Cooking - for a new lifestyle (Our Test Kitchen)

4 cups peeled, diced sweet potatoes 1 Vidalia onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, chopped 3 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp chopped thyme leaves 1/2 cup pecan halves 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar salt and pepper to taste Preheat oven to 425F. In large bowl, combine potatoes, onion, garlic, oil and thyme.  Toss well to coat.  Pour into shallow roasting pan.  Bake, turning occasionally, for 30 minutes or until vegetables are soft and golden brown. Add pecans.  Roast 10 minutes, watching carefully so nuts don't burn. Drizzle with vinegar.  Season with salt and pepper. Makes 4-6 side servings.

Well, when you think of a side dish does celery come to mind??? Not for me. This is an item reserved for recipes and salads (and cheese whiz!) As my previous posts have done this week, I am using up bits and pieces of leftovers in my fridge, freezer and baking cupboards! So I was happy to find yet another recipe for this week that would accomplish doing this. 1/4 cup margarine 2 medium / large carrots chopped 1 cup frozen corn 1/2 cup of water or chicken stock 1 tsp garlic powder Sautee slowly until carrots are tender. Covered. **Add 1/4 cup of liquid if more is needed. 1 cup chopped onion 3 cups celery (mine was pretty beat up...the tail end of a head of celery) Add to the pan. Continue to sautee until celery is tender. Covered. 1 package of  sweetener **no sugar so I used a substitute (1/2 tsp sugar) 1/4 tsp thyme (we used italian spice) 1 tsp salt (omitted) 1/2 can of diced tomatoes (or 2 large tomatoes diced)some juice r...

Or as I also like to call them, Mini meatloaf. This dish has been a staple since I was a kid. I even used it for a Food's class project. Everyone in my family loves these tiny treats and if it could make more than 8-10, I'm sure we'd all eat more than we should. Ingredients 1lb ground beef 2 tbsp minced onion 1/2 cup bread crumbs 1 egg- slightly beaten 1/2 cup milk Dash of sage Salt and pepper to taste 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup ketchup 1 tsp dry mustard Dash of nutmeg Makes 8-10. Directions Heat oven to 350F. Combine ground beef, onion, bread crumbs, egg, milk, sage, salt & pepper. Pat mixture into un-greased muffin tins. Make a hole using the small end of a wooden spoon in the center of each. Combine brown sugar, ketchup, mustard and nutmeg and place some in each. Bake for 25mins.