• 13Oct

    Corn Chowder Mac & Cheese

    My kids love mac and cheese, either from the box, a freezer bag or made from scratch. I found this recipe at the Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine website. (On the extremely wild outside chance the editors of the magazine find out about this post, if I don’t hide the magazine until I’ve had a chance to read it, my nine year old daughter will walk off with it and I won’t see it for months.) In an effort to cut down on the grocery bill, and to use up stuff in my freezers, I used what I had to create this variation of the recipe. The kids liked it a lot, and when I asked if I should leave the potatoes out next time, I was told it made a really nice texture combination. That surprised me, but hey, if they like it, I’ll keep ‘em in.

    For those who are looking to compare my version with the original, here are the differences: I used a red skinned yellow fleshed potato, about 6 oz. of whole wheat penne, and Bone Dust seasoning instead of Old Bay (I’m not going to spend $9 on a large container if I’m not sure I’ll ever use it again). I’ve got the cookbook Hot, Sticky and on Fire book by Ted Reader, where the Bone Dust recipe comes from. Unfortunately, it’s only available in Canada or through Amazon.ca. I got my copy as a gift several years ago, and we love many of the recipes in it.

    Anyway, my version of the recipe can be found after the jump.

    Read the rest of this entry »

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  • 23Jun

    Lisa’s German-Style Potato Salad

    Lisa’s German-Style Potato Salad

     
     

    3 lbs yellow-flesh potatoes (I prefer Klondike Rose)
    1 tbsp olive oil
    4 slices thick cut hardwood smoked bacon (not maple or maple smoked), chopped
    1 cup diced onion (or more to taste)
    1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (or to taste)
    2 tbsp Dijon mustard
    1 tsp garlic powder (or to taste)
    salt and pepper to taste

    Cut the potatoes up into bite-sized pieces and cook in salted water until tender. Drain and return to the pot. Put a dish towel over the put and then put the lid on – this will keep the potatoes warm and help dry them off a bit.

    While the potatoes are cooking, put the olive oil and bacon into a large frying pan and cook over medium to medium-high heat until the bacon is almost crispy.

    Add in the onions and stir well, then cook until the onions are soft.

    Pour the balsamic vinegar into the pan and stir quickly, scraping up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add in the mustard and whisk until everything is combined. Let it continue to cook on low heat until the potatoes are ready.

    While the potatoes (and the bacon mixture) are still warm, put the potatoes into the frying pan and stir well. Sprinkle garlic powder over the potatoes, stir, and add salt and pepper to taste.

    This potato salad is best served at room temperature, and is even better when made a day ahead. The potatoes and the bacon mixture has to be warm (or hot) when combined, otherwise it doesn’t taste right.

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  • 07May

    NRD: Jerk Chicken Drumsticks with Grilled Potatoes and Onions

    The menu for yesterday had “grilled chicken and salad” for supper. So informative and helpful, I know. The salad was easy, as I had a Caesar salad kit in the fridge (got those on sale for half price). I had several different kinds of chicken in the freezer, but I decided to go with the drumsticks. When they were thawed, I sprinkled jerk seasoning on it and let it sit at room temperature for half an hour. That acted as both a quick marinade, plus getting the meat to room temp makes it cook more evenly.

    I’ve also kind of been craving potato salad, but I was feeling too lazy to make any. I decided to grill the potatoes instead. I took the potatoes (Klondike Rose – the red skinned yellow-fleshed potatoes) and sliced them about 1/4″ thick. I tossed them in a bowl with a bit of oil, salt and pepper. Then I sliced up a Vidalia onion (those were on sale too last week) into thick rings.

    To cook, I just put everything on the grill at high to medium high heat. (This is a brand new grill, and we’re still learning its quirks.) By the time the chicken was cooked, the potatoes and onions were done.

    Everything turned out well. I won’t get that brand of jerk seasoning again, as I feel it was more hot than flavorful (and the first ingredient on the list was sugar, which I didn’t realize until I looked to see why the chicken was charring so quickly). I’m also going to put garlic powder in with the potatoes next time, and drizzle a bit of oil on the onions, as they really stuck to the grill.

    And there will be a next time for both the onions and the potatoes, and the monkeys gave them two thumbs up.

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  • 04Feb

    Sausage Potato Salad

    Looking for something a bit different, and I liked one dish meals. This is a Food Network recipe It calls for olive oil and kielbasa. I used vegetable oil (I was out of olive oil) and smoked bratwurst instead.

    Sausage Potato Salad

     

    Salad:

    1 pound red potatoes
    2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
    8 ounces kielbasa, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
    1/2 cup finely chopped celery
    1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

    Dressing:

    1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
    1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
    1 clove garlic, minced
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

    Directions

    Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the potatoes; boil about 25 minutes or until tender. Drain and let cool. Cut potatoes into quarters and place in a large bowl.

    In a large skillet, heat the 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high heat. Brown the kielbasa. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Add kielbasa to the bowl with the potatoes along with celery and green onions.

    For the dressing, in a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper. Slowly whisk in oil. Add the dressing, celery and green onions to the potato mixture and toss to combine. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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  • 08Sep

    Cheesy Sausage Hash Browns

    This is a favorite of my kids. It was my daughter’s idea to add the sausage and make it a complete meal. The original recipe is from Rachel Ray, and we changed things to make it our own.

     

    Cheesy Sausage Hash Browns

     

    1 lb bulk breakfast sausage (hot or mild, your choice – wouldn’t recommend maple)
    2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
    2 tbsp butter
    1 large onion, chopped
    5 cups shredded frozen potatoes
    salt & pepper to taste
    1 cup sharp cheddar crumbles

    1. In a large non-stick frying pan, cook the sausage meat until all the pink is gone. As it cooks, break it into small pieces. Remove sausage from the pan and set aside, keeping it warm.
    2. Add olive oil and butter to the pan. When melted, add the onion and cook over medium high heat for about 5 minutes, or until you can easily cut a piece of onion with a wooden spoon.
    3. Add shredded potato, season with salt and pepper and cook for 20 minutes, turning occasionally, until brown and crispy.
    4. Add cheese and cooked sausage, turning everything for a minute or two to let the cheese melt and get a bit crispy.
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