Savory Ham, Cheese, and Scallion Muffins

So this recipe calls for Corn Flakes, which is a bit strange, but they add some delicious texture to these muffins!  I made these twice this weekend (Thank you 4-day weekend!), the first version a sweet version with vanilla and this version, which I based on the original recipe. 
These are super tasty!  I'm always looking for easy breakfasts which I can grab and take with me.  I've been making different kinds of muffins lately and these might be my new go-to. 
Don't worry if the batter seems thick, it will bake up just fine! 
Also, normally I'm lazy and try to make everything in one bowl for less clean up.  This recipe you HAVE to have everything ready to go because if you don't the cereal will get really soggy and you will lose all the texture.

Savory Ham, Cheese, and Scallion Muffins

Savory Ham, Cheese, and Scallion Muffins

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups + 1/2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 cups Corn Flakes
1 1/4 cups milk (whatever kind you already have, I used Almond milk)
1 large egg, beaten
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup cheese
1 scallion, sliced
1/2 cup ham, diced

Recipe:
Stir together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar; set aside.
Stir together egg, cheese, and oil; set aside.
Stir together ham, scallions, and 1/2 Tbsp. flour; set aside.  (The flour will assure your ham doesn't all sink to the bottom).
Combine crushed corn flakes and milk in large mixing bowl.
Let stand about 2 minutes or until cereal is slightly softened. (DO NOT let corn flakes soak in milk any longer than 2 minutes!).
Add flour mixture, stirring only until combined.
Add ham mixture, stirring only until combined.
Portion batter evenly into 12 greased 2 1/2-inch muffin pan cups.
Bake at 400° about 18 minutes or until lightly browned.
Serve warm.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Genius Kitchen

Hot Cheesy Corn Dip

I have been off from school for three weeks.  I should have had two days last week, but those turned into snow days so I was productive and decided to have a friend over to celebrate my productiveness!  I made this hot cheesy corn dip and we didn't even let it go from the stove to a table, we ate it right there.  It was delish and a perfect compliment to the beef tenderloin and fennel tacos I made!

Hot Cheesy Corn Dip

Hot Cheesy Corn Dip

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups corn (fresh or frozen)
1 small onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 lime, juiced
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped (optional)
2 Scallions, sliced (optional)

Preparation:
Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat, add the corn, onion, and red pepper.
Toss and let it sit until slightly charred, mix it up and let it char again, about 6-10 minutes.
Mix the cheese, mayo, lime juice, salt and pepper, place back into the pan and cook over medium-low heat until the cheese has melted.
Top with cilantro and scallions.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Closet Cooking

Chai Spiced Apple Butter

If you're like me, you buy apples hoping someone will eat them and then they just sit there.  (Okay, maybe you're not like me and eat a lot of fruit.)  Anyway, this small batch apple butter is perfect for those 4 or 5 apples that now no one will eat because they're a tiny bit mushy.  This makes about 1.5 cups and will last about 3 weeks in the fridge.
I added in some chai flavors to make this more wintry. 
Enjoy on an English muffin, in a cookie, or straight out of the jar!

Chai Spiced Apple Butter

Chai Spiced Apple Butter

Ingredients:
5 medium apples (I used honeycrisp, use whatever you have!)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cardamom
1 Chai tea bag
1/4 cup water

Preparation:
Boil 1/4 cup water and steep Chai tea while prepping the rest of your ingredients (at least 5 minutes).
Peel and chop apples.
Put apples, cinnamon, cardamom, and tea in a medium pot.
Bring to a boil and simmer until apples are soft and you can easily pierce them with a fork.
Place apple mixture in a blender or use an immersion blender off the heat to blend.
Return to sauce pan and simmer.  Stir every 10 minutes for about 1 hour, or until apple butter has grown darker and thicker.
Take off the heat and cool completely before placing in the fridge.
Enjoy!

