Deeee-lish

Last night I tried a very delicious recipe from the lovely Rachel Ray who has continued to make my life easy with her 30 minute meals.  Now I'm not gonna lie, she tends to call for ingredients that are weird and not easily attainable,  I do a lot of substituting and omitting because I am an ass and can never remember just don't have the time to pick up some things...as I was making these I was certain they weren't going to come out right but they actually came out perfect and I couldn't believe how good they were.

Spicy Potato Pancakes with Holiday Guacamole
Takes about 15 minutes to prepare, 10 minutes to cook

(Makes 6-7, 3" pancakes)

Keep in mind how HEALTHY this recipe is - you're only using 1 sweet potato and 1 avocado...which are both power foods! I tried to be a little stingy with the olive oil because I didn't want them greasy tasting, which they weren't...be sure NOT to use vegetable oil and if you want alternatives to EVOO, try canola/almond/peanut oils

INGREDIENTS:

1 Large Sweet Potato

EVOO

1/2 medium sized sweet onion

1 beaten egg

1/3 Cup Corn Meal, All Purpose Flour or Matzo Meal (I used corn meal)

1 tablespoon Chili Powder

2 teaspoons Ground Cumin

2 teaspoons Paprika

Sea Salt

1 Haas Avocado
1/4 Red Bell Pepper, diced

2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

1 small clove of garlic, pasted with a small amount of salt

Fat free sour cream (optional)

Frank's Red Hot (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

--Peel and shred the sweet potato with a box grater, drain all the excess water (this is very important - get the potato as dry as possible)
--Heat EVOO in a skillet, enough to make a small puddle - about 1/3 cup
--Grate the onion over the bowl of shredded potato, allowing the onion juices to mix in
--Add the beaten egg and corn meal and season with the spices and some salt
You may have to add additional corn meal, you want the pancakes to form together nicely to avoid ending up with hashbrowns rather than panacakes
--Form small pancakes (about 3" in diameter) and place in the hot oil
--Cook until golden brown on both sides (I kept the heat at medium to ensure an even cook through, being careful not to burn)
--While the cakes are cookin, combine the avocado flesh, diced red pepper, lemon juice and garlic paste - either mash by hand or use a small food chopper/processor
--Let the cakes 'de-grease' on a paper towel before serving...serve with the guacamole and (optionally) fat free sour cream mixed with a little Frank's Red Hot sauce

Mangia...