Recipe: Baked Squash & Sweet Potato Stew

RECIPE 

Baked Sweet potatoes and squash can take your stew or soup to a whole new level year round. Although it's spring, I was craving some amazing stew.  By taking your favorite nutrient rich vegetables, legumes, and tubers, with an optional meat source you can have a low calorie, energy rich stew for a few days.  Each element of this recipe can also be edited to have something else that's in season or a vegetable that you love so much that you can't resist. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

• Sweet potatoes - Use 1 or 2 large sweet potatoes for pre-baking. 
• Squash - Take a whole medium size squash for pre-baking.
• Cauliflower  - Take 1/2 cut into smaller sizes for adding into to stew 
• Black beans - Add 1 can or cooked beans
• Onions - Use 1, chop to your delight
• Cumin - Sprinkle to your delight
• Litehouse herbs - Add to your delight
• Beef - Optional and a nice touch (or chicken)
• Creamy tomato soup - 32 oz suggested. Optional use a tomato sauce, but a low sodium, organic soup is creamier 

INSTRUCTIONS

Pre-Bake #1

• Sweet potatoes - Wash well and peel skin off. Cut into round slices, pre-bake separately than squash at 375 degrees for approximately 35 minutes. Potatoes take longer.
• Squash - Wash well and take 1/2 squash and cut into smaller round slices, pre-bake separately than sweet potatoes at 375 degrees for approximately 25 minutes. Bakes faster than potatoes. 

Pre-Sautee #2

• Saute the chopped onions and meat ahead of time only about medium/rare for 5-6 minutes. 

Pre-Heat The Big Pot #3

• Add the tomato sauce to pot. You can also add a cup or two of water or chicken broth depending how thick or soupy you prefer. Prep this liquid portion on medium heat ahead of time to coordinate the ending of baked and sauce preparations for the stewing below.  

Stew Time (30 minutes)

1. In the same large stove pot add your cauliflower to the pre-heated soup
2. Next cut your pre-baked sweet potatoes and squash into smaller pieces. Now you can peel the skin off quash and add directly into the stew.
3. Add the optional beef strips
4. Add in the spices to taste
5. Your big pot can now slow cook on light flame or until everything is soft. 

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