Oinka-Doodle-Moo Baby Bakers

OK, Oinkadoodle-Moo, this BBQ place, has the most amazing potatoes everrr. So I tried to recreate them at home. It was a somewhat-fail, but now I know what to do. This is even a potatoes after church recipe, which I think is nothing to sneeze at :)

Slow Cooker Baby Bakers
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1.5 lbs potatoes (supposed to be new potatoes but I just had regular old russet)
2 Tbsp. + 1/4 c. butter, melted
salt
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2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. paprika
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. granulated onion
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. chili powder

Leaving skin on, scrub and chop potatoes into 1-2" pieces. Toss potatoes with 2 Tbsp. melted butter and some salt. Spread in single layer on cookie sheet lined with parchment. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker. Pour remaining 1/4 c. melted butter over top.

Mix brown sugar and spices together to create a dry rub. Sprinkle over potatoes and butter in slow cooker and cook on low 3-4 hours. Serve with sauce.

Roasted Zucchini

Check it out, Martha has a new cookbook. I thought the portobello and zucchini tacos looked really good, so, feeling sort of half-hearted about it at lunchtime today, I just made the roasted zucchini part and thought I would turn it into a sandwich by melting some cheese over it.

It was A.Ma.Zing!!!!

Roasted Zucchini
1 zucchini, cut into 2"x1/2" sticks
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. Tuscan Sunset seasoning (or oregano)
salt and pepper
1 tsp vinegar (white balsamic or red wine)

Toss zucchini with olive oil, herbs and salt & pepper on a baking sheet. Roast at 425* for 20-25 minutes, tossing once. Drain on paper towel. Transfer to plate and sprinkle with a bit o' vinegar.

I stuffed as many of these little friends as I could into a sandwich with some melty muenster cheese. YUM.

Potatoes Romanoff

I haven't actually made these yet, so we shall see how they turn out.

(OK, I made them, and they were raved about... best part of the meal hands-down)

10 c. chopped potatoes (cut into about 1" chunks; 10-12 medium potatoes)

1 tsp. salt

3 c. cottage cheese (I might change this to 2 c. next time... there is a lot of sauce)

2 c. sour cream (and this to 1 1/2 c.? see note above)

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

1/2 c. chopped green onions (having none, I subbed a ton of Sunny Paris seasoning)

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1. Cook the potatoes in water (cover potatoes by about an inch) and the 1 tsp. salt until tender (simmer about 15 minutes).

2. Mix the cottage cheese, sour cream, garlic and green onions. Mix in the potatoes. Top with shredded cheese and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Balsamic Mushrooms

This is our favorite way to fix mushrooms...

Balsamic Mushrooms from Martha Stewart
1/4 c. evoo
12 oz. mushrooms, washed, dried and quartered
3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Cook mushrooms in oil 5 minutes, turning to prevent sticking. Add vinegar, salt and pepper flakes; cook 1 minute longer.

Today I put these mushrooms straight from the pan onto a bed of spinach leaves. The heat wilted the spinach a little bit which I love, and the mushrooms just tasted like a really substantial dressing. SO GOOD.

Spaghetti Squash

I made this Spaghetti Squash Gratin last night but used kale instead of chard, omitted the green onions and used plain yogurt instead of sour cream.

It was so good that Ken said, can you please make this again, often? :)

Warm Applesauce....

OK guys, I think I am just slow, but did you know that if you just take like 3 Granny Smith apples, peel/core/roughly chop them, and put them in a pan on the stove on medium-low for like half an hour, with some brown sugar (hardly any, like 1/4 cup) and cinnamon, that it tastes like heaven?

And that you can use it as bribery to get your picky 20-month-old to eat crazy things that she would never usually eat?

Such as salad.

Early Thanksgiving: Roasted Squash and Cornbread Stuffing

Last night we had an early Thanksgiving since my mom and dad are in town for Ken's ordination service (which is tonight!). Ken's dad flew in last night and ate up the leftovers. I should have taken a picture before that happened because it was so beautiful.

Or as I would say if I was a real blogger:

It.
Was.
So.
Beautiful.

We had every color... brilliant red cranberry sauce, bright orange butternut squash, green salad... perfectly lovely.

I have two recipes to share with you... Maple Roasted Butternut Squash and Cornbread Stuffing.

Maple Roasted Butternut Squash
Ingredients
1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped (1" dice)
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 Tbsp. (more or less) maple syrup
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt
freshly ground black pepper
pinch thyme
pinch rosemary

Method
1. Preheat oven to 375.* Chop squash and onion; place in 8x8 baking dish.