Cranberry Scones

If you've read my blog before, you know my aversion to baking.  I don't like that you have to use exact measurments and I never quiet know how things are supposed to look before they go into the oven.  I've been watching the British Baking show lately and gave myself false confidence.  "Oh, I can do that!" I said.  Nope.
Well, I shouldn't say I couldn't do it because these scones turned out good... it was just the making them that wasn't great.  The dough was far stickier than it should have been and subsequetnly I couldn't really shape them into scones.  A more accurate description would be cranberry blobs.  I'm sure that if you have baked in your life (more than just a box of brownies) you probably would fair much better than I did.  I also increased the amount of cranberry for my version because I didn't think it had enough.

Cranberry Scones

Cranberry Scones

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup butter, cut into pieces
1 cup dried cranberries
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl stir together flour, powdered sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Stir in dried cranberries.
Make a well in center of flour mixture.
In a small bowl combine eggs and the 1/2 cup buttermilk.
Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture.
Using a fork, stir just until moistened.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
Knead dough by folding and gently pressing it for 10 to 12 strokes or until dough is nearly smooth. Divide dough in half. Pat or lightly roll each portion into a 1/2-inch-thick circle.
Cut each circle into six wedges.
Place scones 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet.
Bake for 12 to 18 minutes or until golden brown.
Transfer to a wire rack; cool for 5 minutes. Serve warm with butter.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

Cornbread

Are you ready for the best cornbread?  This recipe is so good.  For real.  I feel like most cornbreads are really dry and crumbly but this is not at all. It's super moist from the creamed corn and it's healthy because there's real corn in there, right?  Right.
It goes perfectly with anyone of my chili recipes (including my sweet potato black bean chili) and any leftovers can go into some cornbread stuffing.  With only 4 ingredients, how can you go wrong?

Cornbread

Ingredients:
2 boxes Jiffy cornbread
2 Eggs
1 15 ounce can creamed corn
1 Tbsp. sugar

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all ingredients until combined in a medium bowl.
Scrape mixture into a 9x9 cake pan that has been sprayed well with cooking spray.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the center is done.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from the Pinning Mama

Greek Yogurt Lemon Muffins

So it's actually a total coincidence that I followed my recipe for Greek yogurt Pancakes with this other Greek yogurt recipe.  I don't know about you, but I always have Greek yogurt in the fridge and this recipe probably uses ingredients you already have on hand.  1 container Greek yogurt, 1 cup water, and 1 box lemon cake mix.  Don't have lemon?  Use a different kind of cake mix.  Boom.  Easy!  These super easy muffins came together in about a half hour between making the batter and baking them off.  Perfect for a quick weekend breakfast!
The other perfect thing about these muffins is that they're super healthy!  At only 92 calories per muffin, what could be better?

Greek Yogurt Lemon Muffins

Greek Yogurt Lemon Muffins (22-24 Muffins)

Ingredients:
1 5.6 oz. vanilla yogurt
1 box lemon cake mix
1 cup water

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350.
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl until well blended.
Spray two muffin tins with butter nonstick spray.
Scoop batter into muffin tins until about 3/4 full.
Bake for 15-17 minutes, until knife inserted in the middle of muffin comes out clean.
Let cool on baking rack.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Penny Pincher Jenny

Greek Yogurt Pancakes

I make these pancakes all. the. time.  In fact, I don't even make regular pancakes anymore because these are so easy and because they are much healthier than regular pancakes.  They are only 4 ingredients and you can go from deciding you want pancakes to eating breakfast in about 10 minutes.  Perfect!  These can be made with any kind of Greek yogurt, but be warned that if you use any fruit flavor the pancakes will turn slightly that color; I make these with mixed berry a lot and they always turn kind of blue, which is not super appetizing, but they are good.
These yield about 4 pancakes so if you have a family or really like pancakes, this recipe is easy to double or triple.

