Sweet Potato and Caramelized Onion Pizza

Sweet Potato and Caramelized Onion Pizza

Inspired by The Hungry Birdie

Ingredients:

1 prepared whole wheat pizza dough
1 onion, sliced

1 sweet potato, thinly sliced into rounds

1 garlic clove, minced

3 T oil

1 T fresh thyme (or 1/2 T dried)

salt and pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F
Pre-bake rolled out dough for 5 minutes, take out and set aside.

Sprinkle onions with salt and sauté on low heat until soft and caramelized, about 15 minutes, set aside.

In same pan, quickly sauté thinly sliced potatoes until softened, set aside. (You can also steam them)

Add oil to same pan and saute garlic until starting to brown, DO NOT BURN.

Paint garlic-oil mixture onto pre-baked crust.

Spread onions onto dough and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper.

Place sweet potato rounds onto dough and sprinkle with fresh thyme.

Bake for about 10-15 minutes, until golden brown and crispy.

Grilled Portobello Steaks with Balsamic Sauce

Grilled Portobello Steaks with Balsamic Sauce

Do not be fooled by the semi-unappetizing photograph below! These babies are loaded with flavor and while being pretty darn good on their own, I'd imagine them even tastier in burger form: On a kaiser roll with caramelized onions and leafy greens.

Grilled Portobello mushroom disguised as a mud patty...

Ingredients:

Steaks

2 Portobello mushrooms

tamari or soy sauce

oil

Sauce

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 T Balsamic vinegar

2 T tamari or soy sauce

2 T water

Directions:

Steaks

Heat grill plate or fry pan to high and brush it with oil.

Remove stems of mushrooms and wipe off dirt.

Marinate mushrooms in a bit of tamari, a few minutes each side.

Grill or fry mushrooms until golden, about 3 minutes per side.

Remove mushrooms from heat and allow mushrooms to rest for a few minutes, wrapped in foil.

Sauce

Heat oil over medium-high heat in a small saucepan.

Add onions and garlic and saute until softened, about 2 minutes.

Add liquids and bring to a simmer.

Allow sauce to reduce for 5 minutes, until rich and dark.

Plate steaks and drizzle with sauce. Sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper to taste.

Couscous with Apples, Raisins and Walnuts

Michigan apples, whaddup whaddup!

Couscous with Apples, Raisins and Walnuts

Based off of a Giada De Laurentiis recipe

Ingredients:

Couscous:

2 T oil

2 c couscous

4 c water

1 t salt

1/8 c dried parsley

1 T dried rosemary

2 t fresh thyme leaves

1 apple, diced

1 c raisins

1/2 c walnuts, toasted (see below)

Vinaigrette:

1/4 c apple cider vinegar

2 T maple syrup

1 T salt

1/2 t ground pepper

1/4 c olive oil

Directions:

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.

Add couscous and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until browned and aromatic.

Add water and salt and bring to a boil.

Reduce to a simmer and cook until liquid is evaporated, about 15 minutes.

Remove from heat and mix in apples, raisins, nuts and herbs.

Whisk together vinaigrette ingredients and pour over couscous.

Toss to coat couscous evenly.

Toasted Walnuts

I am a sucker for items at the farmers market that are a little out of the ordinary and this week it just happened to be walnuts! Unlike the walnuts that you buy at the grocery store, these guys were still in their shell (surprise surprise...). This lead to the fun task of cracking those suckers open. Without a nut cracker I resorted to a hammer and it worked juuuuuust fine.

Pre-hammer

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F

Arrange the walnut meat in a single layer on a baking sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Thyme

It has been way too long since my last post but I have been still cooking like crazy so it is time to make up for lost time.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Thyme

Ingredients:
butternut squash, cut in half
2 T oil
2 T maple syrup
salt and pepper
fresh thyme

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F.
Place butternut squash halves on a large baking sheet flesh side up.
Place 1 tsp oil and 1 tsp maple syrup in the middle of each squash.
Season with salt and black pepper.
Roast for 25 minutes, until flesh is fork-tender.
Sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves and serve!