Tag Archive for: Sweet Potato

Peruvian Ground Beef Stew

There are some recipes like beef stew (or in our family, ground beef hash) that are comfort food staples. Just the smell brings back memories of home and family. There are others, like this stew, that are derivatives of those classics and may be (Gasp!) better than the original. This one came about when we started making Grandma’s traditional beef stew but found ourselves without all the ingredients. It became a game of saving the stew, and I think it came out amazing. It is both hearty and light at the same time and saves really well. In fact, I ate it for three days. The sweet potatoes helped to thicken it without any flour (a great option for those of you who are gluten free!) Let us know what you think!

Kelly & Mary

1 ¼ lb 85% Ground Beef

1 large onion

2 t Hungarian Sweet Paprika

Salt & Pepper

1 quart beef broth

2 T Ancho chili powder

1 t Guajillo chili

1 Yellow Pepper, chopped

½ cup petite frozen peas

2 sweet potatoes, chopped

1 pasilla negro chile

1 clove garlic

Brown the ground beef, making sure to break the beef up forming small crumbles.

When you have a good amount of liquid and fat coming out of the meat, use a paper towel to remove some of the fat. Add the chili powders, paprika and salt and pepper and continue to cook until browned. When the beef is browned, add the onion and cook until fragrant and translucent.

Add sweet potatoes. Pour in the beef broth and then add water to cover.

Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer for about an hour. Meanwhile, toast the whole pasilla chile over an open flame (or a frying pan) until slightly toasted and fragrant, about 1-2 min. Break into pieces into a blender add 1 cup of water and 1 clove of garlic and blend about 30 seconds.

Strain puree into a pan and simmer until reduced by about half. Add to the stew along with the rest of the vegetables. (You don’t HAVE to do this step since it is a bit of a process, but I loved the smokiness and depth that this added.) Allow to simmer 15-20 more min to marry the flavors and allow the peppers to soften.

Top with a bit of goat cheese, Greek yogurt or sour cream and enjoy with a salad and tortillas or bread.

Yum Yum Yum.

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Spicy Sweet Potatoes

If you are like me (and many other women out there), you have come to love Pinterest. It is such a simple concept with so many possibilities. Pinterest has given me the ability to easy keep track of things I find online and discover lots of new ideas! This recipe came to me through this wonderful new community. Read the original blog post here. I made a few changes and I think I will make a few more next time I try this. Sweet potatoes are really good for you and super yummy too. Sometimes it is fun to put a twist on an old favorite; I thought these were awesome. I don’t really think you have to parboil them, so I would just start by roasting them instead. After being boiled, they got just a little too soft and squished a little too much (although that could just be me being overzealous.) I also added a bit more spice to balance out the sugar in this recipe since the potatoes are sweet on their own. This was amazing with some simple roast chicken, try it out! I will update you when I try these again.

Kelly

Crash Hot Sweet Potatoes

2 Medium Sweet Potatoes

½ teaspoon kosher salt

2 quarts water

1-2 tablespoons melted butter

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Topping:

1 ½ tablespoons light brown sugar

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon chili powder

½ teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon cayenne

¼ teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon Meat Magic

10 grinds black pepper – coarse

Peel the sweet potatoes and slice about 1 & ¼ inches thick.

Add ½ teaspoon salt to water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add potato slices and simmer for about 12 minutes, or until somewhat softened. Remove carefully to a wire rack and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.

Blend the topping ingredients together really well with a fork, making sure to get the sugar completely incorporated.

Line a large, heavy sheet pan with a silpat or parchment paper. Using a flat bottomed bowl, slightly mash each potato slice, taking care that they stay intact. Drizzle each slice with a mixture of the butter and oil and sprinkle evenly with ½ of the topping mixture. Make sure you avoid getting the topping on the sheet between the slices if possible – it will burn and smoke before the potatoes are done.

Gently turn over each slice, drizzle with the remaining butter/oil mixture and sprinkle with the remaining seasonings. (I didn’t think these needed that much fat. To keep it lighter, brush lightly with melted butter for the flavor or spray with cooking spray.) Roast at 375° for 20 minutes, carefully flip each slice and return to oven for about 10 minutes more.

Serve hot. YUMMY!!

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