Sweet Potato Ice Cream

Posted by: Maggie

I know what you may be thinking...sweet potatoes? In ice cream? Blech.

Hear me out.

I cannot find any canned pumpkin in Alexandria, Virginia. Actually, let me rephrase. I cannot find any Libby's canned pumpkin in Alexandria, Virginia. The other brands are watery and worthless when it comes to baking. "Give me Libby's or give me death!" - Patrick Henry. Yep, pretty sure our Founding Fathers are all rolling over in their graves as I type this.

I used my one single can of Libby's pumpkin (purchased last fall) on pumpkin bread and pumpkin oatmeal a couple weeks ago. I didn't know at the time that I would have so much trouble tracking it down this fall. Jeff lives 40 minutes away from me, and was supposed to bring me a can last weekend, since apparently there is no shortage out where he lives.

Welllll, he forgot. I got sad. I turned to my second favorite orange fall food for comfort, the humble sweet potato. I stopped being sad when I remembered bookmarking We Are Not Martha's Sweet Potato Ice Cream last year, back before I had an ice cream maker.

This stuff is so delicious that I barely miss pumpkin. Sure, I'll buy it if my grocery stores ever get their acts together and stock the shelves. I have about 300 pumpkin recipes starred in my Google Reader after all.

Note: If you use the very popular Cuisinart ice cream maker for this, keep an eye on it as it churns. This recipe makes slightly more than 1 quart of ice cream, and mine overflowed a bit!

Here's what you'll need:

2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
5 egg yolks
1 cup sweet potato puree (see recipe for instructions, or buy it pre-made. I used 3 small sweet potatoes and had a bit of leftover puree.)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

To make the sweet potato puree, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil, stab potatoes several times with a fork, and bake for 60-90 minutes (depending on size of potato), or until fork tender. Let cool completely, then cut in half and scoop out the flesh.

Add the sweet potato flesh and 1 tablespoon of water to a food processor, and process until completely smooth. Measure out 1 cup, and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, heat the cream, milk, and sugar until the sugar has dissolved completely and the mixture is hot.

In a medium-sized heat resistant bowl, lightly whisk egg yolks. Slowly pour half of the cream mixture into the egg yolks, whisking the entire time. Next, pour egg/cream mixture into the remainder of the cream in the saucepan, whisking the entire time. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for 6-8 minutes, or until mixture has slightly thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Do not let it boil!

Pour the mixture through a mesh strainer into a medium-sized heat resistant bowl. Whisk in the sweet potato puree and spices until thoroughly combined.

Cover, and refrigerate the bowl for at least 12 hours before churning in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. It took about 20 minutes in my Cuisinart. Freeze for several hours before serving. Let it sit for about 10 minutes before scooping for the best texture!

Printer-friendly
Source: We Are Not Martha, originally from Sweet Bytes

Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad

Posted by: Annie

I am probably the last person on Earth to discover Greek yogurt, but boy did I discover it!

I cannot stop eating it, and am so pleased that my latest food obsession is significantly more nutritious than my last food obsession (Nutella on toast every morning of the summer, anyone?)

I am particularly obsessed with Fage Greek yogurt, and have chased this brand all over NJ. I am a tad bit food store loyal to Wegmans, and when I say a tad bit loyal, I mean I worked at the store for almost six years and used to drive thirty plus minutes to shop there when I lived in Philly. Now that I am back in NJ, I live a mere five minutes from the nearest Wegmans, but have been grossly disappointed with their Fage stock. They are out every single time I'm there. This has forced me to go to their "nameless competitor" - that is how desperate I am to get my hands on Fage.

So, last Wednesday I went off to the "nameless competitor." I rushed inside and grabbed eight, yes eight, containers of my prized yogurt, checked out, ran out to my car, and it wouldn't start. Battery = dead. Sad story, but I moved on because let's get real - nothing could ruin my day, I had Greek yogurt goodness.

Monday of this week, I went to Wegmans to give them another chance at fulfilling my Greek yogurt needs. Well, before I even went in my car battery died, AGAIN. Long story short, I didn't get yogurt, but I did get a new car battery. Today I had a successful trip to the store for Fage, sans dead car battery, and made a delicious chicken salad with a yogurt-based dressing. Enjoy fellow Greek yogurt lovers!

What you will need:

For the salad:

2 cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts (mine weighed a total of 1 pound,) chopped
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup diced onions and diced celery (mixed)

For the dressing:

8 ounces plain, fat-free Greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1 squeeze lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, mix chicken, cranberries, almonds, celery, and onion. In a separate small dish, prepare dressing by mixing yogurt, curry powder, soy sauce, lemon juice, and salt and pepper together. Combine dressing with the salad ingredients and mix well. Serve on your favorite bread, or on top of fresh greens!

Printer-friendly
Adapted from: Iowa Girl Eats

Roasted Butternut Squash Orzo

Posted by: Maggie

"Remember when Ross tried to say butternut squash, and it came out squtternut bosh?" 

Yeah, that line was replaying in my head on a loop the entire time I was making this recipe.

Around this time of year, I usually get my butternut squash fix by purchasing as many of the Lean Cuisine Butternut Squash Ravioli meals as my grocery store gets in stock. While those are mighty tasty, I kind of feel like garbage when I overdo it on the frozen food, so I turned to this recipe instead.

This was my first time cooking butternut squash, and it really reminded me that I need to upgrade from my $6 knife I purchased at a grocery store back in 2004. (Ahem. Hint. Christmas is in 3 months.) Those suckers are hard to cut. I had several close calls, but I managed to get through the recipe with all of my fingers intact, and ended up with a delicious and healthy dinner.

Also, for those of you who don't follow my word vom on Twitter and may have missed it, I attended the DC VegFest on Saturday, and wrote about it for DCEventJunkie.com! I would love if you'd go over there and check it out!

Here's what you'll need:

1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 small red onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup orzo pasta
1 cup (packed) baby spinach, chopped
3/4 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and line a baking sheet with foil. In a large bowl, toss squash, onion, and garlic with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Spread out in a single layer on the baking sheet, and roast for 40-50 minutes, or until the squash is tender. Give the vegetables a good stir a couple times while they're roasting.

While the squash is roasting, cook the orzo pasta according to directions on the box. Drain and set aside.

After the veggies are done, chop the roasted garlic. Add the squash, onions, garlic, spinach, and cranberries to the orzo. Toss with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

Printer-friendly (All of my other printer-friendly pages stopped working yesterday, so this one may stop working too. If anyone can help me figure out why, I will give you a million dollars. That's a lie, but I will be super grateful.)
Adapted from: Two Peas and Their Pod