Mashed Potato Pancakes

Here's a great idea for your leftover mashed potatoes.  Super easy and good with scrambled eggs or omelets!  Mmmmm, I am hungry all over again!

Mashed Potato Pancakes
2 C, mashed potatoes, cooled is OK
1/2 C. flour, for dredging
salt and pepper, to taste, go ahead and mix in with the flour
2 T. vegetable oil (for frying)

Heat up the oil and add a dollop of mashed potatoes that first stopped off in the flour mixture.  Flatten lightly with a spoon, cook for 3-4 minutes, flip, then cook for 2-3 minutes until golden brown.  Yum!

PS I have also imagined adding other veggies to these (onion, fine-chopped broccoli, spinach, bell peppers) and I am sure that would be good and work well too!  

Broccoli Parmesan Fritters

I made these a while ago, just had the ingredients and the motivation at the same time.  They were good and definitely worth making again, although I liked them more than anyone else in the house.  They were on the slightly greasy side for my tastes, and I may try to figure out a way to bake them or use less oil or something, but they were really delicious and hey, its broccoli so it must be healthy, right? :-)

Broccoli Parmesan Fritters
3 C. broccoli, chopped (steamed, frozen or fresh)
1 egg
1/2 C. flour
1/3 C. parmesan, grated
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 t. salt, plus more to taste
pepper, to taste
olive or vegetable oil for frying.

Combine all the ingredients, mash the broccoli and all the ingredients together.  Add 2-3 T. of oil and heat it up (you know its ready when a drop of water sizzles!) and then scoop a mound of the mixture in to the pan.  Press it down slightly with a spoon, let it go for 3-4 minutes, and then flip and go for another 2-3 minutes.  Both side should be slightly golden.  Set on a plate with a paper towel to drain excess oil and either eat immediately or put in a 200 oven to keep warm.  Yum!

Sweet Potato Casserole ala Ruth's Chris

I made this today for Thanksgiving, and after trying several sweet potato casserole recipes, I think this is the winner.  It is very much like the Ruth's Chris version and fairly easy to prepare.  It was so good that I had more of the casserole for dessert instead of the pumpkin and pecan pie! :-) Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Casserole
3 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes*
3/4 C. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 C. butter, melted

Topping: 
1 C. brown sugar
1/3 C. flour
1 C. chopped pecans
3 T. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350.  In large mixing bowl, combine the first six ingredients.  Spread into a greased 9x13 pan.  In a separate bowl, make the topping, and then spread over the top of the sweet potatoes.  Cook for 30 minutes uncovered.

*I boiled my potatoes after skinning and then rough chopping them, and from putting them in the pot with the cold water, cranking up the heat, they were ready to go after maybe 25-30 minutes.

Homemade Refried Beans

Homemade Refried Beans

Firehouse recipe from Jason, WAY better than canned and not too hard to do.  Clean and sort dried refried beans, as much as you want to make.  Rinse and add water, 1 cup of beans and 2 cups of water.  Bring to a boil, reduce to medium low and cook for about two hours or until beans will squish smoothly with your fingers.  Keep an eye on your water level and add more, if needed.  Get them past the grainy stage, you want them smooth.  Add milk, cheese and salt to taste.  Yum!

Slow Cooker Potato Soup

I have had this recipe saved for months, but today seemed like a nice, cloudy day and I knew we'd be home, so I gave it a go.  All four of us liked it a lot, and it was certainly easy.  I think this is a good one to make on a cool morning for lunch, maybe serve it aside panini's or grilled cheese.  I think it would be easy to make this vegetarian style too, maybe sub in cream of potato soup and veggie stock?   I told Jason I think he should make it at the fire house, especially if he can hide some of the bacon they fry up almost every day. :-)

Slow Cooker Potato Soup
1 - 30-ounce bag frozen potatoes, squared/southern style
2 - 14 oz cans chicken broth
1 - 14 oz can cream of chicken soup
1/2 C. chopped onion
1/3 tsp. black pepper
1 - 8 oz block cream cheese, softened
Optional toppings - green onion, cheddar cheese, crumbled bacon

Combine potatoes, chicken broth, chicken soup, onion and pepper in the slow cooker.  Cook on low for 5 hours.  Stir in cream cheese, cook another 30 minutes or so stirring occasionally until well blended.

Quinoa Fried Rice

Made this with my sister Kat and I think it is another one you could bulk up on, make a double batch and eat for the week.  Super easy and fast, and you can cook your quinoa in advance and then throw it all together.

