Crispy Garlic Sage Potatoes

I needed something new to do with potatoes, so I searched on Food Network’s site and found this recipe. This recipe is simple, but beware, it takes a while! Although, I didn’t cook my potatoes the full hour and 15 minutes. After about an hour, mine were brown enough! These were really good! I could barely taste the sage, but I guess they added a little something. We ate all of these!

rating: 9

Crispy Garlic Sage Potatoes
(www.foodnetwork.com)

Ingredients:

4 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
1/2 cup olive oil
6 sage leaves, chopped
2 sprigs sage
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper
8 garlic cloves, smashed

Directions:

Put a baking sheet on the bottom oven rack and preheat to 375 degrees F. Peel potatoes and cut into wedges. Toss with olive oil, chopped sage leaves, 2 sprigs sage, salt and pepper. Spread on the hot baking sheet and roast 30 minutes. Stir, then add garlic cloves; continue roasting until golden, about 30 minutes. Increase the temperature to 400 degrees F and cook until crisp, 15 more minutes. Season with salt.

 

 

 

 

Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes

This is what I chose to serve with the Tofu Piccata. These were really easy to make and I thought they were really good! The directions don’t say anything about peeling them and dicing them up, but that’s what I did. Using a hand mixer really make them creamy (and so does that sour cream!). I think this will be my go-to recipe for mashed potatoes now. Oh, except for those Ina Garten potatoes! PS: Sorry about the fuzzy pic. Good thing we got a new camera that I can start using (yes, it’s the camera’s fault).

rating: 9

Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes
(www.tastykitchen.com)

serves 6
prep time: 15 min.
cook time: 25 min.

Ingredients:
3 pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes
½ cups Milk
1 stick Butter
½ cups Sour Cream, More To Taste
Salt And Pepper, to taste
½ teaspoons Garlic Powder
Directions:

Place potatoes in a large pot with enough water to come up 2 inches over the top of the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, until fork tender. Drain the potatoes, put them into a bowl or back into the pot and mash them. Mix in the milk using a potato masher or an electric mixer, until fluffy. Slice the butter and add to the mixture; mix well. Stir in the sour cream and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

 

Provolone Ziti Bake

I wasn’t sure how this recipe would turn out. Something about uncooked pasta frightens me. I never have good luck with cooking pasta any other way but the normal way, so I was anxious to see how this turned out. And…it was really good! The pasta was cooked perfectly, and the sauce actually had flavor! I was afraid it would be bland, but it wasn’t. Next time I might add another couple of slices of cheese, because if you got a little bit of cheese on your fork, then it was really good!

rating: 8.9

Provolone Ziti Bake
(www.tasteofhome.com)

makes 8 servings
prep: 20 min.
bake: 65 min.
Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (28 ounces each) Italian crushed tomatoes
1-1/2 cups water
1/2 cup dry red wine or reduced-sodium chicken broth (I used red wine)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 package (16 ounces) ziti or small tube pasta
8 slices provolone cheese
Directions:
In a Dutch oven, saute onion in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the tomatoes, water, wine, sugar and basil. Bring to a boil; remove from the heat. Stir in ziti.
Transfer to a 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Cover and bake at 350° for 1 hour. Top with cheese. Bake, uncovered, 4-6 minutes longer or until ziti is tender and cheese is melted.

1-1/2 cups equals 381 calories

 

Today is my birthday, so I am not cooking! We are going out for Japanese food tonight! Yay!

 

PS: And here’s what I had to eat! I had a house salad with sesame dressing, avocado rolls (which I ate before I could take a pic!), Pad See Ew Jae with tofu, and for dessert, Mango and Sticky Rice! As you can imagine, I was quite stuffed! Yay, Happy birthday to me!

 

Pumpkin Pie Spice

A month or so ago I made a recipe (maybe pumpkin muffins?) that called for pumpkin pie spice. For some reason, I didn’t have any in my pantry! What up with that?? So, instead of running out to the grocery store, I looked online and found that you can make your own pumpkin pie spice! So easy, and good to know! Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, and wishing you safe travels and delicious food this holiday week! xoxoxo

Pumpkin Pie Spice
(www.allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons ground cinnamon
4 teaspoons ground nutmeg
4 teaspoons ground ginger
3 teaspoons ground allspice
Directions:

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Store in air tight container.

