Bacon Wrapped Sweet Potato Fries with Chipotle Lime Dip

Ingredients

• 2 sweet potatoes, cut into thick matchsticks*
• 1 package bacon, don’t use thick cut
• 1/2 c mayo, using avocado oil
• 1-2 chipotles in adobo sauce
• 1 lime, juiced

Method

Get your oven to 425°F. Soak the sweet potato matchsticks in a bowl of cold water for up to 6 hours. This removes a lot of the starch from the potato. When you remove the potatoes, you can visibly see white starch granules at the bottom of the bowl. Drain the water from the potatoes and pat dry.

Slice each piece of bacon in half, lengthwise. Wrap 1 strip of bacon around 1 matchstick sweet potato. Lay on a baking sheet. Repeat until all the bacon is gone. If you have left over sweet potatoes, toss ‘em on the pan too, they’ll cook beautifully in all the rendered bacon fat.

For the Dip

In a food processor, pulse up the chipotle(s) and lime juice into the mayo.

Bake the fries for about 25 minutes on one side. You’re looking for browned bacon. Use some tongs to flip the fries over and bake for another 10-12 minutes, until browned.

Squeeze some lime juice on the fries. Serve hot and with the dip.

Nachos

Ingredients

• 1 package sweet potato chips, we used Terra brand
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 T chili powder
• 1 t cumin
• 1 c raw cheddar cheese (optional)
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 1/2 head romaine lettuce, chopped
• s&p

Salsa Ingredients

• 15 oz crushed fire roasted tomatoes with juice, we used Muir Glen brand
• 1 t granulated garlic
• 3 T pickled jalapeno slices (about 12)
• 1 lime, juiced
• 3/4 t allspice
• 2 handfuls cilantro

Guacamole Ingredients

• 2 avocados
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 t chili garlic sauce
• salt
• 1/2 handful of cilantro

Method

Brown the meat in a saute pan with a bit of fat, and add the chili and cumin. While the meat is browning, empty a bag of sweet potato chips on a baking sheet and spread them out as evenly as you can. Toast at 350°F for about 8 minutes.

To make the salsa and guacamole, just blend all the ingredients (one set at a time, of course) in a food processor.

Assemble by topping the chips with ground meat, cheese, lettuce, green onions,  salsa and guacamole.

Also, just to add insult to injury, we decided to partake in this….

…and it was delicious. Yes it has agave, but sometimes you gotta just pick and choose your battles when you’re having a cheat.

Huevos Rancheros

Ingredients

• 1 lb. link sausage*
• 6 eggs
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 1 avocado, chopped
• Salsa**

Method

For the sausage, use a knife to split the link 3/4 of the way through and use your fingers to split it flat. Cook the sausages in a saute pan, that’s on medium high heat, with the casing side down. Why? Because the casing needs to render out otherwise the sausage will curl up,  won’t crisp up and will taste oddly chewy.

While the sausage is browning, whisk together the eggs with a bit of salt. Remember, the salt helps keep the eggs tender. After the sausage is done, scramble the eggs in the sausage renderings, however you like–runny, slightly runny, hard and rubbery.

To serve, lay a few sausage links down on your plate, top with eggs, spoon with salsa and then sprinkle the green onions and avocado on top.

*We used plain, breakfast sausage, simply because that’s all I had in the freezer. Crumbled sausage or Chorizo would be fab-u-lous here too. I’d be interested to hear how a smoked sausage, like Andouille would be.

**We used a chipotle salsa and it was magical. If I had green salsa, that would have been on there too!

Imagine eating a chili dog with slaw, onions and yellow mustard. Now imagine taking off the bun and eating it in a bowl with a fork and you’ve got the idea behind this recipe. Another way to look at it, we’ve taken off the sour cream, avocado and cheese from chili and added hot dog toppings.