Greek Yogurt Pancakes 

Greek Yogurt Pancakes

Ingredients:
1 5.3 oz. container Greek yogurt (I used vanilla, but you can use whatever flavor you like)
1 egg
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 Tbsp. butter
Optional toppings: butter, syrup, fruit

Preparation:
Mix yogurt, egg, baking soda, and flour in a bowl, until well incorporated.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
Add butter and heat until melted.
Add scoops of batter until you have 4 even pancakes.
Cook until golden brown on the bottom.
Flip. Cook until golden brown.
Top with butter, syrup, or fruit.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Everyday Belle

Zucchini Rollups

Last time I went home my Mom gave me a pound of ground beef so I made meatballs with it and needed something to go with them.  I didn't want pasta because I just made pasta a few days earlier and decided to take advantage of zucchini being in season and made these.  They were much more time intensive than I had intended, but they were delicious!

If you're vegetarian, these would be great with veggie meatballs or some salad and Italian bread.

Zucchini Rollups

Zucchini Rollups

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup ricotta

3/4 cup parmesan, divided (the kind in the green container)

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste 

4 medium zucchinis, sliced thin, with a vegetable peeler or mandolin 

1 1/2 cup marinara

1 cup shredded mozzarella

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350° and spray a large baking dish with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, 1/2 cup Parmesan, egg, garlic, and Italian seasoning. Season with salt and pepper and mix until well combined.

On a clean working surface, lay out four slices of zucchini so that they are slightly overlapping and place a spoonful of the ricotta mixture on top. Roll up and transfer to the prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining zucchini and ricotta mixture.

Spoon marinara on top of the zucchini, then sprinkle all over with the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan and mozzarella.

Bake until the zucchini is tender and the cheese has melted, about 30 minutes.

Let dish rest for 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from delish. 

Tomato and Arugula Risotto

Tonight was a rainy, gross day in Philly and I thought it would be a perfect day to make risotto because who wants to stand over a hot stove when it's hot?  Cherry tomatoes and arugula were both on sale this week so this was a no brainer.  Plus, it served as the perfect side to Garlic Parsley Roasted Salmon.
This was my first try at risotto, but it turned out great!  You could serve this as a side or a main dish.  A wonderful vegetarian dish!

Tomato and Arugula Risotto

Tomato and Arugula Risotto

Ingredients:
1 cup arborio rice
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 shallots, chopped
½ cup white wine
3 cups hot vegetable stock (plus 1 just in case)
2 cups arugula, washed and dried
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded
Salt, to taste
Shaved parmesan, to serve

Preparation:
Start by setting your vegetable stock to simmer in a separate pot. It has to be hot by the time you add it to the rice.
In a large skillet, over medium high heat add the olive oil and once it's hot, add the shallots.
Once the shallots are translucent, add the rice and fry it so that all the rice is coated.
Reduce the heat to medium low.
Add the white wine and cook until it evaporates completely.
Add the first cup of vegetable stock and cook, stirring regularly until it is absorbed by the rice.
Repeat the process with the other 2 cups of stock, one at a time.
If your rice is still hard, add the stock, stirring the rice, until the stock is absorbed.
Turn the heat off and add the tomatoes and arugula.  Stir until everything is incorporated.
Add the mozzarella and stir gently.
Taste to check seasoning and add salt if necessary.
Serve immediately, top with the shaved parmesan.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Olivia at Olivia's Cuisine.

Mashed Potatoes

These are the best mashed potatoes.  For real.  I make them all the time- if I'm not making Mashed Sweet Potatoes, I'm making these.  I topped my yummy mashed potatoes with the garlic gravy from Roasted Chicken Thighs and it was awesome.

These mashed potatoes are super creamy and delicious!  I have used both russet potatoes and yukon gold potatoes for these- I prefer yukon golds because of their inherit butteriness, but russets will work in a pinch or if they're on sale!