Quinoa Fried Rice
1-2 T. oil whatever you prefer
cooked quinoa (maybe 2 C or more?)
frozen mixed veggies (peas, carrots, green beans, lima beans, whatever)
one packet of fried rice seasoning
2 T. soy sauce (to taste)
1-2 eggs
grilled chicken, optional

I cooked the quinoa in the rice cooker (cook the same way as rice) and added the cold quinoa to the wok with just a touch of oil. Stir it around, add the (microwaved and drained) veggies and seasoning.  Push to the side, scramble the eggs and then mix all together.

I thought it was excellent as is but some chicken would have made it even better.  Yummy and so healthy.

Sangria

So my girlfriend Nicole makes this amazing Sangria.  I am embarrassed to admit that I may have forgotten my manners at least once by drinking WAY more than my share of this stuff, but she still invites me over when she makes it so I guess I am forgiven. :-)

Nicole spent a summer in Spain and said that they use canned fruit cocktail juice to sweeten their Sangria.  She hasn't tested it as of yet so I am sticking with her original recipe because its my favorite. I've also had good Sangria at restaurants but definitely NOT fresh out of a wine-looking bottle, I dumped that whole thing down the drain.

Sangria

1.5 L (128 oz) Burgundy (cheap red wine, not sure if even Two Buck Chuck would work here)

4 oz Cointreau or Triple Sec

4 oz Brandy
1 large can of fruit cocktail

Fresh fruit (fresh oranges, lemons, apples but whatever you have should be OK)

Sprite to almost fill the jug and to sweeten (or fruit cocktail or simple syrup) 

Quick Turkey Quinoa Taco Stew

My sister Kat made this last weekend for me.  It took about 30 minutes start to finish and was so good that after having two servings for dinner, I had it for breakfast the next day too.  Clocks in at about 270 calories per cup (before the cheese avalanche that I add) and SO satisfying.  My plan is to make this on Sunday's and dish it out for my Monday-Thursday lunches.  Here is the original link.

Quick Turkey Quinoa Taco Stew
small onion, diced
ground turkey (recipe says 8 oz but I think we used 16)
1 medium zucchini (might be able to do 2)
1 sweet bell pepper (red, yellow or orange, might be able to do 2)
1 package of taco seasoning*
1 can (15 oz) tomatoes with chiles (Rotel)
1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, rinsed and drained** (might be able to do 2 cans)
1 can (14 oz) chicken broth (or beef or veggie)
1 C. quinoa, rinsed
1 Tbsp. lime juice
shredded cheddar, optional (as if)

Cook the turkey with onion over medium heat.  Add zucchini, peppers and taco seasoning.  Stir to coat all the veggies with spices.  Add beans, diced tomatoes, broth and quinoa.  Turn up to high heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until quinoa soaks up most of the liquid.  Stir in lime juice and serve!

* Make your own taco seasoning with this link
** You can use any beans you like or have, black, pinto, garbanzo, etc.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I do love pumpkin, especially in the fall.  And so naturally, I love pumpkin baked goods- muffins, breads, cookies, etc.  Here's what I don't like: the cakey texture that most pumpkin cookies seem to take on.  So I found a recipe for them that promised not to be cakey but instead, the chewy, gooey typical cookie texture that I adore.  Here is the original recipe but I like to have my own ingredient list ready to access any time, so I am copying it below as well.  Kinda neat that this recipe doesn't have any eggs, too.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/2 C. (1 stick) butter, unsalted, melted
1/4 C. light brown sugar
1/2 C. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
6 T. pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie)
1-1/2 C. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking sode
1-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, if you have it, no biggie if not
1/2 C. chocolate chips

Cream the melted butter and sugars.  Add dry ingredients.  Dough will be very soft.  Fold in the chocolate chips, which might not stick to the dough because of the melted butter, but it'll be OK.  Cover and chill for 30 minutes minimum, or up to 3 days.

Preheat to 350 and drop by rounded (two) tablespoons onto cookie sheet.  I did roll these into balls, then pressed down slightly so they would cook down very pretty, and it worked.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, taking them out before they look done.  You can flatten them now if you need to as well.  Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a wire rack.

The author of this recipe says to let them sit for at least an hour before serving, and that the chewiness and pumpkin flavor is even better on Day 2.  Not sure if that is true as there were no survivors through the night.  This is definitely one I will make again.

Kettle (or Regular) Stove Top Popcorn

A friend had a Bunco night get together a couple of weeks ago, and all the ladies brought a snack to share.  Imagine my amazement when one lady walked in with what looked like still hot, fresh from the Farmer's Market kettle corn!  We all swarmed in on her and got her to share the ultra-easy secret recipe:

Homemade Kettle Corn
1/3 C. olive oil*
1/3 C. white sugar
1/2 C. popcorn kernels

Heat up the oil and sugar and throw in ONE popcorn kernel and wait for it to pop.  Once it does, add the rest, cover with a lid (that isn't too tight) and shake vigorously until the popping slows down.  Make sure you use a BIG pot and crack the lid some so that some steam can get out, but watch out because it is HOT and sometimes those kernels get out too.  Takes about five minutes, start to finish, give or take.

