I'm behind in my blogging (again) so I actually made this pizza a few weeks ago. We were nervous how it would turn out because it sounded healthy (ha!) and nobody but me really likes sweet potatoes.
I did take the crust out of the oven a couple minutes early because it was browning and I didn't want it to burn.
I also cooked the spinach (when I cooked the onions) because it had previously been frozen and I wasn't sure how it would turn out. I don't know that it matters if it's cooked or uncooked, regardless of being frozen. I will also mention that I didn't measure the sauces. I simply each one out separately on the crust until it looked good. This could've been close to a half cup but it did leave a lot of tomato sauce in the jar so be ready to have spaghetti the next night!
This pizza turned out great! Being cheeseless, I'm not sure I would eat it because I was craving pizza and trying to be healthier but I would eat it again. It's just not a good replacement for the real thing. Even David liked it. My toddler hates sweet potatoes too so she wasn't impressed, but she did like the toppings. My mom was in town and thought it was really good also!
I would definitely make it again!
Showing posts with label potato. Show all posts
Showing posts with label potato. Show all posts
Monday, July 4, 2016
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Spinach and Sweet Potato Turkey Burgers
We all know that turkey is healthier for us than ground beef. However, due to its lower fat content, it can be harder to make taste good because it has a tendency to come out dry. This is when you have to get creative. Luckily for me, someone else did all the work with coming up with this recipe for turkey burgers.
The recipe is really simple. Mix 1 1/2 cups of sweet potato puree with 1 pound ground turkey. Add in a handful of spinach (no need to precook, unless it already is precooked), garlic, and onion powder. Form patties and cook on medium-high heat, 3-4 minutes per side.
Mine came out a little crumbly and after the fact, I noticed in the comments that some people did have this problem. The solution is to either add an egg or chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes before cooking. They still tasted good crumbled. We ate them in tortilla shells instead of a bun then. I also served these with chips and salsa and I'm not entirely sure what a better side would have been. Maybe fries or potatoes of some sort? Or you could chop them up (or eat them crumbled) on top of a salad for extra veggies!
You can barely taste the sweet potato or spinach so this recipe is perfect for people who don't really like veggies. I actually used a blend of spinach, kale, and swiss chard and I don't think it altered the flavor too much (especially since you can barely taste it anyway!). I could also see adding cheese, chopped bell peppers, carrots, or seasonings (other than garlic and onion) and having them still turn out good. They seem very versatile and are easy. They're also quick! I will definitely make these again and I rate them an 8/10!
The recipe is really simple. Mix 1 1/2 cups of sweet potato puree with 1 pound ground turkey. Add in a handful of spinach (no need to precook, unless it already is precooked), garlic, and onion powder. Form patties and cook on medium-high heat, 3-4 minutes per side.
Mine came out a little crumbly and after the fact, I noticed in the comments that some people did have this problem. The solution is to either add an egg or chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes before cooking. They still tasted good crumbled. We ate them in tortilla shells instead of a bun then. I also served these with chips and salsa and I'm not entirely sure what a better side would have been. Maybe fries or potatoes of some sort? Or you could chop them up (or eat them crumbled) on top of a salad for extra veggies!
You can barely taste the sweet potato or spinach so this recipe is perfect for people who don't really like veggies. I actually used a blend of spinach, kale, and swiss chard and I don't think it altered the flavor too much (especially since you can barely taste it anyway!). I could also see adding cheese, chopped bell peppers, carrots, or seasonings (other than garlic and onion) and having them still turn out good. They seem very versatile and are easy. They're also quick! I will definitely make these again and I rate them an 8/10!
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Shepherd's Pie
So I know I titled this post shepherd's pie but in reality, this is going to be a recipe for cottage pie. However, when I'm searching through my recipes to make this one again, I will mostly likely call it a shepherd's pie. This is because it wasn't until very recently that I learned a shepherd's pie has to have lamb in it to be called that. The ground beef version that a lot of us making here in the US is really called a cottage pie.
This is the recipe I started with and I tweaked it a bit. I made this for David's birthday dinner (with a pound cake for dessert---talk about a heavy meal!) so I made it the night before and baked it day of (the original recipe says 25 minutes. I baked it for 40 minutes, probably because I didn't bring it back up to room temp before putting it in the oven).
We had a big bag of frozen mashed potatoes from Ruby's Pantry so I didn't bother making my own (and because I was trying to use up this bag, our casserole ended up more potato than anything but it turned out okay). I left out the celery and mushrooms. I used onion powder instead of onion (can you believe that I think we are out of onions??). I didn't use fat free beef broth. Instead, I used beef stock (from Ruby's again!). I also used dried spices instead of fresh. Then, I don't keep tomato paste on hand so I just used the equivalent amount of tomato sauce (mushroom flavored). We also don't have Worcestershire. I always substitute this with liquid smoke. And I didn't sprinkle it with paprika because I didn't know how the Ruby's potatoes were already seasoned.
