Prepping Vegetables.......sweet potatoes in particular

[runninduo]

I have a 3 yr old so I need to do as much prep work while he's in school so when it comes time to make dinner, I can just throw everything together. I'm making a roast chicken tonight with a maple pepper glaze.....the recipe calls for roasting sweet potatoes in the pan along with the chicken. How far ahead can I peel and chop the sweet potatoes? Do I need to do anything to preserve the color and or flavor. I'm only talking about doing it 5-6 hrs ahead of when they'd be cooked. I know it's a relatively small task, but it's a tough one when a little one tugging on my leg.

Sorry if this is incoherent. I'm sleep deprived! Dang insomnia!

Thanks.

Laurie

 

[Yakuta]

You can sure prepp the sweet potatoes up. I do that with a lot of veggies (the only one I don't do this with are potatoes).

I have young kids and although mine are now in school or preschool I like to get as much prepp I can so that the end process of cooking is speedy.

You should be able to peel and cut the sweet potatoes. I normally do this and then place each veggie in a ziplock bag and then they go directly in the refrigerator for several hours or until evening. When I am ready to assemble I remove the ziplocs and just add it to the pan or dish that I am preparing.

It's so much faster this way and I don't notice any discoloration or loss of taste. Some veggies I have done this with are bell peppers, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, squash.

 

[kansasgirl]

The only problem I have with preparing vegetables and fruits ahead of time is that valuable vitamins and minerals are lost when the cut surfaces are exposed to air. If you peel all veggies/fruits as well, you are losing vitamins and also really valuable fiber. Just things to consider - you could at least try preparing them as soon to cooking as possible.

 

[WayneT]

I have a 3 yr old so I need to do as much prep work while he's in school so when it comes time to make dinner, I can just throw everything together. I'm making a roast chicken tonight with a maple pepper glaze.....the recipe calls for roasting sweet potatoes in the pan along with the chicken. How far ahead can I peel and chop the sweet potatoes? Do I need to do anything to preserve the color and or flavor. I'm only talking about doing it 5-6 hrs ahead of when they'd be cooked. I know it's a relatively small task, but it's a tough one when a little one tugging on my leg.

Sorry if this is incoherent. I'm sleep deprived! Dang insomnia!

Thanks.

Laurie

Hey! why waste your time peeling the sweet potato. just bake as is and slice into chunks afterwards. The skin just falls away as you pull the guts out with your fork. I do the same with pumpkin I just cut into wedges and serve as is. Guests never complain (in fact they compliment) and you don't have to worry about the pumpkin falling to pieces as you serve. Maybe keeps some vitamins in as well, I don't know. The red sweet potato "Kumura" I find the best tasting and is also great for chips that the kids and adults alike love. Just strip the Kumura with a vege peeler as if you were peeling it and then deep fry. Yummee!!

Also to save time I sometimes microwave the sweet potato or pumpkin for 5 mins or so before roasting to give it a start. This can be done as you preheat the oven

 

[runninduo]

Thanks, all!

I needed to to peel and cut the potatoes b/f baking (as opposed to baking the potato whole and then cutting) b/c I was roasting the potatoes in a pan alongside the chicken and then drizzling it with a maple-pepper glaze while they cooked.

However, I ended up making a different type of chicken. We invited friends over at the last minute and the husband doesn't eat chicken. I made him some salmon and made side dishes that went with both the chicken and the fish. Then, if you can believe it, our friends had plumbing problems at their house so only my girlfriend and her daughter came. We sent the fish home with them.

It was a comical day!

Thanks for the information on prepping. I definitely want to try the other chicken recipe soon!