Honey glazed sweet potato rounds

2 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed and sliced into rounds
1/4 C honey
1 TBLSP coconut oil (melted/soft)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 TBLSP butter (to finish)

Place potatoes, honey and spices into a bowl,season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix well. Pour onto large square of foil in an even layer. Close up all open ends. Place onto HOT grill and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from grill when done, open packet carefully and plop butter on, resealing loosely. Let sit 5 minutes and enjoy!

You can cook these in the oven. Just spread onto baking sheet and bake at 375 for 25 minutes or until tender.

Cardamom Cinnamon Rolls

I was eating a cinnamon roll the other day. It was a rare treat and one I discovered to be surprisingly delicious, as it was a vegan confection. There is a co-op bakery in Austin, that makes all sorts of animal friendly treats and they are truly, YUM. I wanted to taste that cardamom flavor once more and decided to make my own rolls (non-vegan because I just love eggs, milk and butter when it comes to baking, but baby steps, children, I will get there one day!). Willie's kids, who are living with us right now...when these rolls came out of the oven, and I coated them with the simple powder sugar glaze I know by heart, the smile it put on their faces...one of them said I am God's gift to food...what a compliment.

So here is my twist on an old fashioned treat...hand made the old fashioned way...enjoy!

Cardamom Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients


2 cups warm water (110 degrees F)
2 eggs
6 cups All purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
6 TBLSPS coffee creamer
1 TBLSP salt
1 stick of butter softened
1 packet yeast
1 stick butter, melted for pouring over dough
1 cup brown sugar
2 TBLSP ground cinnamon
2 TBLSP Cardamom

Directions

1.take warm water, add a sprinkle of the white sugar, add yeast. Let set while mixing other ingredients. In mixing bowl (I use a kitchen aide mixer with a dough hook), sift together flour, salt, and creamer. Add eggs,softened butter and begin mixing, on low. Add slowly yeast and water. Dough will thicken. Add a bit more water if needed to stop the dough from being too thick and not mixing well. Mix on high for 2-3 minutes until dough is pulling from sides of bowl. Dump out onto floured surface and fold dough over itself for 3 minutes (kneading) or until dough is like elastic (when you pull on a portion of the dough or pinch it, it will slowly snap back into place). Place dough into a greased bowl, and cover with a thin layer of oil (I used coconut). let rise in a dark place for 45 minutes. Punch dough down and divide in half. Roll one half of dough out onto a lightly floured surface until it is in the shape of a long rectangle and is 1/4 inch thick. Pour some of the melted butter onto the dough and spread, covering the very edges. Take half the brown sugar and sprinkle the same was as the butter. Sprinkle on half the cinnamon and cardamom. Gently being rolling the dough from the long side. take 4-5" of unwaxed dental floss, lay the roll on top and bring floss up and over the top, pulling it to slice the roll into slices about 1-2" wide. Place into lightly buttered/greased cookie sheet (with raised sides). Repeat with other half of dough. Let rolls rise for 45 minutes and then bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

2.GLAZE: Mix 3 cups powdered sugar, 1 TBLSP vanilla and 1/8-1/4 water or milk to make simple glaze, mix and  Pour over rolls after they have rested for 7-10 minutes. Seperate with a fork and enjoy

Footnotes to have the rolls rise faster, the dough can be placed in a warm car, covered with a towel, for the first rise. It will only take 20-30 minutes then for the dough to double. Also, before rolling and cutting, you can put nuts and/or raisins ontop of the sugar and spice. If you aren't using a kitchen aide, mix by hand in a large bowl, if strength allows.

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Reloaded Sweet Potatoes

2-3 medium sweet potatoes, washed
1-2 roasted peppers (mild to hot), seeded, and minced
1/4 Yogurt or sour cream
1/2 C shredded cheese of your choice
2 pats butter
salt and pepper to taste

With fork, poke potatoes 4-6 times in various places on skn. Cook potatoes in Microwave for 10-15 minutes until tender. Scoop out flesh but leave some in skin to give structure. Place in bowl with all other ingredients (1/4 C of the cheese). Spoon back into skins. Bake/broil for 4-8 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

1-2 Large Sweet Potatoes, Diced
Salt
Pepper
1/4 C sour cream
2 TBLSP butter

Put Potatoes in sauce pan. Cover with water, boil on medium-high for 15 to 20 minutes or until fork tender. Drain, put back in pan. Add butter, salt and pepper. Let butter melt slightly. Add sour cream. Mash and blend until the desired texture/lumpiness. Serves 4-6 people 1/4 Cup each.

Chocolate Chip Waffles with Fresh Berries and Whipped Cream

2 C flour (I used unbleached Wheat)
1 TBS Baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 Eggs
1 1/2 C milk
1/4 C oil/apple sauce
1 tsp vanilla
Oil or melted butter for waffle iron
1/4 C chocolate chips

Sift flour and other dry ingredients together in a bowl. Mix eggs, 1 C milk and oil in measuring cup. Add to dry mix. Stir until dry is wet, add other milk if necessary, however, do not over beat. Lumps are good. Let rest while waffle iron heats.When iron is ready,  spread with butter or spray with oil,  then ladel (I use a gravy ladel) 2-3 ladel fulls into Iron. Top with a sprinkle of chocolate chips. add a bit more batter. Close and let cook until done.  Makes 4-6 waffles. I freeze my left ove waffles and just toast them in my toaster oven! Cheaper and WAY MORE delish than the store brands!

Serve with fresh fruit (in this case, berries) and fresh whipping cream. To make whipping cream, take another clean bowl, add a pint of heavy whipping cream. Mix with a hand mixer or kitchen aide until light and fluffy or soft peaks form. Be careful not to beat too long as it will make butter of the cream.  (however you could then serve the fresh butter on your waffles and just add syrup?)

Spaghetti Squash with simple "sauce"

I large spaghetti squash.
2 strips thick cut bacon
2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 C chopped walnuts (optional)
1/8 C chopped black olives
2 TBLS butter
salt and pepper to taste

Put 2-3 C cold water in a pan. Carefully cut open the squash. It has a hard flesh and the knife could slip so please BE CAREFUL! scoop out seeds from each half and place cut side down in water. Bring to a heavy simmer on stove top. Let cook, covered for 20-25 minutes (adding water if necessary) or until outer flesh can be pierced with a fork easily. While cooking, dice up bacon and cook it in small saute pan. As it begins to crisp add garlic. Add nuts and olives at the end. Set aside. Dump squash and water into colander. With flesh side up run either a spoon or fork over it creating "spaghetti". scoop out into bowl. Add butter, salt and pepper anf finally the bacon mixture. Stire gently and serve warm!

*vegertarians can easily leave out the animal products and add their own flavors. Grated Parmesan cheese adds flavor as well. If you are allergic to nuts, just add crushed crutons for crunch texture. I have also used spaghetti squash as a pasts substitue. Just add sauce of your choosing and viola! Low carb, gluten free dinner!