Archive for High Five Recipes
Homemade Sweet Potato Fries
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It really pays to listen to your friends. (Not all of them though, because if they’re encouraging you to do things that aren’t good for you, maybe you should consider getting new friends.)
Well where did that piece of parenting advice come from?
Anyway, I happen to have good friends, so I feel that it is okay to listen to them. It just so happens that I had two friends in one week tell me that I was missing out by not adding sweet potatoes to my menus more often. When the first friend said it, I kind of nodded and smiled. But when a second friend mentioned it a few days later, I sort of wondered if God was trying to tell me something.
Okay, I’m pretty sure He is working in bigger ways in my life than sweet potato consumption encouragement. But still. I figured there might be something to this sweet potato thing since it came up twice in one week with two different people at two separate times. (Am I making too much of this? I mean, should I just get around to sharing the recipe already?)
Why have I not been eating or feeding my family sweet potatoes very often, as in, pretty much never? It’s very simple really. As a child, the only way I had been served sweet potatoes was in a casserole with brown sugar and marshmallows at Thanksgiving and I didn’t like it one bit. If I’m going to eat something sweet, I want it to be a dessert – not as a side dish with my turkey. But that’s just me. I’m the one who needs chocolate with my sugar. What can I say?
But, per my friends’ suggestions, I decided to try making sweet potato fries. They looked and smelled great. I ate one. Hmmm, it was okay, I guess. But I kept thinking about marshmallows, and couldn’t get past it.
By the way, I don’t like marshmallows.
But I’m a big girl, and all grown up, so I made myself eat a second sweet potato fry. And then a third. Oh wait. They suddenly began to taste good to me. Then, before I knew it, I had to tell myself to stop eating the sweet potato fries and save some for my family. (I didn’t feel bad though, because usually it’s the other way around and I’m the one asking my family to save me some food before they inhale all of it.)
So it turns out that while I think my friends may have helped me become an addict in this regard, it does pay to give in to sweet potato peer pressure.
How to Make Sweet Potato Fries:
Scrub and cut sweet potatoes into wedges or fries – as thin as you like. Toss them in olive oil or coconut oil (about 1 Tablespoon per sweet potato). Place them in a single layer on a baking pan. Sprinkle on sea salt and bake in a 400° oven for 30-40 minutes.
or
Deep fry the cut sweet potatoes in a fryer (we have this one, which works great) for 3-4 minutes, remove, salt, and eat.
What is your relationship with sweet potatoes? How do you like them cooked? And while it’s completely irrelevant, I am curious. Do you like marshmallows?
Easy Cream Cheese Fruit Dip
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I’ve probably already written this sentence a time or three, but here it is again: Cream cheese makes everything better!
Or was I talking about butter when I said that? Actually, maybe it was cream? Well, the same is true for cream cheese, butter, and cream. (Although I will draw the line at adding any of the above to my lettuce salad.)
This recipe includes both cream and cream cheese. And homemade vanilla. (Or store bought vanilla, but homemade is so YUM.) And then there is just a bit of maple syrup to make it sweet. Last but not least – you’ll add a shot of lemon or lime juice. Here are the specifics:
Easy Fruit Dip
1/2 cup cream (heavy whipping cream)
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 Tablespoons real maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons lemon or lime juice (fresh or bottled)
Whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks. In a separate bowl, cream together the cream cheese, maple syrup, vanilla, and lemon or lime juice. Fold cream cheese mixture into the whipped cream. Chill until ready to serve, or serve right away.
Tastes great with strawberries, grapes, and apples. Makes about two cups of dip.
Have to eat dairy free? This wasn’t a winner of a post for you then, was it?! I’ll try to make it up to you next time. :) Everyone else – multiple choice question:
Everything is better with:
a) butter
b) cream cheese
c) cream
d) all of the above
I’d love to hear your opinion on this one!
High Five Recipe: Easy Breakfast Casserole
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I don’t believe I had originally categorized my Easy Breakfast Casserole as a High Five Recipe. But as I put the recipe together one night, preparing to bake it the next morning, it occurred to me that the way I typically make this for my family – it has just four simple ingredients.
I love how easy this is to make: Eggs, cream, bacon, and cheese – that’s it. You can add more to it (it’s great with peppers!!), but our boys like it best when it’s made with very basic ingredients. Every time I’ve fed this to guests, it’s been a hit. And it could not get any easier to put together!
I like mixing it up the night before, then getting up and putting it in the oven to bake while I get dressed and ready for the day.
Quality recipes, five ingredients or less. Does healthy cooking get any easier?
