Red Potato Salad

This is not your standard potato salad.  I promise.  I do not have fond memories of potato salad.  It always seems to be that one side dish that always shows up at a cookout but no one ever touches.  This recipe completely changed the way I feel.  We included it at our Easter brunch and everyone loved it.

I found this recipe on Brown Eyed Baker.  It caught my eye for a few reasons.  First, every recipe she posts is great.  Second, the potatoes looked very lightly dressed.  There is mayo in this recipe but not too much.  And then there is the bacon.  Bacon makes everything better.  I never said this recipe was healthy.

Northstar Breakfast Burrito

Northstar Cafe is one of my all time favorite places to eat in Columbus, OH.  I decided to try and recreate their breakfast burrito since I can't have it down in the south.  I have never had a breakfast burrito, or any burrito for that matter, that even compares to Northstar's.  I would eat anything in this burrito on its own, but the combination of ingredients together is so delicious!

I also recreated their ricotta pancakes a while ago.  Also super delicious!

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tostadas

After going through our most popular posts in 2010, it was clear that our readers like to see easy, healthy dinner recipes.  In 2011, it is our goal to share more of these recipes with you!  We will, of course, still be baking a lot and sharing those recipes as well.... because that's what we love to do :)

Now, let's get to these Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tostadas.  They are so easy to make and a great, healthy way to satisfy your craving for Mexican food.  You can add just about anything you want to these -- very versatile!  

Sweet Potato Gratin

This is not your typical sweet potato casserole; this gratin is savory as opposed to the standard brown sugar and marshmallow dish.  We served this when my aunt and uncle came to town and my aunt (who happens to be a fabulous cook) loved it and asked for the recipe!  Even my dad liked these sweet potatoes; and he usually only like basic Idaho potatoes.  This recipe is a keeper!

Baked French Fries

These are not your standard french fries; these have lots of flavor and are baked in order to make them a healthy side dish for any cookout this summer!  I am going to let you in a little secret for how to make your fries crispy when you bake them in the oven: after you cut the potato into wedges, boil the wedges for 2 minutes.  Then drain the potatoes and season and bake them according to the recipe.  This works every time!  I hope you enjoy these as much as I did :)

Cauliflower Mash Potatoes

For those of you who can't live without your potatoes but want to watch your waistline, this is the perfect recipe for you!  Although the recipe calls for exact amounts of cauliflower and potatoes, you could easily use more or less of either ingredient, depending on how healthy you want this dish to be, and it would still taste great.  I also added a little Parmesan cheese along with the butter and scallions during the last step.  It gave the potatoes an extra bit of flavor.  Also, I used a hand mixer to whip the potatoes and cauliflower rather than stirring them to make them fluffier.  These are the perfect side dish for any dinner and are delicious!

Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes

I think I found my new favorite sweet potato dish.  These are a healthy version of the typical twice-baked potato but they do not lack in flavor at all!  They are very rich and filled with good-for-you ingredients.  The cookbook I found these in refers to this recipe as "Healthy Potato Skins", but when I think of potato skins I think of an appetizer; these are far from an appetizer though.  In fact, I could eat one of these sweet potatoes for dinner and be completely satisfied.  These twice-baked sweet potatoes are perfection and I highly recommend them!

 

Sweet Potato Rounds with Basil Salt and Garlic Mayo Dipping Sauce

I happen to LOVE all things sweet potato and these might be my favorite.  They are so easy to make and are the perfect side dish for just about any dinner.  I used to always make sweet potato fries by cutting the potatoes lengthwise into strips.  However, they never seemed to get crispy and would turn mushy quite fast.  I discovered that if you slice the sweet potatoes into 1/2 inch circles, they not only get crispier, but they also cook faster!  Also, I can't say enough about this dipping sauce; it is the perfect accompaniment to these "rounds."