Ham and Sweet Potato Hash

This was our dinner tonight, and it was Y-U-M-M-Y! It was very filling, very satisfying and had a great flavor to it! We all ate it! Even Miss Alexis, which, if you know how picky she has become, you would understand that because she ate it, you know it MUST be good! this is perfect for a weekend breakfast, a special brunch, or even for dinner, like we did. I served it with a smoothie and toast triangles. Perfect for a BLD as Rachel Ray would say, breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

*You can usually find the canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce in the Mexican foods aisle. In a pinch, you could substitute 1 teaspoon chili powder, although you'll miss the smoky heat from the chiles. (I used the chili powder because I forgot about the chipotle chilies when I was at the store).

*Serves 4-6

3 small russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
3 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 onion, minced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 teaspoon minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
3 tablespoons heavy cream
10 ounces thinly sliced deli ham, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
6 large eggs

In a medium microwave-safe bowl, toss the potatoes with 1 tablespoon oil, salt and pepper. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a tight-fitting microwave-safe lid and microwave for about 6 minutes, until the potatoes are tender but not overcooked - they'll cook a bit more in the skillet later. Stir the potatoes halfway through cooking. Drain the potatoes of any excess liquid and set aside.

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until the oil is hot and rippling. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are tender, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in the chipotle and cook for about 30 seconds.

Stir in the drained potatoes and the cream. Using the back of a spatula, pack the potatoes into the pan, pressing them into a somewhat even layer. Let the potatoes cook without stirring them for about 2 minutes so they can start to get nicely browned. Flip the potato hash mixture, one portion at a time, and lightly repack into the skillet to let the potatoes brown on the other side. Continue this flipping process every few minutes until the potatoes are nicely browned, about 8-10 minutes total.
Stir in the ham and lightly repack the hash into the skillet. Using a large spoon, make 6 shallow divots about 2 inches wide in the surface of the potato mixture. Crack one egg into each indentation. Season with salt and pepper and then reduce the heat to medium-low and cover the skillet. Let the mixture cook until the eggs are set to your liking, about 5-7 minutes. Serve.

Note: I used a 12 inch skillet and I didn't have room to add the eggs, so I just cooked the eggs in a seperate pan and placed them on top of the hash. Still good.

Apple Cider Syrup

Yesterday, we went to the apple orchards and picked up some cider. So, I had to try this apple cider syrup I saw on Sisters Cafe. I am so glad I did! This syrup was so yummy on our pancakes this morning. The flavors were so full of fall! All of us really enjoyed it! I cannot wait to try these on our pumpkin pancakes next month! Yum!

Note: This makes a lot of syrup, I halved it for our family, and still had quite a bit left.
Ingredients:
3/4 Cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 TBs cornstarch
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 cups fresh apple cider (or juice would work)
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup butter

Mix sugars, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg well. Add apple cider and lemon juice*. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Store leftovers in the refrigerator, use within a week or two.

*I didn't have a lemon, so I left out the lemon juice and honestly it still tasted great! I'll try it again with the lemon juice one day and see if it makes a huge difference.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

My mom gave me the tip on this blog called, The Girl Who Ate Everything, because she told me a lot of this lady's fav. blogs were my favorite blogs so she figured we liked the same stuff. So, I checked it out, and she had a lot of recipes I have been wanting to try but have not got around to making yet. Among the list were these cheesecake bars. It is a Paula Deen recipe, oh how I love Paula Deen, and let me just say these were perfect for a festive fall treat! I will admit I am not a huge caramel apple fan, but having the flavors of a caramel apple combined with cheesecake, now I am a fan of that! We invited our neighbors over to try it with us and everyone was in agreement that these were wonderful! It made a huge pan so I am going to have to share some with my friends before I end up eating the whole thing myself! Make these now!

Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

Cheesecake Filling:
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, divided
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Apples:
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Streusel topping, recipe follows
1/2 cup caramel topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender (or 2 forks) until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into a 9x13 baking pan lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 3/4 cup sugar in an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Then add eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over warm crust.

In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle evenly with Streusel topping. Bake 40-45 minutes, or until filling is set. Drizzle with caramel topping and let cool. Serve cold and enjoy!

Streusel Topping:
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. I like to really combine it by using my clean hands to thoroughly combine the butter into the mixture.