Mashed Potatoes

Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb. yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1'' cubes
1/2 tsp. salt
4 Tbsp lite cream
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp milk (or more)
Salt and Pepper

Preparation:
Place potatoes in medium pot.  Cover with cold water, about an inch above the potatoes.  Salt with 1/2 tsp. salt.
Turn the heat on to high, and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to low to maintain a simmer, and cover. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until you can easily poke through them with a fork.
Drain cooked potatoes, mash in a large bowl with a potato mashed.  Mix with butter, cream, milk.
Add milk and beat until the mashed potatoes are smooth. Don't over-beat the potatoes or the mashed potatoes will end up gluey.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy!

Recipe Adapted from Simply Recipes

Meatballs

I realized recently that although I use my mom's recipe for meatballs and sauce all the time, I actually have never posted it before.  These meatballs are delicious.  I could eat them all the time.  Now, I actually forgot to take a picture of my sauce (whoops!), so I will post that whenever I make sauce again.  For now, meatballs alone will have to suffice.
For an alternative to pasta, you can make my zucchini rollups as a side for these meatballs!

Meatballs

Meatballs

Ingredients:
1 lb. hamburger, or ground meat of choice
2 cloves chopped garlic
salt & pepper, to taste
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup grated cheese
1 egg
1/2 cup Italian flavored bread crumbs
additional garlic powder to taste

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400F.

Mix ground meat, garlic, salt, pepper, parsley, cheese, egg, and bread crumbes together in a large bowl.  If mixture is too wet, add more bread crumbs, a little at a time. 

Roll into balls and place on sprayed cookie sheet. 

Spray the top with more pam & season with salt, pepper & garlic powder. 

Bake for about 20-25 minutes until brown.

Add to sauce the last hour.

Enjoy!

Roasted Squash and Onions

This recipe could not be easier.  For real.  Got some squash? Got some onions? Great, that's all you need.  Also, it's delcious!  Matt was convinced that it was bad for him because it was so tasty.  "There's really no cheese?  No meat? No butter?"  It was really like that, and then he ate all of it.  This was a great side to my no carb meal with sausage!

Roasted Squash and Onions

Roasted Squash and Onions

Ingredients:
2 medium yellow summer squash, cut in thick strips
1.5 small onions, sliced
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 425F.
Lightly spray a baking sheet with olive oil. Trim the ends of the squash, cut off the slender necks, and slice the necks in half, lengthwise. Then slice each squash into lengthwise slices, about 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick. Lay the slices on the cooking sheet in a single layer, or best you can, I had to overlap, but it was fine.
Layer in onions.
Sprinkle with pepper and salt.
Bake for about 15 minutes, until bottoms of squash begin to brown. Flip squash and onions and bake until bottoms of squash are browned, about 15 minutes more. Serve immediately.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Susan at Fat Free Vegan

Arugula Salad with Tomatoes

Are you ready for the easiest salad accompaniment ever?  Perfect.  I serve this salad all the time.  My Mom serves this salad all the time.  It goes great with any Italian meal or as a nice summer salad.  I served it tonight with eggplant parmigiana and some homemade bread... delicious!

Arugula Salad with Tomatoes

Arugula Salad with Tomatoes

Ingredients:
6 oz. arugula (1 bag)
1 tomato, sliced into 1/2 inch slices
1/2 lemon
parmesan, to taste
1 Tbsp. olive oil, more to taste
salt, to taste

Preparation:
Add lemon juice and olive oil in small bowl. Whisk to combine.
Place arugula in large bowl. Sprinkle parmesan on top of arugula, to taste.  Add salt, to taste. Mix well. Add tomatoes on top.
Enjoy!

Maque Choux

Today I made cajun marinated chicken (which I totally forgot to take a picture of... evidence of how fast we ate them... don't worry I'll make it again!) and needed a side dish.  I stumbled on this New Orleans side and decided it would be perfect!  Corn is in season right now and I didn't need to turn on the oven, I was sold!
When I set out to make this, I unfortunately couldn't use my "holy trinity" in this dish (onions, bell peppers, and celery) because I used all my pepper in the Tex Mex Sweet Potato Salad I made the day before.  Whoops!  I doubled the celery, and didn't really miss it, but it would have added a nice sweetness to the dish.  I included it in here for you guys, but if you don't have any pepper, you can double the celery, I promise.

