for the layers:

Cake:

Mix together:

2 c. sugar

2 c. flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Bring to a boil:

2 sticks butter

4 Tbsp. cocoa

1 cup water

Pour over the flour mixture and add:

2 eggs

1 c. buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix well and pour batter into two 8-inch round pans lined on the bottom with parchment paper, greased on the sides. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Caramel Filling:

1 pkg. Kraft caramels

1/4 c. evaporated milk

Melt together in microwave, stirring every 30 seconds, until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly before using.

Nutella Frosting:

2 sticks butter, softened

2 c. Nutella (I used the Kroger brand substitute--it's almost identical in taste and much cheaper!)

5 c. powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

pinch salt

evaporated milk

Combine all ingredients and whip until creamy. Add in evaporated milk until it is a good frosting consistency.

To Assemble:

Place one cake on a plate and pipe a wide border around the edge of the top to hold the caramel in. The border should be about an inch thick and about 1/2 inch tall. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes to allow frosting to harden, which will create a more sure wall to hold in the caramel. Pour/spread caramel on top of your cake, within the border you created. (If the caramel has cooled down a little bit so it is barely spreadable, it will stay in place better). Place second cake on top and cover entire cake with a thin layer of frosting. Pipe a thin border around the bottom of the cake and insert pirouette cookies (cut to size) around border, pressing into the cake (I used 3 tins of pirouline cookies from Dollar Tree--still wonderful, and again, much cheaper!). Secure with another border of frosting around the bottom when cookies are in place. To create rosettes on top, use a large star tip and pipe spirals all over the surface of the cake.

Homemade No-Bake Granola Bars

These granola bars are delicious! I love the texture of them, and they don't crumble apart like others I've tried. It's so easy to whip up a batch or two and divide them into little ziploc bags to keep in the pantry for easy snacks.

Recipe adapted from Money Saving Mom

2 1/2 c. crisp rice cereal (I use organic chocolate rice crispies, but regular will work too)

1 3/4 c. quick oats

1/4 c. wheat germ, wheat bran, or ground flaxseed

1/2 c. additional mix-in ingredients optional (chopped nuts, raisins, coconut, other dried fruit, etc.)

1/2 c. honey

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

2/3 c. peanut butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 c. mini chocolate chips

Combine first 4 dry ingredients in a bowl. In a saucepan, mix the honey, brown sugar, and salt. Over medium-low heat, stir until the mixture comes to a complete boil for 30-60 seconds. Remove from the heat and stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until smooth. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix well. Press into a 9x13 pan and let cool for 5-10 minutes before pressing mini chocolate chips into the top. Let cool before cutting into bars.

They also freeze well!