Now here is a lady who know how to do it!

OK a follow-up to yesterdays pepperfest with two recipes from the Eat Clean guru herself Tosca Reno can show you a way to make healthy flavorful food in a way that knocks your sock off.  Last year I decided to try to start eating more organic food and I have read several of Tosca's books and cookbooks and really enjoy how it feels to cut out the processed junk out of our lives.  I am not perfect though, I consider myself a work in progress. Today is just about the side dishes.  The main attraction was chicken breasts marinated in the Honey Teriyaki Sauce by Tastefully Simple I told you about here.  The first gorgeous side I made by Tosca was Potatoes Anna, it even sounds regal.  Apparently named after a French courtier I was initially attracted to how pretty this dish was (although nothing I make ever turns out as pretty as in a book).  Also it's made with sweet potatoes.  I haven't told you but recently I had a sweet potato epiphany.  What I knew of sweet potatoes was that candied up marshmallowed gooey overly-sweet orange mess that people drag out on Thanksgiving.  Can you blame me for thinking they were unappetizing? So I decided to be a little more mature and give them another shot, after all they were named one of the world's healthiest foods. And guess what,  I love sweet potatoes! So I have been enjoying immensely finding new ways to prepare them, this one was a treasure as it had loads of my favorite herb, rosemary! (OK, OK, maybe I have lots of favorites!) Without further ado, Tosca's recipe:

Potatoes Anna

2  Sweet Potatoes, peeled and sliced thin

2 russet or Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and sliced thin

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp sea salt

3 sprigs fresh rosemary chopped fine

1 medium onion peeled and chopped fine

1. Preheat the oven to 425 deg

2. Spray skillet with cooking spray

3. Toss potatoes with oil and spices

4. Alternate layers of sweet potatoes with russet or Yukon Gold potatoes and onion, in a circular pattern, starting at the bottom of the skillet and working your way up.  Lay the potatoes in circles just overlapping each other.

5. Place the skillet over a medium-high flame and cook for 5 minutes.  This gets the potatoes on the bottom of the pan nicely browned and crispy.  Remove from heat. 

6. Put skillet in preheated oven and bake for 45 min.  Check that potatoes are tender.  If not, cook another 5 min and check again. 

7. Remove from oven.  Put large preheated serving platter over the skillet and invert, so the bottom is now the top. Place a few decorative sprigs of rosemary on the top of the potatoes before serving. 

The other delectable recipe wasn't even attempted by my children. They are young and they don't "do" tomatoes. They eat a whole assortment of other odd and interesting things like olives and hummus and ethnic food but not tomatoes.  I could care less. More for me.  Another one of my absolute favorites things in this world is Basil.  Especially the Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella combo, Super Yum!  So after our discussion of no flavor yesterday I had to turn to these tried and true flavors here with Tosca's salad.  Very fresh and tasty.

Heirloom Tomato Salad

2 lbs Heirloom tomatoes

1 cup Bocconcini (fresh baby mozzarella)

2 generous handfuls fresh basil leaves

Several sprigs fresh chives

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp sea salt

Fresh ground pepper to taste

1. Wash and cut the tomatoes as needed

2. Break up the mozzarella and slice as needed

3. Chop basil

4. Chop Chives

5. Add oil and vinegar, salt and pepper

6. Mix all ingredients together

And in terms of staying on track, I got 3/4 cup of potatoes for 5 WW pts and 2/3 cup of tomatoes for 4 pts. I love Tosca's food. There is something about eating "clean", you know they say Cleanliness is next to Godliness, I feel like God appreciates us eating food the way he intended.  Thanks Tosca! I am a fan.  If you haven't checked her out her blog is on my list.  Happy Clean Eating everyone!