One Skillet Sweet Potato Lasagna
PIN IT!As a girl with a little bit of curve, finding jeans isn’t easy. Actually, it sucks. I’m stuck between two sizes right now (and one size is teetering on one I’d rather NEVER be), so different brands fit drastically different. So when I find a pair that fits me like a glove, I don’t just buy that pair in that color. I buy every single color I can possibly find in that exact fit and walk out. That might sound foolish, but when you find something that fits you so perfectly, you buy it in every color.
Duh.
Well, that’s exactly what this lasagna is to me, too. This skillet lasagna recipe is like those perfect jeans. Instead of trying 15 different recipes for other types of lasagna, I’m going to make this kind every way I can before it just stops working. Like those jeans. I’ll buy them in every color until they start coming in colors like periwinkle or neon pink. Then it’ll be time to move on to a new fit and a new brand.
For now, this lasagna still fits like a glove and I already have three different ways to make this before I think it’s time to retire it. For now, let’s revel in these “perfect fitting jeans” for a second.
Sweet potato pasta is probably one of my all time favorite indulgences. I first saw the idea on my friend Julie’s blog and made it that night. Since that night, I’ve been making it monthly, with additions and changes of my own. Now, instead of regular pasta, I thought I’d add this luscious cream sauce to my favorite skillet lasagna recipe, with a few other meaty additions as well, like chorizo and tons of sage.
This may be my favorite version yet. The addition of the spice and chorizo balances the sweet, creamy earthiness of the sweet potato cream perfectly. But that’s not the best part of this recipe. You can make it for less than $20 and it’s all in one simple skillet. Which means less dish duty and more wine drinking. The low calories and fat doesn’t hurt either.
Hey, I gotta make sure those perfect jeans fit, right?
One Skillet Sweet Potato Lasagna
CLICK HERE FOR THE PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS RECIPE!
Serves about 4 – 6. Sauce adapted from Table for Two.
Prep time: 10 – 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 – 20 minutes
Ingredients:
For the lasagna:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 cup shiitake mushrooms, chopped
- 2 links of chorizo sausage, chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 6 sheets of cooked lasagna noodles, cut in half
- 3/4 cup skim ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup parmesan cheese
For the pasta sauce:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large sweet potato, cooked
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 3/4 cup 2% milk
- 1/4 cup light cream
- 1 teaspoon sage
- 2/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- Fresh herbs for garnish
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- To make the cream sauce, mash the sweet potatoes to remove all lumps. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Once melted, whisk in the flour to make a paste. Gradually add the milk and cream, whisking well to incorporate. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in the sage, salt and pepper.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the mashed sweet potato and parmesan cheese.
- To make the skillet, heat the olive oil in another large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Add in the garlic and mushrooms, cooking until softened, about 4 more minutes. Mix in the chorizo and cook until browned, about 4 – 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and mix with the cream sauce. Save half of the sauce for later.
- Mix the ricotta, egg and parmesan cheese together.
- To make the lasagna, layer 3 – 4 lasagna noodles over the cream sauce/chorizo mixture in the pan. Top with half of the ricotta and parmesan mixture. Add remaining sweet potato sauce, remaining lasagna noodles and ricotta cheese. Top with remaining parmesan cheese, pepper, walnuts and fresh herbs.
Nutritional information per serving:
Calories: 500
Fat: 31.5 grams
Carbohydrates: 39 grams
Fiber: 4.5 grams
Protein: 22.5 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 14
Claire
Tags:easy sweet potato pasta, fall recipes, lasagna recipes, pasta recipes, skillet lasagna, sweet potato recipes
French Onion Beef Stew
Woooh, it’s a little dusty in here. I might have even spotted a few tumbleweeds in the corner. And yep, there’s a few cobwebs over there too. I’m not going to make up any excuse as to why it’s been almost 3 weeks since I posted because I don’t have any.
