Twice Baked Loaded Sweet Potatoes
More than any other holiday meal I love Thanksgiving, so trust me when I say that these sweet potatoes are magical. I would never steeryou wrong, definitelywhen it comes to Thanksgiving side dishes. And since they are individually done in their own skin, that saves you the added hassle of another casserole dish to clean afterward.
I think this will be a great addition to our Friendsgiving menu and I hope it makes it to your table at Thanksgiving as well. Thanks for stopping by and leave any questions you have in the comments! You may also enjoy these Maple Pecan Pie Bars!
A special thank you to HEB for partnering with us on this post!
- 4 sweet potatoes
- 1tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- pinch of nutmeg
- 1/4 cup honey
- 4 cups of mini marshmallows
- ****Optional**** 1/4 cup of chopped pecans
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Rub potatoes with olive oil and place on a foil lined cooking sheet.
- Poke all the potatoes many times with a fork and then place the pan in the oven for 50 min., or until tender.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 10 min.
- Cut each potato in half and then scoop out the middle. Make sure to leave a small ring of potato around the edges so the skin keeps its shape.
- Place what you scooped out into a bowl and put remaining halves back on the cooking sheet.
- In the bowl add brown sugar, melted butter, cinnamon, honey and nutmeg. Mix all the ingredients until smooth.
- Spoon the mixture back into the potato halves.
- Place the potatoes back in the oven at 400 degrees for 10 min. then remove.
- Set oven to broil.
- Add mini marshmallows to the top of each potato.
- Place potatoes back in the oven under the broiler for 1-2 minutes but carefully watch to make sure that the marshmallows don't burn. Remove once the marshmallows are melted and lightly brown.
- Ready to serve.
- If you do burn the marshmallows, don't worry, just pull the potatoes out and remove the marshmallows off the top with a spoon and try again.
For the last fiveSummers John and I have vacationed in Gruene, TX. We LOVE it there. Gruene has become our favorite place to getaway. While we are there our go-to place to eat is the Husiache Grill. They have the most amazing steaktopped withmelted blue cheese butter that is served with crispy potatoes and we add a glass of red wine. This year we did not make it out to Gruene and we missed out on that delicious meal, which led us tocreate our own version ofthat meal for a Steak & Wine Date Night! We also thought this would be a fun way to share one of our favorite meals with all of you guys! Hope you enjoy this delicious recipe for a New York Strip with Melted Blue Cheese Butter!
New York Strip with Melted Blue Cheese Butter
While John cooked( yes, he does almost all of the cooking! Thank goodness!) I wasin charge of picking out the wine andsetting the table ( I know, Igot the better end of that deal! hah!)It has been raining so much lately in Houston that the weather was much cooler than normal, so we took advantage of it and had dinner outside.
For wine I chose Mark West, a Burgundian styled California Pinot Noir. Not only, does this wine pair perfectly with the flavors of the New York Strip, but it also is pre-filled in single serve recyclable glasses that click together to form one bottle of wine; which is perfect to enjoy outside! Honestly, this is going to be my go-to wine now for entertaining or to take to outside events. I love that it allows you to enjoy a glass, without having to open the entire bottle at one time and there is no hassle!
This is such an easy recipe for grilling steak. It turned out so tender and juicy! (This was before we added the blue cheese butter.) John also prepared crispy red potatoes and sautéed zucchini and squash.
See how the wine just clicks and stacks together?! It is beyond convenient and so perfect for a date night that is outside.For more entertaining ideas check outEntertain And Pair Social Hub!
John topped off the New York Strip with blue cheese butter. It adds a creamy and rich flavor to this meal.
Cheers! See the recipe card below with all the instructions on how to cook the steak, blue cheese butter, veggies, and the potatoes. I marinade the steak in Allegro Original Marinade, 12.7 oz
- 10oz New York Strip Steak
- 1/4 cup Blue Cheese Crumbles
- 1/4 cup Butter
- 1 lb New Potatoes
- 2 Zucchini
- 2 Squash
- 4 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
- Salt and Pepper
- Steak Marinade
- Preheat oven to 425
- Cut up potatoes into quarters
- Place in bowl and add 2 tbsp EVOO and the salt and pepper and then toss thoroughly
- Place in oven for 30-35 Min, our until they begin to brown and the skin becomes crispy.
