This is a great idea for when you have a lot of leftovers: 

Set up the BEST BAKED POTATO BAR EVER.

A lot of us (especially kids) love a good Baked Potato Bar… and with leftovers in your fridge, dinner is almost ready.

Pull out leftover taco meat and the steamed veggies. Chop up the remaining rotisserie chicken and warm it up. Got some salsa? Add that, too.

I’ve never tried leftover pie on a baked potato, but, heck, why not? Don’t forget the whipped cream!

Here are a few more suggestions for your potato bar buffet:

• Chopped crispy bacon, feta cheese, steamed broccoli
• Shredded rotisserie chicken, salsa, cilantro, sliced jalapenos
• Taco-seasoned ground beef, Monterrey Jack cheese, chopped tomatoes,
• Canned chili (or homemade, if you’ve got it!), shredded Cheddar cheese, diced onions
• Pepperoni slices, pasta sauce, Mozzarella cheese, shredded basil leaves

So think: Thanksgiving Leftovers = Baked Potato Bar

For more ideas on how to achieve Baked Potato Perfection, click here!

Do you share your recipes?

When you personally share a recipe, whether it’s a treasured family creation or something you tore out of a magazine, tried and enjoyed, you are sharing a little bit of yourself.

Many of us share recipes all the time: on our websites or blogs, on Facebook, Google+ and YouTube. And of course we’re all able to get our dose of visual food porn on Pinterest and Instagram.

But when someone gives you a recipe directly, it’s even more special. They are sharing with you something that made them happy (and probably made those whom they fed happy, too)… a food memory made this way is pure love.

My wonderful friend Ivy moved away from Chicago to begin the next chapter of her life in Santa Fe. When she saw all my Hatch Chile posts a few weeks back, she shared her recipe for Green Chile Lamb Stew.

I knew I had to make it… not just because Ivy’s a great cook, but because she’s all about family and friends and, well, sharing. I knew that when I made this Lamb Stew, I would have her back in my kitchen again for a little while.

I used Hatch Chiles in this recipe (remember I bought 25 lbs. and froze them), but you can use any green chile, like Anaheim peppers, Cubanelle peppers or poblano peppers. Just make sure you roast and peel the peppers. Remove the seeds and veins if you don’t want your stew spicy.

This recipe takes about 2 to 3 hours to slow cook on the stove, so I used my trusty Pauli Cookware Pot. This is the perfect piece of cookware for a stew because you don’t have to constantly stir the stew or worry that it’s going to burn!

Thanks, Ivy. For the recipe… and everything else that comes with it.

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If you liked this recipe, you’ll love my recipe for Vietnamese Beef Stew!

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Summer may be far, far away, but you needn’t be deprived of the crunchy happiness of a delicious salad.

The sweet curly kale and roasted potatoes play nicely off the subtle bite of the chili vinaigrette. The tomatoes add a little color (I know, I know, they’re not in season but it makes the salad look brighter). I added chopped thick-cut bacon to give it a little depth, but you don’t have to if you want to make it vegetarian.

This is a great recipe to serve hot or cold… say, later this summer when it’s miserably hot and you’re complaining about the heat!

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Jay asks: What’s the difference between a Yam and a Sweet Potato? Can I use them interchangeably?

Yams and sweet potatoes are both fleshy, orange tubers, that’s true, but you’d be hard pressed to find a REAL YAM in a regular supermarket. For years, food companies have been putting sweet potatoes into cans and mislabeling them “yams.”

The confusion between yams and sweet potatoes probably began in the early 1950’s when Louisiana sweet potato growers started using the term “yam” as a marketing tool. The Food and Drug Administration requires that canned yams also have “sweet potato” on the label.

Yams are a starchy tuberous tropical vegetable native to Asia and Africa. They are very bland and very, very dry when cooked. Occasionally, you’ll find yams (sometimes) in Latin American, Japanese or African grocery stores, but more often than not, they are actually sweet potatoes.

Sweet potatoes come in several sizes and colors (yellow, orange, red, brown, purple and beige). Darker sweet potatoes tend to be more flavorful.

• Louisiana: The standard supermarket sweet potato. Moist and delicately sweet.
• Garnet and Jewel: Smaller, with deep orange-red skins and flesh.
• Jersey: Light in color and a bit drier than other sweet potatoes.

Sweet potatoes may look hearty, but they’re actually quite perishable. Look for smooth, bruise-free skins with pointed ends. Use them within a week of buying and store them in a cool, dry place.

To (finally!) answer your question, Mama wouldn’t use real yams (if you find them) and sweet potatoes interchangeably because yams are so dry and basically flavorless. You can fry yams into chips, but they are better suited for stews or soups that have a lot of liquid.

Here’s a terrific sweet potato recipe… enjoy!