SuperFoodie: Southwestern Sweet Potato Chickpea Soup Recipe

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Jennifer FIsher

Sweet potatoes. It’s hard to believe that I strongly disliked them until just a few years ago. I thank some overly sweet marshmallow sweet potato casseroles for the aversion and an amazing array of more savory dishes for my newfound love. In fact, I adore sweet potatoes so much today that they are my go-to carb source for pre-marathon race fuel. Plus, my recipe for Spicy Beef and Sweet Potato Samosas almost won me a million dollars in the Pillsbury Bake-Off. Oh, some other potato appetizer won, but that’s okay — I still stand by the funky orange tuber!

Not native to America, the sweet potato was brought over by Columbus from the West Indies. Thriving in many parts of the country, folks during the Revolutionary War relied on this early “superfood” as a primary source of nourishment. One physician during the era anointed the tuberous root as an “indispensable vegetable” and I couldn’t agree more. The sweet potato is loaded with calcium, potassium and vitamins A and C. The Center for Science in the Public Interest rates sweet potatoes as the number one most nutritious vegetable on the planet because they such are so nutritionally rich. Sweet potatoes rate low on the glycemic index which keeps blood sugar levels from spiking. Sweet potatoes have a glycemic load of just 17 while a regular white potato comes in at 29. Finally, a carbohydrate you can feel great about eating!

Since I was planning soup as our main dish for dinner, I wanted to add something to maximize the protein – chickpeas seemed an innocuous ingredient choice that would pump up the overall protein by 6 grams per serving (for a total of about 18 grams per serving) without altering the taste. Knowing my family likes slightly spicy, southwestern flavors, I also added just enough Ancho chile powder to take down the sweet a notch without making it “hot.” Soup’s on — hope you enjoy!

Update March 2017: This soup was featured in Taste of Home’s Healthy Cooking Annual Recipes cookbook.

Southwestern Sweet Potato Chickpea Soup Recipe

1 ½ pounds sweet potatoes, halved lengthwise (about medium)
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground Ancho Chile pepper
4 cups vegetable stock (eg: homemade, canned or reconstituted)
1 15-oz can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 ounce fresh Parmesan cheese, shaved (about 1/4 cup)
2 green onions, bubs and greens sliced

Place potatoes, cut sides down, in an 11 x 7-inch microwave-safe baking dish. Add 1/4 cup water; cover with plastic wrap. Microwave at HIGH 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Cool slightly; discard potato skins.
Heat stock pot over medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add onion; sauté 1 minute or until translucent. Stir in cumin and Ancho powder. Scoop sweet potatoes out of skin and add to pot along with stock and chickpeas.

Place half of sweet potato mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters); blend until smooth. Pour pureed soup into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining mixture. Stir in salt.
If serving as an entrée, divide soup evenly among 4 bowls (6 to 8 bowls for soup course); sprinkle Parmesan cheese evenly over top. Garnish with sliced green onions.

Oh, and if you’re in a breakfast-for-dinner mood don’t miss my “Top of the Morning” Sirloin Sweet Potato Hash, it’s great way to fuel up for the weekend and the leftovers make fast and filling breakfast tacos come Monday.

Dishing Details on the 46th Annual Pillsbury Bake-Off!

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Jennifer FIsher

Did I go home with the million dollar prize in the 46^th Annual Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest tonight?!

Surely my recipe for Spicy Beef and Sweet Potato Samosas won, right? Well, sadly, no. After a busy week capped off by a sidewalk face plant and trip to the emergency room, I headed out to Las Vegas to battle it off bake-off style with 99 other amazingly creative and talented home cooks. I tasted so many of these dishes, by the end of the day, I thought I might pop! In the end, a recipe for Loaded Potato Pinwheels won the top prize – yum!

My finalist entry into the Pillsbury BakeOff – Spicy Beef & Sweet Potato Samosas

The Bake-Off day started with the “grand march” of contestants – we all showed off our spirit as we paraded around the floor to the beat of a kitchen pots and pans band! Check out the video!

