Sweet Potato Casserole

We recently had my parents over for a steak cookout lunch, and I decided sweet potato casserole sounded like the perfect side! My mom has always made Boston Market's version, but I am really not a fan. It's SO bad for you, and I always think it's a little watery. (Maybe because she boils the potatoes?) I tried this version from The Pioneer Woman, and we absolutely thought it was great!

4 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 3/4 pounds)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Bake sweet potatoes for 45 minutes at 375 until potatoes are fork tender. Once the potatoes have cooled enough to handle, scrape the flesh in to a mixing bowl. Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees F.

Add the granulated sugar, milk, eggs, vanilla and salt to the bowl with the sweet potatoes. Mash ingredients together until they are incorporated but the potatoes are still lumpy.

Now, in a separate bowl, mash the brown sugar, pecans, flour and butter with a pastry cutter or fork until thoroughly combined. The mixture should resemble a crumble.(I actually melted the butter and mixed. I do my crisps the same way, and I actually prefer it that way. I think it gives the butter more even distribution.)

Spread the sweet potato mixture in a 14-cup oval-shaped baking dish and sprinkle the crumb mixture all over the top. Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Green Tortilla Bake

Here is yet another delicious, healthy and inexpensive meal I came across as I've been researching some new main dishes for our family. I cooked four chicken breasts in the crockpot over the weekend, and I used half for chicken noodle soup and half for this recipe. I decided to bulk it up a little, so I also used a can of black beans and some extras of everything else. The recipe really turned out great! The original recipe is Rachael Ray's, and you can find it here.

Here is my adjusted version,

Ingredients

• 3 chicken breasts or 2 cans of black beans (or a mix of both)
• 3 cups store-bought salsa verde (I didn't use this much.)
• 1.5  cup ricotta cheese
• 6 small flour tortillas
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese (I used Mexican blend.)  

Preheat oven to 450.

Whisk together the spinach, salsa verda and ricotta; season with salt and pepper. In a greased 9-inch square baking dish, layer one-third of the salsa mixture, tortillas, chicken and/or beans, spinach and cheese; repeat twice. Bake until golden-brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.