She said she has a "Whirly Pop" cooking pot with a crank on it that makes it really easy.  They look to be about $20 at Bed, Bath and Beyond so I may ask Santa for one this year.

Kate swears that she prefers "regular" popcorn so you do it basically the same way, minus the sugar.

My sister-in-law Amber said she read something that said microwave popcorn is one of the very worst things you can eat, and this is so easy, that I might be done with the stuff!  Give it a try!

No Bake Cheesecake

Had this at Grandma Squires today and it was really, really good!  It's a "no-bake" cheesecake which makes it a perfect summer dessert!

No Bake Cheesecake

8 oz. cream cheese
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 C. lemon juice
1 t. vanilla

Cream together all ingredients and pour into a 9" graham cracker shell, recipe below.

1 package graham crackers
1/4 C. sugar
1/2 C. melted butter

Mix together and press into pie shell.

Grandma made a GIANT one in a lasagna pan and tripled the recipe.  She also added a fresh strawberry glaze.  It was excellent!!!

Optional:
Fresh strawberries, blueberries (I might at least add some sugar to sweat the sliced strawberries)
Chocolate syrup?
Caramel?
Lots of options!

Crepes

Sometimes, you just need crepes.  Here's a basic recipe that worked well for me.  It is all staples that we all have on hand and they say that the batter keeps in the fridge for a few days.  This recipe makes about 8 crepes.

Crepes

2 eggs
1/2 C. milk
1/2 C. water, plus a little more to make it a runny, crepe consistency
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. butter, melted, plus more for greasing pan
1 C. flour
1/4 tsp. salt

In large mixing bowl, mix eggs, milk, water, vanilla and melted butter.  Gradually add in dry ingredients.  Add a little water if needed to make it more runny.

Use a frying pan on medium heat, grease it with butter preferably but spray will work too.  Add 1/4 C. mixture and spread it around so that it is super thin.  Cook for about a minute or so, then flip and cook for maybe 30 seconds more.  I use a metal spatula with these, even though I use a nonstick pan.  Just be careful.

I like to spread on Nutella and if I have them, fresh sliced strawberries and/or bananas.  The possibilities are endless!  My kids approved, too. :-)

Enjoy!

Green Monster Smoothie

  


My sister Kat turned me on to the idea of sneaking spinach into my kids smoothies.  I used to always do it in blueberry-banana smoothies because the purple would mask the green.  Then she sent me a recipe for a drink called the "Green Monster" where the spinach is front and center.  The creative marketing name appealed to my son, and since he was game, of course his little sister was in.  Now Christopher is always trying to get Jason to try this, saying "you can't even taste the spinach!" ;-) Which is just about true.  These are yummy and healthy and a good way to get a lot of veggies in with minimal effort, and the kids fight over who gets to help make them.  I love seeing them so excited to eat spinach!

Green Monster Smoothie
1 frozen banana
1/2 C. vanilla greek yogurt
1 C. milk, roughly
1-2 Tbsp. peanut butter
2-4 C. fresh spinach
ice

Put bananas, yogurt, milk and peanut butter in the blender and mix it up until smooth.  Fill the rest of the blender with spinach (no joke, it is probably 2-4 cups really) and then blend it again.  You might have to help poke the spinach down but it will pulverize it pretty quickly.  I usually add some crushed ice at this point for texture, blend again until desired consistency, and serve!  This one drink I split three ways and it is a fair amount for each of us.  You can also freeze it to have the next day (takes about an hour to thaw) but it isn't as good as on Day 1.

I definitely recommend freezing the bananas ahead of time, preferably in bite size chunks.  Vanilla yogurt is FAR superior to plain, found that out the hard way.  A little honey will help if all you have is plain.  Regular (non-Greek) yogurt works too but I figure the extra protein helps.  The original recipe calls for Almond Milk and I've made it with that before, and its delicious, but we don't always have it so I just use regular milk now.  The peanut butter is really what gets you on the calories, but it is really good so I just go for it.

Lasagna

This is so easy, I just follow the directions on the box.  But Jason asked me to blog it and I like to have all of my wonderful ideas in one place, so here it goes.  From memory, no less. :-) I'll update it if I find any errors.  If this comment (about memory!) is still here when you go to make this, double check the box of lasagna noodles.

