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Sweet Potato Salad Recipe

sweet potato salad I have fallen in love with a new dish: it’s a sweet potato salad recipe!

When I first saw the recipe, I honestly didn’t think that I’d love it, but I do!  I’m not one to actually crave a salad, but this one I do crave.

The best thing: like the other favorite recipes I post, it’s very simple.

What You will Need:

Mixed greens (I use a package of mixed greens and add more spinach)

Sweet potatoes (I used 2 large sweet potatoes in this recipe)

1 vidalia or red onion

Feta cheese

Olive oil

Dijon mustard

Honey

Red wine vinegar

Salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Peel and cut sweet potatoes. 

sweet potato 3.  In a mixing bowl, toss sweet potato pieces with 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper and 1 red or vidalia onion cut into wedges.

sweet potato salad ingredients 4.  Transfer to a 9×13 baking dish and spread evenly.

sweet potato salad baking dish 5.  Roast for 30 min at 350 degrees F and then turn potatoes over and bake 30 more minutes.

6.  While potatoes are roasting, put ingredients (1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 3 tablespoons honey, 3/4 cup olive oil, 2 tsp dijon mustard, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper) in a blender or food processor (I put it in my Vita-mix!) and blend thoroughly.

dressing for sweet potato salad 7.  Top salad greens and spinach with roasted sweet potatoes and onion.  Add feta cheese and dressing.

sweet potato salad closeup {Recipe source – I did change some ingredients for the dressing}

We ate a piece of baked chicken along with this delicious sweet potato salad, and it was perfect.

Also, as my husband pointed out, the roasted sweet potatoes would be marvelous by themselves (although I’d still probably sprinkle a little feta cheese on mine)!

Enjoy!

If you like this sweet potato salad recipe, you should definitely check out this strawberry spinach salad!

{Linking up to This Chick Cooks!}

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Pesto Pasta Recipe

pesto pasta recipe What could be better than a recipe that includes pesto and pasta?

A pesto pasta recipe that includes feta cheese!

I decided to combine my favorite ingredients to make a delicious, healthy and simple (that’s my favorite part!) dish.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Pasta (I use Barilla Plus multi-grain pasta — did you know it’s higher in protein and fiber?)

Pesto (I use my homemade fresh pesto)

Feta cheese

Cherry or grape tomatoes

Salt and pepper

1. First, cook your pasta and drain.

pasta for pesto pasta recipe 2.  Rinse, drain and cut cherry or grape tomatoes in half.

pesto pasta tomatoes 3.  Mix the pesto in with the pasta.

pesto pasta mixture 4. Add tomatoes and feta cheese.  Salt and pepper to taste!

pesto pasta

pesto pasta blessing

Even the Little Stinker enjoyed this dish (after he asked the blessing)!

This is a meatless meal that is quick and easy to prepare.  If you keep pesto in the freezer like I do, then just thaw it in the microwave while the pasta is cooking.

This pesto pasta recipe is good for those days when the boys are right under my feet in the evening (or running in circles around me squealing!).

{Linking up to Mouth Watering Monday & This Chick Cooks!}

 

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How to Make Peanut Butter

how to make peanut butter

Until recently, I had no idea how to make peanut butter and never even considered making it.  One day it occurred to me that my VitaMix (“blender on steroids”, as we like to call it) could make peanut butter.  I had no idea how easy, fun and cheap it could be!

I love peanut butter, but it has to be the natural kind.  I lost my taste for JIF and Peter Pan years ago and never went back.

To make your own natural peanut butter, all you need is a food processor (in my case, my much-loved Vitamix!) and dry roasted peanuts.

I have made the peanut butter with unsalted, lightly salted, regular salted, and honey roasted peanuts.  Each of them worked just fine, but I liked the unsalted and the honey roasted the best!

homemade peanut butter peanuts homemade peanut butter vitamix how to make peanut butter vitamix how to make peanut butter tamper homemade peanut butter in vitamix homemade peanut butter closeup The result: creamy, smooth fresh peanut butter!

homemade paenut butter in jar A mason jar is perfect for storing the peanut butter!

  homemade natural peanut butter Sometimes I find peanuts on sale and am able to save a good bit of money.  Even when I can’t find them on sale, I prefer to make my own peanut butter because it’s really fun and my boys love it.  They always beg for a spoonful of it straight from the VitaMix!

I was shocked when my picky eater (the Little Buddy) actually liked my natural peanut butter.  Now he eats it on his dinosaur sandwich almost every day!

peanut butter sandwich Now that you know how to make peanut butter, you can make it a fun thing to do in the kitchen with your kids!

{Linking up with The Thrifty Home, Mouth Watering Monday, Life Made Lovely, Foodie Friday and This Chick Cooks!}

 

 

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Strawberry Spinach Salad Recipe


strawberry spinach salad recipe This strawberry spinach salad recipe is the perfect balanced meal: lean protein, fruit and vegetables!

Even if you’re not a big fan of salads, you must try this one.

