paprika

Garbanzo Sweet Potato Mash

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

I had so much fun working with OXO Tot on their sippy cup campaign over the summer and was honored when asked to help them promote their newest products: Food Masher, Glass Baby Blocks, and Feeding Spoon Set with Soft Silicone.

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The food masher is a fun, easy to use product. It’s easier to clean than a food processor or blender, and more convenient, too, when working in smaller batches.

Both of my kids are veering away from the pureed food stage (unless we’re talking applesauce pouches) but I knew I could come up with a simple recipe that can be prepared using the food masher. My boys absolutely love beans, so that’s where my inspiration started.

This OXO Tot campaign is  titled “Do The Little Monster Mash with OXO Tot” and we were asked to create a seasonal recipe. It’s fall and that means pumpkin. Unfortunately a pumpkin allergy means no pumpkin. No pumpkin? No problem! I always use sweet potato in place of squash this time of year and it’s perfect.

I mashed some canned garbanzo beans and cooked sweet potato. Mixed them together with salt, pepper, and some paprika pork rub. (I even recruited my 2 year old to help!)

My garbanzo sweet potato mash is easiest to spread when warmed a little bit, and that’s where the glass baby blocks come in handy – perfect portion size all ready for the microwave!

Hands down, my favorite item in the box are the glass food storage cubes. My husband has already claimed he’ll be “stealing” them to pack his lunches for work. These borosilicate glass containers are thermal shock resistant, so unlike your typical glass containers and dishes, there’s no need to bring them up to room temperature from the freezer before heating. For the busy (maybe forgetful?) mom or dad, that’s an incredible life saving feature; no need to worry if you forgot to pull the baby’s food out of the freezer and into the fridge the night before. Come to think of it, it can help prevent food waste, too!

The blocks come with a nice tray for keeping them together, and are also stackable for space efficient storage. They even have measurement lines on them so you never have to guess how much your baby is eating.

One of my favorite features is that the lid doesn’t go into the container meaning you can fill the block all the way to the top! The folks at OXO think of everything.

While my 1 year old tried the mash as is, my 2 year old wasn’t that interested. No problem! How do you get my picky eater to try just about anything? Put it on a “pizza”! I spread the mash onto a tortilla, topped it with leftover barbecue, and cheese. Baked in a 350 degree F oven for 5-10 minutes, and lunch is served!

Garbanzo Bean Sweet Potato Mash      

Ingredients:

  • 1 sweet potato
  • 1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans, drained and loose skins removed
  • 1/2-1 tsp paprika pork seasoning

Steps:

  1. Poke sweet potato with a fork all over. Microwave 5 minutes. Flip. Microwave another 5 minutes. Allow potato to cool enough to touch. Remove the flesh from the skin and mash in the OXO Tot Food Masher, work in two batches if necessary. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
  2. Working in batches, mash the garbanzo beans in the OXO Tot Food Masher, add to the sweet potato.
  3.  Use the masher to help combine the two ingredients. Stir in paprika seasoning and S+P to taste.
  4. Serving options: spread on a toasted bagel, serve in a pita pocket with fresh veggies, or use as a pizza “sauce.”

Garbanzo Sweet Potato Mash | Sew You Think You Can Cook

What’s my next plan for these OXO Tot products? Mashing some fruit for mixing into my son’s morning Greek yogurt! Making my own “fruit on the bottom” yogurt for my guys will definitely helps save money!

Bottom line. Would I recommend these OXO Tot products to my friends? Yes. We were already satisfied OXO Tot customers and I’m happy to report that the love with their products has only increased after reviewing these items.

Disclaimer: I received these items from OXO in exchange for my honest review. All opinions and comments are my own.

Spanish Spice-Rubbed Steak with Steak Sauce

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

Today is my husband’s birthday and in his honor I feel compelled to share a steak recipe! This particular one is from his favorite chef, Bobby Flay, and a dish that he prepared. It was quite delicious! We did have to take some liberty with the ingredients due to availability and cooking method due to weather.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

Honestly, I almost didn’t blog this recipe. I’m simply not happy with the photographs. (I didn’t even take the time to edit them, there’s simply no hope for them.) Even as I’m typing this I’m second guessing my decision to continue with the post! I think we’ll just have to make it again and update the photos…. oh darn!

Spanish Spice-Rubbed Steak

Ingredients:

  • 3 tbsp paprika
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp ground mustard
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 4 (12 oz) steaks (boneless rib-eye, NY strip, or filet mignon)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

Steps:

  1. Make rub: combine paprika, cumin, mustard, S+P.
  2. Bring steaks to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
  3. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
  4. Brush steaks with oil. Season liberally with the spice rub. Cook 5 minutes on each side, or until desired done-ness is reached.
  5. Allow steaks to rest 5 minutes before serving with steak sauce (recipe below).