Lasagna
1 box of no-boil lasagna noodles (this is WAY easier than the alternative!)
1 big container of cottage cheese
1 egg
salt and pepper
Italian seasonings (or basil, oregano, etc.)
1 jar spaghetti sauce plus 1 C. water, per the no boil box directions
1/2 C. parmesan cheese
16 oz mozzarella, shredded, divided
Optional - ground turkey and sausage, black olives,  fresh spinach, fresh or frozen broccoli

Combine cottage cheese, parmesan, about 1 C. of mozzarella, egg, seasonings.  Cook meat and veggies as needed.  I found that fresh spinach worked well and I used frozen broccoli florets, making sure to squeeze all the extra moisture from them.  I'd pre-cook the broccoli if it was fresh, too.  Jason is a meat guy and so we made ground turkey and mild italian sausage, and a can of black olives, sliced.  Grease a big 13x9 pan, I use cooking spray.  Spread some sauce on the bottom of the pan, then add a layer of noodles.  It is OK if they overlap a little.  Add some of the cottage cheese mixture, then sprinkle with other toppings.  Ours are always half veggies, half meat and black olives.  The veggies side gets a little taller but it works.  Then cover with another layer of noodles, then sauce, then repeat.  I think the sauce goes on top of the noodles always but it could go before, I suppose.  Double check the box. :-) So you repeat the layers until you run out of filling.  I usually get two sets of filling, and three layers of noodles, including the bottom.  After you put your top layer of lasagna noodles on, dump on any remaining sauce and then sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and if you want, a little more parmesan.  Cover with foil and cook at 375 (?) for 60 minutes.  I always take the foil off for the last ten minutes so it gets sort of browned, but Jason said he heard that can dry it out.  Your choice.  Let it stand for 5-10 minutes when you take it out.  Freezes well, leftovers are amazing.  Another nice thing is that you can make this a day in advance if you like, or the morning of, then just heat it up when you're ready.

Hell's Fire Chips

So my good friend Nicole had a birthday a few weeks ago and we all went to her favorite spot, AZ88 in Scottsdale.  She's been raving about their food forever, specifically these Hell's Fire Chips and get this- their Grilled Cheese!  After finally going to see what it was all about, I have to say she's right, even the grilled cheese knocked my socks off.  But these chips were the star of the show.  The kids and I attempted to make them on my own the next day, unsuccessfully, but I think there's enough potential here that if I publish this, then maybe I can remember it and mess around with the recipe enough to figure it out.  Here's hoping!

Hell's Fire Chips
potatoes, washed and thinly sliced
Arizona Gunslinger hot sauce, or another brand - maybe Frank's would work?
bleu cheese crumbles (weird but it works)
cooking spray
salt and pepper

Wash and thinly slice the potatoes.  I don't fry things at home so spray a cookie sheet well, lay the potato slices down, being careful not to overlap, and then spray them again.  Salt and pepper and bake at 400ish (maybe more?) for 10-20 minutes, flipping once.  Ideally, they will get a sort of golden-brown.  I found that some did and some didn't, but the yummier ones did.  Let's assume that they all turn out.  Scoop them on to one cookie sheet, overlapping this time, sprinkle with hot sauce and bleu cheese, and then broil for just a minute or two, until the cheese melts.  Serve and devour!  :-)

Update: Talked again to Nicole about this and her Aunt asked them at AZ88 how they do it.  The trick is to fry them in peanut oil when it is SUPER hot (use the wooden spoon trick: dip the top of it in, if it bubbles, it's ready, if it doesn't, then wait a little longer, get a fresh wooden spoon and try again) and flash fry them.  Sprinkle the cheese immediately after removing from the oil.  They use Arizona Gunslinger Hot Sauce.  YUMMO. 

Wendy's Manicotti

Wendy makes great, healthy manicotti that is super easy and even better if you cook it first on Day 1, save it, and then heat it up again in the oven on Day 2.

Manicotti
32 oz cottage cheese
16 oz mozzarella
3-4 oz parmesean (1/2 C.)
1 egg
1 tsp. garlic powder
italian seasoning (oregano, parsley)
salt and pepper
manicotti or shells (it looks like they do sell the ones you dont have to boil first! check!)
2 jars spaghetti sauce
optional - spinach, broccoli, meat, etc...

Makes one 13x9 and one 8x8 pan.  Combine all ingredients (except pasta and sauce.)  Spread sauce on pan bottom, fill noodles and lay in pan, cover with sauce.   Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, covered with foil.

Jason and I like different things in our pasta (hers= spinach, broccoli, his=meat and cheese) so it is a good idea to make the filling and then divide it in two, or if you are doing cheese only for one of the pans (he's fine with that) then do that first, then add the veggies.

You can use fresh or frozen veggies but like all pasta dishes, make sure and drain any excess moisture so it doesn't turn out too soupy.

Yum!