2. In a small bowl, mix syrup, oil, salt, pepper, thyme and rosemary. Pour over veggies; toss and stir to coat. Bake for 45 minutes or until squash is tender.*

*We just threw ours in with the turkey at 325 for a little over an hour.

Cornbread Stuffing
Ingredients
bay leaf
2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 Tbsp. butter
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 med. onion, chopped
1 granny smith apple, chopped
some fresh parsley, chopped
GF cornbread, preferably stale, ripped up into smallish pieces
sage
thyme
salt
pepper
1 c. broth

Method
1. Heat butter and olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add bay leaf, celery, onion and apple and saute for 5 minutes.

2. Stir in the parsley and cornbread. Sprinkle S&P, sage and thyme over top and stir to combine. Pour enough broth in to moisten the bread.

Serve hot straight from the stove, or put it in a baking dish and place in the oven with the turkey, ideally for no more than 20-30 minutes.

Tea Peas

I just found out that someone actually reads my blog. So I am going to post a recipe. Or it's more of a suggestion really. Next time you make peas to go with your traditional English roast beef dinner, after they're finished cooking, stir in some crunched up dried mint leaves and some honey. It makes them taste kind of like tea, but really good. Tea peas.

Oh yeah - ALWAYS use petite peas. Never those nasty big ones.

Baked-Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Onions

OK, I am totally stealing this idea from Elise at Simply Recipes, but I adapted it to be just potatoes, instead of with spinach and sausage. Spinach and sausage are great, but I didn't have any... I just had a lot of potatoes :) Here is the 4 person side-dish serving size version, but I tripled this to bring to a potluck today. It worked well for a make-ahead potato dish, which I can't say about too many other potato dishes...

3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
1 tsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/4 c. milk
1 1/2 T. butter (+ additional butter for dish)
2 T. chicken broth
1 T. cider vinegar
dash nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper (just "eyeball it" as Rachael Ray says and grind some over the top)
1 c. shredded mozzarella, parmesan, swiss, cheddar, or ??? cheese

1. Butter a 4x6 or 8x8 baking dish. Preheat oven to 400. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan or soup pot. Cover with water 1" above the surface of the potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until golden, stirring often, about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and saute 1 minute longer or until fragrant. Remove from heat.

3. Drain potatoes. Wipe pot dry, return potatoes to pot and mash with milk, butter, broth, vinegar, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir in half the cheese. Spread potatoes in prepared baking dish. Top with caramelized onion-garlic mixture and remaining cheese. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes to melt cheese and heat through.

Iowa Butterhorn Rolls

I haven't tried making these rolls yet so I don't know how easy they are. They kind of sound like they might be a pain to make, but they taste amazing. I am pretty sure they will be in heaven.

1 pkg. yeast
1 T. sugar
1/4 c. warm water
1 c. milk
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
1/4 t. salt
3 eggs. slightly beaten
4 1/2 c. flour
Additional melted butter

1. Combine yeast, sugar and warm water in a small bowl.

2. Scald milk (heat on the stove until it bubbles). Stir in 1/2 cup sugar, butter and salt. Cool milk mixture completely.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine the yeast mixture, the cooled milk mixture and the eggs and flour. Mix well; put in greased bowl. Brush with melted butter. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours.

4. Put 1/4 of dough at a time on lightly floured board and roll into 8 inch circle. Brush with melted butter. Cut like a pie into 8 triangle pieces. Roll up wide end to point.

5. Bake at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes.

Makes 32 rolls.

Spanikopita Bake

I know that practically every recipe on here uses spinach and cheese, but I just can't help myself.

So here you go... no phyllo dough to mess with and so, so, so easy.

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a little olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped (about a cup?)
1-2 cloves garlic, pressed
10 oz. fresh spinach, roughly chopped
6 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
1 egg
1 c. milk
1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt (use less if you decide to go overboard on the feta)
dash of dill (optional)

1. Saute onions in large non-stick skillet in a teeny bit of olive oil over medium low heat for about 5 minutes. Add garlic, saute 5-7 minutes more, or until onions are starting to look a little caramelized. Add spinach and cook until just wilted. Transfer mixture to 8x8 pan. Cover with crumbled feta cheese.

2. In a mixing bowl, beat egg and add milk, flour, salt and dill if desired. Pour this mixture over spinach/cheese.

3. Bake for 45-50 minutes at 350 or until set.

Ruth Enas's Pesto Green Beans

For Lindsay :)

1 c. (8 oz. container) heavy cream
1 7 oz. container pesto
3 cans green beans
1/2 c. parmesan cheese
1/2 c. toasted pine nuts

1. Mix cream and pesto in saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 min.

2. Stir in green beans, cheese and nuts. Heat through and serve. Serves 8.

Best Asparagus Ever

This is Heather Gideon's roasted asparagus method. It is brilliant and I am never going back.