P.S. I used bacon that I get from a very trustworthy farmer. Sometimes I use turkey bacon from the store or from my health food co-op. I think this recipe is healthiest when made with Homemade Turkey Sausage. Since I usually make up a big batch of Turkey Sausage, brown it, and freeze it in meal sized portions, that makes putting together this casserole a piece of cake! Um…a piece of casserole. Well, you know what I mean. ;)
High Quality Recipes – Five Ingredients or Less
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It’s been a while since I posted a new High Five Recipe. Just in case you’re new here, or have forgotten about this feature on my site – I wanted to take a minute to draw your attention to one of my favorite sets of recipes!
You all know that I try to keep life in the kitchen simple. But I also try to keep it as healthy as possible. I’m trying to prove to all of us that simple, inexpensive, and healthy are words that can be used in the same sentence!
It doesn’t get much easier than a recipe with five or fewer ingredients. And all of these recipes call for real foods that are very basic. Most likely, you have many of these ingredients in your kitchen just waiting to be used.
You want simple, healthy, inexpensive, and delicious? Try a High Five Recipe. Scroll through all these pages of High Five main dishes, side dishes, and desserts. I had forgotten about half of those recipes. I just finished looking through all of the ideas once again. Now, I’m feeling the need for some Popcorn Chicken and Peanut Butter Honey Fudge.
With some vegetables, of course. :)
Healthy Crock Pot Recipes: Hamburger Sauerkraut Dip
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All I have to say about this recipe is: Don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it.
I completely understand if you read the name of this recipe and your initial reaction was to make a face of disgust. I’m with ya. I don’t like sauerkraut. I don’t like the way it smells. I don’t like the way it tastes. I don’t even like the way it looks.
But I promise you, this dip tastes so good that you really might just pass out from the delicious flavor. It doesn’t taste like sauerkraut at all – but instead is a wonderful mix of flavor that is completely addicting. The first time I tried it, I stuffed myself so full, I could barely walk out of the kitchen. It was not cute.
I got the recipe from my friend Jen, who, for the record, does not like to cook. That may tell you something about how easy this dip is to put together. We prepped all the ingredients together one evening, then I threw everything into my crock pot the next morning for us to chow on that night. And did I mention that I stuffed myself? Seriously, whether you like sauerkraut or not, you must try this dip.
Hamburger Sauerkraut Dip
1 pound ground beef
4 tomatoes, chopped
2-3 green peppers, chopped
27 ounce can of sauerkraut, drained
12 ounces sour cream
Brown ground beef until thoroughly cooked. Stir browned meat, chopped tomatoes and peppers, sauerkraut, and sour cream into a crock pot. Cook on low for 5-8 hours. Stir occasionally. Sneak bites often. Try not to eat the entire pot. Good luck.
I’m very happy to point out the fact that I have posted all kinds of different cheese dip recipes on this site, so you must surely be very impressed that I have climbed out of my cheese dip lovin’ box to post a dip that is significantly different and exciting. See, here they are: Healthier Cheese Dip; Super Simple Chip Dip; Cream Cheese Salsa Dip; Hamburger Cream Cheese Dip. And here I am posting a dip recipe that does not include cheese – but sauerkraut. How about that?
So, are you a sauerkraut fan, or do you tend to avoid it? Any chance that if you aren’t a fan, I could convince you to try this dip anyway? I promise you won’t regret it. :)
Mock Frozen Yogurt
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Can I now offer you the perfect little side dish to go with your Taco Corn Fritters? This Mock Frozen Yogurt is so very easy and really, really tasty too.
I have no idea why I felt the need to say that. It really is sort of a “duh” statement because if I didn’t feel like it was tasty, would I actually post the recipe on my blog? How would that look…”I don’t really like eating this dish, but I thought I’d post it for you anyway so you could be grossed-out along with me. Feel free to stink up your kitchen and tell your kids that the Heavenly Homemaker made you do it. Be sure to come back and share your gag stories.” I would never do that. And yet I still felt the need to point out that the recipe tastes good. Duh.
So yeah, this recipe is really tasty! You should try it sometime! Anyway…
My favorite thing about this recipe is that it works great as a side dish or snack, but is also sweet enough to be a dessert. And in case I failed to mention it, this Mock Frozen Yogurt is really quite tasty. :)
Mock Frozen Yogurt
3 cups any varieties of frozen fruit (I used blueberries, peaches and strawberries)
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
1/4 cup grade B real maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Place frozen fruit in a food processor.
Add plain yogurt, vanilla and maple syrup.