Simply put, life got crazy. As many of you know, I spent 10 days in Fiji, one day in LA and three days in Cleveland the first two weeks of October. That meant I had two weeks worth of work to get done before I even left on October 1st. That means each day I had 3 – 6 recipes due a day versus the manageable 2 – 3. That makes it hard to focus on blogging (or showering, eating normal meals, etc).
I want to say I’m sorry but I’m kind of not, to be honest. When I started this blog, I never wanted it to take over my real life. I never wanted this thing I loved to turn into something that left me stressed when I was on vacations or weekends (I have a full-time job for that!) I always wanted this blog to be my place of solitude, a small corner of the internet where I never had to worry about deadlines or traffic.
And it’s remained that. Although I have no intentions of leaving you hanging for that long again (no more waffles, Tracy!), I can’t say it’ll never happen again. But I can make you promise, when I do come back I’ll have a ton of new recipes to make up for it.
Which is why you’re looking at an amazing little bowl of stew this morning! French onion soup is one thing I can never get enough of (ask my mother about the time we went to Paris and that’s all I ate). I also love beef stew. So one morning, I had the crazy idea to mate the two together to create one insanely delicious flavor packed stew that’s complete with a crispy, cheesy crouton on top.
Holycow. You guys, this stew. I can’t believe I managed to keep it secret for three weeks because I’m already planning a remake this weekend. I hope this stew makes up for my absence, if not, don’t worry, I have plenty more recipes and stories that should 🙂
French Onion Beef Stew
CLICK HERE FOR THE PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS RECIPE!
Serves about 4.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 1 1/2 hours
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 4 cups sliced onions
- 6 cups low sodium beef broth
- 1 cup dark beer
- 2 1/2 pounds beef stew meat
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 medium carrots, sliced
- 3 medium celery stalks, chopped
- 4 medium red potatoes, sliced
- 1 cups mushrooms
- 1 1/2 tablespoons italian seasoning
- 4 slices of french bread
- 4 slices of mozzarella or provolone cheese
- Salt and pepper
Directions:
- Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add onions, reduce heat to medium low, and cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Mix in 4 cups of broth and 1 cup of beer. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove from direct heat after but keep warm.
- Meanwhile, dredge the beef stew meat in flour and shake off excess. Heat olive oil in another pot over medium heat. Add the beef stew meat in batches and cook until browned on each side, about 4 – 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set in another bowl.
- Add beef to the same pot and stir in the remaining 2 cups of broth. Increase heat to high, bring to a boil and then reduce to low. Simmer for about 30 minutes, or mixture is thickened.
- Gradually mix in the onion and beer/broth mixture, mixing well. Stir in the carrots, celery, potatoes, mushrooms and italian seasoning. Cover the mixture and simmer for another 30 – 45 minutes, or until vegetables are soft.
- Preheat broiler. Fit a slice of bread over four ramekins or bowls. Add a slice of cheese to the tops of the bread. Broil for about 2 minutes or until cheese is melted and browned. Serve warm.
Nutritional information per serving:
Calories: 675
Fat: 24 grams
Carbohydrates: 44.5 grams
Fiber: 6 grams
Protein: 32 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 14
Claire
Tags:beef stew recipes, fall recipes, french onion recipes, soup recipes, stew recipes
Apple & Cranberry Whole Grain Granola Waffles
These luscious apple & cranberry whole grain granola waffles are the perfect fall breakfast and brunch treats!
I am a walking cliche when it comes to fall.
My house is already decked out with my fall decor, including cute mini plush pumpkins, gold and pine cone accents, fresh fall flowers in every vase and a homemade burlap wreath adorned on the door. My cozy sweaters have already replaced the maxi dresses in my closet, I wear boots with just about everything now and I’m gearing up to dye my hair a vibrant shade of red. Whether my husband likes it or not, I’ve already scheduled our weekends until the end of November with pumpkin patch outings, apple picking, haunted houses and fall getaways to rustic cabins.
