stuffed sweet potatoes

Like almost everyone else in the world, I am obsessed with pinterest. It takes up much of my time sitting on the couch. I believe I am an obsessive-pinner! HAHA.

Either way, I saw this picture of stuffed sweet potatoes and thought “HOLLA”! Seriously, I did. In fact, I may have even said it out loud. Don’t judge me.

I skipped over to the farmers market and got a few sweet potatoes and came home to recreate this awesomeness! It was good but my sweet potatoes were bigger so it took way more time than 45 minutes to get them soft enough. Next time I'll know and plan more time for them! We just had them after dinner. haha :) To be honest, I was more excited because they were pretty!!

Enjoy!

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Source: Sweet Peas Kitchen

What you need-

6 large sweet potatoes
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
6 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup toasted pecan pieces, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup miniature marshmallows

What you do-

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the pecans onto a baking sheet and place in preheated oven 5-7 minutes until fragrant. Shake the baking sheet halfway through baking so the nuts will toast evenly. Remove nuts from oven and set aside to cool completely. Turn the oven up to 400 degrees F.

Wash the sweet potatoes, scrubbing them well to remove any dirt. With a fork, prick the sweet potatoes in a couple of spots and place them on a sheet pan. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center goes in easily. Remove from oven and let stand until cool enough to handle but still very warm.

Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and push the ends towards the middle so it opens up. Scoop out flesh and place in medium bowl, being careful not to tear skin. Reserve skins.

In a large bowl, mix 3tablespoons butter and brown sugar together until it’s crumbly-looking. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt, and half of the pecans. Divide mixture in half. Add half of the mixture to the sweet potato flesh and fold in completely. Add the filling back to the potato skins and place on baking sheet.

To the remaining brown sugar mixture, add 3 tablespoons butter and flour. Mix until crumbly looking. Top sweet potatoes generously with the brown sugar mixture and marshmallows and return to the oven. Bake for another 5-10 minutes, or until the marshmallow topping is golden brown.

banana bread

I know I have been absent lately from here…just been so overwhelmed and stressed! So, sorry for being slack!

I recently had a few bananas that were going bad so I thought I HAD to make banana bread with them! I hadn’t made banana bread before so I searched for a recipe that looked quick and easy. Thank the good Lord for the Internet because I found exactly what I was looking for!! The Fresh Loaf had a 10 minute banana bread that sounded super easy and obviously quick!

I thought that it might not turn out that great since it was so easy but I was very happy to see a fabulous looking loaf once baked and then when we ate it I was even more excited to find out that it was DELICIOUS!!

I have a few bananas that are ready to make this bread again. I am going to make a few loaves and freeze them…perfect for a quick breakfast when I’m running late (which is every day!)

Banana Bread
Makes 1 full-sized loaf or 2 small loaves

Preheat the oven to 350.

In one bowl, combine:

1/2 stick (4-5 tablespoons) butter, softened
2 eggs
2 or 3 very ripe bananas
2/3 cup sugar

Use a potato masher, fork, or spoon to squish the banana and mix the ingredients together. It is alright for there to be small (1 centimeter) chunks of banana in the batter, but you want most of the banana to be reduced to mush.

In another bowl, combine:

1 1/3 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until the ingredients are blended together.

If you like, stir in additional ingredients here, such as chopped walnuts or pecans, dried cherries or apricots, or chocolate chips. A handful (about a half a cup) is about right.

Pour the dough into greased baking pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Small loaves take around 30 minutes, a normal-sized loaf takes around 50 minutes.

Remove from the oven.

After cooled for 5 or 10 minutes the loaves can be removed from the pan to cool. Once they are cool they can be individually wrapped and frozen.

Great warm or cold! Whatever works for you :)

ENJOY!

xoxo.
manda

never forget.

10 years ago I was a freshman in high school. I was sitting in algebra 1B and the principal came over the intercom and announced what happened. The TV was turned on and a bunch of freshman watched in silence. We watched the 2nd plane fly into the tower. We watched people jump to their death. We watched the towers crumble. It was tragic.

Honestly, being only 14 years old I didn’t understand...even if I thought I did. When I was 14, New York seems a million miles away from the small town in South Carolina where I grew up.

10 years. A lot changes in 10 years. I’m no longer a 14 year girl who is unaffected by the events from that day in New York. Bradley’s best friend is in the army and I am very close with this wife. He has been deployed 2 times now and even the first year of their marriage he was overseas at war. It’s heart breaking to hear the stories of the war.

Watching the footage of 911 is so different today than watching 10 years ago. A different perception I suppose considering I’m now an adult.

Today is a day to honor and remember all those who were affected that sad, sad day. I am thankful for our freedom and I am thankful for the men and women that protect our freedom.

Never Forget.

FUNNY FRiDAY!

for fun friday shannon and i decided to play a little office prank on a coworker..nandi. usually shannon can execute such pranks with ease. but as you will see today shannon couldn't control her laughter. but in the end...nandi was still pranked! :)



happy friday!

xoxo
manda

skinny baby red potato salad

we make sliders often in our house. we have a small george foreman so it's just easy. plus, bradley makes a pretty fab burger. :)

so last night we had...you guessed it...sliders. we had some red potatoes that needed to be used and i saw this potato salad the other day on skinny taste (a website that i now LOVE!) i had everything needed expect the scallions. i figured i could leave out the scallions...i did and it was fine!

this potato salad is pretty delish! give it a try!

baby red potato salad
source: skinnytaste.com


4 cups baby red potatoes, cut in small pieces
1/2 cup green bell pepper, finely diced
1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
3 scallions, diced
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp reduced fat mayonnaise
salt and fresh pepper

Boil potatoes in salted water until soft, approx 10 minutes. Drain and let cool.

While the potatoes are boiling, combine red onion, green pepper, mustard, olive oil, vinegar and mayonnaise and season with salt and pepper. Mix well and let the flavors marinade while the potatoes cook.

Once the potatoes are done and cool, mix into the bowl and add scallions and additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve room temperature or refrigerate until ready to serve.

xoxo.
manda

food football stadium

it's september! september means it's time for FOOTBALL!! i like football but i get more excited about making game day food...always a fun time!

our good friends, tim and spencer, were in town this past weekend. on saturday USC was playing ECU and spencer is a huge USC fan (bradley and i are clemson fans) so we had to watch the game! we decided for our dinner we were just going to have different apps since the game started at 7...and i remembered seeing a football stadium made of food once so that's what we did!

we also had chicken nuggets and pigs in a blanket but the snacks were all in the stadium!

rice krispy treats around the outside and lime chips and apple straws on the inside. the field was made of cheese dip, spicy guacamole, and salsa. the goal posts were a slim jim and an apple straw :)

we had so much fun making it!

xoxo
manda

latest creation! skating cupcake "cake"

our boss asked shannon and i to make his daughters birthday cake. the party is a skating theme so we made the cupcake "cake" to match the invite :)

the cupcakes are chocolate. my go to chocolate cake/cupcake recipe if from hersheys. it's pretty fail proof! :)

what you need:
• 2 cups sugar
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water
what you do:

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans or cupcake pans.

Baking a one-pan cake: bake 35 to 40 minutes at 350° F

Baking cupcakes: line with baking cups. Fill 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22-25 minutes at 350° F