Blend until all ingredients are well mixed. Easy as that!
Serve right away as a side dish, snack or dessert! I LOVE it when desserts are this healthy!!
And there you go. Come back for more tasty (and gluten free!) recipes all week long!
What are your favorite frozen fruits to use in treats??
Easy Alfredo Sauce
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I love a good alfredo sauce. Want to know why this recipe is so good and rich? It’s full of butter and cream. Indeed, this recipe is neither fat free nor dairy free. I am very much not afraid of real and healthy fat…you can read more about that here. For those of you who need to eat a dairy free diet, I’ll try to come up with something a little less “cow” next time. ;)
Easy Alfredo Sauce
1/2 cup butter
One pint of cream (2 cups)
1 garlic clove
2 Tablespoons cream cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Bring the butter, cream, garlic and cream cheese to a boil. Turn down the heat, simmer and stir for about two minutes. Add the grated cheese and stir until melted. Simmer the sauce for 15-20 minutes until it becomes “thick and saucy”, stirring occasionally.
And now, a few alfredo pictures:
Into the pot go the butter, cream, cream cheese and garlic…
The parmesan cheese is shredded and ready to add once we’ve boiled the other ingredients for a couple of minutes.
Here’s our sauce, simmered and ready to serve…
OH. YUM.
Are you wondering about the pasta I served with our Easy Alfredo Sauce? It looks like WHITE pasta, doesn’t it? Ah, but it isn’t!! I’m very excited to tell you that this was Gluten Free Corn Pasta from OliveNation. My OliveNation friends told me that their GF pasta tasted awesome and wow they were right!!! It’s great stuff! AND, if you recall, just like with vanilla beans, OliveNation offers Heavenly Homemakers readers a 10% discount (use the code hhm2011).
Now, you can of course add chicken to this dish if you like. Just saute a little chicken in some olive oil and toss it into the sauce. For that matter, that steamed broccoli I served on the side tasted great stirrred right into the sauce and noodles on our plate!
Are you a red sauce or a white sauce kind of pasta lover? Or does it depend on the day?
Take a peek at all of our High Five Recipes -
High Quality Recipes…Five Ingredients or Less!
Healthy Caramel Frosting – with Homemade Sucanat Powdered Sugar
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Click here to see all of the recipes in the
Healthy Celebrations section of Heavenly Homemakers!
This Caramel Frosting recipe is very exciting because you can make it with your very own homemade powdered sugar!!! If you don’t have sucanat or you don’t feel like making powdered sugar, DO NOT substitute regular pre-made powdered sugar. This recipe won’t taste very caramelly if you use the white stuff. (I made up that word. It is pronounced: care-uh-mellleeeeee. I like it.) If you do need to make a substitution, use regular ol’ brown sugar.
You do need to know that this recipe takes several minutes to make. It isn’t hard to make, you just have to beat it (and beat it and beat it…) for several minutes to turn it into frosting. I had my kids take turns holding the beaters while I made the donuts to go with the frosting. They were making frosting…they did not mind holding the beaters.
Oh look, only four ingredients!!!
Caramel Frosting
2 cups homemade sucanat powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Place sucanat powdered sugar, butter and cream in a pan on the stove. Cook until butter is melted. Bring mixture to a boil and boil for one minute, stirring allthewhile (I made up that word too. It is pronounced ahll-thuh-wyle. It means - keep stirring for the whole minute and whatever you do, don’t stop). Remove this from the heat and pour it into a mixing bowl. Beat mixture with electric beaters for 15 minutes or until it thickens and becomes spreading consistency. Add vanilla and beat for a little bit longer, because you just love beating your frosting and you know it.
Here is the mixture as it is beginning to boil…
Now, we have poured it into our favorite stainless steel bowl and we are beginning to beat it…
Hello there. We are still beating our mixture.
It has been only a few minutes but already it is getting thicker…
Wow, will you look at that? It’s been about eight minutes and not only is the frosting getting thicker, it is turning a nice shade of…what shade of brown would you call that? Caramelly?
Eleven minutes and counting. Thicker and thicker it becomes allthewhile we have been beating it. We have switched beater holders a few times. Life is getting more and more exciting as we see that this really might become frosting after all…
Almost done. I think we’ve been beating for longer than fifteen minutes. What is that about?
Okay, we are going to pronounce that the Caramel Frosting is now finished. It’s not as thick as we may have expected, but we can certainly spread it on our donuts. (Or on a cake if that’s what we were making this for.)
Sure enough, we were able to spread this Caramel Frosting on our donuts.
