This Savory Sweet Potato Gratin with Pecans recipe is sponsored by Fisher Nuts.

It’s no surprise that sweet potatoes are a popular side dish this time of year – especially for holiday meals. Because they are filled with so much nutrition, I really do enjoy sweet potatoes all year long, especially made as sweet potato fries or rounds, or paired up with up with smoked chicken-apple sausage and more veggies in a simple sheet pan meal for one of my go-to quick dinners.

Although I do enjoy a traditional sweet potato casserole on Thanksgiving, I tend to like my sweet potatoes served in more savory recipes like this Sweet Potato Gratin with Pecans I’m sharing today. The combination of flavors in this dish is absolutely delicious, and the Parmesan-pecan topping adds crunch and texture that will make your tastebuds sing. You can’t go wrong serving this dish alongside beef, roasted chicken or turkey.
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Summer food truly does make me happy. Living in Florida, I do feel lucky that our summer food season is already among us with beautiful and colorful fruits and veggies already popping up in the grocery stores and produce markets. I am always more inspired by warm weather produce, mostly because when it comes to cooking, I admittedly tend to have a lazier approach and enjoy fresh, simplistic recipes that are fruit and veggie heavy – think salads, smoothies & anything that can be cooked on the grill.

I’m excited to be partnering up with Produce For Kids today to help promote their new summer e-cookbook, Simply Summer: 20 Fresh Cookout Recipes – this e-cookbook is now available so be sure to get your free copy! Today’s Peach Pie Smoothie recipe is from Simply Summer and it showcases one of my favorite summer fruits – peaches!

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Last fall, shortly after my baby was born, a friend of mine brought me some lunch. She brought a salad, some apple chips and a bowl of pumpkin soup. That pumpkin soup seriously rocked my world! It was made with ‘real’ pumpkin, not from canned pumpkin (I’m not knocking canned pumpkin – I use it all the time – but what a difference!) and it was pureed and topped with a drizzle of roasted pumpkin oil. So gourmet! (and incredibly thoughtful because let’s face it, lunch like that wasn’t happening very often during those early baby days!)

(bringing food to a mom of a newborn – best thing ever!!)

I remember feeling so healthy after eating that soup, knowing it was just a bowl of pure goodness. Normally I prefer chunky soups but for some reason, a squash soup like that pumpkin soup or this Slow Cooker Curried Butternut Squash Soup is just perfect pureed smooth.

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Patience. Something I’ve been majorly lacking in lately and I’m not proud of it. I’m not sure being patient has ever been a strong characteristic of mine but the older I get, the busier I get, the more unorganized I feel, the less patient I’ve become. It’s one of those things that I know I have to work on…but how does one actively work on patience? Can someone chime in here with any advice? Experienced moms, women, people…talk to me about this please. This is something I’m truly trying to change.

If I was a more patient person, I would probably cook with my kids more. Just sayin’. Here’s the thing, it’s not that I don’t enjoy my kids cooking with me, I actually love when they take interest in what I’m making or ask to help. I just think that most of the time when I’m cooking – I’m cooking fast. And fast cooking and kids usually don’t go together. Fast and baking don’t work well together either so maybe that explains my lack of enthusiasm for baking too. 😉

A couple of Sundays ago I decided my daughter and I were going to cook together. My son had a couple of basketball games (my husband coaches) and I knew that our littlest one would most likely not be able to hang out at the games all day. So it was a good day to spend some time at home, make a nice meal, and include my daughter in the process. It was such a nice feeling to know there was no rush to be anywhere for the day, that the boys were coming home later in the afternoon and that we would be able to all have dinner together. Dinner that my girl and I cooked up together. We even made some extra to share with my husband’s parents.

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I’ve been on a granola making kick for the last couple of months. Apparently my kids are into it because they pretty much ask me for granola as a snack almost every afternoon as well as at breakfast. They love having it in a bowl with a bit of Greek yogurt and honestly it couldn’t make me happier to hear them ask for it, even when I’m not necessarily in the mood to make it.