I couldn’t resist the urge to squeeze and hug the Dough Boy – who can?!

We had 3.5 hours to make our recipe up to 3 times and submit the best to the judges. I wasn’t nervous at all until I realized my oven wasn’t heating up properly. The oven people had to come over and check it out and time was slipping away while the problem was diagnosed! Now in a near panic, I threw my second batch in the oven, set the timer and left to visit the other contestants work stations (the majority of people were done by now)! After sampling my way through a couple of dozen delicious dishes, my sixth sense kicked in and said “get back to your oven.” Although there was 30 seconds left on the timer, I was pretty sure they’d be under cooked like the first batch – but (insert harks and angels singing), they were perfectly browned – the batched turned out even better than I could have expected!

Top Chef host, Padma Lakshmi, lead the celebration night dinner. Pillsbury treated us like celebrities; we walked the “blue carpet” and posed with the golden doughboy before our fancy dinner at the Aria Resort!

Beef & Sweet Potato Samosas with Sriracha Orange Sauce

½ lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
2 to 3 teaspoons chipotle chile powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup pico de gallo salsa
1 cup refrigerated mashed sweet potatoes or canned sweet potatoes, mashed
1 box Pillsbury™ refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box
1 jar (12 oz) orange marmalad

Heat oven to 375°F. In 10-inch skillet, cook ground beef over medium-high heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in 1 teaspoon of the chile powder, the cumin and pico de gallo; cook 1 minute longer. Remove from heat. Stir in sweet potatoes, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.

Unroll pie crusts; cut each into 6 triangles. Spoon about 1 1/2 tablespoons beef mixture in center of each triangle. Brush edges with water. Bring corners of dough together over filling; pinch seams to seal. Place on large nonstick cookie sheet.

Bake 28 to 35 minutes or until light golden brown.

Meanwhile, in medium microwavable bowl, microwave preserves on High 30 to 60 seconds, stirring once, until hot. Stir in remaining 1 to 2 teaspoons chile powder. Serve warm with samosas.

Sirloin Cobb Kebabs with Ranch Vinaigrette Recipe #LivingWell

Posted on November 10, 2013 by Jennifer FIsher

Earlier in the Fall, I traveled to Chicago to visit with the Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner people and attend their #LiveWell event. While I mentioned this tasty trip a while back on the blog, all the (ahem) hard studying and sampling of lean beef distracted me from sharing one of my favorite parts of the trip – a recipe challenge!

Scene of the showdown – The Chopping Block in Chicago

Our blogging, beef-eating group gathered at The Chopping Block, a popular cooking school in the Windy City, and divided up into teams. I was partnered up with the perfect cooking clique; we were truly “a cut above.” With Amee, the CrossFitting, book-writing mama , from Amee’s Savory Dish wielding bamboo skewers on one side and Shaina, also an author and epicure, from Food for my Family ready to whisk, there was no way we could lose this showdown. Oh, I missed the memo that this was not, in fact, a contest! However, trying to be creative under the time and ingredient constraints, thinking it was a cook-off, is what made it all the more fun!

Our team was charged with making over a traditional recipe – Cobb Salad. This iconic entrée salad was only meant to be our inspiration; we could concoct anything we pleased as long as it was a healthy, quick fix. Oh yeah, and it had to include top sirloin steak (which by the way is one of the 29 lean cuts of beef, about 150 calories per cooked 3-ounce serving and under 6 grams of fat).

I use top sirloin all the time for the grill, especially kebab-making (check out these Mojo Beef Kebabs). The collective creative wheels didn’t spin long with our wing-it-and-bring-it party of three. In a matter of minutes, Amee, Shaina and I were grabbing up fresh produce and supplies from the “ingredient bar” to make (drumroll, please) . . . . . Sirloin Cobb Kebabs!

