The last few months have been an absolute blur of recipe creation, food photography and dirty dishes….lots of dirty dishes.
The Challenge: to create and photograph 100 step-by-step recipes for a brand new cookbook in 6 weeks. Gulp!
It was crazy, and at more than one point along the way I thought that I would die from sleep deprivation/exhaustion or be crushed to death by a stack of dirty dishes.
Luckily the time passed, all 100 recipes were created, and I came out of it alive. And all the dirty dishes were (finally) cleaned.
Now the editing process has started, with the goal of having this book in stores this December. I can’t wait to share all the new recipes with you!
One of my personal favorite recipes in the new book is for Loaded Sweet Potato Skins. Man-Oh-Man those things are the tastiest appetizer I’ve ever made! Now, I can’t share that recipe with you, until you get your hands on a copy of my book, but I did come up with this spin-off recipe that takes the whole loaded sweet potato skin concept to a heartier place.
This dish is not an appetizer. It’s a full meal in itself!
Make it on a day when you are craving a filling, hearty, satisfying meal — you won’t be disappointed. Enjoy
4 sweet potatoes
6 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon Garlic, minced
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
dash of black pepper
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chiles
1 cup raw cashews
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon water
¼ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon Garlic, minced
dash of black pepper
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Wash and dry the sweet potatoes. Poke a few times with a fork. Use a marinade brush to brush all over with melted coconut oil. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes, until tender.
Slice the sweet potatoes in half, lengthwise. Use an ice cream scooper to scoop out some of the sweet potato flesh. Place the scooped sweet potato halves back on the baking sheet. Brush with melted coconut oil. Bake, backs up, for 5 minutes. Turn over and bake for another 5 minutes.
In a skillet place the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until browned. Add the chopped onion and cook until soft. Add the ground beef, chili powder, sea salt and black pepper. Cook until the meat is browned. Drain the skillet and add the chopped chiles. Cook for another minute then remove from heat.
Soak the cashews for 10 minutes in hot water. Drain.
Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until smooth and creamy.
Spread some Cashew Cream Cheese in each scooped sweet potato. Fill with a generous spoonful of the Ground Beef Filling. Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until hot and tender. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Calories: 433
Fat: 29g
Carbohydrates: 23g
Sodium: 395mg
Fiber: 4g
Protein: 19g
Sugar: 1g