Savory Sweet Potato & Veggie Hash

Originally the dish was served to me with Salmon - I love it that way too, but it is just SO versatile!

Five years ago, I took my first big trip as a mom - a cross-country flight to Seattle, SOLO with my 10 week old daughter. To say I was nervous heading into it would be the understatement of the century. I thought "She's going to cry, or just make a lot of noise and everyone around me will be so mad to be near us..."  I contemplated cancelling the trip, but it was an exciting opportunity to check out a new city and meet my husband there for a long weekend tagged onto his work trip.  We went for it.

Essentially the opposite of all of my fears came true on my travels.  People can be so good to one another.

I stepped onto the plane and the flight attendant immediately ushered me to the front row so I'd have extra room to move around. When I turned to the man next to me to preemptively apologize for the next four hours, he assured me that he too, a dad, had been in my shoes and he was there to help if I needed anything. Later on in the flight, too timid to ask for help, he saw me shifting to get up for a bag and told me to sit down and relax as he got my bag for me. And my daughter, she was happily nursing or sleeping the entire time. I always think back to that trip and remember the angels that helped me get through one of my first experiences as a mom.

The other thing I remember from that trip is a meal I had. Kind people and yummy meals. That'll do it. Every fall since then I have done my best to recreate the autumnal meal and every fall, it takes me back to that Seattle hotel room when my husband was at a work meeting, my newborn was asleep next to me, and a delicious room-service meal assured me that even as a new parent I would be able to enjoy grown up things.

Each year I change the ingredients a bit and I encourage you to do the same. This is the first time I added asparagus (not exactly a fall veg) as the market had some that looked good. Next time I think I'll try some parsnips... the possibilities are endless. Enjoy!

Savory Sweet Potato & Veggie Hash
2t Olive Oil
1 Medium Sweet Potato, peeled & diced (2 cups)
1c diced onion
1c diced baby Bella Mushrooms
1c asparagus, trimmed and cut to 1cm "diced sized" pieces
2c de-stemmed, chopped Kale
Salt & Pepper to taste

Dice the Veggies.

Heat the oil over medium heat.

Cook the onion until slightly translucent, about 2 minutes.

Add Sweet Potato to the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes until it starts to soften, just slightly.

Add mushroom. Cook another 2 minutes.

Add asparagus.

Add chopped Kale. Stir veggies until the kale is wilted. Turn off heat.

Season the Hash with salt & pepper, to taste.

Serve Hash alone, with Salmon, Eggs over-easy, scramble it in eggs for breakfast - this hash is SO seasonal and versatile!

Do my kids eat the entire hash? Sadly, no. 

But I make some of the sweet potatoes alone and they will happily munch on those!

Good ol' fashioned chicken noodle soup. In 10 minutes.

As the temps start to drop, I get excited for the crockpot and all the roasted veggies. But to be honest, some of the stuff I am most looking forward to (chili, stew...), it would be shocking to me if my kids ate it. I always do my due-diligence and require they take a bite of new things. (They are not otherwise allowed to say they don't like it.) Sometimes the bite is all it takes to make a fan, sometimes they still aren't interested. In any event, they still need to eat, and mama is a vegetable pusher.

So one of my favorite ways to push veggies is with a batch of good ol'fashioned chicken noodle soup. But it also needs to be fast. So I have been making a 10 minute chicken noodle soup that is loaded with veggies and every person in my family asks for seconds. Mama's pusher-dreams come true.

10-minute Chicken Noodle Soup
Serves 4-6

6-8c low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth (add more if you like once the noodles are al dente)
1c Frozen corn
1/2c frozen peas
1c sliced carrots (i have been using fresh because I always have them on hand but frozen would work just fine)
2c chopped broccoli (another veg I almost always have fresh on-hand, but save the chopping step and use frozen if you like!)
2c uncooked noodles (I'll use whatever I've got but whole wheat rotini is a good go-to. Bonus points for using Banza chickpea noodles - in soup my kids don't notice a difference)
2t Flavor God Garlic lover seasoning
Salt & Pepper to taste
2-3c No salt added, rotisserie chicken, chopped

Add broth to medium saucepan and turn heat the medium-high. Add all veggies. Once broth is at a boil, add uncooked pasta and seasoning. Cook until al dente, about 8min. In the last few minutes of pasta cooking, add chicken. Serve. (I throw an ice cube in each kid's bowl so I can save my breath cooling it down for them and still eat mine warm! Magic.)