Sweet Potato Hummus

Sweet Potato Hummus

This. Is. So. Yummy. I could just eat this all by itself. I previously made a post about the hummus at Wegmans, and how delicious it was. Well, I found the perfect recipe for the sweet potato variation!

Adapted from wholeliving.com recipe.

Makes about 3 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. (about 2 1/4 cups mashed) sweet potatoes, baked, without skin
• (Place 3 medium sized sweet potatoes on baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 50-60min or until a knife inserts easily when pierced. Let cool. Remove skins.)
• 3 tbsp lemon juice (add 1 tbsp if you like it be more tangy)
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp reduced sodium salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1 3/4 cups canned low-sodium chickpeas
• 1 tsp minced garlic (1 clove)

Directions:

Easy as pie!

Add all ingredients to food processor...Process until super-smooth (about 5 min), periodically scraping the mixture down the sides if needed.

Easy Mushroom-Tomato Pasta Sauce

A super easy, tasty, accompaniment to your favorite pasta! 

Fresh whole wheat pappardelle with sauce

Ingredients 

1 large onion, diced (about 1-1/2 cups)

1-1/2 cups sliced mushrooms

1-1/2 cup diced plum tomatoes (remove pulp and seeds)

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt

Black pepper

Optional: 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

If you are starting with whole mushrooms, very quickly rinse them under cold water to remove dirt (don't soak, because mushrooms easily absorb water and then you are left with yucky soggy mushrooms!); afterwards, gently dry them on a clean towel, and spread out to let dry further.

Heat oil in large non-reactive skillet (stainless steel preferably; don't use aluminum as the acids in the tomato can discolor and give an off flavor to the sauce ). 

Add mushrooms, and add a dash of salt. Stir to coat, and sauté over medium-high heat for about 4-5 min. Stir in onions, sprinkle another dash of salt in, and cook another 5 or so until onions are translucent. Add in tomatoes, add a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and cook about 4 min. Season to taste with salt and pepper to finish the sauce.  

If you are ok with cheese, you can stir in about 1/3 cup grated Parmesan at this point. 

Toss the sauce with cooked pasta and fresh parsley (you can reserve some to around on top or mix it all in). Now, dig in!

Chicken Salad with Grapes & Toasted Pecans

Chicken Salad
TMP Adaptation
Serves 4

½ cup eggless light mayo
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 packets of Truvia or Stevia zero-calorie sweetener
⅓ cup diced celery
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked, cubed
⅓ cup pecans, toasted, chopped
2 tsp chia seeds
1 cup red seedless grapes, halved

Directions:
What directions? Mix these goodies up in a bowl, cover & chill in the fridge for a while, and enjoy!

Nutrition data for adapted version (from MyFitnessPal.com), per serving:
283 kcal
17 g fat
25 g protein
11 g carbohydrate
2 g fiber
6 g sugar

Whole Foods Sonoma Chicken Salad
Serves 4-6

“This chicken salad is one of our classic Whole Foods Market dishes. The tender chicken breast, crunchy pecans and sweet grapes in each bite are hard to top.” -From The Whole Foods Market Cookbook

Ingredients

Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
5 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Salad
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/3 cup pecan pieces, toasted
2 cups red seedless grapes
3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
Directions

Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a bowl. Refrigerate until ready to dress the salad. This can be prepared up to 2 days ahead.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place the chicken breasts in one layer on a baking pan. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes until completely cooked through (Juices should run clear; no pink in the center) Remove cooked chicken breasts from pan; let cool for 10 minutes, then cover and refrigerate.

When the chicken is cold, dice into bite-size chunks and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in pecans, grapes, celery and dressing.

Dill pepperoncini tuna salad

This was such a pleasant change from the common mayo & celery type tuna salad! I will definitely be making this again, since it's so easy and quick to put together!

Slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

Makes about 2 cups, or four 1/2 cup servings 

10 min prep. time

Ingredients:

• 10 ounces (white solid albacore) tuna in water, well drained
• 2 scallions washed, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 6 pepperoncini peppers, stems and seeds removed,  julienne-cut
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill (I used 3 tsp dried)
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts*
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil **
• 1 tablespoon smooth Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice or more to taste
• 1/4 (to 1/2 teaspoon) freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Whisk olive oil, Dijon and whole grain mustards, balsamic vinegar, black pepper, lemon juice, and dill together in bowl. Toss with tuna, scallions, pepperoncini, and pine nuts in a non-reactive bowl. 

Serving suggestions: Wrap in butter or Bibb lettuce, in whole wheat pits pocket, or whatever other cracker, bread, etc you prefer! 

Original recipe notes: This can be made up to 3 days in advance and refrigerated.

Other notes:

*To toast pine nuts:

Heat nuts in single layer in small pan on the stove top, over medium high heat. Watch closely, stir/toss every 30 sec or more if needed, to avoid burning the nuts. Remove from heat when golden. 

**original recipe used 1/4 cup EVOO

Maki sushi

So... This year started with my first homemade veggie-filled sushi rolls... And since I bought a package of nori with 10 sheets in it, not really thinking about how quickly I would need to use it before it absorbed moisture and became stale or unusable...  Well, that led to what has felt like a LOT of sushi rolls this month! Today I finally finished off the last roll, and needless to say, as yummy as they were, I don't think be making these again for quite a while!

Sweet potato, cucumber, & avocado for New Years Eve dinner

Sushi overload!

Carrot, avocado, and ginger

To make Sushi rice: 

These quantities makes enough rice to make 5 rolls. Though I didn't really measure it, it ends up being about 3-4 cups cooked. I used about a 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of rice per roll.

• 1 cup sushi rice (short grain white, sticky)
• 1 1/2 cup water
• Seasoned rice vinegar

Directions: Add rice and water to a pot on the stove. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer, and cover. Cook for 20 min. (Make sure heat is low enough so the rice won't burn on the bottom; it will stick, but you shouldn't need to stir the rice at all) Remove from heat and let stand, covered for additional 10 min. (This finishes cooking the rice by steaming and will also release any rice stuck to the bottom of the pot). Fluff with fork; drizzle about 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar over rice and mix to distribute.

To make the rolls, I used:

• 8x7" sushi nori sheets
• Assorted vegetables, julienne-cut
• Sushi rolling mat

If you check out Allrecipes' YouTube channel, they have a great tutorial video for assembly (I found it much easier to watch how to do this instead of reading instructions):

http://youtu.be/XKUSI8ElgRc