Asparagus, washed and ends snapped off
olive oil
kosher salt

1. Preheat oven to 500.

2. Arrange asparagus in single layer on cookie sheet.

3. Drizzle olive oil over the top and sprinkle with salt (and pepper if you want). Bake for 10-12 minutes.

YUM. I did this with just a bit of asparagus for Ken and me, in the toaster oven. Love it.

Gingerbread Stuffing

I don't know if I should post this, since it is still in the oven - 3 minutes to go - and hasn't even been tasted yet. The idea of gingerbread + bacon in stuffing came from my new food hero, Nigella Lawson, but I didn't really follow her recipe - just used it as a springboard. Another disclaimer: it's not really stuffing, it's technically dressing. I don't stuff turkeys. Just people.

1 recipe gingerbread (Joy of Cooking's is awesome - but I used half the amount of sugar, butter, and molasses)
5 apples - Granny Smith or eating apples (I used a variety)
2 onions
8-10 stalks celery
1-2 cups chicken broth
6 strips bacon

1. Dry out and crumble up gingerbread. Chop apples, celery and onions.

2. In a large frying pan or griddle, fry the bacon. Crumble and set aside. Drain *most* of the fat out of the pan. Add onions to the pan and saute in a little bacon fat until translucent. Add apples and celery; saute 5-10 minutes longer. Add gingerbread crumbs and bacon; stir to combine. Moisten with chicken broth.

3. Transfer stuffing to 9x13 pan, bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

OK I just tasted some... it is amazing. Try this at home.

Roasted Fall Vegetables

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped into pieces 1/2" or smaller
2-3 yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped into pieces 1/2" or smaller
1 large onion, cut into 1/2" pieces
olive oil
pure maple syrup
dash of sage
salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450. Place squash, potatoes and onion in a large bowl. Toss with olive oil, syrup, sage, salt and pepper.

2. Turn into a glass baking dish (9x13). Bake uncovered for 45 minutes or until vegetables are lightly browned and tender, stirring occasionally.

- merged recipes from Claire's Corner Copia, Better Homes and Gardens and Betty Crocker.

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This is Mary's and my favorite dish to make in the fall. Last fall we made it like 10 times. The best part was when Esther came along and was like, "yuk," and then had some and wanted seconds. It is really good served along with cranberries. YUMMM

Cuban Lentils!

At our avocado house communist dinner last night, we enjoyed this new lentil salad recipe from the Food Network.

Here's what I did, for posterity's sake:

6 c. water
1 1/2 T. salt
1 1/2 c. lentils
1 T. evoo
4 cloves garlic, cut into slivers
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. salt
1/4 c. vinegar
4 green onions, white/light green parts only, sliced thin on the diagonal
1/2 c. finely chopped red or green pepper

In a large pot, boil water and salt. Add lentils, reduce heat to low and cook 30 minutes until tender but not mushy (if you use the smaller red lentils, check them at 15 minutes because they are much more delicate).

Meanwhile, in medium skillet, heat evoo over medium low. Add garlic, cook gently about 5 minutes or until softened (not brown). Remove from heat and stir in spices, salt, vinegar. Transfer mixture to large serving bowl.

Drain lentils; transfer to bowl. Toss together with dressing until lentils are evenly coated. Cool to room temp and stir in green onions and peppers. Serve warm or cold.

I highly recommend this one! Cheap, easy, healthy, yummy.

An avocado recipe from Ang

I haven't tried this yet but it sounds so good!

Grilled Avocados

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lime juice
2 large ripe avocados, halved, seeded, and peeled
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup bottled picante sauce
1 oz Monterey Jack or farmer cheese (shredded or crumbled 1/4 cup)
Snipped fresh cilantro
Salad greens (optional)
Sour Cream (optional)

1. Stir together olive oil and lime juice. Brush avocados all over with olive oil mixture. Sprinkle cut sides of avocados with salt.
2. For a charcoal grill, grill avocado halves, cut side down, on the rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium coals for 5 minutes or until browned. Turn avocado halves, cut side up. Fill centers of avocado halves with the 1/4 cup picante sauce and shredded cheese. Cover grill and grill about 5 minutes more or until cheese begins to melt.
3. Remove avocados from grill. Sprinkle tops of avocado halves with snipped cilantro. If desired, serve on bed of salad greens with picante sauce and sour cream.