I took the last couple of weeks off from making it but since this week is my daughter’s birthday week I decided to surprise the kids with a fresh batch when they get home from school today. When I make our granola I keep it on the counter in a pretty glass jar, it’s nice to look at as well as easy to serve – just spoon into a bowl for a quick healthy snack!

Making granola at home is super simple (if you haven’t tried it yet please do!) and each time I make it I try to add something a little different to it to keep things interesting. One thing that always stays the same is the nuts – my granola has to have plenty of nuts in it for texture, protein and nutrients. This time I used honey instead of my normal maple syrup and I added a little dark chocolate for fun.

It turned out seriously delicious!

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This Gingerbread Spiced Nuts recipe is sponsored by Fisher Nuts.

‘Tis the season…for so much, right? The holidays for my family feel very low key this year, and I have to admit, I kind of like it. Between a new baby and transitioning into a new house, there just isn’t much extra time (or let’s be honest, energy) for stuff that really isn’t all that important as it has been in the past. For example, our tree, our stockings, and a few decorations are up, but I am wondering what’s in the 3 other large plastic bins sitting in the garage marked Christmas and if I really need all that “stuff”. I’m not missing anything so I guess I don’t need it right? Maybe next year it’ll come back out…but for now, I’m truly enjoying Simple. I’m also a little (a lot) behind on Christmas shopping (hello Amazon Prime), Christmas cards and pretty much everything else relating to the holiday..although I’m proud that I did get manage to get about 1/3 of my Christmas lights out in the yard. 😉

Like I said, the theme for this year’s holiday for me is truly…Simple. And it’s ok.

Speaking of simple, this spiced holiday nut recipe is pretty simple – just the way I like it! Although I mentioned our holidays are more low key this year, we are still spending time with family and friends and of course when people get together there is usually food involved. Spiced nuts are always a welcomed treat at any get together and they can’t be easier to make – take it from a slightly sleep deprived mom who is not spending a lot of time in the kitchen lately. These nuts take less than 20 minutes to put together and that includes oven time. You can package them up in a pretty holiday tin to take with you to a holiday party, or set them out for guests that are stopping by. Of course you can just treat your kids to some as an after school snack, I’m sure they won’t mind. 🙂

I was inspired by the flavors of the season when I made these nuts using Fisher’s Nuts. I used a blend of Walnut and Pecan Halves but any combination of nuts will work. These bake up in just 10 – 12 minutes, you know they are done when you start to smell something delicious in the air!

Happy Snacking!

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**Giveaway Now Closed** Congrats to Erika of Itzy’s Kitchen!

You are going to want to make this granola. I insist that you make it, actually. Not only will it make your house smell incredible, but it is the perfect snack to take with you while you are running errands in the car, watching tv, or just playing around on the computer. It’s great sprinkled over yogurt or even some vanilla ice cream. I warn you though, portion it out because you might be surprised at how much you can eat of it in one short sitting. It is definitely addictive.

This Cranberry Spice Granola recipe is the first of many recipes I have flagged from a new cookbook written by my colleague and blogger friend, Kelsey…also knows as The Naptime Chef. I’ve been following Kelsey’s blog for years, and recently got to know her even better through writing for Babble’s Family Kitchen blog together.

What you will love the most about her cookbook (which is now available on Amazon) is that there is something for everyone in the book. The premise behind her blog, and now her cookbook, is that you don’t have to compromise on good eating after having kids because your time is limited. Kelsey finds a way to create and recreate recipes that fit into a busy parent’s schedule. And I love the “naptime stopwatch” she includes with every recipe, making it easy to plan ahead.

A few dishes I’m anxious to try are Orzo with Artichokes, Tomatoes and Pine Nuts, Soba Noodle Salad, Baked Sesame Tomatoes, Sticky Orange Drumsticks (my daughter will LOVE these!) and the Artichoke Lasagna. Did this list just make you as hungry as it did me?

