Sweet Potato Recipes

In my latest search for recipe contests, I came across one for sweet potatoes. Now, usually I stick to what I know and regularly eat when entering recipe contests, but I decided to give this one a try. I mean, my family always has sweet potatoes on the dinner table every Sunday.

I also had to start a blog for this contest, which I have never done the whole blog thing either. So, in hopes of not rambling, I'll get straight to my new sweet potato recipes!

To start out, I first searched some recipes to see some creative things to do with sweet potatoes. Myself, loving anything pasta came up with a great ravioli. I tried this one out on my husband and parents who do not normally like to try new things.

THE RAVIOLI FILLING
· 1 cup baked, mashed sweet potato
· 1 cup Parmigiano cheese, freshly grated
· 3 Tablespoons prosciutto, crisped, drained and chopped
· 1 egg, yolk and whites separated
· 3 Tablespoons Italian parsley, freshly chopped
· 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
· Salt and pepper to taste
· 1 package of small wonton wrappers
· 1 cups olive oil
The Sauce
· 2 Tablespoons olive oil
· 2 Tablespoons butter
· 1 small sweet onion, quartered and sliced
· ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
· Pinch allspice
· Salt and pepper to taste
· 1 cup heavy whipping cream
· 2 Tablespoons Italian parsley, freshly chopped
Combine mashed sweet potato, grated cheese, prosciutto, egg yolk, parsley, nutmeg and salt and pepper in a large bowl and mix. Make the ravioli by dotting a 2 teaspoon full mound of filling in the middle of wonton wrapper. Place a light layer of egg whites on two edges of the wonton wrapper and fold over making a triangle. Heat 1 cup of olive oil in a large sauté pan over high heat, place ravioli in hot oil and cook on both sides until edges are brown and a little crispy. Remove from oil and place on paper towel lined plate. Properly discard oil from pan.
Heat sauté pan and add the olive oil, butter and sweet onion. Sauté until the onion is clear, about 3 or 4 minutes, then add the spices and salt and pepper. Add ravioli to pan and gently toss to coat. Serve in a large platter or serving bowl. Garnish with fresh parsley.
Serves 6 to 8

I did also try the filling with pumpkin but I have to admit the sweet potato tastes the best! I also love the ease of using the wonton wrappers instead of actually making dough, plus the raviolis crisp up nice and add a great contrast to the cream sauce.

My final recipe was in hopes of getting my 20 month old son to try some new foods, so I did the sneaky mom thing and hid them in one of favorite foods: bread! They turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. And my son gobbled them up with some homemade apple butter on top.

· 1 ½ cups self-rising flour
· ½ cup oatmeal, finely ground
· 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
· ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
· 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
· ¼ cup butter
· 3 Tablespoons shortening
· 1 cup mashed sweet potatoes
· 6 Tablespoons buttermilk
· 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
Combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl. Fold in ¼ cup butter and the shortening with a pastry blender or forks until mixture is crumbly. Add mashed sweet potato and milk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead just a few times.
Roll dough out to ½ inch thickness; cut with a 2-inch biscuit cutter. Place biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet and brush with the melted butter. Bake at 400® for 12 minutes, or until nicely browned. Serve with apple butter.

Makes about 15 to 18 biscuits