The moral of the story is this: Just when you think you can’t possibly keep beating your frosting, stick those beaters back in the bowl and KEEP BEATING. Hey, if you’re alone in your kitchen, it’ll be good prayer time. Who says you can’t pray over your bowl and beaters?
The other moral of the story is this: Good things come to those who beat. For a long time. When you eat this frosting on a cake or on donuts or on cookies…you will recognize that the beating was all worth it.
High Five Recipes: Roasted Italian Potatoes
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It’s been months since I posted a High Five Recipe, so just in case you’re new around here…let me introduce you to this special recipe feature we have going on. Are you ready?
It is a fact that there are lots and lots of healthy recipes you can make which only take five or less (healthy) ingredients! I’m talking about REAL INGREDIENTS too…not just “add a packet of this and stir in a can of that”.
Real ingredients, real easy recipes. I LOVE High Five Recipes! You can scroll through all of these posts to see the other High Five Recipes I’ve posted so far!
This Roasted Italian Potatoes recipe comes courtesy of my friend Anne. Remember last year when I put some of my homemade Italian Dressing Mix in her stocking? What, you don’t remember? Yes, my friend Anne and I exchange Christmas stockings. Grown-ups needs stockings too ya know. And because she and I love to live on the wild side, we put items in each others stockings that are incredibly outlandish like paper clips, pot scrubbers…and yes…Italian Dressing Mix.
Yes indeed, Anne and I create one great big rowdy party when we come together.
Anyhoo…after Anne tried the Italian Dressing Mix I had given her, she fell in love with it and keeps coming up with yummy things to make with it. She is out to prove that Italian Dressing goes way beyond tossed salad. See? Told ya she was a crazy one.
Roasted Italian Potatoes
3 pounds red potatoes, scrubbed (or dirty, whichever way you like ‘em)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons Italian dressing mix
Cut potatoes into bite sized pieces. Toss ingredients together in a bowl until the potatoes are covered with olive oil and dressing mix. Pour potatoes into a baking dish. Bake uncovered in a 350° oven for 20-30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. If you like, you can broil them for a few minutes at the end of their baking time to brown them up a bit.
Now, I am creatively thinking about what I should put in her stocking this year. Maybe some other great ingredient so she can come up with another high five recipe? Perhaps something to do with, I don’t know…chocolate???
Whole Wheat Pie Crust
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Making pie crusts has never come easy to me. In fact, if you recall…I put out an all call many months ago and used YOUR recipes to put together the free ebook, For the Love of Pie!
Since that time, I have discovered a delicious and healthy way to make whole wheat pie crust! I am SO excited!
The secret ingredient is Tropical Traditions Palm Shortening. We all know to stay away from regular shortening (like crisco) right? I’ve tried making pie crusts with butter, and that works too (especially in these Mini Apple Pies). But, since I tried using Palm Shortening from Tropical Traditions, I feel like my days of frustration with pie crust may be over. When I tried making a whole wheat crust with Palm Shortening, it formed perfectly. It rolled out like a dream. I could be heard shouting out Whooops and Woohoos from my kitchen for miles around. I’m telling you, this from the lady who never could make a pie crust.
Here’s how you make the crust…
Whole Wheat Pie Crust
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup Palm Shortening (or butter)
4-5 Tablespoons cold water
I found this recipe to work best in my food processor. If you don’t have a food processor, you can cut the shortening into the flour with a pastry blender. If you’re interested in soaking the flour in this recipe to break down the phytates, substitute cultured buttermilk for cold water, cover and let dough sit overnight or at least 12 hours.
Place flour, salt and shortening in food processor. Blend until shortening is cut throughout the flour and the mixture resembles crumbs.
Admire the crumbs…
Begin adding water and processing (or stirring). If your dough looks like this, it doesn’t have enough water in it yet…
Add little bits of water until your dough will form a nice round ball.
Roll out your dough on a well floured surface. Fold it in half.
Then fold it in half again.
Place your dough in your pie dish with the folded corner in the center.
Unfold the dough, shape it into the dish and make the edges pretty.
Here’s a little video tutorial I made that will maybe (hopefully) give you an idea about how I shape my pie crust. There are all kinds of different ways to make it pretty…this is just the way my grandma taught me.
Poke your dough a few times with a fork to keep it from poofing up in the oven.
Bake at 450° for 10-12 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
Mmmm…pretty dutch apple pie! (I just used this Mini Apple Pie filling and crumb topping recipe with the crust for this pie…in case you feel like you must try it right NOW!) I must say, a glass of milk helps this pie go down real nice.