- Remove from oven and set aside
- While potatoes are cooking, Slice veggies and place in a bowl
- Toss with 2 tbsp EVOO and salt and pepper
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat
- Sautee veggies in skillet for 10 min or until they begin to brown
- Remove from heat and set aside
- Marinade Steak for 20-30 Min.
- Heat pan to Medium/High Heat
- Add 1 tbsp of butter to the pan right before you add the steak
- Season steak with salt and pepper and place in pan cook 5 min on one side then flip and cook and additional 5 min.**
- While steak is cooking use a spoon scoop up the butter and glaze the top of the steak.
- Remove from pan and let it rest before cutting it.
- Heat a sauce pan on Medium/High heat
- Add butter and blue cheese crumbles to the pan
- Cook for 4min stirring occasionally
- Remove from heat
- On a plate combine all of the elements of the meal making sure to top the steak with the blue cheese butter and serve.
- Once the potatoes are in the oven, you should have plenty of time to prepare the other 2 parts of this dish.
- Also remember to marinate 30 minutes prior to meal preparation.
- ** This should get your steak to a Medium Rare temperature so adjust your cooking time to how your like your steak prepared.
As always thanks for stopping by our little corner of the interwebs and we hope that you enjoy one of our favorite meals for date night!
Keep it messy y’all!
Fish Tacos with Mango Avocado Salsa
This recipe is incredibly simple and if you have read any of my recipe posts before then you will know that I like simple. Simple is easy and easy makes food taste better or maybe I made that up. The flavors mix perfectly in this dish with the boldness of the fresh mango and avocado and the extra subtleness of the cilantro that really finishes every bite.
Ingredients:
- Tilapia
- Lemon Pepper Seasoning
- Tortillas
- Shredded Cabbage
- Mango (1)
- Avocado (1 1/2)
- Cilantro (1/4 cup)
- Limes (2)
- Red Onion (1/4 cup)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Lay the tilapia on foil and then season with whatever seasoning you love. For this recipe we like to use a lemon pepper seasoning but feel free to try something you love.
- Bake fish for 20-25 minutes
- While fish are baking, begin to prep your salsa. Start by chopping up the mango into small chunks.
- Slice your avocado, red onion, and chop your cilantro as well.
- Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and add lime juice from one lime.
- Once mixed well cover and place in the refrigerator until fish are done baking.
- Once the fish are done heat your tortillas in the microwave for about 10 seconds to warm then up.
- Then just layer the tacos. first the fish, then the cabbage and then finish it off with the mango salsa.
- A great add but optional is some sriracha sauce or a chipotle mayo.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you will enjoy these delicious fish tacos. Please feel free to add your own flair to them and share it with us #OMTfoodie. Enjoy your Taco Tuesday!
John
]]>
I love pork chops, especially pork chops filled with stuffing and then wrapped in bacon. So I’ll go ahead and apologize now because I fully understand that everyone is in the middle of their new years resolutions and this isn’t something you would put in the healthy meal category, but this a cheat meal worth having haha.
I went a little mad scientist and combined some things for this ultimate comfort food. I mixed a stuffed and wrapped pork chop with the cheese topping from my green bean casserole. It was really a spur of the moment decision that I’m proud to say paid off (insert pat on the back). It really is an easy dinner and I know you will love it.
Ingredients:
- 4 Thick boneless pork chops
- bacon
- Stove top stuffing
- Velveeta Cheese
- Colby jack cheese
- fried onion sticks
- 1 white onion
- 1 clove of garlic
- salt and pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Cook the stuffing according to the directions on the box and set aside but make sure to leave 1/2 cup of the dry stuffing mix for later.
Butterfly the pork chops by slicing the pork chop down the middle of its thickness but don’t cut it all the way through. Then stuff the pork chops with the stuffing and wrap each one with 3 pieces of bacon. Set in a baking pan and bake for 30 minutes.
While the chops are cooking prep the cheese sauce from thegreen bean casserole.
After 30 min remove the pork chops and cover with the cheese sauce and sprinkle on the remainder of the dry stuffing mix. Bake for additional 20 min.
Remove and add the fried onions to the top and cook for and additional 8-10 min., just enough to brown and crust the onions.
Well let me know how your chops turn out or even if you made any improvements that I can try and as always thanks for stopping by.
John
]]>