And I have absolutely NO shame in admitting that. Nor do I have shame for replacing my favorite summer recipes with hearty, apple and pumpkin filled masterpieces like this apple granola whole grain waffles.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ll miss those plump tomatoes and fresh zucchinis. But boy am I ready to bake all the things with pumpkins, apples and squash. I know that’s so cliche because apparently loving fall is like the “new” thing for girls in my age range, but I’ve loved fall before it was the thing to do. I grew up craving the crunch of leaves under my boots. I’d dance around outside in piles of leaves with my sweaters pulled over my fingers as my mom made chunky stews and my dad raked. Fall was my time. It was the one time I truly felt excited, nostalgic and me. I looked forward to fall the way most kids looked forward to Christmas and summer vacation.
So yes, I may be cliche, but it’s how I’ve always been. So call it whatever you like, but I’m going to continue to wear my yoga pants, drinking my PSLS and going to every single pumpkin patch in the Virginia, Maryland and DC region.
Apple & Cranberry Whole Grain Granola Waffles
CLICK HERE FOR THE PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS RECIPE!
Serves about 6. Inspired and adapted from All Recipes.
Prep time: 5 – 8 minutes
Cook time: 4 – 6 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 3/4 cup almond milk
- 3 tablespoons apple butter
- 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup ground flax seed meal
- 1/4 cup almond meal
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon apple pie spice
- 2/3 cup chopped apple
- 6 tablespoons dried cranberries
- About 1/4 cup apple blueberry granola (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
Directions:
- Preheat your waffle maker to medium and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, almond milk, apple butter, applesauce, vanilla extract and honey until fully mixed. In another bowl, whisk the flour, ground flax seed meal, almond meal, baking powder and apple pie spice together.
- Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, stirring until fully combined. Mix in the apple and cranberries.
- Pour batter (about 1/2 cup at a time) into the waffle maker and cook until golden brown (about 3 minutes). Serve each waffle with granola and maple syrup!
Nutritional information per serving (1 waffle):
Calories: 300
Fat: 7.2 grams
Carbohydrates: 47 grams
Fiber: 4.5 grams
Protein: 9 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 8
Tastefully Crafted with Green Mountain Gringo
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Green Mountain Gringo all-natural chips and salsa. All opinions are 100% mine.
I am a salsa FREAK. It’s easily my favorite condiment. I put it on salads, burgers, sandwiches, wraps and pizzas, and of course indulge in the traditional way of eating it, with salty, crispy tortilla chips. Because I love salsa so incredibly much, I’ve become a bit of a salsa snob. I no longer buy the stuff on sale and always look for brands that fulfill my four main MUSTS in salsa buying:
- Must be all natural
- FREE of pesky GMOs
- Gluten-free (naturally, of course)
- Vegetarian (can you believe some salsas aren’t?)
You’d think all salsas would fit these, but sadly not. That’s why I’m such a huge fan of Green Mountain Gringo. For one, awesome name for a salsa, don’t you think? And two, they are sourced from only REAL ingredients, which you can taste with chip-full.
Green Mountain Gringo is currently holding a fabulous #tastefullycrafted contest where they are giving away a trip to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado! I’m a total beer lover too, so I desperately wish I could win this! All you have to do to enter is to submit a photo of what you think “tastefullycrafted” means to you. I mean, it’s THAT simple! The photo that best represents what it means to be tastefully crafted wins.
Naturally I had to submit so I started thinking of what the term tastefully crafted meant to me. Of course, my mind went to beer since my husband is an amazing home brewer. We just spent this weekend bottling his new Whiskey Stout and it smells amazing. While he bottled, I enjoyed a pint of his Kolsh, which is an amber style ale.
It’s hard to have commercially made beer now because my husband’s is so amazing. Beer and salsa snob? I think I could be labeled as worse things, don’t you? So here are the rules. It’s a little late to enter the contest, but you can still vote on your favorites!