Maque Choux

Maque Choux

Ingredients:
3 ears of corn, kernels cut off
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup onion, finely diced
1/4 cup celery, finely diced
1/4 cup bell pepper, finely diced
1 cup tomato, finely diced
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon parsley
2 green onions, sliced
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat.
Add the onion, celery and bell pepper, and saute until tender, about 10 minutes.
Add the corn, tomatoes, cream, and parsley and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes.
Use an immersion blender to puree 1/4 of the corn mixture.
Mix in the green onions, season with salt, pepper and cayenne to taste.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Closet Cooking

Tex Mex Sweet Potato Salad

I really needed a side dish for my cilantro lime salmon and this seemed like a perfect solution!  I'm not a huge fan of overly mayonnaise-y potato salads, so I really wanted something that would fill me up without being too much.

This potato salad uses a homemade honey mustard dressing that feels like a nice light solution to mayo.  I halved the dressing recipe for you guys because there was a ton in the bottom of the bowl when I was done.  

This recipe is also very easily made vegan, substitute agave or maple syrup for the honey!

Tex Mex Sweet Potato Salad

Tex Mex Sweet Potato Salad

Ingredients:

about 1 1/4 pounds sweet potatoes (about 2 jumbo), washed, peeled, and cut into 1-inch pieces

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

3 green onions, thinly sliced

1 medium red bell pepper, diced 

1 cup corn (I use frozen that I allowed to thaw)

1/2 cup cilantro leaves, minced

1 Tbsp. honey

1 Tbsp. dijon mustard

1 Tbsp. lime juice

1 Tbsp. oil

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

pinch cayenne pepper, optional and to taste

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Add the sweet potatoes in an even, flat layer. Evenly drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and bake for about 40 minutes, or until fork-tender and done. Halfway through baking flip potatoes to ensure even cooking. Baking time will vary, I recommend starting to check at 30 minutes for doneness.

Add the green onions, red pepper, corn, cilantro to a large bowl; set aside.

Add the honey, dijon mustard, lime juice, remaining olive oil, salt and pepper, optional cayenne pepper to a medium bowl, whisk to combine; set aside.

After potatoes are cooked, add them to the bowl with the beans and vegetables, add the sauce, and toss to combine. Taste, check for seasoning balance, make any necessary tweaks, and serve. Potato salad can be served warm, at room temp, or chilled.  

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Averie at Averie Cooks

Skinny Off the Cob Mexican Street Corn

Have you ever had Mexican street corn?  It's very tasty, cheesy, and messy.  However, one thing it is not is healthy.  It's full of mayonnaise and cheese.  This version is lightened up with Greek yogurt and made a little less messy by going off the cob- it's still packed with flavor though!

Do you see all the cheesy gooeyness?  I promise it's good for you!

I served this with Mexican Spice Crusted Salmon for a low carb meal!


Skinny Off the Cob Mexican Street Corn

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. butter (I used Smart Balance)
1 12 oz. package frozen corn
1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup cotija or feta cheese
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
Salt, to taste

Preparation:
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Melt butter.  Once butter is melted, add package of corn.  Saute until cooked through and the liquid is evaporated.
While corn is cooking, combine remaining ingredients in a medium bowl.
Add corn to Greek yogurt mixture.
Combine.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Double Dipped Life

Black Beans and Rice

I'm about to go back to Philly, so this is my last post from Santa Fe :(  Also, Matt is staying (because it's his job!) for an extra week and a half so I figured instead of him eating cereal every night for dinner, I would make him a few meals.  Ziti happened because I was trying to use up a bunch of things in the fridge and I also made him these black beans and rice.
Going into my cooking, I was more excited for the ziti, but after tasting these, they are so good.  You could use them as a side for simple grilled chicken, or use them as a filling in tacos. They could also be a main dish with a salad on the side for a light summer meal!
These are also super easy to make vegetarian/vegan, just use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock and you are done!