In the meantime though, I’ll just continue to snack on this granola.

If you have never had homemade granola, then you’re in for a treat. Homemade granola is incredibly versatile, change it up based on what you have on hand. I happened to be out of the pecans that were called for in this recipe, so I easily subbed in sliced almonds.

The Naptime Chef's Cranberry Spice Granola

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil (I cut this down to about a 1/4 cup)
• 3 cups old fashioned oats, not quick cooking)
• 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut (I used the unsweetened variety)
• 1 cup chopped pecans (I used sliced almonds)
• 1 teaspoon sea or kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup apple cider or apple juice
• 1 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large rimmed baking sheet with a little vegetable oil or non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine oats, coconut, nuts, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Gently stir together with a spoon until the oats and spices are completely mixed. In a separate bowl, combine oil, vanilla extract, maple syrup and apple juice or cider and pour over oat mixture. Stir the oats carefully and gently until completely combined and coated with the liquids.
3. Spread the oat mixture on your baking sheet in an even layer and bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, take your baking sheet out of oven and carefully stir the granola so that it will toast up evenly. Place back in oven and cook for an additional 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove pan from oven and add cranberries to granola, stirring to combine. Let cool.
4. Once cooled, store in a cool dry place in a container with a tight fitting lid.

Recipe from The Naptime Chef, with permission

Giveaway:

One lucky winner will receive their own copy of The Naptime Chef cookbook

Starts today, Saturday, March 10 and ends Thursday, March 15 at 12 noon (EST)

(Sorry, giveaway open to US readers only. Winner will be chosen randomly using Pick Giveaway Winner plugin application – winner will be notified by email and have 48 hours to claim prize or another winner will be selected.)

To enter into the giveaway:

Leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite snack is.

Additional Entries can be earned by:

(leave a separate comment after you complete each item, each comment will count as an entry)

1. “Like” Aggie’s Kitchen on Facebook. (if you already a fan, let me know, that counts as an entry!)

2. Follow @AggiesKitchen on Twitter (if you already follow, let me know, that counts as an entry!)

3. “Like” The Naptime Chef on Facebook.

4. Follow @TheNaptimeChef on Twitter

5. Share about giveaway on Twitter: “I want to win The Naptime Chef cookbook from @aggieskitchen http://su.pr/19C84T #giveaway ”

6. Share about giveaway on Facebook with link to this post.

7. Subscribe to Aggie’s Kitchen RSS feed.

(and of course…I’m required to tell you…)

Disclaimer: I received my own copy for review for this giveaway but as always my opinions on this blog are always my own.

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I wish I could tell you I made these beauties myself…instead I was the lucky recipient of them Friday night when my friend Heidi brought them over for dessert.  She found them on The Gourmand Mom via Foodbuzz.  They were amazing…like pumpkin pie in a cup!  I love everything pumpkin so these honestly made me a very happy girl.  Heidi thought they were a bit too much pumpkiny…so be warned if you aren’t a big pumpkin fan like myself, Larry and Sammy (who also enjoyed them!).  Thank you to The Gourmand Mom (and Heidi!) for sharing such an awesome treat!

I wanted to leave you with this little treat because I will be away for a few days…I’m heading back to Napa to hang out with my Bush’s Beans peeps!  How lucky am I?  Seriously, I just want to pinch myself…I am so grateful.  This time though, not only will I be spending time with the original group from previous trips, but I will be meeting and cooking alongside four other food bloggers and chefs!  I am seriously over the moon with excitement about this trip…I loved being in the CIA kitchens and “playing chef”…not to mention taking in the gorgeous scenery and tasting the local wines.

Wine country = total bliss…in my book.  🙂

(Disclosure:  Bush’s Beans invited me on this trip and is covering my costs to attend.)

I’ll share with you what we cooked up when I get back…in the meantime, go make yourself some dessert.

