All Food Vibes

When it comes to Thanksgiving dishes, yams seem to be one of those sides that people either love or hate. I love sweet potatoes, but am not usually a fan of the canned stuff. I was determined this year to find the perfect yams recipe that brings out the true potential for this superfood as a Thanksgiving side. The ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and brown sugar complement the sweetness of the potatoes perfectly and are everything I love about the holidays.

It’s important to note that while this recipe is referred to as candied yams, yam recipes don’t typically use yams at all. They use sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are sweeter and softer when cooked, and have an orange-colored flesh inside. Yams are longer with a darker skin and white-colored flesh, and are bitter and generally much bigger than sweet potatoes. It’s definitely recommended to use sweet potatoes, and not actual yams, in your favorite candied yams recipe!

Start by gathering your ingredients, and washing, peeling, and slicing the sweet potatoes. I highly recommend covering the sweet potatoes or keeping in a bowl of cold water as you slice them to help reduce enzymatic browning. While these tubulars have a beautiful natural orange color, they tend to develop dark spots and quickly oxidize once peeled.

Melt the stick of butter over medium-low heat in a small nonstick saucepan. Add in the granulated and brown sugar, and stir quickly until smooth to break out any lumps before it starts to simmer. Add in the nutmeg, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, and vanilla and continue to stir as the mixture reaches a simmer.

Place the sliced sweet potatoes in a lightly greased baking dish, and pour the candied mixture on top. Once all of the sliced potatoes have been covered in the syrup, cover the dish in aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.

After the first 35 minutes, pull the dish from the oven and stir the potatoes to allow them to finish cooking evenly. Recover and cook for an additional 35 minutes.

Pull the dish from the oven and allow to cool until it’s at a safe temperature to eat (the syrup will be extremely hot). The syrup will thicken as it cools, and the potatoes should be soft, yet retain their original shape. Enjoy!

Favorite Candied Yams

Course: SidesDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

10

minutes

Ingredients

• Ingredients Needed

• 5 medium sized sweet yams, peeled, washed, cut into 1/2 inch slices

• 1/2 cup butter

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

• 1/2 tsp ground ginger

• 1/4 – 1/2 tsp teaspoon ground allspice

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Wash, peel, and cut sweet potatoes, then place in baking dish. Cover and set aside.
• Melt butter over medium-low heat, then add sugars to saucepan. Stir quickly to combine the butter and sugar and prevent burning.
• Add nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, ginger and pure vanilla extract. Stir continuously until blended and to prevent burning while cooking. Once mixture reaches a simmer for about five minutes, remove from heat.
• Pour candied yam mixture over sweet potatoes. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes.
• Uncover foil and gently stir yams to distribute candied syrup and allow even cooking.
• Bake for an additional 35 minutes. Allow to sit 10-15 minutes for syrup to thicken. Cool to a safe temperature before serving.

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Guinness beef stew is an Irish dish that features cuts of marbled beef with root vegetables and Guinness beer. The bitterness of the stout brings a rich, dark flavor to the beef stew meat and is absolutely delicious slow cooking in the crockpot all day. This recipe is a favorite of ours for the colder months, and is best enjoyed with mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables, or a slice of soda bread.

Like many great beef stew recipes, this requires a bit of legwork beforehand by flouring and browning the beef stew meat before slow cooking. I don’t recommend skipping this step as searing the meat brings out the beef flavor that complements the stout so well. You can use a marbled cut of chuck or rump roast for the beef stew meat, or purchase the stew meat pre-trimmed at your local grocery store. Oftentimes it’s cheaper to buy the roast whole and cut it at home, but make sure to leave a little bit of the marbled fat on the stew pieces for slow cooking.

Once the beef has been cut into two-inch cubes and trimmed, season the stew meat with salt and pepper to taste. Toss with about a fourth cup of flour, then set aside while heating a cooking skillet with oil.

Cook the stew meat over medium heat, turning every few minutes until all sides have been browned. Add more oil if needed, and make sure to continuously turn the pieces to keep the flour coating from burning. Lightly spray the bottom of the slow cooker liner with cooking spray to prevent sticking, and add in the browned beef stew meat.

Chop one onion into diced pieces, and cut the other into quarters. In the same skillet used to cook the beef, melt the butter over medium heat, then add in the onion and minced garlic. Cook these until translucent, stirring and scraping the beef bits off the sides of the pan. Move these to the crockpot with the beef, then slowly add the beef broth into the emptied skillet over low heat to continue deglazing the pan.

Scrape the sides while heating the beef broth to incorporate all of the remaining beef, onion, and garlic bits before pouring into the slow cooker. I like to use beef bouillon for recipes that use beef stock or beef broth as it adds a lot of flavor for a great value, but you can use pre-made beef broth if you prefer. If you use bouillon, use 1 1/4 tsp. powdered or 1 cube bouillon for every 1 cup of water.

Wash the potatoes, carrots, and celery. Peel the carrots, and cut into 1/4 inch round pieces. Thinly slice the celery, and cut the potatoes into 1 inch pieces. You can enjoy these with the skins on or off, but be sure to peel the spuds if you prefer skinless. I also cook with the skins on as potato skins are full of nutrients and antioxidants, but that’s just my preference.

Add the Worcestershire sauce, Guinness beer, black pepper, onion powder, bay leaves, rosemary, carrots, celery, and potatoes to the crockpot. Stir gently to incorporate the seasonings and herbs, and cover to cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours.