 

Mexican Beans and Rice

I have been planning to make this recipe for several weeks and then plans changed at the last minute. I finally got around to making it last night, and…it was awful. To start with, I had problems with the rice. I cooked the amount it called for to equal 2 cups cooked rice, but that is NOT what I ended up with. I had maybe 1 cup rice, which is really not enough. So this dish ended up being more beans and veggies than rice. I really let the celery, onion, and green pepper cook down a LONG time, because I didn’t want any crunch from the celery (I can’t stand celery, especially crunchy celery). I mean, it cooked for at least 25 minutes. My end result was a bland, flavorless pot of blech. I served Toby his with his bottle of hot sauce, because I knew he would really need it this time. Thank goodness for the toppings (sour cream, shredded cheese, and green onions) or there would have been no taste at all. Skip this one.

rating: 3

Mexican Beans and Rice
(Taste of Home Healthy Cooking, Aug./Sept. 2011)

prep/total time: 30 min.

Ingredients:

2 celery ribs, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups cooked brown rice
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (I used vegetarian Worcestershire sauce)
1-1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
2 green onions, chopped

Directions:

In a large nonstick skillet, saute the celery, green pepper and onion in oil until tender.
Stir in the tomatoes, beans, rice, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 7-9 minutes or until heated through. Top with cheese, sour cream and green onions. Yield: 4 servings.

1.5 cups= 354 calories

 

Goat Cheese Tortelloni with Roasted Butternut Squash

Here’s another recipe from Wegmans Menu magazine. It calls for ingredients (mostly their own brand) that can all be found in their stores. Well, sort of. They did not have any Butternut Squash soup made the day I went shopping, so I bought a different brand off the shelf. They didn’t have any pre-cut butternut squash, so I had to cut mine myself. That’s hard! I would gladly pay for someone else to do that. Their basting oil is just oil with some herbs thrown in. This was good but nothing special. The cut up butternut squash that I roasted in the oven was heaven. The other stuff was kind of bland.

rating: 7.5

Goat Cheese Tortelloni with Roasted Butternut Squash
(Wegmans Menu magazine)

1 pkg (20 oz) Food You Feel Good About Butternut Squash, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
2 Tbsp thinly sliced Food You Feel Good About Sage, divided
1 Tbsp Wegmans Basting Oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp Wegmans Unsalted Butter, chopped
3 cups Food You Feel Good About Butternut Squash Soup
2 pkgs (9 oz each) Italian Classics Goat Cheese Tortelloni (Dairy Dept), cooked 4 min, drained

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Toss squash, 1 Tbsp sage, oil, salt, pepper, and butter in mixing bowl.

Spread mixture in even layer on baking sheet. Roast 15-18 min until golden-brown.

Add squash, soup, and remaining Tbsp sage to skillet on MEDIUM; bring to a simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add pasta; cook 1 min.

Nutrition Info: Each serving (2 cups) contains 610 calories, 94 g carbohydrate, (8 g fiber), 19 g protein, 18 g fat, (9 g saturated fat), 55 mg cholesterol, and 560 mg sodium.
Calories: 610

 

Huevos Rancheros with Queso Fresco

If you need to make something on the fly for dinner, this is your dish! You can make this one in under 15 minutes. I read reviews of this recipe online first, and a lot of people said that if you can’t find queso fresco, use goat cheese. So that’s what I did! I decided to warm up the beans on the stove instead of the microwave, and that was a bad idea. They totally stuck to the bottom of the pan. So, next time I will follow directions! Also, next time I will use 2 cans of beans instead of 1. I felt like I was really scrimping on the beans. I served these with some avocado on the side, and some chips and salsa.

rating: 9.1
Huevos Rancheros with Queso Fresco
(Cooking Light)

YIELD: 4 servings (serving size: 1 topped tortilla)
time needed: about 10-15 minutes

Ingredients:
1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained
1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro (I omitted)
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons water
1 (16-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
Cooking spray
4 large eggs
4 (8-inch) fat-free flour tortillas
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled queso fresco cheese (I used goat cheese)

Preparation:

Combine the tomatoes and enchilada sauce in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes or until slightly thick. Remove from heat; stir in cilantro and juice. Set aside.

Place water and beans in a microwave-safe bowl, and partially mash with a fork. Cover and microwave at HIGH 2 minutes or until hot.

Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add eggs; cook 1 minute on each side or until desired degree of doneness.

Warm tortillas according to package directions. Spread about 1/3 cup beans over each tortilla; top each tortilla with 1 egg. Spoon 1/2 cup sauce around each egg; sprinkle each serving with 1/4 cup cheese.

Nutritional Information
Amount per serving
Calories: 340

 

I’m still here

But I’ve got my mother-in-law in town from Germany, so she’s doing all the cooking! I will be back next Tuesday with new recipes! Stay tuned!

 

we went to Plan B tonight

I was supposed to go to the grocery store today for this week’s meals, but this happened, and then that happened, and well, I never got to it. So tonight for dinner we had Plan B: cheese tortellini, vodka sauce, garlic bread, and a green salad. New stuff coming tomorrow!