Steak Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1/4 C red wine vinegar
  • 1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp horseradish
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp molasses
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Steps:

  1. Turn on broiler. Brush bell pepper with a little bit of vegetable or canola oil. Place under broiler until charred, rotating to get all sides. Place pepper in a glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 15 minutes. Peel the skin, remove the seeds, and rough chop.
  2. Place peppers and remaining ingredients in a blender. Process until smooth. Season to taste with S+P. If too thick, add up to a tablespoon of water. Serve at room temperature.

*These recipes are modified from Bobby Flay’s Grill It!*

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Updated November 2017: This blog post was recently linked to Fuss Free Flavours blog post Quick and Easy Stilton Steak Sauce. I was then reminded of the horrendous photograph shown above. It did bring a laugh though as I told my husband the story and asked if he remembered those photos taken in Ohio at night in the winter. Surprisingly, he did! Immediately, this recipe returned to our menu and I’m so glad it did. The steak sauce doesn’t taste like bell pepper, for which I’m thankful, and it doesn’t taste like horseradish, for which my husband is thankful. It is a perfectly balanced steak sauce that pairs nicely with the smokey Spanish spice rub. Without further ado, here is an improved photograph of a steak dinner.

Spanish-Spice Rubbed Steak with Steak Sauce | Sew You Think You Can Cook

 

Smoked Sausage and Brussels Sprouts Soup

~ lk529 ~ 3 Comments

It’s October and that means the days are getting shorter and the temperatures are getting cooler. Menus are starting to transform from bright and light salads to warm and hearty soups.

While everyone is already amped up on pumpkin everything, it’s still fairly warm in some areas and they’re just not yet feeling the Fall love. Instead, I am starting the season off with a good transitional soup. Smokiness from the sausage and paprika flavors the broth and the Brussels sprouts add heartiness without heaviness. (Did you know Brussels sprouts are at their peak in October?)

Smoked Sausage and Brussels Sprouts Soup

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 8 oz smoked pork sausage, chopped
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 lb Brussels sprouts, quartered
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 5 C chicken stock
  • 2 C diced Yukon gold potatoes
  • 1 tsp paprika

Steps:

  1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Saute sausage until caramelized on both sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
  2. In the same Dutch oven, cook the onion until tender. Season with S+P. Add the Brussels sprouts and cook until they start to brown. Add the garlic and cook another 1 minute, stirring.
  3. Add the chicken stock and scrape the bottom of the pot. Add the potatoes, paprika, and S+P. Bring soup to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Return the sausage to the soup and serve.

*This recipe is modified from Ali at http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/creamy-chorizo-and-brussels-sprouts-soup-recipe/*

Smoked Sausage & Brussels Sprouts Soup | Sew You Think You Can Cook

Paprika Pork Tenderloin

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

When I made the baked beans for yesterday’s #SundaySupper post I needed the perfect entree to serve them alongside. I went deep into the archives (over four years ago) to a favorite I used to make often back in the days before the blog. This pork tenderloin is inspired by something Bobby Flay made on his Food Network show Barbecue Addiction.

On the show Bobby used a 4lb rack of pork and put it in a brine for 12 hours. He then made a rub and grilled it. He also made a barbecue sauce. I altered this. I used a 2lb pork tenderloin, omitted the brining part of the prep, adjusted the rub, and baked it in the oven after a sear. I did make the barbecue sauce though!

When I made this pork last week we got to take advantage of the cast iron skillet – which saved us one dirty dish – woohoo! I also no longer had fennel seeds, but they weren’t missed.

Corn on the cob makes a perfect side to accompany this pork when it’s in season. As do sweet potato fries. And of course, some Whiskey Bacon Baked Beans!

Paprika Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp paprika
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp ground mustard
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 2 lb pork tenderloin
  • 1-2 tbsp canola oil

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
  2. In a small bowl combine all of the spices. Rub mixture over the pork.
  3. Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. When hot sear the pork on all sides, 3-4 minutes per side to create a crust.
  4. Transfer skillet to the oven. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until cooked through. (An internal temperature of at least 145 degrees F) Let pork rest 5 minutes before serving.

Note: If you don’t have a cast iron skillet or another oven save skillet simply transfer the pork loin to a lightly greased casserole dish.

Paprika Pork

Sherry Paprika Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1 C ketchup
  • 1 C cooking sherry
  • 1/2 C chicken stock
  • 1/2 C dark brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp mustard (I used El Diablo Texas Chili)
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 2 tbsp paprika

Steps:

  1. In a small sauce pan over medium-high heat combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Allow to reduce and thicken to desired consistency.