Sweet Potato Fries

This is great for a healthy alternative to french fries. I love french fries! But I can feel a lot better about eating these, and they are delicious!

Ingredients

1 large sweet potato
2 TBS Olive Oil
1 TBS Montreal Steak Seasoning
2 tsp seasoning salt

Directions

Cut the potato in wedges. Mix the ingredients and potato wedges in a bowl then spread out on a foil lined cookie sheet (for easy clean up). Bake @ 350 for 15 - 20 minutes, until tender. Change your oven to broil and broil potoatoes a few minutes on each side. Just long enough to get a little crispy.

Eat plain or with ketchup or fry sauce.

Balsamic BBQ Sauce

This BBQ sauce is sooo good. It's a nice change from the regular everyday sauces. I love balsamic vinegar in just about anything anyway, so if you are a fan too, TRY THIS OUT! It doesn't end up with a strong balsamic flavor, but the flavor is still there. mmmmm.....

Ingredients

• 1 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

How to make it

Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan and stir until all the ingredients are well mixed and the mixture is smooth. Simmer over medium heat until reduced by 1/3, about 15 to 20 minutes. Then put on your chicken or steak or whatever you like to make it delicious!

Honey Balsamic BBQ Wings

We made these for New Years Eve. They were very tasty and very easy. If you love balsamic, you will love these. You might love these even if you don't like balsamic vinegar. They are a bit sticky, so you might want to have some wet-naps handy.
This recipe is from Giada Delaurentis

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
  
• 5 sprigs of rosemary
• 5 garlic cloves, halved
• 10 to 12 chicken drumsticks
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Combine the balsamic, honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, rosemary sprigs, and garlic cloves, in a large, re-sealable plastic bag. Shake and squeeze the contents of the bag to dissolve the honey and the brown sugar. Add the chicken drumsticks to the bag and seal with as little air as possible in the bag. Place in the refrigerator and marinate for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Place the chicken drumsticks on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake until the skin is caramelized and very dark in spots, about 30 to 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the marinade in a small saucepan. Bring the marinade to a boil (in order to kill bacteria). Reduce the heat to simmer and cook over low heat until thick, about 15 minutes. Reserve.

Use a pastry brush to brush some of the cooked marinade on the cooked chicken. Place the chicken on a serving platter. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and the chopped parsley.

Chili

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 small green bell pepper diced
• 3 (28-ounce) cans diced tomatoes - drained
• Pepper
  
• Ground cumin
• Chili powder
• 2 (14 1/2-ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 package chili seasoning mix
• Shredded cheddar, sour cream, chopped green onions, for garnish

Directions

In a skillet brown ground beef, drain and set aside.

Spray large pot with nonstick cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add the onion, and green pepper, and saute briefly. Stir in the diced and whole tomatoes. Add pepper, cumin and chili powder, to taste, and cook for about 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add the beans, browned meat, and chili seasoning. Partially cover, and let simmer for 4 hours.

Serve with Cheddar cheese, sour cream, and green onions.

Curry BBQ Chicken Wraps

This is a really easy & quick recipe that is delicious!! We made a few changes from a Sweet Pork Recipe to come up with this. I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out, but it turned out really really good. This recipe feeds about 4, so adjust for more people.

Tortilla Tip: Use the uncooked tortillas from the store and cook them yourself. They are much much much much better than the pre-cooked tortillas. TRUST ME!!!

Ingredients

1 store bought rotisserie chicken - can use any chicken really
1 small bag shredded cabbage
Tortillas
Shred the chicken and set aside in a bowl.
1 21 oz Dr. Pepper
4 Tbs. Brown sugar
2 Tbs. Vinegar
1 Tbs. Curry Powder
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
2 Tbs. Taco Seasoning


Directions

Pour bottle of Dr. Pepper into hot saute pan to simmer reduce down to about half the liquid on medium high heat. Add the brown sugar & vinegar and continue to simmer for a minute. Add the curry powder, BBQ sauce, and taco seasoning. Simmer for another minute, then pour over chicken and stir.

In the wrap: Put chicken, top with cabbage & Jalepeno ranch dressing. You can also add cheese, tomatoes, or anything else you would like. Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Soup...mmmm

This soup is so delicious. I know I say that about everything on here. But I only put the stuff I really love on here. This soup is very easy, just requires a little bit of time. I really love butternut squash soup, and I couldn't find a recipe that I love, so I came up with this.....

Ingredients

1 medium Butternut squash - 2-3 lbs
1 medium onion
3 tbs butter
4 cups chicken broth - may need more if soup is too think
1 1/2 cup applesauce
1 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. ginger powder (you can add more of each of these for a stronger taste)

Directions

Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Cut each half in half again, long ways, to have four pieces. Put squash on a greased cookie sheet, skin side down, and put into a 400 degree oven for about 30-40 minutes, until soft. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of the squash. In the mean time saute the onions in the butter until soft. Once onions are soft add the chicken broth, curry, and ginger and let simmer for 10 minutes.
Once squash is done, let cool enough to handle, then take skins off and put squash in with onions. Then add the applesauce. Put everything in a blender and blend until smooth. You only want to fill the blender a little over half full each time, or you will have a big mess. You will probably need to do it in 4 batches or so. Put the soup into a pot, stir together. When serving, top with a little sour cream for a little extra bite.

Ingredients

1 pound prepared pizza dough

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Olive oil, for deep-frying

Directions

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/2-inch thickness. Using a floured 2-inch cookie cutter, cut out doughnut rounds. Using a floured 1-inch cookie cutter, cut out a hole in the center of each doughnut. Gather the dough scraps and reroll. Cut out more doughnuts.

Whisk the sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl to blend. Set the cinnamon-sugar aside.

Pour equal parts of vegetable oil and olive oil into a large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 375 degrees F. Working in batches, fry the doughnuts until they puff but are still pale, about 45 seconds per side. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the doughnuts to paper towels to drain. Cool slightly. While the doughnuts are still warm, generously coat each 2 times with the cinnamon-sugar. Serve warm.