The BEST Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Not only am I obsessed with this delicious side dish but it is so easy and so healthy! With only 89 calories per serving, you definitely won't feel guilty making these fries for your next family meal.

Sweet Potato Fries
Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 Sweet Potatoes
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Chili Powder
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp Salt

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 425 F.

Slice the sweet potatoes into 1/2 inch thick finger-shaped pieces. Toss the cut sweet potatoes in a bowl with the rest of your ingredients.

Once each fry is coated with the ingredients, spread them on a baking sheet and roast for 30-35 minutes, stirring the fries every 10 minutes to avoid burning.

Remove and sprinkle with a little additional salt for extra flavor and serve!

No Nut Banana Bread with Streusel Topping

Ever since I was a little girl, I have loooooved banana bread. My mom made it a lot and I always ate it very quickly. Grant seems to share this same passion with me so I've made it twice in what seems to be about the last month. However, not being a fan of the nuttiness and more of a fan of the banana-ieness, I remove the nuts from the recipes I use. Hope you enjoy!!---And, please, add nuts if you wish :):)

Oh, and the streusel topping is simple and delicious! And could also be avoided if you want this recipe to be healthier...

No Nut Banana Bread:
Makes 1 loaf (16 slices)

Ingredients:
2 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten
4 medium bananas (preferably very ripe)
1 c granulated sugar
1/2 c butter, melted

Directions:
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and set aside.

Next add the beaten eggs into a medium bowl with the mashed bananas, sugar and better. Combine until mixed then transfer all at once to the dry mixture.

Just combine all of the ingredients, the mixture should remain very lumpy.

Just combine until it looks like this!

((((Insert Streusel Topping here if desired---see below))))

Pour into your greased pan and bake for 55 minutes.

I know, I know... I need loaf pans...

Let cook on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from pan to serve.


Streusel Topping:
Covers one loaf of banana bread.

Ingredients:
1/4 c brown sugar
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tbsp butter

Directions:
Mix together brown sugar and flour then cut in butter with a pastry cutter.

When crumbly, evenly distribute the mix on top of banana bread batter before placing it in the oven.

NUTRITION:

Banana Bread (1 slice):
175 calories, 6 grams fat (mostly saturated), 42 mg cholesterol, 28 grams carbs, 2.5 grams protein, 16 grams sugar.

Streusel Topping (nutrition added per slice):
If you add the streusel topping, it will add 31 calories to each slice along with about 1 gram more saturated fat. Nothing else is really significantly different.

Most Simple Party Dip

This dip is perfect for tailgates, parties, and especially football-watching parties. I made it last night for the Eagles v. Packers game and it was a huge hit. Making this would be a great idea for either the BCS National Championship game today or for the Super Bowl in February. I stole it from my boyfriends aunt without her knowing so let's hope I don't get it trouble for thieving someones recipe!!

Nutrition.... I may as well just keep away from that topic because this IS tailgate food, which is NEVER good for you... so, I used low fat everything and tried to be a little bit better but really, I just sucked it up.

The recipe is so, so simple. It's made in a crock pot but it could be made in the oven or maybe even the microwave also!

Simple Cream Cheese and Sausage Dip
Makes 7.5 cups

Ingredients:
3 packages of low fat cream cheese
12 oz. of breakfast sausage
3/4 can of Original Rotel
3/4 can of Hot Rotel

Directions:
Brown and drain the sausage and set aside.

Next, cut the cream cheese into cubes and add it to the crock pot.

Add in sausage and both Rotels with the juice. Set on high for about and hour, stirring occasionally.

Lower the crock pot temperature to low/warm and serve!

Creamy Scalloped Potatoes

Tonight we had a very simple meal. Italian seasoned chicken breasts, asparagus, and scalloped potatoes. I've always loved my moms scalloped potato recipe but could not get a hold of her in time so I found one of my own! It ended up being delicious, but nothing is ever compares to moms.

The nice thing about these scalloped potatoes is that they don't require that many ingredients and most of the ingredients are the ones most people have laying around their house.

Now, thanks to all that cheese, milk, and butter this side dish is very high in saturated fat. But, each serving size only has about 293 calories. That's a lot if you were having a very heavy meal but since we just paired this rich dish with asparagus and almost plain chicken breasts, we felt a lot better about ourselves!

I definitely recommend this recipe whether you are watching what you're eating or not. It's one of those dishes that makes you feel nice, cozy, and warm inside.
I would also recommend more cheese if you're a cheese lover... like me :)

Creamy Scalloped Potatoes

Serves 5-6
30 minutes prep time
40 minutes cook time 

Ingredients:
5 Yukon gold potatoes
1/4 c unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/4 c all-purpose flour
2 c milk (I used skim)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 c shredded cheddar
1/4 c shredded cheddar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Spray casserole dish with cooking spray.

Peel and slice potatoes about 1/4 inch thick. Boil until almost cooked and drain. Set aside to use the pot for the rest of the recipe.

In the same pot,  melt the butter and add the onion to saute. Now, add the flour in 3 to 4 intervals to avoid burning and to also create a thick mixture. I reduced the heat in about half to avoid scorching.

Now, add the milk in several intervals as well, stirring constantly to thicken the mix. Add salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup cheddar cheese and remove from heat. Stir until the cheese is melted.

Pour 1/3 of the sauce in the bottom of your casserole dish then top with half of the potatoes. Then, pour another third of the sauce onto the potatoes. Add the rest of the potatoes. Then add the remaining amount of sauce in the casserole dish.

Top with the rest of the cheddar cheese and bake for about 40 minutes.

New Design along with the New Decade...

Yes, the name of the blog has changed. I'd like to focus more on nutrition and health then on sugar ;) I still will be baking TONS and will not only be making fat-free, low fat or sugarless/saltless recipes. The only thing I am really changing is that I would like try to focus on the nutrition of these meals so my readers can tell the difference and know when and how to monitor their diets to be more healthy. I hope you guys like the changes and continue to follow my blog. I think this will make this website a lot of fun and very interesting. Feedback is more than welcome!

Whoa!! A New Decade!

Happy New Year everyone!!! I hope you all enjoyed your holidays. I, for one, had an absolute blast which is why I've been out of the blogging world for a week. I wish I had tons of pictures of my amazing adventures (including the awesome food we ate) but I was too busy having fun I think.

My vacay started in Savannah, GA for New Years, then Miami for the Orange Bowl (sadly our Hokies lost), and then the final stop was Hilton Head. I traveled with my boyfriends family and we had the time of our lives. I was also lucky enough to have a night with my family, including some family members I hadn't seen for three years. That was special to say the least. The whole trip was very unforgettable.

Grant and I in Miami!

However, I'm so glad to be back in Blacksburg and ready to start cooking and baking again.

As far as New Years resolutions go... mine is to cook healthier in 2011 so, be expecting healthier but still as equally delicious posts!

It's time to get to cookin'! Hopefully I'll have several things up for you guys in the next few days.