This is even a perfect recipe for serving to guests, as it is truly a beautiful entree.

What you will need:

To save time, buy a box or bag of spinach or mixed greens.

Strawberries (1 cup)

Pecan halves (1 cup)

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (4 breasts)

For strawberry vinaigrette dressing (recipe came from here):

Olive oil (1/3 cup)

Honey (1/4 cup)

Strawberries (3-4)

Red wine vinegar (1/4 cup)

1. Bake boneless skinless chicken breast. Cut into pieces or strips.

2. Cut strawberries into slices.

3. Toast the almonds and break into smaller pieces.

4. Make vinaigrette following these directions.

5. Lay mixed greens into bottom of dishes. Add chicken, strawberries and pecans.  Pour vinaigrette over each serving.

strawberry and spinach salad strawberry pecan spinach salad strawberry vinaigrette strawberry spinach salad This strawberry spinach salad recipe is very simple, yet tastes so fresh and sweet.

And that’s the best kind of meal.

 

(Linkin’ up with Life Made Lovely and Foodie Friday and This Chick Cooks!)

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Pesto Pizza Recipe

pesto pizza recipe I am so excited to share this recipe with you, because it is so fresh and bursting with flavor.

Now, I’ll admit that ordering a pizza is easier, but this pizza is so much less greasy, is made with a whole wheat flour, and is very satisfying (even without any meat!).

I had actually never made homemade pizza dough.  The closest I’ve ever come to homemade pizza was buying a premade crust from the store and adding my own toppings.

I found a recipe for homemade dough using Fleischmann’s Rapid Rise Yeast.  Most recipes I found used either all white flour or part whole wheat flour with part white flour.

I used King Arthur’s White Whole Wheat flour and it worked perfectly.  Didn’t have a strong whole wheat flour taste at all!

I will say that I’m not a patient cook, so I think I could have kneaded the dough a little longer.  Made me want a Kitchen-aid mixer!

I divided the dough into two separate pizza crusts and made two different types: one with pesto in place of the pizza sauce and one with Bobolli’s pizza sauce.  My favorite? The pesto pizza!

I just made my own pesto pizza recipe that is bursting with delicious flavors:

Fleischmann’s recipe for pizza dough, using King Arthur’s White Whole Wheat flour instead of white flour

Homemade pesto (though you could certainly use store-bought)

Italian blend shredded cheese (1 2-cup package)

Feta cheese

Artichoke hearts

Sliced and diced fresh tomatoes

Here’s the pizza before putting in the oven:

homemade pesto pizza The other pizza I made had Bobolli’s pizza sauce, the other half of my package of Italian blend cheese, feta cheese, artichoke hearts and olives.  It was good too!

olive and artichoke pizza And the finished products:

homemade veggie pizza

 

Olive and artichoke pizza with feta!

 

Pesto artichoke and tomato pizza

 

 

Pesto pizza with feta and tomato!

 

 

 

 

I will be making this again…very soon.  Even though this was a meatless meal, we didn’t even think about it being meatless.  It is so rich and filling, you’d think it had meat on it. (For other meatless meal ideas, check out this post or this post!)

It’s so fun knowing that this pesto pizza recipe was super-fresh and made from scratch!

 

(Linking up at Life Made Lovely and Motivate Me Monday and This Chick Cooks)

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Almond Cake Recipe

Honey Almond Cake A cake without flour and sugar.  Can it be?

Oh yeah!  This honey almond cake recipe is so delicious, and if you don’t tell anyone, they will never, ever guess that it is made without flour and sugar.

And the wonderful part of this cake is that it is full of omega-3 fatty acids (heart-healthy) as it is full of almonds.  I’m not going to lie…it’s not super low-calorie.  But it does have the health benefits of almonds.

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Healthy Quiche Recipe

healthy quiche I love quiche.  And not just for brunch.

I began searching for some quiche recipes to try…but I didn’t want just any quiche.  I wanted it to be a healthy quiche recipe that I could have as a backup plan for those days that I did not want to have to fool with cooking meat.

My favorite-tasting quiche is one that uses bacon and swiss cheese (yum!), but I wanted a lower-fat version.

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Chocolate Zucchini Cake

This chocolate zucchini cake is much healthier than other cakes, but you would never even know it!

We all have those days (or maybe even weeks!) when we would give our right arm for something chocolate.  I have some good news for you: there is a healthier chocolate cake that will satisfy your cravings while also providing some decent nutrition.

Trust me, even as a dietitian, I must.have.chocolate.  And my kids? Well, they both love chocolate too, of course!

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Easy Mexican Casserole

This quick and easy Mexican casserole is one of those recipes that has come to my rescue many times when I needed a healthy dinner that is simple yet very tasty.

Since it is a meatless meal, it does not take very long to get it to the table of a hungry family! Which is why I love it.

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Easy Vegetable Lasagna Recipe

Here’s an easy vegetable lasagna recipe for those of you who are trying to go meatless for some meals!

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