Sweet Potato Muffins

I bought a single sweet potato at Target the other day, with the plan to make it into sweet potato donuts that I saw online. After getting home, I decided I'd really rather not go to the trouble of frying anything. So I went on a search to find something else to use my sweet potato to make. I found this recipe for sweet potato muffins and thought I'd give it a shot. Little did I know (yes!) that these would be that good. They are super. I wish I had 12 more of them right now. Unfortunately, I just ate the last one with my breakfast. I am not even the biggest fan of sweet potatoes (probably why I was planning to turn mine into donuts), but these may have changed my mind. Not that they are hugely different than donuts, but yeah. You should try these.

Muffin ingredients:
1 c. old fashioned oatmeal
1 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1 (15 oz) can sweet potatoes, drained and mashed, OR 1 c. fresh sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
3/4 c. light brown sugar
1/3 c. canola oil OR 1/3 c. applesauce
1/4 c. milk
1 egg
1 t. vanilla

Crumble topping:
1/4 c. old fashioned oatmeal
1/4 c. flour
1/4 c. light brown sugar
1 T. margarine or butter, melted
1 t. vanilla

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the oatmeal, flour, baking powder and soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir in the sweet potatoes, brown sugar, oil/applesauce, milk, egg, and vanilla, until just moistened completely. To make the crumble topping, combine the oats, flour, and brown sugar. With a fork, mix in your melted butter and vanilla until crumbly. Fill your muffin tins with batter 3/4 full. Sprinkle the crumble topping on top, and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Original recipe found here.

Roasted Tomato Soup

Yeah, I know, everybody has a bajillionty tomato soup recipes. This one is a variation on the usual tomato basil. I made it while I was visiting my parents, and the fam snarfed it down to the dregs (including the younglings, of which one is a particularly picky eater). I glommed a couple of recipes together, and this is what I came up with. I think you could use a variety of vegetables, like some celery or a parsnip.  


2 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 c. chopped carrots

1 bell pepper, chopped

2 bay leaves

2–3 c. chicken stock

2 Tbsp. butter

1/4 c. half & half

1) Preheat oven to 450F. Drain tomatoes, reserve liquid. Spread over jellyroll pan, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast 15–20 minutes until caramelized. 

2) While tomatoes are cooking, heat 1/4 c. olive oil in a large skillet. Sauté onions 3–5 minutes, add rest of the vegetables, and cook for 10 minutes. When the tomatoes are finished, add the reserved liquid and the roasted tomatoes to the pan.

3) Add 2 c. stock (use more as needed to thin when puréeing for desired consistency), butter, bay leaves, and half and half. Simmer until the veggies are soft.

4) Remove bay leaves and purée. Season with additional salt and pepper, and possible a splash of lemon juice as desired. 

Indonesian Noodles

Once upon a time I read a review of a cookbook called Comfortably Yum, by Luisa M. Perkins. The review was so complimentary that I immediately looked up the cookbook on Amazon, and without thinking added it to my wish-list.

Fast forward who knows how long, to this past Christmas. Mark hacked my Amazon account to see what I had on my wish-list, not knowing that I never use it. Oh, except for that one time. And you can guess what I opened on Christmas morning. Unfortunately, I had no recollection of this book, so when I saw it I said, Oh, that looks neat. And Mark was slightly flummoxed when it became clear that I didn't remember the book.

Aside from all of that, this is a great cookbook. It is full of comfort foods, and a random assortment at that. I have only tried two recipes so far, but I am looking forward to trying all of them. This one is for Indonesian noodles and is incredibly quick, easy, and delicious.

1 lb. thin spaghetti or linguini (I used regular spaghetti)
2 T. sesame oil
1 c. chunky peanut butter
1/2 c. soy sauce
2 T. rice wine vinegar
2 T. fresh ginger root, peeled and minced
4 scallions, chopped (didn't have scallions; used plain old green onions)
2 c. cooked chicken, shredded or sliced thin
1 T. sesame seeds

Cook the pasta as directed; drain and toss with sesame oil.
In a large bowl, combine the PB, soy sauce, vinegar, and ginger. Add it to the pasta and mix well, then add the chicken. I waited until the bowls were served up before garnishing each with the green onions/scallions and sesame seeds. Serve at room temperature. Serves 8.

I halved this recipe for our little family and it turned out great. The green onions and sesame seeds really added the finishing touch to this dish-- don't skip those. I loved this and will definitely make again. It beats out another Asian noodle recipe I have made that has pork instead of chicken in it, so I am going to try this with pork next. YUM.