Saturday, November 28, 2015

Sweet Potato Asada Fries with Recipes for Taco Seasoning and Pico de Gallo


I was lucky enough to be a part of the Influenster Pumpkin VoxBox, designed especially for moms! Inside was a bunch of goodies, including a full-value coupon for one Alexia product! We were challenged to come up with a recipe using one of their products, and since I love Alexia's products, this seemed like a no-brainer! Here's a pin of the product I chose:



  • 1 bag of Alexia Sweet Potato Fries
  • 1 pound grass-fed ground beef
  • 1 batch of taco seasoning (recipe below)
  • 1 bag Shredded cheese
  • Pico de Gallo salsa (recipe below)
  • Guacamole (I used the complimentary Yucatan Organic Guacamole I got to try in my Influenster Pumpkin VoxBox!)


I picked up this little bag of goodness at Target. I had my coupon from Influenster for a free package of these, but they were also running a coupon on Cartwheel for 20% off, or something like that. No, I didn't get any money back! How do those couponistas do it?


I started out buy preparing the fries according to the directions on the package. My oven cooks kind of cold, so I always use the maximum time suggestion. Even after that though, the fries still needed about 5 minutes. The Sprout ate a bunch of them! These are definitely toddler-approved!


Next came the ground meat. There is no way I am going outside and barbecuing carne asada when I'm so cold I can barely type up this blog! This California girl is not prepared for any "winteresque" weather coming her way! My husband laughs at the fact that I came up with the idea to visit the Grand Canyon and Salt Lake City during my winter break... What was I thinking!?! Anyway, I digress.

So I decided to throw some seasoned ground beef on top of my fries to give it that asada flavor, without needing to bear the cold. It also gave me a chance to work on my taco seasoning recipe. Growing up, my father used to make us American-style tacos with ground beef, using the infamous packet of Lowry's Taco Seasoning; a savory sodium death-bomb of deliciousness. It also has wheat and milk products, and there are times when we're following a strict paleo diet and those don't work for us. Here is my current recipe for taco seasoning:
  • 1 tbsp cumin
  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • dash of cayanne
  • 2/3 cup of beef broth or water


Just get your ground beef all browned up like this, sprinkle the dry seasoning mix on top of the meat and stir it around for about 30 seconds to let the flavors of the chili powder and garlic start to bloom. once it's all incorporated and smelling good, pour the beef broth or water over the meat and simmer until the liquid is mostly gone. You'll love it. delicious and comforting.


Another important part of this dish is the Pico de Gallo! AKA red salsa, Pico de Gallo, is a staple in traditional Mexican dishes. It's really easy to make and adds a ton of flavor to any dish! Here's my basic recipe:
  • 2 roma tomatoes, diced
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
  • 1/4 of a sweet onion, diced
  • 1/2 lime, juiced
  • salt to taste

Toss all of the ingredients in a bowl and add the salt a little at a time until it tastes great. Of course you have to keep tasting it, so have some tortilla chips at the ready! It's that easy! You can substitute with serrano peppers if you like or a different kind of tomato, but for classic Pico, this is it!


Assemble the Sweet Potato Asada Fries with the fries on the bottom, then some ground beef, a sprinkling of shredded cheese, Pico de Gallo, and a dollop of guacamole for a delicious anytime dish that your whole family will love!

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