If you like your stew sauce to be a little thicker, mix the cornstarch and a few tablespoons of cold water in a small bowl during the last hour of cooking, then stir this into the slow cooker stew and cover to finish cooking. Serve hot with fresh parsley, and enjoy within three days if refrigerated, or up to three months if stored in the freezer.

Slow Cooker Guinness Beef Stew

Course: DinnerCuisine: IrishDifficulty: Moderate

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking Time

8

hours

Ingredients

• 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 2 inch cubes

• 1/4 cup flour

• salt and pepper to taste

• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

• 2 Tbsp. butter

• 2 cups beef broth

• 2 onions, 1 quartered and 1 diced

• 4 Tbsp. minced garlic

• 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

• 3 cups Guinness Beer

• 1 tsp black pepper

• 1/2 tsp onion powder

• 3 bay leaves

• 1 bunch fresh rosemary

• 3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch round pieces

• 3 stalks celery, thinly sliced

• 1 lb. red potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch (optional)

• 2 Tbsp. cold water (optional)

• fresh parsley

Directions

• Trim the beef into 2 inch cubes, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss with flour.
• Heat skillet with cooking oil and brown beef cubes, turning every few minutes until brown on all sides. Spray the bottom of the slow cooker liner with cooking spray, and add in the beef stew meat,.
• Cut one onion into quarters, and the dice the other. Mince the garlic, then melt butter in the skillet. Saute onion and minced garlic, scraping the bits of pieces of remaining beef in the pan. Add the onions and garlic into the slow cooker.
• In the same skillet, slowly add in the beef broth over low heat, scraping the sides of the pan to deglaze it. Pour the broth into the slow cooker.
• Wash and cut the carrots, celery, and potatoes. Add the Worcestershire sauce, Guinness beer, black pepper, onion powder, bay leaves, rosemary, carrots, celery, and potatoes. Stir to incorporate the herbs and seasonings.
• Cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours. For a thicker stew, combine the cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl and mix well to make a slurry, then stir into the crockpot for the last hour of cooking.
• Serve with fresh parsley and a side of soda bread and enjoy within three days, or freeze up to three months.

Notes

• Browning the beef stew meat is an important step to provide the best flavor.
• You can use a chuck roast even a rump roast and trim into 2 inch cubed pieces for this recipe. Buying a marbled chuck roast is usually cheaper than purchasing pre-trimmed stew meat.
• This recipe can be frozen for up to three months. Make sure to thaw the night before in the fridge before reheating in the microwave or on the stovetop.

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Pork chops are great for one-pan dinners because they’re incredibly versatile with how they can be prepared. This pork chop recipe takes five minutes to throw together in the morning, and is ready in less than a half hour once you throw it in the oven. I love marinades for baked dinners, as a quick marinade can make a huge difference in providing moisture and flavor to an otherwise bland meal. Before refrigeration, marinades were even used to help preserve meats to keep them from spoiling as quickly. The marinade in this recipe is super easy and includes ingredients you likely already have in your kitchen.

Gather the ingredients, and pat the pork chops dry with a paper towel. Mix together the brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, olive oil, white wine, garlic salt, black pepper, and thyme. You can use thick cut pork chops, but I recommend using thin boneless pork chops as they will cook quickly with the vegetables. (If you use a thicker cut pork chop, throw the chops in the oven 5-8 minutes before adding the vegetables when ready to cook.) Place the marinade in a gallon-sized ziplock bag, then add the pork chops and seal shut while removing the air from the bag. Place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least an hour, but up to 24 hours. I marinated these in the morning for dinner.

When ready to cook, wash the potatoes and cut into 3/4 inch pieces. Remove the stem from the broccoli head and cut into bite-size florets. Pull the marinated pork chops from the fridge and preheat the oven to 375.

Cover a large sheet pan with parchment paper and arrange the edges of the pan with the potatoes and broccoli. Lightly drizzle olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Once seasoned, arrange the pork chops in the middle and drizzle the remaining marinade over the pork chops and vegetables.

Bake the sheet pan for 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables have browned and the pork chops are cooked through. The pork chops will be white in the center when finished with an internal temperature of at least 145 degrees. Set the oven to broil and cook for an additional five minutes to allow the marinade to caramelize. Enjoy!

Sheet Pan Pork Chops and Veggies

Course: DinnerDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pkg. family-size pork chops, 8 large or 12 small

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

• 1/2 cup ketchup

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1/2 cup white wine

• 1/2 tsp barlic salt

• 1/2 tsp black pepper

• 1/8 tsp dried thyme

• 2 cups broccoli florets

• 2 cups Potatoes, Sliced small edit three russet potatoes

• olive oil to taste

• salt to taste

• pepper to taste

Directions

• Combine brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, olive oil, white wine, garlic salt, black pepper, and dried thyme in a medium-sized bowl. Place marinade in a gallon-sized ziplock bag and add pork chops. Seal and marinate in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375. Cut potatoes into 1 inch pieces and cut broccoli head into florets. Cover large sheet pan with parchment paper, and spread potatoes and broccoli across edges of pan. Lightly drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Add pork chops in center. Drizzle marinade from bag over pork chops and vegetables. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes and broccoli are browned and pork chops are cooked through.
• Switch to broiler and broil sheet pan five minutes until marinade is carmelized. Enjoy!

Notes

• Pork chops are done when the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees.
• Once cooked, store any leftovers in the fridge and use within three days.

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