I love all potatoes, but if I’m going to be honest, sweet potatoes are my favorite. I’m not entirely sure if it is solely because I enjoy how they taste or if there is a lot of positive association from the nostalgia that fond memories bring. I can still clearly hear my great-grandmother’s voice when I picture her asking me if I would like some sweet potatoes at Christmas dinner. I know now that they were yams. Hell, she even stopped calling them sweet potatoes once I hit my teens; I think she just called them that to get me to try them. “Sweet potatoes” does sound more kid-friendly than “yams”… even if I find yams to actually have a sweeter flavor profile, maybe a little overly sweet. Either way, when I am baking sweet potatoes, I always find myself smiling once the aroma fills the kitchen and I think about grandma’s smile and tender voice when she offered me my favorite holiday dish as a child.

As my taste buds have matured, I have found yams to be overly sweet, and when I started cooking with sweet potatoes, I felt like I struck a gold mine. They tasted delicious as a replacement for yams in my sweeter dishes like my Fruit and Potatoes, and they heightened the flavors of my savory dishes like my Lentil Pot Pies. It wasn’t long before I was baking them and eating them fresh out of the oven, and I recently began to wonder how I might go about making twice baked sweet potatoes.

Without the typical potato boat shape, I was uncertain at first as to how I would fill my potatoes without making them difficult to manage while trying to eat them. Then it dawned on me… I could make smaller stuffed potatoes that are easy to hold by cutting the potatoes into chunks before baking them. I hoped that they would form a skin on the cut edges that would create a barrier as I scooped them out. It worked like a charm.

I hollowed out the sweet potato chunks, leaving three edges in tact. Then I mixed them with lentils, quinoa and onions before refilling the potatoes. I put them back into the oven for about a half hour, and when I pulled them out, they looked so yummy! I couldn’t wait to taste them, so I may have burned my tongue a little, but it was worth it. They tasted delicious, and I knew exactly what to add next time to make them perfect.

Ingredients:

1 Sweet Potato

1 cup lentils (cooked)

1 cup quinoa (cooked)

1/2 of an onion (diced)

1 carrot (diced)

1 tsp ground ginger

Vegan cream to pour over top (optional)

Instructions:

Slice sweet potatoes into chunks about 1-2 inches wide

Stand chunks on their sides in a muffin tin

Bake at 350 F until chunks are soft in the middle

Cut the top skin that has formed off the potato and scoop out the guts into a bowl

Mix the rest of the ingredients with the sweet potato filling and stuff the sweet potato skins with the mixture.

Bake for 20-30 minutes

Kale and leeks are absolutely wonderful together. Combined with fluffy mashed potatoes and cripsy potato skins, you have one delicious side dish.

Kale and Leek Twice-Baked Potatoes 

3-4 large red potatoes

1 bunch of kale

2-3 large garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large leek

almond milk

2 tbsp vegan butter

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Gently scrub the skins of your potatoes and pierce all over with a fork. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until the potatoes are tender. Remove from oven and set aside to let the potatoes cool.

Wash and prepare the kale and leek. Kale: tear the leaves from the large stems, plunge into water, remove and set aside. Leek: trim the leek down to the yellow and pale green part. Half lengthwise, slice thin. Place in colander and rinse well, let strain well. 

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the leek, sprinkle lightly with salt and sauté for 10 minutes. Add the kale and minced garlic to the skillet and sauté for 5 minutes, until kale is completely wilted and excess water has evaporated.

Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut in half, and gently scoop out the inside of the potatoes, leaving about 1/4 inch of potato and skin for stability.

Add the potato filling to a large mixing bowl, along with the leek and kale mixture. Mash together until smooth with the vegan butter and a few splashes of almond milk, as needed. Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste. 

This week we’re jumping the low-carb and gluten-free bandwagon making this casserole. Mimicking twice baked potatoes, this recipe intrigued me when the websites mission is Deliciously Healthy Low-Carb Recipes. 

This casserole has been pinned over 300,000 times, leaving us with no choice but to make it. NO CHOICE I SAY! 

In the recipe, the ingredients are as listed:

1 large head cauliflower 4 oz. low fat cream cheese (do not use fat free) 1/2 cup low fat sour cream (do not use fat free) 1/4 cup minced green onions 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (If you only have finely grated Parmesan, use a bit less) 6 slices bacon, cooked until very crisp, fat blotted with paper towel and then crumbled 1 cup reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese (I used Kraft 2% milk sharp cheddar)

This is where I’m confused, how healthy is this recipe? The only thing considered “good for me” is cauliflower, green onion, and maybe bacon (loosely based on skeptical research).

I followed the recipe, well, with one minor change. I had to use a metal baking dish instead of glass. Bake it an extra 10 minutes to achieve the melted glory you see below. 

Two of my favorite things all in one dish, cheese and bacon. They appear to have made a love child… no way something can be good, healthy, and cheesy. 

Taste Test

This recipe isn’t as good as its forefather, the twice baked potato, but it is tasty 

I could really taste the low fat-ness of the recipe (probably only detectable to those raised on full fat dairy products)

A lot of dairy… a lot

Cauliflower did mimic mash potato consistency well

Bacon and cheddar are always a solid decision

For Next Time

Use regular dairy products, if not used to lower fat ones. I could taste the difference. Maybe use one low fat and one regular to keep the dish healthier.

Make it for breakfast. It would pair nicely with a hash brown crust and some scrambled eggs. 

Use a little sour cream/cream cheese, and more cauliflower. I felt that the cauliflower was swimming in dairy. Cheese good, too much cream stuff with cheese, not as good. 

Next on my table…