Give Me A Piece Of That Sweet Potato Pie!

I've heard many times that sweet potatoes were good for you. I know that Oprah endorses them on her show when talking about weight loss. I've always really liked them, ever since I was little and my mom made her traditional Thanksgiving Yam Apple Casserole. So, I decided to just do a little research about why these sweet potatoes are good for you. I found out that they have Vitamin A as well as Vitamin C, which contain antioxidants to eliminate free radicals. What that means is (I think I have ever only heard of free radicals on Neutrogena commercials up until now) free radicals contain chemicals that damage cells and are associated with conditions such as: diabetic heart disease and colon cancer. So, the antioxidants in sweet potatoes, obviously, can help protect against those conditions. Sweet potatoes also contain Vitamin B6 which can help protect against stroke and heart attack. Plus, they taste good and 1 cup is only about 180 calories. Which can be better than that? I started incorporating the idea of sometimes having a Progresso light soup and 1/2 a sweet potato for lunch. (yes, I got the idea when I looked up different celebrity diets, which I sometimes do when I am bored, and Tori Spelling has that for lunch-just an interesting, not that important side note) They are easy to bake in the oven, 350 degrees for about an hour, or what my sister-in-law does is put them in boiling water until they are soft and once they have cooled, she just pulls the peels right off. So, I found a few fun sweet potato recipes I have used for dinner, that I thought maybe some of you out there might like to try! Enjoy!



Sweet Potato Enchiladas

(Yes, even Ron liked these! He thought they sounded a little weird at first, but he was pleasantly surprised. These are actually quite high in calories, so I added a few modifications to help with that)
Serves: 6

Ingredients

5 sweet potatoes
1 8 oz. package cream cheese (I used reduced fat)

4 green onions

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp. ground oregano

1 tsp. dried sage

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

12 (7 inch) corn tortillas

1 can (19 ounce) enchilada sauce

1 (8 oz.) package shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I use fat-free cheese if I can, although it's pretty expensive, so If I use regular I just use half as much



Directions

1. Bring a large pot and water to boil over medium heat and boil the sweet potatoes until tender, about 30 minutes. Cool and peel the sweet potatoes.

2. Place the sweet potatoes in a bowl and mash them with the cream cheese,green onions, chili powder,cumin,oregano, salt and pepper until well mixed

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray 13 x 9 inch baking dish with cooking spray

*This fourth step I skipped to make it lower fat

4. Heat 1/2 c. oil in a skillet over medium heat. fry the tortillas, one at a time, for about 30 seconds per side. Remove tortillas with tongs, and drain on paper towels.

5. Place about 1/3 cup of sweet potato filling down the center of each tortilla,roll it up, and place filling side seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Pour enchilada sauce over the tortillas and sprinkle with Monterey Jack cheese.

(Since I find that corn tortillas are hard to roll up without breaking, I just cut them into strips first and later like you would a lasagna-tortillas,filling,sauce,cheese, repeat)
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes until the enchiladas are bubbling and the cheese begins to brown

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili
2 servings, 2 cups each Calories: 374

Ingredients
2 tsps. extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion
1 small sweet potato,peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic
2 tsps. ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground chipotle chili (I just used regular chipotle seasoning)
1/8 tsp. salt.or to taste
1 1/3 cups water
1 15-ounce can black beans,rinsed and drained
1 cup diced canned tomatoes
2 tsps. lime juice
2 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and potato and cook,stirring often, until the onion is slightly softened,about 4 min. Add garlic,chili powder, cumin,chipotle, and salt and cook.stirring constantly until fragrant,about 30 seconds. Add water,bring to a simmer. Cover,reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the potato is tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Add beans,tomatoes and lime juice;Increase heat to high and return to simmer,stirring often. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook until slightly reduced, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.