Pumpkin Gingersnap Parfaits

Yield: makes 4 parfaits

Ingredients:

• 1 15-ounce can Pure Pumpkin
• 4 ounces Cream Cheese, softened
• 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp Ginger
• 1/8 tsp Nutmeg
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• 2 Tbsp Sugar
• 12 Gingersnap Cookies

Directions:

1. Crush 8 of the gingersnap cookies. Beat together the pumpkin, cream cheese, brown sugar, and spices until evenly combined. In a separate bowl, beat together the heavy cream and sugar until thickened.
2. To assemble the parfaits, divide half of the pumpkin mixture into four cups. Sprinkle half of the gingersnap crumbs over the pumpkin. Spoon about half of the whipped cream over the gingersnaps in the four cups. Sprinkle with the remaining gingersnap crumbs. Spoon the remaining pumpkin over the gingersnap crumbs. Top with the remaining whipped cream. Garnish each parfait with a gingersnap cookie.

 

Recipe Courtesy of The Gourmand Mom

Enjoy the rest of your week!!

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You’re going to want to make this.  If anything, just to get out of your comfort zone a bit.  That’s what I did.  I don’t have a ton of experience with butternut squash, working with it has always intimidated me a bit.  But come fall every year (well, that last few years)…I become slightly obsessed with it.  I want to make it.  I want to taste it.  I want to try every recipe I see with it.

But I never do.

So…my point?  I totally took a shortcut with this recipe and feel like I may have hit the jackpot in a way.  I got to make an awesome butternut squash sauce, without even touching that intimidating looking vegetable!  That excites me just a bit.

Here’s what I did… I doctored up some Pacific Natural Foods Creamy Butternut Squash soup, and created a wonderfully delicious pasta bake as my entry into the Everyday Chef Challenge No. 2.  The ingredients chosen for this challenge were Spinach and your choice of Pacific Natural Foods Creamy Soups.  You can be part of this challenge too…become a challenger and enter your own recipe, enter as many as you like, just make sure you use the secret ingredient plus a Pacific Natural Foods pantry staple in each recipe (you can get yourself a coupon too in the process).  For more specifics, see their challenge details page.  There are two winners in the end…one of the Featured Food Bloggers and one of the challengers (you!).  How fun would it be to hang out in Culinary Bootcamp in Napa together???

So here’s where I humbly ask for your vote.  If you think this recipe is worthy, hop on over to my entry page, scroll down and click vote!  You can vote once every 24 hours, up until next Wednesday.  I’m up against some amazing bloggers that crank out great recipes…so any help from you is beyond appreciated.

Enjoy!!

Creamy Butternut Squash and Shrimp Pasta Bake

Ingredients:

• 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 TB olive oil
• 3-4 large shallots, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large red bell pepper, chopped small
• 1 32 oz carton Pacific Natural Foods Organic Creamy Butternut Squash Soup
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 teaspoons tomato paste
• 1/4 cup whole milk ricotta
• 1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt (kosher or sea salt)
• fresh ground pepper
• 1 10 oz carton frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and drained well
• 1/3 cup fontina cheese, shredded (if you can't find fontina, mozzarella is fine)
• 1/2 lb whole wheat penne pasta
• water
• salt

Directions:

1. Bring salted water to a boil. Add pasta. Cook until al dente 10-12 minutes.
2. While pasta is cooking, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Add peeled and deveined shrimp and cook until pink, about 2-3 minutes on each side. Set aside.
3. In same skillet, add shallots, garlic and chopped red pepper. Add pinch of salt and pepper, oregano and thyme. Cook for 8-10 minutes over medium heat until softened. Add two teaspoons tomato paste to cooked vegetables and cook for about a minute longer. Add Pacific Natural Organic Creamy Butternut Squash Soup and nutmeg and bring to a slow simmer. Simmer sauce for about 5 minutes until slightly thicker and flavors have combined. Taste for salt and pepper.
4. In a large bowl, combine cooked and slightly cooled pasta, shrimp, ricotta, Parmesan cheese, spinach, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Gently stir until slightly combined. Add sauce to pasta mixture and continue to combine. Add 3/4 of the amount of sauce.
5. Pour pasta mixture into a glass casserole dish sprayed with non stick spray. Spread pasta mixture evenly throughout dish and add the remaining amount of sauce to the top of pasta. Sprinkle shredded cheese over top of pasta and place in oven preheated to 375 for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly.