Ingredients

Chili Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground meat* (I used ground chicken, but anything would work)
• 1 package hot dogs, chopped (I used sugar-free beef franks from U.S. Wellness Meats)
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes, juice drained, chopped small
• 1 c tomato sauce
• 2 chipolte peppers in adobe sauce, chopped finely
• 1 t garlic powder
• 1 t cumin powder

Slaw Ingredients

• 1 red cabbage, sliced thinly (The cabbage should quite small–weighing about 1 lb., you won’t need more than that)
• 1/2 c mayo
• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• 3 T pickled jalapenos, finely chopped**
• 5 T pickled jalapeno juice**
• 1 T yellow mustard

Method

In a medium sauce pan, cook the ground meat all the way through and then add the cut up hot dogs. Throw the rest of the ingredients in the pot and let it simmer while you make the slaw.

For the slaw, get out a large bowl and add all the ingredients, except the cabbage, and whisk to combine. Add the cabbage to the slaw base and mix to combine.

To serve, place the chili on the bottom of the bowl, then add some slaw and top with whatever hot dog fixings you like. Yellow mustard is an absolute must!

*If you’re pinching pennies, you can definitely leave out the ground meat and just use hot dogs. Chop the hot dogs rather small so they go further.

**Don’t be afraid of the pickled jalapenos or the juice. It’s not nearly as spicy as fresh jalapeno…but as always, add a little at a time and taste as you go–because you can’t take it away after you’ve added it.

Garlic-y Mojo Pork

Ingredients

• 3 lbs. pork butt or shoulder
• 10 cloves garlic
• 4 limes
• 4 lemons
• 2 oranges
• 1 T honey
• 1/4 c olive oil
• 1 T + 1 t oregano
• S & P

Method

Set your pork on a solid surface and stab it all over. Haha, that sounds weird. What you’re doing is creating little holes all over the pork so the marinade can get inside. Once you’re done “stabbing,” push 5 garlic cloves inside a few of the holes.

In a plastic zip-top bag, squeeze 2 lemons, 2 limes and 1 orange into the bag. Throw a couple of each squeezed citrus into the bag too. Add 1 T oregano, honey, olive oil, S &P and the pork. Let it marinate in the fridge for 24 hours or so.

Turn the oven to 275°F. Place the pork on a roasting pan and stick it in the oven. Roast for about 8 hours, turning the pork over once about half way through the cooking time.

You’ll know it’s done because the pork will literally fall apart when you try and pick it up. If it’s not doing that, it’s not ready to eat.

To make the Mojo sauce: saute 5 cloves of minced garlic until golden brown. After the garlic has cooled, add it to a small bowl. Squeeze 2 limes, 2 lemons and 1 orange into the bowl. Add 1/4 c olive oil, 1 t oregano and S & P. Whisk together the ingredients.

Pull the pork, toss with the citrus Mojo sauce and serve.

Chorizo Sweet Potato Hash

Ingredients

• 1 lb. fresh chorizo sausage*
• 2 sweet potatoes, diced small
• 2 wax peppers or other mild chile peppers, chopped
• 1/2 onion, diced small
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• handful of cilantro leaves, chopped
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1 lime, juiced

Method

Run your knife along the backside of each sausage. Using your fingers, peel off the casings and crumble the sausages into a good sized saute pan. Brown the sausages on medium high heat. Once they’re done, using a slotted spoon, remove the sausage and let it drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Don’t toss out the drippings!

Keep the heat on medium high and add the diced sweet potatoes to the pan. Let them saute until they’re completely soft, about 12 minutes. The smaller you diced the potatoes, the faster they’ll cook through.

Remove the potatoes from the pan and add the chopped peppers, onions, and garlic. These should be sauted until they’re tender–just a couple minutes. Remove from the pan.

In a serving bowl, toss together the sausage, sweet potatoes and pepper/onion mixture. Throw in the cilantro leaves, green onions and lime juice in the bowl. Toss again to incorporate.

*Fresh chorizo, as opposed to dried, has to be cooked to eat and has a removable casing, just like regular fresh sausages you find in the meat section. If you can’t find fresh chorizo sausage, you can substitute 3/4 lb. of any ground meat and about 4oz. of dried chorizo