These Thanksgiving Sweet Potatoes with Cranberries are so good I think I could eat them as a dessert! And these are a much healthier version than those covered in brown sugar and marshmallows. To make them even healthier,  use this recipe from Ricki Heller to make your own sugar free dried cranberries.

Health Benefits of Sweet Potatoes and Cranberries

Sweet potatoes contain an unbelievable amount of beta-carotene.  Just one cup of sweet potatoes contains 214% of your daily nutritional value of vitamin A! It also contains 52% of your vitamin C needs and 34% of vitamin B6. There are also 6.6  grams of dietary fiber which actually helps with blood sugar regulation. In addition, sweet potatoes contain nutrients that are anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatories.

If you make your own dried cranberries then you are adding to the health benefits of this dish. Cranberries also contain anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients. In addition, they contain anti-cancer nutrients. Including these in your diet can help prevent such cancers as breast, lung, colon and prostate. And as most women know, cranberries can be used in the prevention of urinary tract infections due to their proanthocyanidin (PAC) content which makes it harder for bacteria to latch on to urinary tract lining.

So, you can’t go wrong with these Thanksgiving Sweet Potatoes!  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Recipe:

Thanksgiving Sweet Potatoes with Cranberries

Serves 6

Healthy sweet potato side dish.

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Prep Time

25 min

Cook Time

30 min

Total Time

55 min

Ingredients

1. 4 large sweet potatoes
2. 4 tablespoons Splenda or sweetener of choice
3. 2 teaspoons cinnamon
4. 1/2 cup dried cranberries and/or raisins
5. 4 tablespoons butter or coconut oil
6. dash of salt

Instructions

1. Cut sweet potatoes in half and place in large pot of water. Boil for about 15-20 minutes or until fork tender. Then let cool.
2. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1" cubes. Place sweet potatoes in a 9 x 13" baking pan.
3. Sprinkle dried cranberries over the sweet potatoes.
4. Mix Splenda and cinnamon in a small bowl. Then spoon over potatoes and cranberries. Stir so that all the sweet potatoes are covered in cinnamon mixture. Add just a dash of salt on top.
5. Dot the top of the potatoes with butter or coconut oil. Then cover with foil and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.
6. Remove foil carefully and stir to mix all the ingredients.

By Roseann Hampton

I hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving and was able to spend time with friends and family! If you are like me, you cook way too much food and have plenty of leftovers.  Crock Pot Leftover Ham & Bean Soup  is a delicious way to use leftover ham from Thanksgiving. It is really easy to throw together and can be cooking in the crock pot while you do your shopping!  When you get home this hearty meal is ready.  This is one of my husband’s favorite soups! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

 

RECIPE:

Crock Pot Leftover Ham & Bean Soup

Serves 6

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Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

10 hr

Total Time

10 hr 15 min

Ingredients

1. 4 cups chicken broth
2. 4 cups water
3. 1 pound pre-soaked northern beans
4. 2 cups cubed ham
5. 1 ham bone
6. 1/2 onion chopped
7. 1/2 teaspoon pepper
8. 1 bay leaf
9. 1-8 ounce can tomato sauce

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients to the crock pot. Add the ham bone last, stirring to mix before you add it.
2. Cook in the crock pot on low for 10 hours.
3. Remove bay leaf.
4. Remove ham bone and let cool for a couple of minutes. Then remove any ham that was left on the bone and add it back into the crock pot.
5. If the soup did not thicken to your liking, scoop out a few cups into a bowl and use an immersion blender or potato masher to smash the beans. Then add this mixture back to the soup and mix it in.

By Roseann Hampton

 

Eating black eyed peas on New Year’s Day is a southern tradition. It is thought to bring prosperity in the new year. One legend associating black eyed peas with good luck goes back to Civil War times. Sherman’s army had pillaged the food supplies of southerners on his March to the Sea. However the army left the peas along with pork believing they were animal food. Southerners considered themselves lucky to be left with food to help them make it through the winter. This recipe for Crock Pot Black Eyed Pea Soup is a great way to add the peas to your menu for New Year’s Day. Serve along with cornbread (which symbolizes gold) for a hearty meal! Click here to read more about the tradition. Happy New Year!