(Disclosure: I am working Pacific Natural Foods as a participant in this promotion and have received a stipend.)

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A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by Nava Atlas, author of a wonderful cookbook called The Vegetarian Family Cookbook. The cookbook is on a blog tour celebrating its fifth anniversary and Nava was generous to send me a copy as well as offer a copy to one of my readers. When I received the cookbook last week, I sat myself down and started to read it like a book. I do that with cookbooks, do you? I found this cookbook to be full of lots of useful tips as well as really good family friendly easy recipes. There are lots of sections in this book to choose from…breakfast to soups to wholesome baked goods, as well as main dishes, sandwiches and desserts. This book has so many great sounding recipes, I’m really looking forward to cooking them. A few of the the recipes that I hope to try soon and blog about are:Black Bean and Zucchini Chilaquiles
Southwestern Baked Rice Casserole
Baked Chickpea Burgers
Angel Hair with Zucchini and Breadcrumbs
Vegetable Lo Mein
Pineapple Rice SaladI have a few recipes already bookmarked, as you can see, one of which I decided to make for breakfast Sunday morning. Something about banana fritters sounded so good to me, especially the part about dipping them in fruit preserves. The batter came together easily, and they cooked up quickly…a lot like pancakes. My husband and kids literally gobbled them up. I highly recommend that you use pastry flour for a recipe like this. Here’s a tip if you can’t find any (like I sometimes can’t)…process your regular whole wheat flour in a food processor. It will give it a finer texture and will keep your recipe from becoming too dense. I chose to use light vanilla soymilk in the recipe, as well as adding a few tablespoons of ground flaxmeal to the batter for some extra nutrition. My husband and I dipped ours in peach preserves while the kids at theirs dipped in maple syrup.

So before I get to the recipe…let me tell you a little more about the giveaway. All you have to do is leave a comment here on my blog for a chance to win your own copy of The Vegetarian Family Cookbook. Nava will personally send an inscribed copy of her cookbook to the giveaway winner.

Here’s a little bonus…my sister in law Jamie of Mom’s Cooking Club is also giving away this cookbook. Go over to her blog and increase your odds of winning by entering her giveaway too!

Giveaway starts today and will end at midnight Tuesday. Winner will be announced Wednesday.
For an additional entry into the giveaway you can do one or both of the following:

Leave a comment on Mom’s Cooking Club cookbook giveaway (no brainer!)
Spread the word about this giveaway with a link on your blog, Facebook or Twitter

Leave an additional comment here telling me you did one of the things listed above and that additional comment will count as your additional entry. Sound good?

Banana Fritters

Ingredients:

• 2 ripe bananas, well mashed
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• pinch cinnamon
• pinch nutmeg
• 1/2 cup dark raisins, optional
• 1 cup low-fat milk, rice milk or soy milk
• 2 TB non hydrogenated margarine
• Maple syrup or all fruit preserves, optional

Directions:

1. Combine all the ingredients except the maple syrup in a mixing bowl and stir until just smoothly blended. Add a bit more milk if the mixture is too thick.
2. Heat a nonstick griddle and coat lightly with some of the margarine (I used cooking spray). Drop the batter on the griddle in 1/4 cupfuls. Cook each fritter over medium heat on both sides until golden brown. Serve hot, either on its own or with maple syrup or all fruit preserves.
3. Variation: Add 1/3 to 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans to the batter.

Recipe from The Vegetarian Family Cookbook, Nava Atlas

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