- Contest is open for photo entry 9/4 – 9/16
- Entries are closed, voting begins 9/17 – 9/22
- Winners are announced 9/23
You can vote for your favorite entry (or your own) on the Green Mountain Gringo’s Facebook page, beginning September 17th (12 pm EST). Now onto the prizes!
- First Place Grand Prize (1 winner): 2 tickets to the Denver Great American Beer Festival and lodging ($1250 Value)
- Second Place (5 winners): 2 tickets each to the Denver Great American Beer Festival ($430)
- Third Place (4 winners): a Tastefully Crafted Party Pack ($100 value)
Honestly, I’d love the first two, but waking up to THIS on my doorstep wouldn’t be so bad either, right?
If you want to learn more about Green Mountain Gringo’s amazing products, check out the below!
Green Mountain Gringo Facebook
Green Mountain Gringo Instagram
Green Mountain Gringo Tastefully Crafted Contest
Gluten free Peanut Butter Coconut Oil Cookies
Try saying that 10 times fast. Seriously, try it. It’s embarrassing.
It’s Monday, and all Mondays just need cookies. All the cookies. It’s really the only way to combat the exhaustion, the heavy workloads, the anxiety and the stress of an upcoming week, right?
I thought so.
Today’s recipe is 100% inspired by my friend Ali’s decadent looking coconut oil chocolate chip cookies. I’ve been lusting after them since they first appeared on her blog and knew this weekend was the perfect time to craft my own coconut oil cookie, using a few different ingredients. I knew instantly that I wanted to make these gluten free, primarily because I was out of all purpose flour. However, it worked out perfectly because I was able to gift these soft, chewy and delicious cookies to my friend with a gluten allergy, so it all worked out!
I also knew peanut butter had to happen. I’m 1600% addicted to it and I knew if it didn’t find its way into a recipe soon, I’d keep spoonfeeding it into my mouth without any shame. That and I had peanut butter chips, which are even more addicting than regular peanut butter itself because you can just pop them into your mouth. They are the most delicious and the most dangerous ingredient to enter my kitchen since a bottle of wine.
I was a little skeptical that this recipe would trump my favorite low-fat chocolate chip cookies or my peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, but holycrap, did they. The coconut oil gives them just the slightest coconut flavor, so if you’re not a fan of the flavor, don’t worry, it’s not overwhelming. I love Carrington Farms because it comes in this awesome little jar that make measuring a BREEZE.
Every bite is SO moist, so chewy and so incredibly tasty, you probably won’t stop at just one. You might have 6 and then immediately do a Jillian Michaels 30 day shred to combat the calories. You just might.
Gluten free Peanut Butter Coconut Oil Cookies
CLICK HERE FOR THE PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS RECIPE!
Serves about 16. Recipe adapted and inspired by Gimme Some Oven.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Chill time: 24 hours
Cook time: About 12 – 14 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup Carrington Farms coconut oil, softened but not melted
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (not natural)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 large brown egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup gluten-free all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup almond meal
- 1/2 teaspoon xantham gum
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Dash of salt
- 3/4 cup peanut butter chips
- 1/2 cup chopped peanuts
Directions:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the coconut oil, peanut butter, brown sugar, white sugar, egg and vanilla. Beat until creamy, about 3 – 4 minutes.
- In another bowl, whisk the gluten-free frlou, xantham gum, corn starch, baking soda and dash of salt in another bowl. Add the flour mixture to the creamy peanut butter mixture, mixing well after the addition until a dough forms. Remove the whisk attachment and mix in the peanut buter chips and peanuts with a wooden spoon.
- Using a small ice cream scoop, scoop out 12 cookies onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Cover tightly with foil and chill for at least 24 hours.
- Once chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the cookies for about 12 – 14 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool on the pan and then move to a wire cooling rack. Let cool completely then enjoy!
Nutritional information per serving (1 cookie):
Calories: 300
Fat: 14.5 grams
Carbohydrates: 29 grams
Fiber: 4.5 grams
Protein: 7.2 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 7
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