AUTUMN SWEET POTATO SALAD

I was looking for some new recipes and came across this sweet potato salad...which looked SO good. It would be great as a side to Salmon Fillets or Lemon Pepper Chicken. Rachel Ray also has a yummy stuffed chicken breast recipe I want to try out. She fillets the chicken breast in the center about 2/3 of the way down and stuffs them with crumbled bleu cheese, fresh chopped spinach & arugula, finely chopped green onion, and chopped pecans. Then she wraps each breast with bacon using a toothpick to keep the ends in place. It's a different take on the regular Chicken Cordon Bleu.

***NOTE: I tried the Rachel Ray stuffed chicken, and the Bleu cheese was a little too sharp/strong so I may try Gorgonzola, Swiss, or even Mozzarella next time with some diced canned tomatoes. Toby LOVED the Bleu Cheese, me and the kids...not so much.




2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced in 1/2 inch cubes

1 teaspoon olive oil

Sea salt & freshly grated black pepper

2 tablespoons finely diced sweet onion

2 tablespoons chopped, toasted pecans

2 tablespoons dried cranberries, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

Dressing:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons sugar free or regular honey

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place diced sweet potatoes in a shallow baking dish. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil, sprinkle with rosemary, salt and pepper. Stir to coat. Roast for 25-30 minutes or just until fork tender. (Over cooking will cause them to be mushy when you stir them into the remaining ingredients.) Allow to cool slightly.

To make the dressing, in a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, salt, black pepper. Transfer potatoes to a medium bowl. Stir in onions, pecans, cranberries, and parsley. Drizzle with dressing and gently stir until coated. Serve either warm, room temp or cold. Makes 5 side-dish servings.