Sirloin Cobb Kebabs with Ranch Vinaigrette Dressing

Ingredients for the kebabs:

1 ½ lbs top sirloin, cut into 2” bite size pieces
2 red peppers, cut into 2” size pieces
1 pint golden cherry tomatoes, keep whole
3-4 large romaine leaves, rinsed and patted dry
4 oz sharp cheddar cheese (block), cut into 2” chunks

Ingredients for the dressing:

1/3 cup light ranch dressing
1 lemon, juiced and zested
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Additional ingredients:

3 large eggs
Bamboo skewers
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Prepare your medium boiled eggs (firm white and semi-firm yolk) by placing them into a small pot and cover with cold water. Bring water to a full boil, then turn off heat and cover with a lid and set the timer for 6 minutes. When the timer goes off, immediately place eggs in an ice bath to stop the cooking process while you prepare your other ingredients.

To prepare dressing, mix together the ranch dressing, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, and half of the fresh parsley. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Top with remaining parsley before serving.

For the kebabs, soak wooden skewers in water to prepare them for the grill for 10 minutes (or use metal skewers). Toss steak cubes, peppers, cherry tomatoes and romaine in a little olive oil and season lightly with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. Place steak cubes, peppers and cherry tomatoes on a skewer, leaving room for the romaine and cheese on the end (but do not add them yet).

Grill kebabs over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes per side (so steak is medium rare). Lay romaine leaves onto the grill and cook quickly until each side is starting to wilt and ends are getting brown, approximately 1 minute per side. Remove from grill, chop into large pieces for skewering and set aside.

In a grill pan, flash cook the cheese until it just gets warm and soft enough to skewer. Now add the romaine and cheese to the kebabs. Peel and slice your eggs and arrange on a platter with the kebabs. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve with the dressing on the side for dipping.

Serves 4 to 6.

Sirloin Cobb Kebabs

On Being Plankful . . . . and Soup Season!

Posted on November 6, 2013 by Jennifer FIsher

Every November makes me realize how I need to be more intentionally thankful, but sometimes it is difficult to count all my blessings when I’m caught up in the busyness of life. However, if something is a priority, I need to carve out the time for it – what a person puts her focus into tends to grow. However, when I fall back into that familiar “there’s not enough time” excuse to avoid reflection, meditation, prayer or whatever you want to call it, I give myself a little kick in the butt. I have access to exactly the same number of hours per day that everyone else in the world does (including really awesome and inspirational people); I need to use them wisely.

This month, I am going to be purposefully “plankful.” I’ll set aside a mere 5 minutes per day to focus on my core strength, literally and figuratively. Literally, holding the plank position (in all it’s different variations) creates a strong core Not only does planking work just about every muscle in your mid-section and arms, it also gives you some inescapable “alone time” with yourself – ahh, the perfect time to give thanks!

Figuratively, I see the plank pose as a life metaphor for gratitude and thanksgiving. If you’ve never planked, watching someone else hold the position looks so easy. So does observing someone live a life filled with gratitude. But, both are surprisingly challenging exercises –for me anyway. The good news is that, the more I practice, the better I know I’ll become at both!

If you’d like to join me, it’s easy. Just plank for a minute or two per day, you can even work up to several sets. Spend your time in the plank pose by reflecting on all the wonderful things life has given you and how, in turn, you can show gratitude to others. You can also be “plankful” with a friend; after all, who isn’t thankful for a good friend who has your back?!

Another thing to be thankful about this November – soups! Finally, it is cool enough to enjoy soup in Texas without melting into a big puddle. Soup totally fits my lifestyle – you can make it ahead of time, toss in the season’s bountiful produce, and it almost always tastes just as good (if not better) as leftovers! Check out the 101 healthy soups from Cooking Light, there is a soup here for everyone and enough recipes to make a new soup every night for the next 3 ½ months!

