I had a friend over for dinner on Friday night, and it just seemed like a comfort food kind of an evening.  I’m a big fan of The Lyndale Tap House in Uptown, especially their shells and cheese.  Only one problem: It is super greasy and I always feel really guilty for eating it.  I decided to try to make it at home.  I substituted turkey bacon and tried to use some pasta water and less cream.  Don’t get me wrong: this will NEVER be a Weight Watchers recipe. However, when you put the leftovers in the fridge, you will see noticeably less grease.  For that reason, I will chalk the recipe up as a success. Continue reading →

I know nutritionists recommend eating a variety of colors of fruits and vegetables.  As I was eating a bowl of Froot Loops for dinner last night, trying to justify the colorful cereal as a “fruit,” I thought that maybe I should re-evaluate dinner.  I do enjoy cooking, but don’t always have the time – hence, Froot Loops for dinner.  I know spinach is one of those “super foods,” so I decided to try to incorporate it into my diet.  I tried a recipe for spinach mashed potatoes from Emeril a while back, and I loved being able to add a healthy kick to this starch.  Plus, the little kid in me likes the idea of green mashed potatoes.

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‘Tis the season for sweet potatoes.  I have a soft spot for sweet potato fries, and Mike likes anything with a kick.

So here we go…

Gather your ingredients. Preheat oven to 450.

Peel sweet potatoes. Cut into french fry-size pieces.

Place sweet potatoes and dry ingredients in gallon zip-loc bag. Shake. Add olive oil and shake again.

Spread sweet potatoes across two baking pans. The more space between the fries, the crispier they will be. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes.