Sweet Potato Harvest

I got to do something REALLY FUN this weekend. I finally was able to harvest my sweet potatoes! Sweet potatoes have a long growing season, anywhere from 90-170 days of growing under the ground. Under the ground. Where you can’t see their progress…even though you are dying to know what’s happening under that soil.

This was my rookie year for this crop. I only purchased this because when I went back to the garden store of more squash, sweet potatoes were all they had left. But I’m so happy I did.

After planting, at the end of what I estimated was 30 days or so, I pulled one of the plants up “just to check”. By that I mean I wanted to see if there was anything…anything at all growing under the ground. To my delight, there was! But the sampling was only about 3 cm long so I knew the patch would need quite a bit more time…but at least I knew they were there!

30 days later, I figured I’d give another check. If you haven’t figured it out by now, I hadn’t written down my origional planting date, so really I had no idea just how long they had been in the soil. Rookie mistake.

For that sampling, I had a potato about 3 inches long, so I told myself I’d give it 30 more days and harvest just after Labor Day. And that was this past weekend.

Digging them up was like opening a gift! It was quite satisfying, and there were more than I hoped for.

I’ll definitely be doing sweet potatoes in my garden again.

Now, what to do with them?

Myself, as well as my kids, like sweet potatoes in their most basic form: cubed, tossed in olive oil, roasted and sprinkled with chunky salt.

Of course, we like sweet potato fries as well, and I have to admit in the Air Fryer, they aren’t too bad. But my favorite way…my absolutely favorite way…is as follows:

Pesto Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

2-4 Sweet Potatoes

2-3 Chicken Breasts, cooked and shredded

Jar of favorite Pesto

Olive or Coconut Oil

Chunky Sea Salt

Bake potatoes. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Coat potatoes with either Olive Oil or Coconut Oil and sprinkle with Sea Salt. Bake 60-70 minutes or until soft.

Meanwhile, warm pesto and toss with shredded chicken.

Top warm potato with a small pat of butter, and chicken mixture. Delish!

NOTES:

• This can easily be kept Paleo and Dairy Free (skip the butter)

• Pesto is VERY SIMPLE to make yourself. I will be sharing a basic recipe soon.

• My daughter tops her sweet potatoes with Taco Seasoned Beef, etc. There are many options to try!

Enjoy!

Shanna