Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup

adapted from Rachel Ray's Smoky-Spicy Sweet Potato Soup

Soup is not something that I normally love. Don't get me wrong. I do like soup. But it has to be good. Really good, in order for me to enjoy it. However, I love sweet potatoes, I love bacon (who doesn't!?) and I love spicy stuff. So I decided to give this recipe a whirl. And if you don't don't like bacon or want a vegetarian version, just don't add the bacon as a garnish. Easy Peasy.

My rating: ★★★★★

After a few minor adjustments, this soup has become my favorite soup ever. Seriously. I like my soup to be chunky and I love cheese, so I added feta and extra bacon. I have already made this soup three times since I first found the recipe three months ago. However, I don't recommend this as a family meal, unless of course your kids like hot stuff. It definitely has a kick to it! 

Ingredients

• 4 medium sized sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced
• salt to taste
• 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, chopped, plus 2 teaspoons of adobo sauce
• 5 sprigs of thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 3 Tablespoons milk (I used 1%, but you could use anything)
• 1 teaspoon grated peel and juice of 1 orange
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• pepper
• sour cream, bacon bits and feta cheese, for garnish

Instructions

1. In a large saucepan, add the sweet potatoes and cover with water. Bring water to a boil, add salt and cook until tender, 12-15 minutes. Drain and return to pot.
2. In a large pot, heat the olive oil, add the onion, carrot, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Cook until the onions are softened, 6-7 minutes. 
3. Stir in the chicken broth, water, orange peel, orange juice and cinnamon.Simmer about 5 minutes. Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaf.
4. Add the broth mixture to the sweet potatoes in the pot and puree with an immersion blender (you could also use a full size blender) Stir in milk.
5. Serve the soup with a dollop of sour cream, sprinkle bacon and feta cheese on top. 

Baked Sweet Potato with Feta and Honey

This dish makes an excellent side for any meal. I love sweet potatoes and I love feta. Throw in a few more things that bring out the flavors of both and voila! I will be remaking this in a couple weeks for Thanksgiving dinner!

Ingredients

• 3-4 sweet potatoes
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 3 Tablespoons honey
• 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled (I use low fat and it tastes just the same to me)
• 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes (for a little extra kick)
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into bite sized cubes. 
3. Toss the sweet potato cubes in oil and bake on  parchment covered baking sheet for 20-25 minutes.
4. Drizzle with honey, balsamic vinegar, feta and chili flakes. Season with salt and pepper. 

My Rating: ★★★★★

I feel like I say this all the time. But soooo delicious and easy! Seriously, I am a little obsessed with feta. So if I can find something that I can pair with it, I will!

I served this with Smoky Roasted Chicken.

Zucchini Crust Pizza

Zucchini Crust Pizza

I compiled this recipe from a couple other ideas of similar alternative pizza crusts, like cauliflower or eggplant. 

Crust Ingredients:

• 1 large egg
• 3 small-medium zucchini's 
• 3/4 cup grated parmesan 
• 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella 
• 1/3 teaspoon salt

Toppings Ingredients: generally for pizzas, just use whatever you'd like. Here are some suggestions...

• Tomato sauce OR pesto sauce (I used tomato sauce)
• Mozzarella cheese
• Feta cheese
• Spinach
• Assorted vegetable. Pre-saute any onion, garlic, peppers or mushrooms. 
• Fresh tomatoes
• Sausage, pre cooked. Or grilled chicken
• Olive Oil, black pepper

Instructions

1. Grate the zucchinis into a bowl.
2. Mix zucchini with egg, cheeses and salt. 
3. Spread mixture onto a parchment cover baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, or until crust is slightly browned.
4. While your crust is baking, pre-saute any ingredients that need to be cooked. 
5. Assemble your pizza on zucchini crust. Sauce, veggies, cheese, etc. 
6. Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes

My review: ★★★★

This recipe is definitely a tasty one that I will be making again. It wasn't as filling as I would have hoped and will have to either make double next time or have a good portion of another side. I would also try to add some flour to the crust, just to give it a bit more texture. I may also try to add some more season to the crust, like some oregano and basil. However, even with all the things I would change, the pizza that I made was very tasty.