Crock Pot Black Eyed Pea Soup

Serves 6

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Prep Time

30 min

Cook Time

8 hr

Ingredients

1. 1 pound black eyed peas
2. 1 can tomatoes with green chiles
3. 1 can petite diced tomatoes
4. 6 slices bacon
5. 1 large onion, chopped
6. 3 medium potatoes, cubed
7. 1 cup chopped ham
8. salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Presoak beans either overnight or with a quick soak.
2. Cook bacon then break into small pieces. Use bacon drippings to saute onions and potatoes.
3. Add all the ingredients to the crock pot including salt and pepper to taste. Then add enough water to cover all the ingredients. Mix well.
4. Cook on low for 8 - 10 hours.

By Roseann Hampton

Bacon, onions and chicken stock meld together to provide great flavor for this Smothered Green Beans and Red Potatoes recipe. This makes a great side dish for any meal. Hope you enjoy!

Smothered Green Beans and Red Potatoes

Serves 6

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Prep Time

20 min

Cook Time

1 hr

Total Time

1 hr 20 min

Ingredients

1. 6 slices bacon
2. 1 medium onion
3. 1 pound fresh green beans
4. 6 medium red potatoes
5. 4 cups chicken broth/stock
6. 1 teaspoon salt
7. 1 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

1. Chop the onion and cut the bacon into pieces. Put the bacon in a large pot and cook over medium heat until it is cooked but still soft. Add the chopped onion and cook until sightly softened.
2. Cut the potatoes into 1 inch pieces and cut the ends off the green beans. Add the green beans and potatoes to the pot and mix well.
3. Pour chicken stock over the mixture until the potatoes and green beans are just covered with liquid. Stir in the salt and pepper and mix every together.
4. Cover and cook over medium-high heat for 45 minutes to an hour. Stir occasionally while it is cooking.
5. You will know it is finished when all the liquid has been absorbed.

Notes

1. Sometimes I add chopped cooked ham to make this a complete meal!

By Roseann Hampton

Adapted from October 2012 Eating Well Magazine

Are you ready to celebrate the Fourth of July? Parades, festivities, picnics and fireworks are the activities that take place in my area. How about you – what types of activities do you like to participate in for the Fourth? I’ve created these July Fourth Stickers for you to use for your celebrations or to help decorate your planner. If you click on the picture it will take you to the file that has both png and pdf files. They are also sized for the Create 365 planner as well as the Erin Condren Life planner. This sticker paper works great and is one of the best priced packages I have found.

If you would like a full size print of the "Oh Beautiful for Spacious Skies" sticker, that comes from Julie at My Busy Beehives. She always has such great printables!

You can also check out my June stickers here.

Enjoy!

*This post contains affiliate links.

Summertime is full of barbecues, watermelon and lemonade. But sometimes it’s just too hot outside to cook on the grill. Which means it’s also too hot to have the oven on for any length of time.  Well, at least in Texas anyway! That’s where a recipe for Crock Pot Ribs comes in handy! While you’re busy having fun in the sun, these ribs are cooking away in the crock pot. Add a few baked potatoes to the crock pot  or make this potato salad to go with your ribs. So, enjoy your summertime activities and come home to a deliciously cooked meal!

*this post contains affiliate links

Since it is just my husband and myself, I usually only cook 1/2 the slab of ribs at a time.  I love using these crock pot liners which makes for easier clean up!

If you’ve never used liquid smoke before, it is usually sold in the seasoning aisle near the worcestershire sauce.  And because I don’t use any refined sugar I use sugar free barbecue sauce. I found this brand (G. Hughes) at my local Walmart and it is some of the best of I have tasted!

Recipe:

Delicious Barbecue Crock Pot Ribs

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Prep Time

20 min

Cook Time

8 hr

Ingredients

1. 1 slab of pork ribs
2. bottle of liquid smoke
3. 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
4. 1 teaspoon onion powder
5. 1 teaspoon garlic powder
6. 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
7. 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
8. barbecue sauce

Instructions

1. Begin by laying ribs meat side up on a plate or pan to season.
2. Then mix all the dry seasonings together in a bowl.
3. Sprinkle the meat with liquid smoke seasoning to cover with liquid.Then sprinkle the dry seasonings on top of the liquid smoke.
4. Place ribs meat side up in the crock pot.
5. Pour barbecue sauce over the ribs.
6. Cook on low for about 8 hours.

Notes

1. If you are home while they are cooking, I usually pour a little more barbecue sauce on the ribs about halfway through cooking.
2. Also, the dry seasonings are just an estimate. I generally just sprinkle them directly from the shaker bottle onto the ribs to cover them to my liking.

By Roseann Hampton