Impress Your Friends With This One

I saw this recipe last week and HAD to make it....there was no other choice!

ACORN SQUASH STUFFED WITH BLACK BEANS & SWEET POTATO
Makes 4 Servings

INGREDIENTS:

2 Large Acorn Squash
2 TB coconut oil
1 Large onion, diced
1 TB minced garlic
1/2 C. sliced mushrooms
1 can (15oz) black beans
1 tsp. curry
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 TB Chia Seeds
2 Large sweet potatoes
2 TB unsweetened flaked coconut
4 TB Greek yogurt, for garnish
2 TB unsweetened flaked coconut, for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Cut squash in half and scoop out the seeds.  Cut off ends so each piece can stand up straight.  Place squash face down in a glass baking pan filled with just enough water to cover the bottom.  Bake for 30-45 minutes.

While squash is cooking, saute the coconut oil with the diced onion in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Once onion is soft, add garlic and let cook.

Pierce the sweet potatoes a few times over and heat up in microwave, until tender.  Should take about 7-10 minutes.

Drain and rinse beans.  Add beans, mushrooms, chia seeds, curry, coriander, cumin and cinnamon.  Mix well and continue to cook.

Get sweet potatoes out of the microwave (THEY WILL BE HOT).  Chop into 1-inch squares.

Add the sweet potatoes and 2 TB of coconut.  Mix everything together, mashing as you stir.

When squash is done, fill with mixture.  Garnish with greek yogurt and the rest of the coconut.

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Hash Browns

Hash Browns have always been a staple in my house.  Sunday mornings are not complete without a few cups of coffee, scrambled eggs, bacon and crispy hash browns. 

In an effort to make more food from scratch, we have stopped buying frozen hash browns at the store and I decided to try my hand at homemade sweet potato hash browns, since we are not fans of regular potatoes.

First thing you need to do is wash and peel you potatoes. 

Now, you can either shred them with a hand grater OR (what I do to save time) use a food processor.  It seriously took me maybe 2 minutes to shred them this way.

Clean up is a breeze because you can wash all this stuff in the dishwasher.  

You now want to lay out a folded non-linty towel (I use lots of my own lingo).  Lay the shredded sweet potatoes on it, and, using another non-linty towel, apply pressure to remove as much moisture as possible from the potatoes.

Start warming up your pan on the stove top with the oil of your choice (I prefer coconut oil).  

Add the potatoes and seasoning of your choice.  We only use salt & pepper.

Arrange potatoes as uniform as you can on the bottom of the pan and let cook for 10-15 minutes on medium-high heat.  Flip and cook another 10-15 minutes.

Depending on how crispy you want them, you can add a few more minutes on each side (I do).

When finished, serve with bacon & eggs.

Please don't be jealous of our Sunday "fine china."  Only the best!!