Twice-Baked Sweet Potato Chipotle Stuffed Poblano Chiles

Stuffed poblano chilies are a delicious side dish with a kick to serve with southwestern cuisine.   These stuffed peppers are impressive, not only because of their festive and colorful presentation, but they also have a great full-bodied, savory-sweet taste!

Ingredients:
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch chunks
2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch chunks
1/2  onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 large poblano chilies  (these chilies are also called pasilla)
1 cup Vegenaise
2 tbsps. canola oil
1 tsp. (approximately) spray margarine
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp pepper
1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce, mashed

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cover a large cookie sheet with foil and lightly grease with 1 tbsp. canola oil. Slice poblano chilies in half, remove seeds and pith.  With your fingers, oil the outside skin of the poblanos and place skin side down at one end of cookie sheet. Stir potatoes, garlic, onions, 1 tbsp. canola oil, salt, and pepper in mixing bowl until evenly coated; then place potato mixture on the cookie sheet with the poblano chilies.  *Boiling the potato mixture works just fine and saves time, however, the potatoes will taste sweeter if they are roasted.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until you see the skin of the poblanos begin to blister.  Remove poblanos from oven and continue baking potato mixture for 10-15  minutes or until potatoes are soft.

Remove potatoes from oven and mash, then mix in chipotle chili and vegenaise.

Turn oven to broil. Place poblanos in shallow baking dish and stuff them with potato mixture. Spray tops of stuffed chilies with margarine and broil until lightly browned.  Chipotle chilies have a sweet, smoky flavor which pairs really well with sweet potatoes.  If you prefer more heat, add another chipotle chili.  Serves 4-6.

Roasted Root Vegetables

Roasting root vegetables enhances natural sugars in vegetables to bring out their sweet, savory taste!

Ingredients:
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped into 1 to 2-inch chunks
2 cups of small fingerling potatoes, scrubbed and cut 1 to 2-inch chunks
1 cup small purple potatoes or 1 cup red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1 to 2-inch chunks
1 bell pepper or one poblano chili, coarsely chopped
1 Vidalia onion, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp. fresh herbs e.g. fresh parsley, oregano, basil
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tbsp. sesame oil
Salt/pepper to taste


Instructions:
Preheat oven to  400 degrees.  Line cookie sheet with foil.  Mix veggies together in bowl.  Season with salt and pepper, then mix in sesame oil.  Transfer veggies to cookie sheet and bake in the center of oven for approx. 40 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.  Carrots and parsnips also work beautifully in this recipe.

Tip:  Make sure you chop vegetables about the same size so they cook evenly.

Veggie Turkey Meatballs and Pasta

Why is it important to live a heart-healthy lifestyle?  Presently, over two-thirds of adults in the U.S. are overweight or obese according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2007-2008).  Heart disease is exacerbated by obesity!  From 1960 to 2006, childhood obesity from ages 12-19 increased from 5% to 17%.   What's really interesting to me, is how the food industry competes by offering larger and larger portions. According to a study published by the Journal of Public Health Policy, portion sizes offered by fast food chains are two to five times larger than when first introduced.  When McDonalds started in 1955, its only hamburger weighed 1.6 oz; now the largest hamburger patty weighs 8 oz, in increase of over 500%! Here are few more interesting tidbits!  According to the USDA, muffins are 333% larger than the USDA recommends, steak is 224% over sized, bagels are 195% over sized, and restaurant pasta servings are 480% over sized! The Fettuccine Alfredo at one of our favorite chain restaurants packs a whopping 1,220 calories and 75 grams of fat! Endless pasta anyone?? Did you know that in 1970 Americans spent 26% of their total food budget eating out and by 2006 that percentage grew to 46%?

Cooking at home is rewarding in so many ways and my version of spaghetti and meatballs has very low cholesterol, 1/2 the fat of regular spaghetti and meatballs, lots of fiber, and great flavor!  My goal when creating my meatballs is to make my veggie to meat ratio 1:1.  Many vegetables work very well with this recipe such as eggplant, carrots, spinach, kale, etc.  I usually blot the moisture out of the veggies with paper towels once I've put them through the food processor because they stick together more easily with less moisture.

Ingredients for meatballs and pasta:
1-2 pkgs. whole wheat pasta (some pasta packages yield less) boiled to desired texture.
1 lb. extra lean ground turkey breast
2-3 cloves garlic
1/2  onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 red or green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 medium peeled zucchini, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup anaheim or poblano chilies
1/2 cup fresh Italian herbs
2 tsps. salt
2 tsps. pepper
Optional:  1/2 - 1 tsp. Italian red pepper flakes (If you like the heat and we really do!)
Cooking spray


For Pasta Sauce:
25 oz. jar organic pasta sauce
8 oz. can tomato paste
1 tomato
1/2 chopped red bell pepper
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian herbs
1-2 cups water

Meatball mixture instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  
In food processor, pulse veggies for meatballs until they resemble rice.  If you do not have a food processor, finely chop veggies.  Blot moisture from veggies with paper towels.  Add turkey meat, salt and pepper and mix together. Line large cookie sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.  Form mixture into 2-inch meatballs and place onto cookie sheet.  Bake for approximately 15 minutes.

 Veggies after the food processor

 

Mixing in turkey

Onto the cookie sheet...


Pasta Sauce Instructions:
If you are short on time, just use two 25 oz. jars of a good quality organic pasta sauce.  I really love to spice up my pasta sauce  so I start by sauteing onion, garlic, and bell pepper for about 3 minutes until  onion is translucent. Add fresh herbs such as Italian parsley, oregano, basil then chopped tomato.  Add jar of pasta sauce, tomato paste, then 1 cup water.  Stir to mix and if needed add more water. Simmer for about 10 minutes and serve over pasta.  Makes enough for 6-8.

 We dished up a yummy raw vegetable salad to serve with our meal!

Ancho Chili Glazed Cedar Plank Salmon

This very spicy salmon recipe is my very own delicious adaptation. You can always adjust the ancho chili powder by halving it with paprika if you want less heat.

Ingredients:
1 cedar plank
2 lbs. wild caught salmon fillets
1 tbsp. ancho chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
3 cloves finely diced garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsps. coarse ground black pepper
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

Instructions:
Soak cedar plank for at least 2 hours.  Mix ingredients together, slather over salmon, and place in ziploc bag for at least 30 minutes.  Place salmon on cedar plank.  Heat grill to  375 degrees and cook on covered grill for approx. 15 minutes or until fillets are flaky but still moist.  Remove salmon from cedar plank and place directly on grill for about 30 seconds on each side to sear.  Remove from grill and serve.

*If you do not have a grill, this recipe is great cooked on the stove top.  Place all ingredients into  skillet and cook on medium high heat about 3-5 minutes on each side of fillet or until salmon is flaky but still moist. Remove salmon, but continue heating marinade for another minute.  Spoon marinade over salmon.