Source: adapted from Paula Deen

Oatmeal Pancake Mix

Source: Sister Cafe and Kitchen Cafe

This mix is great and the pancakes made our amazingly good. I love the fact that they are healthier than regular pancakes and they don't even taste healthy! I made the big ole batch tonight and stuck it in my fridge, so now I can make yummy pancakes rather quickly in the mornings. We had these tonight for dinner and used the coconut syrup, just previously posted, to accompany them and they were really really good! I think this will be my new go to for pancakes!

*Makes 10 cups of dry mix

3 1/2 cups rolled (quick) oats
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 cup vegetable oil

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a mixer with a paddle (or by hand). With mixer on slow speed (or gently by hand), drizzle the vegetable oil into the bowl slowly while the mixer is running. When all the oil has been added, stop the mixer and squeeze a clump of mix in your hand. If it stays together, it is just right. If it is still crumbly, add another tablespoon of oil at a time until the consistency is correct (I've never had to add additional oil). Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks at room temperature or indefinitely in the refrigerator or freezer.

To make the pancakes: whisk together 1 cup of mix, 1 cup buttermilk (a combination of half plain yogurt and half milk will also work), and 1 egg. The mixture may seem thin at first but the oats will soak up the milk as it stands while the griddle preheats. Heat a griddle and drop the batter onto it. When the edges look dry and bubbles come to the surface and don't break, turn the pancake over to finish cooking on the second side. As a sidenote, buttermilk can be frozen indefinitely for future batches of pancakes, so it's worth keeping it around!

*1 cup of mix will make about 6-7 4-inch pancakes.

Coconut Syrup

This is my new favorite syrup recipe for pancakes, waffles, etc. It is delish! I am telling you, this recipe as most of my recent posts, comes from the Sisters Cafe. I definately found a winner blog right there! Anyways, it is pretty much the most amazing stuff on Earth. Try it and you will fall in love just as I have.

7-8 Tbsp. butter
3/4 c. buttermilk
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. coconut extract

Place butter, buttermilk, and sugar in a pot. Then turn stove on medium and stir until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and boil one minute. Remove from heat and add soda and flavoring. It will bubble up; just continue to stir and give it a few minutes for the "fizz" to reduce before serving.

Note: for my little family, I halved this recipe and we still had some left over.

Broiled Parmesan Tilapia

This is melt in your mouth good fish! I am not kidding, even if you THINK you do not like fish, you HAVE to try THIS recipe! It is so so so good! We even got Alexis to eat this and trust me, that is saying something. Chris practically made himself sick because he could not stop eating it! This comes from the Sisters Cafe, surprise, surprise, (I think I am now officially addicted to their blog). Anyways, it is not only the best tilapia EVER it is so easy to make! Try it and tell me what you think.

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 T mayonnaise
2 T fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp celery salt
2 lbs tilapia fillets ( I bought 1 1/2 lbs, and it was plenty for our little family)

Preheat broiler. Grease broiling pan or line with foil. (If using foil, either use non-stick foil or spray with nonstick cooking spray.)

In a small bowl, mix together Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise, and lemon juice. Season the cheese mixture with basil, pepper, onion powder, and celery salt. Mix well and set aside.

Arrange fillets in a single layer on prepared pan. Broil a few inches form the heat for 2-3 minutes. Flip fillets over and broil for a couple more minutes. Remove from oven and cover with Parmesan cheese mixture. Broil for 2 more minutes or until topping is browned and fish flakes easily with a fork. Do not overcook the fish. I repeat: Do NOT OVERCOOK THE FISH! Serve immediately.

Note: My fish only took 2 min on each side, not 3 like the recipe said. So, just watch it.

Cheesecake bars

Again, this comes from the sister cafe blog, and it is soooooooooooooo good! I took it to a stake RS potluck tonight and the plate was empty in the first 10 minutes. Chris was so disappointed when I came home with no leftovers because he wanted to try it, since this was the first time I have made this treat. So, I guess I will just have to make it again sometime. Bummer :) Try it and tell me what you think!

Base:
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans

Filling:
1/4 cup sugar
8 oz. cream cheese, softened (Low-fat cream cheese is fine in my opinion. But if you don't usually like it, stick with the regular)
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 egg

Heat oven to 350. In a small bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. Combine flour and walnuts or pecans with creamed mixture. Reserve 1 cup for topping. Press remainder into bottom of ungreased 8" square pan. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a small bowl, blend sugar and cream cheese until smooth (if using fat-free cream cheese, mixture will be kind of lumpy, but it will cook up just fine). Add milk, lemon juice, vanilla, and egg. Beat well. Spread over baked crust. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture. Bake at 350 for 23-27 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Cut into bars. Store in refrigerator. Makes 24 small bars.