Cuban Sweet Potato and Black Bean Soup

I was the world's pickiest eater when I was little.  We would go to the same Chinese restaurant when I was growing up and would order a hamburger!! Little did I know, that type of food would become my favorite as an adult :)  So glad I finally started trying different types of foods as I've gotten older. When I was at the store a week or so ago, I saw the biggest sweet potato I've ever seen!  I bought it thinking I would probably only need half.  I was right!  Half of it yielded two cups!  I'm planning on using the other half to "test" out a new recipe for sweet potato biscuits.  After doing a little bit of research about Cuban cuisine, I found that cumin, peppers, black beans, garlic, sweet potatoes and oregano is found in a lot of the recipes.  I incorporated all of those yummy Cuban flavors into this soup.  When I made this for dinner, the hubby had at least two bowls (maybe three) - I lost track! I always love when a regular "customer" enjoys his meal so much :)

Ingredients

1 cup onion, chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups uncooked sweet potato, peeled and cubed
15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
10-ounce can Original Ro-Tel Diced Tomatoes
  and Green Chilies, undrained
1 cup green peppers, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon oregano
8 cups water
2 cups cooked white rice, any brand

In small saucepan, make the white rice and set aside.  In large stockpot, melt the butter slowly and then add the onion.  Saute until the onion is just starting to get tender.  Add the rest of the ingredients in the order given except the white rice.  Stir well, bring to a boil and then turn to a simmer and cover for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the white rice, stir well and then cook 5-10 more minutes. Serve immediately.

Pigs in a Blanket

Lauren hosted a New Year's Eve party this year at our house and one of her friends brought over a plate of pigs in a blanket. They were really yummy (I sampled a few) and it got me to thinking, have I ever made them in my life? I don't think I have. I figured since there were only two ingredients, it couldn't be too hard to make.  I bought the house brand of both the hot dogs and the crescent rolls.  I could have bought the fancy cocktail weiners, but I figured regular hot dogs would be fine if I just cut them in half.  The grand total came to $2.25 :) I challenge you to find an appetizer at the store that is that inexpensive!  I taste tested a few of these early in the afternoon on Friday and then put the rest back in the fridge. When Lauren came home from school, she put four on a plate and popped them into the microwave for about 30 seconds for a snack. She said they tasted fine, even reheated! The next time you get invited to a party last minute and aren't sure what kind of appetizer to bring, try making these - I made them in less than 30 minutes!

Ingredients

8-ounce package crescent rolls (8 count), any brand
16-ounce package hot dogs (8 count), any brand

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and lightly grease a cookie sheet. Set aside.  Cut the eight hot dogs in half for a total of 16 halves.  Separate the eight crescent rolls from each other.  Cut each roll in half lengthwise for a total of 16 triangles.  Wrap each hot dog tightly in the crescent roll.  Place on the cookie sheet and bake for 11-13 minutes or until they are beginning to get lightly brown.  Remove to wire rack to cool slightly.  Serve immediately.  Makes 16 servings.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Crackers

Now is the time of year that the Girl Scouts are selling their cookies.  Have you ever eaten the Tagalongs?   How about if you could make a version of those yourself that doesn't require baking?  These are actually round butter crackers (like a Ritz) with peanut butter in between and dipped in milk chocolate!  So easy and quick to make too :)  Lauren (who is not a fan of butter crackers at all), ate a few of these last night and proclaimed them, "addictive." They kind of are!!  Since I had just a little of the melted chips left, I dipped a plastic spoon in and also some candy canes.  This morning, I put that spoon in my coffee because I needed an extra zap of sugar - busy day planned for today!!!!!!

Ingredients:

1 sleeve round butter crackers, any brand
11.5 ounces milk chocolate chips, any brand
Smooth peanut butter, any brand

Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and set aside. Take two crackers and put a 1/2 teaspoon of peanut butter in between and press gently. I had 31 crackers in my "sleeve," so I made 15 peanut butter "sandwiches." It's good I had one extra, because one cracker accidentally landed on the floor!  After you have them all assembled, melt the milk chocolate chips either slowly on the stove in a saucepan or do what I did and melt them in a small bowl in the microwave.  Start with 30 seconds and then keep adding 15 seconds until the chips are smooth, stirring with a spoon after each increment of time.  Take each peanut butter sandwich and dip it in the melted chocolate.  I used a fork to turn it over in the bowl. No fuss, no muss! Place each chocolate covered cracker sandwich on the wax paper and if desired, sprinkle crushed candy canes on top. Put in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes. Keep these stored in a covered container in the fridge.

Banana-Orange and Walnut Bread

 

With the overabundance of clementines that have been in our house lately, somehow a few bananas managed to get lost in the shuffle and got a bit overly ripe. So, that only means one thing - time to make banana bread! Yesterday was the first time in about three weeks that I had the kitchen all to myself during the day, so I was able to do some "experimenting" by using orange juice in this recipe.  It adds just the right amount of sweetness to make this bread totally delicious!

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups white flour
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
2/3 cup bananas, mashed
2/3 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 1 1/2 quart loaf pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.  In a large bowl,  put all the ingredients in the order given except the walnuts and mix well with large spoon.  When well combined, "fold" the walnuts gently into the batter.  Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Remove from oven and let pan cool about 15 minutes on a wire rack.  Invert pan and remove loaf to wire rack to continue cooling.

Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Bars

While the Internet is chock-full of great chocolate chip and oatmeal bar recipes and it took just a click of a mouse to bring up over 1.5 million results on Google (yes, I am not kidding), I am one of those people that still loves flipping through cookbooks.  I have been working on my cookbook collection for as long as I can remember and my bookcase is overflowing right now.  At last count, I had about 110. I absolutely LOVE looking through the older cookbooks that I have. I have been known to lie down on my dining room floor and look through them for hours.  Earlier in the week, I was browsing through a cookbook from 1973.  Given that I have a teenager, this particular recipe caught my eye because it was under the section entitled, "Teenage Recipes."  I haven't quite figured out whether the recipes are for teens to make or for teens to eat! The original name for these bars were "chocolate chip lunchtime bars."  I changed the name to chocolate chip and oatmeal bars because of two reasons  - one is that chocolate chips and oatmeal are the two main ingredients and second, these bars can be eaten anytime, not just for lunch :)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup margarine, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup white flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup quick oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray a  9 x 13 inch pan with cooking spray.  Set aside. In large bowl, put the butter, margarine, white sugar and light brown sugar.  Beat with electric mixer or by hand with large spoon until well combined.  Add the eggs, flour, baking soda, salt, and vanilla extract.  Combine well and then add the chocolate chips and oats and mix well by hand.  Pour into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Cut into 20 squares.