Sweet Potato, Pecan and Cranberry Quinoa Salad

I love the versatility of quinoa, and I feel like I have only just started to explore it. One of the many ways it can be used is in a salad, and this is a unique one. It is easy to make and low on ingredients but very filling, very healthy and gluten free! Would make a great lunch or dinner.

The original recipe can be found here. Mine consisted of...
- sweet potato
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- pecans
- quinoa
- parsley
- craisins
- lemon juice
- water

How to make it:
1. Preheat your oven to 390 degrees, peel and dice half of a sweet potato. In a bowl, toss diced sweet potato with 2 tbsp of olive oil, salt and pepper. Transfer them to a baking tray and cook them in the oven for 30 mins.
2. While sweet potato is baking, prepare your quinoa. Place half a cup quinoa and 1 cup of water in a pot, bring to a boil and let simmer until water is absorbed.
3. For the dressing, combine half a tbsp of olive oil, half a tbsp of water, a splash of lemon juice and some salt and pepper in a small bowl.
4. Once sweet potato is out of the oven and cooled, combine in a bowl with quinoa, craisins, pecans and some chopped parsley. Drizzle with dressing and toss.

Sweet Potato Stir-Fry

Hello again! I know it's been a while since I've posted anything, I guess I've gotten lazy with my cooking... I did make this a little while ago but then it was Passover and I thought it would just be cruel to post it, and then I got busy with stuff and kind of forgot... but here is my sweet potato stir-fry!

It's a healthy and easy way to use up the stuff in your fridge, and makes good leftovers too! My stir-fry consisted of...
- rice
- sweet potato
- red pepper
- yellow pepper
- asparagus
- Spanish onion
- garlic
- snap peas
- green onion
- olive oil
- curry powder
- ginger powder
- cinnamon

How to make it:
1. Prepare rice- I would recommend following the instructions on the bag just to be safe, but with mine you added 2 cups of water and 1 cup of rice to a pot, brought it to a boil, and let simmer for about 15 minutes (until the water is all absorbed).
2. Chop up vegetables, put all vegetables in a pot of water, bring to a boil and let simmer about 7-8 minutes or until desired tenderness. Drain vegetables.
3. Stir-fry veggies with rice in a pan with olive oil over medium heat. Mix in curry powder, ginger powder, and cinnamon, spicing to taste.

Sweet Potato Hash

While at the grocery store recently I had noticed they sold pre-peeled and cut sweet potato and I was so excited because I LOVE sweet potatoes but hate a lot of prep! So obviously I bought them but didn't really have a specific dish in mind to make with them. After failing to find anything of interest in my cookbooks, or to actually execute any type of dinner meal during the week, and with the expiry date fast approaching, I was beginning to worry that my exciting find would go to waste. But with the weekend came new inspiration- sweet potatoes for breakfast! So I proudly present to the interweb my version of sweet potato hash.

This is a dish I am actually very proud of. This was my first time making anything like this and I think it turned out great (if I do say so myself), I thoroughly enjoyed it! It consisted of...
- sweet potato
- red onion
- green onion
- garlic
- pepper
- parsley
- feta
- olive oil

How to make this:
1. If you didn't buy pre-cut sweet potatoes like I did, peel and cut your sweet potato into cubes. Throw them into a pot of water, bring to a boil, and let simmer until tender.
2. Strain your sweet potato cubes and dry.
3. Chop up your red onion, green onion and garlic, sautee them over medium heat in olive oil and set aside.
4. Sautee sweet potato cubes over medium heat in olive oil, adding a bit of pepper and parsley (or whatever spices you like) for about 5-6 minutes.
5. Combine sweet potato cubes with onion and garlic mixture and top with a sprinkling of feta cheese.

Enjoy it on its own, or try with eggs and/or bacon to make it a meal! Great any time of day!