Black Beans and Rice

Black Beans and Rice

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 red pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup basmati rice (or you can use regular white rice)
2 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock for vegetarian/vegan version)
3/4 tsp. taco seasoning
2 cups black beans

Preparation:
In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.
Add onion, and sauté 3 minutes, until onion is tender. Add pepper and garlic, sauté one minute longer.
Add uncooked rice, and stir, toasting it for about 2 minutes. .
Add stock and taco seasoning. Stir together, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer, according to rice package directions, usually 15-20 minutes.
Remove lid, stir in beans, and cover again. Turn off heat, and let stand for 3 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Andi at The Weary Chef

Mango Salsa

Mango salsa screams summer.  Fresh flavors, plus being in New Mexico, it seemed like a no brainer.  I made this as an appetizer for dinner with a few friends, but then ended up putting it on the turkey burgers I made.  (It was also good on some bean and cheese tacos I had for lunch the next day).  This salsa is super easy and the flavors speak for themselves.

Mango Salsa

Mango Salsa

Ingredients:
2 ripe mangoes, peeled, pitted and diced (about 3 cups)
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, loosely packed
1 lime, juiced
Salt, to taste

Preparation:
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl.  Season lightly with salt, to taste.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Gimme Some Oven

Salsa Verde

Here in New Mexico, there is an abundance of fresh veggies that I would normally not have an abundance of in Philly... not that they're not there, but they're hella expensive.  (I'm not sure if I've ever said "hella" before, but it's happening now I guess!)  Tomatillos are super cheap. Cilantro is super cheap. Okay, that's it because everything else in this salsa is about the same cost wise, but the tomatillos were like $2.00/lb. cheaper!

This salsa was great on my vegan tacos, but was also great with tortilla chips!

Salsa Verde

Salsa Verde

Ingredients:
1 tsp. olive oil
1 1/2 lb. tomatillos, husks removed
1 poblano pepper, stem cut off
1/2 small white onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup cilantro
1 Tbsp. lime juice
Salt, to taste

Preparation:
Heat oil over high heat in a large skillet.  Add tomatillos, poblano, and onion.
Saute on high, flipping after about 2 minutes.  (They should be nice and charred).
Transfer to a blender or food processor.  Add garlic, cilantro, and lime juice.  Blend until combined. (You may have to transfer tomatillos in batches, I did!)
Salt to taste.
Chill in refrigerator.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Chef Savvy

Garlic Sweet Potato Mash

Sweet potatoes are the best.  Growing up, we basically only had them doused with butter and brown sugar and marshmallows (Thanks, Dad!), but now I cook them in all sorts of forms.  In curry? Check. As fries? Check. The filling for tacos? Check. And now since I found this lovely recipe, as mashed potatoes? Check.  These potatoes are less sweet than normal because of the garlic, but equally delicious!  Serve with pork schnitzel for a complete meal!

Sweet Potato Mash

After looking again at this recipe, I halved it, but realized upon re-typing it that I did not half the milk or Greek yogurt.  Mystery solved as to why they were a little extra liquid-y.  I have made these before and they came out perfect, here I was blaming my ineptitude on the altitude!  Whoops!

Garlic Sweet Potato Mash

Ingredients:
1 lb. (2 medium) sweet potatoes, cubed
1/2 tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup milk
1 tbsp plain Greek yogurt
salt and fresh cracked ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

In a large pot boil sweet potatoes in salted water until tender, (easily pierced with a fork).
Drain in a colander.
Meanwhile, melt butter and sauté garlic until lightly golden. Return potatoes to the pan, add milk and sour cream. Mash until smooth. (I have used both a potato masher and some forks in this recipe, both work well, it's up to you!)
Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Gina at Skinny Taste