Sweet Potato Spaghetti

I love sweet potatoes, and this is one of my favorite sweet potato dishes. It comes together very quickly and is a little different than the regular lunch fare around here. If you want it to be more savory, add rosemary.

Sweet Potato Spaghetti

1 medium sweet potato

1/3 cup minced yellow onion

2 garlic cloves

Olive oil

Spaghetti

Dash salt

Dash pepper

Grated Parmesan cheese, to taste

1/2 tsp dried rosemary (optional)

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain.

Peel and dice sweet potato. Mince onion and garlic.

In a small frying pan, combine approx. 2 Tbsp olive oil and diced sweet potato. Cook, stirring occasionally, until potato pieces become slightly soft. Add onion and garlic. Continue cooking until sweet potatoes begin to brown and are soft.

Combine sweet potato mixture, drained spaghetti, salt, pepper, and rosemary in a serving bowl. Toss. Add more olive oil if desired. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Serves 2.

Macaroni & Cheese

This recipe is my variation on what is rumored to be President Reagan's favorite dish. My rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Macaroni & Cheese

8 oz elbow macaroni
1 Tbsp olive oil
6 oz ham, cubed
1 egg
1 tsp butter, melted
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk
3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Cook macaroni as directed on package. Drain.

In a small pan, heat the olive oil and then add ham. Cook until ham is browned on all sides.

In a large bowl, beat egg. Add butter, dry mustard, salt, and milk. Mix well.

Add noodles, ham, and all but 1/3 cup cheese. Stir until well-combined.

Spray a medium-large baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Pour in noodle mixture. Top with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned on top.

Let sit for five minutes before serving. Serves 4-6.

Asparagus Ham Roll-ups with Cheese Sauce

This is a very quick recipe! You can make it and do the dishes in under 30 minutes. My rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Asparagus Ham Roll-ups with Cheese Sauce

20 stalks of asparagus
8 thin slices ham

1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded swiss or cheddar cheese

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Trim off the bottom inch of each asparagus stalk. Add asparagus to boiling water and cook for 7 minutes.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lay two slices of ham on top of each other. Place five stalks of asparagus in the middle of the ham. Wrap the ham around the asparagus. Repeat with additional ham and asparagus. Place each roll seam side down on a cookie sheet that has been lightly sprayed with oil. Bake for 5 minutes.

Melt butter in a small saucepan. Combine flour, salt, and milk in a small cup and stir with a fork until smooth. Add milk mixture to butter. Stir continuously over low heat until it thickens, about 4 minutes. Add cheese and stir until smooth.

Spoon sauce over asparagus and top with pepper. Serves 2.

Potato Rolls

Potato rolls are great for both dinner and sandwiches the next day. Here's a recipe I made yesterday. The recipe is geared towards someone with a stand mixer that has both a beater and a hook attachment. If you don't have those, you can still do it by hand. It makes 16 rolls, so you may want to cut the recipe in half. My rating: 4 out of 5.

Potato Rolls

1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup butter
1 large Russet potato
1 1/2 cups water
2 pkg (5 tsp) yeast
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
6 cups flour

Combine milk and lemon juice in a small bowl and set aside on the counter for later use. Get butter out of the refrigerator and set it on the counter so that it can be warming up.

Peel the potato and cut into small cubes. Put potato and water into a small saucepan. Cover. Heat until the water boils. Then cook for an additional 10 minutes or until potato pieces are soft.

Pour the potato and water (don't drain!) into the bowl of your stand mixer. Use the beater attachment to beat it until the potato is essentially mashed. It's okay if there are still little pieces of potato in there, but you don't want any big chunks.

Add the milk/lemon mixture to the bowl and mix. Feel the mixture (yes, with your hand) to test the temperature. It should be fairly warm, neither hot nor cold. If it is hot, keep stirring until it cools down.

Add yeast to the warm liquid and stir again. Then let the mixture sit for 5 minutes.

Add sugar and salt. Stir. Slowly add 3 cups of flour while mixing. Now take off the beater attachment and put on the hook one.

Cut the butter into small cubes and add to the bowl. Mix. Slowly add remaining 3 cups of flour.

Knead with the hook for 5-7 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. This dough should be slightly sticky but if it is too sticky add additional flour while kneading.

Spray a large bowl with non-stick spray and put the dough into it. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap that has also been sprayed with non-stick spray. Let rise for 1 hour or until dough doubles in size.

Cut dough into 16 pieces (a pizza cutter works well for this). Let dough rest for 5 minutes. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with non-stick spray. Roll dough into balls and place 8 balls on each baking sheet. Let rise for an additional 30 minutes. Sprinkle lightly with flour.

Cook at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool for a few minutes and then enjoy!