I’m making Creamy Sweet Potato Soup, it was the star soup on the cover of Cooking Light this month! It looks delicious and I’m curious as to find out how it’s so creamy looking with a base of mainly chicken stock – sounds healthy and I’m always looking for a new way to use those nutritious sweet potatoes!

I’ve posted this one before, but I have a really yummy recipe for Loaded-but-Lite Baked Potato Soup (below) that is a real winner with everyone in the family. It’s hearty, healthy and perfect for those nights when it’s a bit chilly!

Party Ready! Pomegranate Jicama Salad with Roasted Cilantro Shrimp

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Jennifer FIsher

Although we’re just a few days into November, soon the winter holiday season will be in full swing. Invitations to parties galore will be popping up in your inbox and you may even be hosting a soiree of your own. If you’re anything like me, indulging in foods that have been forbidden to pass your lips for months upon months are now welcomed as the beloved, long-lost friends they are. It’s so wonderful to see you again cheesecakes, chocolate kiss cookies, mugs of eggnog and bacon-wrapped finger foods — squeal!

chocolate crinkle cookies kiss cookies thefitfork

Sometimes you just have to say “yes” to the splurge!

But, before you dive off head first into a bowl of fully-loaded artichoke spinach dip, remember – all things in moderation! I’ve said it many times before and I’ll say it again; I’ve never been a food denier. But, I do balance my splurges with healthy foods and watch my portion sizes when I know that tempting foods are coming my way.

One festive, flavorful and yet still fit dish I like to make (or bring) to parties is Pomegranate Jicama Salad with Roasted Cilantro Shrimp. I created this colorful recipe to fulfill a request for “elegant and easy healthy holiday ideas” for the Living Litehouse blog. This simple to assemble salad makes a showy statement when served as a light entrée. It can also be divided up among stemmed glasses and served as an appetizer, shrimp cocktail-style! If you’re not up to roasting the shrimp yourself, just purchase them ready to go at the chef-prepared food section of any upscale market. Guests will be impressed with the presentation and pomegranate flavor of this shrimp salad and not feel a bit guilty about overdoing it.

Ingredients

For the shrimp:
2 pounds uncooked (12 to 15-count) shrimp
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons minced fresh cilantro
For the salad:
1 lb jicama peeled and julienned
1 medium red onion thinly sliced
1 large pomegranate peeled and arils harvested
2 Tbsp. minced jalapeno
2 Tbsp. fresh very thinly sliced green onion
2 Tbsp. fresh minced cilantro
2/3 cup Pomegranate Blueberry Vinaigrette
¼ cup salted roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
4-oz. crumbled Feta Cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Peel and devein the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Place shrimp on a sheet pan with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Stir shrimp around a little to coat them in oil and then spread in a single layer. Sprinkle with cilantro.

3. Roast for approximately 8 minutes, just until pink and firm and cooked through. Set aside to cool.

3. Meanwhile, in large bowl, add julienned jicama, sliced red onion, pomegranate arils, jalapeno, spring onion, and cilantro. Pour Pomegranate Blueberry Vinaigrette over mixture and mix gently to combine.

4. Add spring mix to serving bowl or platter. Mound jicama-pomegranate mixture in the center of lettuce; sprinkle with pepitas and feta cheese.

5. Arrange roasted shrimp around perimeter.

With this deliciously nutritious and low-cal salad, you don’t have to feel guilty about taking a wild ride on the dessert cart; or, perhaps having a second slice of my Lower-Fat Caramel Apple Carrot Cake! Don’t forget to visit Living Litehouse for my recipes!

On another note, it’s less than a week until I leave for Las Vegas to battle it off spatula to spatula with the other 99 contestants in the Pillsbury BakeOff. If you missed it a few months ago, my recipe that made it through to become a finalist is an appetizer – Spicy Beef and Sweet Potato Samosas. How cute is the official apron this year? It was created especially for the event by designer Whitney Port and I can’t wait to wear it!

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