Bacon and Worcestershire Stuffed Sweet Potatoes - March Secret Recipe Club #Recipe

My family loves sweet potatoes. Usually my kids line up for brown sugar, butter or cinnamon to top their favorite, but this time around I wanted to go for something a bit more savory.

Actually, we just returned from a family vacation and it was a blast. The grill at the resort was amazing and I had a shrimp and lobster linguine that was amazing, also a charred chicken with sauteed spinach. But after all the rich foods and fun, I was looking for something simple, fresh and light.

These Bacon and Worcestershire Stuffed Sweet Potatoes from Helen at Casa Costello seemed like the perfect light dinner idea.

Yes, it is March and time for The Secret Recipe Club recipe selection for the month. This is a delicious and simple dish sure to excite your taste buds and "wow" your family.

I was assigned to Helen's blog and loved browsing through all the great recipes. Helen also has three children and blogs from the UK. She shares her love of food, as well as cake decorating on her blog. Though I found several recipes I wanted to try, the stuffed sweet potatoes caught my eye because my family already loves them, I haven't made a savory style sweet potato before and well, I happened to also have the same brand of Worcestershire Sauce in my pantry.

It seemed like fate.

So grab some sweet potatoes, onion, bacon, oil, salt and Worcestershire Sauce, and let's start stuffing.

Now, I love baking potatoes in the oven. After many attempts at finding the perfect way to bake our potatoes, I am a fan of rubbing them in oil, poking them with holes and then sprinkling them with coarse kosher salt. Bake them for about an hour at 330 degrees till fork tender.

I was able to find these cute little sweet potatoes, much more manageable than the usual huge tubers I usually buy. Aren't they perfect?

While the sweet potatoes were baking, I worked on the filling. Diced onion and chopped bacon went into the cast iron skillet to saute. Once cooked through, I added the dry thyme and Worcestershire Sauce.

Once soft, I scooped out the inside of the sweet potatoes and placed the filling in a bowl with the cooked sweet potato.

Give it a good mash and mix.

Then stuff it all back inside the hollowed out sweet potato skins. Easy right?

Then pop the stuffed sweet potatoes back into the oven for a few minutes to warm them through. Serve with a salad or as a side. Either way, they are delicious!

Bacon and Worcestershire Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
adapted from Casa Costello

You Will Need:

• 8 small sweet potatoes
• olive oil
• kosher salt
• 1/2 of a large yellow onion, diced
•  4 slices of bacon, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 330 degrees. 

Wash the sweet potatoes, cover each in olive oil, poke holes in it, sprinkle with kosher salt and place on a baking tray. Bake for about an hour, or until the potato is fork tender.

While the potatoes are baking, saute the onion till translucent, add the bacon to crisp up, then add the thyme and Worcestershire Sauce. Warm through.

Scoop out the centers of the sweet potatoes. Place the potato filling and sauteed mixture in a bowl and mix well. Season to taste. Spoon the mixed filling back into the potato shells and place back in the oven at 350 degrees to warm through.

Serve while warm.

An InLinkz Link-up

Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Beet Slaw with Pancetta

 I received a set of O Olive Oil to facilitate this review.  A positive review was not required and all opinions and experiences are my own. 

One of my favorite winter vegetables is the lowly Brussels sprout.

I know. I mention this casually and people make that face. They try not to show disdain, but a childhood of smelly Brussels sprouts is hard to push down. No, I do not like them boiled, I am not even fond of them steamed, but roasted... well, that is utter perfection!

I wanted to include a hearty and seasonal side for this Progressive Dinner that would satisfy even the pickiest person in my family. I served this as a test to my husband, who practically licked his plate clean and went back for seconds. Yes, it was a grand success. It is a lovely combination of sweet and earthy flavors, topped with a crunchy pancetta and then kissed with a lovely Meyer Lemon Olive Oil to finish it.

Yes, what really brings all these flavors together is the O Olive Oil.

Now, before I jump into this week's amazing sponsor, I wanted to give you the full scoop on what everyone has prepared for you today. Be sure to hop around and pin these recipes for your next holiday gathering.

From my fellow bloggers we have:

Busy-at-Home : Creamy Garlic Mashed Faux-Tatoes with Parmesan

Daily Dish Recipes: Garlic Roasted Asparagus with Cranberries and Almonds

Flour on My Face: Broccoli Casserole

Will Cook for Smiles: Cranberry Stuffing

The Gunny Sack: Blooming Sweet Potato

Adventures in All Things Food: Warm Beet and Brussels Sprout Slaw

Have you ever tried O Olive Oil?

They have an amazing selection of artisanal oils and vinegars to add that special touch to any dish you make. Based in California, they harness the warm sun and rich soil for their vinegar and bring delicious and creative olive oils to the table. Yes, these are high quality ingredients crafted in the USA, and I always love to support family farmers and the quality they bring to the food they grow. 

Never infused or flavored, these oils are the real thing. They are pressed with the fruits, garlic, etc. so the flavor permeates the product.

The vinegars are hand-crafted, on batch at a time, with a range of beautiful balsamics and premium wine vinegars that begin with the best Sonoma, California grapes.

Looking for inspiration? O Olive Oils have great recipes and ideas on their site for how to enjoy their oils and vinegars. These are high quality finishing oils, not intended for the cooking process, they top salads, go in marinades or other dishes to bring your recipes to an whole new level. I plan to try them all out on my favorite vegetables and salads to get me through the Winter eating blahs. 

And O has partnered up with Martha Stewart's Cooking School, so you know it has to be a high quality product. Even the 

This really is a simple recipe. It starts with some delicious Winter treats... beets, Brussels sprouts, pancetta and shallots. The sweetness is brought out by roasting them. Then the whole dish is brightened and brought together with the flavors of Meyer Lemons and California Mission Olives.

My favorite way to enjoy beets is roasted. Nothing special. Just a little olive oil, kosher salt and time. 

Instead of the way I usually roast my Brussels sprouts, sliced in half, I sliced each sprout thin. Go ahead and break out the mandolin if you have one for even slicing. Don't go too thin... you want them to stand up to roasting.

I put both the Brussels sprouts and thinly sliced shallots into the oven till they caramelized. All tossed together it is a colorful dish. To finish it off, I crisped up the pancetta and then drizzled the dish with O Olive Oil. 

Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Beet Slaw with Pancetta 

You Will Need:

• 2 roasted beets, peels rubbed off and cubed
• 2 lbs. Brussels sprouts
• 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 shallots, diced thin
• 4 oz. Pancetta, small cubes
• O Olive Oil with California Mission Olives and Organic Meyer Lemons

Start by slicing the Brussels sprouts into thin even slices. Toss with kosher salt, olive oil and sliced shallots. Roast at 425 degrees for 8 minutes, then turn and roast for an additional 6-8 minutes.

Crisp up the pancetta in a skillet and place on a paper towel to drain. Sprinkle the sprouts with pancetta and drizzle with O Olive Oil to finish off the dish.

Serve while warm and enjoy! 

And, let's not forget the Giveaway! 

Would you like to try out O Olive Oils for yourself?... Well, O Olive Oil would like you to try out their olive oils and vinegar, too. You could make this Warm Beet and Brussels Sprout Slaw as well as any of the other recipes listed here... or come up with a new delicious dish yourself! Good luck.

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