Baked Spicy Sweet Potato Fries with Garlicky Lemon Yogurt Dip

Fries are one of the addictive finger foods, nobody can stop just eating one. These baked ones taste better than the fried ones with extra crispiness. You can taste the sweetness from the potato and little heat from the spicy seasonings at the same time. Also these sweet potato fries are a great healthy snack option, as they are rich in dietary fiber, vitamin A and C. The dip is made from Greek yogurt and other dried herbs and seasonings. The regular yogurt is strained to remove the whey, that results in thick and creamy textured Greek Yogurt. That is why it is higher in protein and low in carbohydrates and sugar.

These are super easy to prepare and makes a great pair. So dump the fast food restaurant's deep fried french fries and opt for endless baked fries at home. And here goes the recipe,

Baked Spicy Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients:

1 Sweet Potato

1tbsp Garlic Olive Oil

1/4tsp Paprika

1/4tsp Cayenne Pepper

1/2tsp Cumin powder

Garlic Salt, to taste

Ground Black Pepper, to taste

 How to:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and keep it aside.
• Cut the sweet potato into strips with 1/2 inch thickness. (wash and dry completely before cutting'em, otherwise it might end up soggy.)

• In a bowl, to the sweet potato strips, add all the remaining ingredients and give it a good mix. (You can replace or leave out any of the seasonings, if you don't want to use the listed ingredients.)

• Now arrange the potato strips on the baking sheet without touching each other and bake'em for 15 mins, flip and bake for another 10 mins or until crispy.

• Serve hot with a dip as a snack or an appetizer.

Garlicky Lemon Yogurt Dip

Ingredients:

5.3oz Greek Yogurt

2 Garlic cloves (minced)

1tsp Lemon Juice

1/2tsp dried Parsley flakes

1/4tsp Season salt (it has salt, paprika, celery, turmeric and black pepper)

1/4tsp Cumin powder

Ground Black pepper, to taste

How to:

• Mix everything together and make it smooth. Check salt for taste and add fresh herbs if you have it handy.

•  Serve alongside fries or baby carrots.

Limoncello Granita

This is a sweet-smelling lemony dessert, smooth and creamy, that you can't stop licking the spoon. It is perfect after a heavy meal as the limoncello helps in digestion. Limoncello is an Italian lemon liqueur, made from lemon peels. One of our very good friend gifted us this fine bottle, after their visit to Italy. It has strong lemony flavor without any sourness or bitterness from the lemon. Granita is a semi-frozen dessert made from sugar, water and other flavorings like lemon, orange, coffee, chocolate and so many. The texture of this frozen mixture will be semi-solid and creamy like yogurt, and the lemony flavor will leave you light and refreshing. The lemon zest gave the dessert nice yellow hue here and there, and every bite was absolutely yummy.

Come on, its cheese, liqueur and sugar, you cannot go wrong. Senthil gave 2 thumbs-up and me, very happy :)

Ingredients:

1 cup Mascarpone Cheese (8oz)

1/2 cup Limoncello 

1 1/2 cups Lemon simple syrup

9x13 Baking dish

 For Lemon Simple Syrup:

1 Lemon's Zest

3tbsp Lemon juice

1 cup Sugar

1 cup Water

How to:

• Heat a saucepan at medium heat, add the sugar, water, zest and lemon juice. Gently stir and bring it to a boil.

• Then reduce the heat and simmer it for 5 mins. Switch off and bring it to room temperature.

For Granita:

• Add the room temperature mascarpone cheese, limoncello and the lemon simple syrup and process until its smooth. (I used mixie and pulsed it 3 times. I guess food processor works even better.)

• Pour the mixture into the baking dish, wrap it and freeze it for at least 4 hrs.

• For serving, scrape the top layer with a fork or spoon and serve it immediately.

Lemon Salmon & Green Beans with Edamame

Ingredients:

1 lb Salmon

2tsp Italian Seasoning

2 Garlic pods (minced)

11/2tbsp Olive oil

1tbsp Lemon juice

3 Lemon slices

Salt

Black pepper (freshly ground)

How to:

• Place the fish under running cold water, pat dry and keep aside.
• Wrap a baking dish with aluminum foil, drizzle 1/2 tbsp olive oil and place the fish skin side down.
• Pour the remaining oil on top of the fish, followed by lemon juice.
• Sprinkle the garlic over it, followed by salt and pepper.

• Finally add the Italian seasoning, place the lemon slices on top and let it marinate for 20-30 mins.

• Bake at 350 degrees in a preheated oven for 25 mins. (Insert a fork in the thickest part of the fish to check if its well done.)

Serve hot with steamed vegetables.

Steamed Green beans

Ingredients:

8-10 green beans (trimmed & washed)

6 Almonds

2tsp Coconut oil (organic extra virgin)

1 cup Water

Salt 

Black Pepper (freshly ground)

How to:

• In a sauce pan, bring water to a boil, add the green beans, cover and cook for 5-6 mins or until tender.

• Drain the water and season the beans with salt and pepper.

• Heat oil in a pan, add almonds and roast until crispy.

• Top the steamed beans with the roasted almonds.

Serve warm as a side.

Steamed Edamame

Ingredients:

8 oz Edamame (frozen)

1 1/2 cups Water

Salt

Black pepper (freshly ground)

How to:

• In a sauce pan, bring water to a boil, add frozen edamame and bring back to boil again.

• Now reduce the heat, close the lid and simmer it for 5 mins.

• Drain the water and let it cool.
• To shell, squeeze the bean out of the pod and discard the pod.

• Then season'em with salt and pepper.

Serve warm as a snack, appetizer or side.

Lemon-Butter Chicken with Sautéed Brussels Sprout & Baked Asparagus

Ingredients:

2 Chicken fillets

1tbsp Olive oil

2tsp Lemon juice

1 1/2tbsp Butter

Poultry Seasoning

Black Pepper (freshly cracked)

Salt

How to:

• Cut the chicken crosswise and coat with olive oil.
• Then sprinkle the salt, black pepper and poultry seasoning on both the sides, wrap and marinate for 30 mins.

• In a skillet, heat butter until foaming, place the chicken fillets and cook.

• Flip the fillet after 4 mins and cook the other side until it starts browning.

• Then pour the lemon juice over the fillets and cook with lid closed for 2 mins.

• Reduce the flame and cook until both the sides are evenly brown. Do not overcook, as the chicken may turn rubbery.
• Transfer it to a plate and drizzle the remaining lemon-butter sauce(also scrape the bits along) from the skillet, over the chicken.

Serve hot with veggies.

Sautéed Brussels Sprout:

Ingredients:

8-10 Brussels Sprout

1tbs Olive oil

1tsp Lemon juice

Black pepper (freshly cracked)

Salt

How to:

• Remove the loose leaves and trim the stems of the brussels sprout.

• Then wash well and halve them.

• Heat olive oil in a skillet and add the brussels sprout, followed by salt and pepper.

• Saute for 8-10 mins or until tender when skewered.

• Then pour less than 1/4 cup of water and saute until it evaporates.

• Switch off, pour lemon juice and toss well.

Serve hot as a side.

Baked Asparagus:

5-6 Asparagus (thicker spears)

1 1/2tsp Olive oil

Black pepper (freshly cracked)

Salt

How to:

• Preheat the oven at 400 degrees.
• Wash and trim the tough ends of the asparagus and discard'em.
• In a baking dish, coat the asparagus with olive oil and sprinkle the salt and pepper.

• Bake for 20 mins or until juicy and tender.

Serve hot as a side.