This turned out SO good. David's family was over to celebrate and everyone gave it rave reviews! I do wish the ratio of potatoes to meat had been a little more equal but that was my doing, not the recipe's. Definitely definitely definitely going to make this again.
This is the recipe I started with and I tweaked it a bit. I made this for David's birthday dinner (with a pound cake for dessert---talk about a heavy meal!) so I made it the night before and baked it day of (the original recipe says 25 minutes. I baked it for 40 minutes, probably because I didn't bring it back up to room temp before putting it in the oven).
We had a big bag of frozen mashed potatoes from Ruby's Pantry so I didn't bother making my own (and because I was trying to use up this bag, our casserole ended up more potato than anything but it turned out okay). I left out the celery and mushrooms. I used onion powder instead of onion (can you believe that I think we are out of onions??). I didn't use fat free beef broth. Instead, I used beef stock (from Ruby's again!). I also used dried spices instead of fresh. Then, I don't keep tomato paste on hand so I just used the equivalent amount of tomato sauce (mushroom flavored). We also don't have Worcestershire. I always substitute this with liquid smoke. And I didn't sprinkle it with paprika because I didn't know how the Ruby's potatoes were already seasoned.
This turned out SO good. David's family was over to celebrate and everyone gave it rave reviews! I do wish the ratio of potatoes to meat had been a little more equal but that was my doing, not the recipe's. Definitely definitely definitely going to make this again.
Monday, January 4, 2016
Parmesan Roasted Potatoes
Before the holidays, I had to pick up my brother from college because he was going to come home with me for Christmas. It's about a 45 minute drive (each way) to his campus so given the timing of it all, I had David make dinner. To be honest, I don't even remember what the main dish was but the side dish was Parmesan roasted potatoes.
I apologize I no longer have the link to the creator of the recipe. I always try to give credit where credit is due but in this case, I can't.
Ingredients:
5-6 medium sized potatoes, skins on, diced
3-4 tablespoons oil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. The spray may seem unnecessary given that we are using the foil but some of our potatoes stuck on and nobody likes eating foil. Put the potatoes on the pan.. Coat the potatoes with oil, making sure to stir them around a little. In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Sprinkle over the potatoes, again making sure all the potatoes are seasoned. Cook for 35-45 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes so that they are evenly cooked and don’t get burned on the bottom.
This recipe was really great. My picky brother even had four helpings! We did use shredded Parmesan because that was what we had on hand but the grated stuff would work much better. A lot of potatoes didn't have any cheese at all because it mostly stuck to the pan. I will definitely be making these again!
I apologize I no longer have the link to the creator of the recipe. I always try to give credit where credit is due but in this case, I can't.
Ingredients:
5-6 medium sized potatoes, skins on, diced
3-4 tablespoons oil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. The spray may seem unnecessary given that we are using the foil but some of our potatoes stuck on and nobody likes eating foil. Put the potatoes on the pan.. Coat the potatoes with oil, making sure to stir them around a little. In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Sprinkle over the potatoes, again making sure all the potatoes are seasoned. Cook for 35-45 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes so that they are evenly cooked and don’t get burned on the bottom.
This recipe was really great. My picky brother even had four helpings! We did use shredded Parmesan because that was what we had on hand but the grated stuff would work much better. A lot of potatoes didn't have any cheese at all because it mostly stuck to the pan. I will definitely be making these again!
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Meat and Potato Casserole
I know the title of this post sounds so bland but this casserole was quite delicious! We are kind of a potato kick lately because we have over 30 pounds of potatoes to use. I know they last forever but we've also had them forever. We also love casseroles because you can fill them with whatever you want, including other vegetables lurking in your vegetable crisper.
This recipe is pretty easy to make but does require a bit of multi-tasking. We also used real potatoes (obviously) instead of frozen ones so the author recommended dicing them and soaking them in water for ten minutes first. We weren't sure the casserole would have enough liquid in it to cook the potatoes but they turned out so good! They were chewy instead of mushy. You could top this casserole with mashed potatoes or something of the like but the chewy fry-ness of this gives it a different taste. We baked it for 40 minutes because the cheese sauce was starting to burn but the potatoes were still pale.
I will admit the sour cream and onions in the ground beef makes it taste a tad like stroganoff so at first it tastes a little off with the mixed vegetables (we used green beans, corn, carrots, and broccoli). But the flavors come together and taste even better as leftovers (like most things). Next time, we will also add more cheese on top of the potatoes, probably within the last 5 minutes of cooking. 1/2 cup for a 9x13 pan really isn't that much. I'm not sure, even without the extra cheese, I would call this casserole healthy (or in the author's words, "Good for you") but it could be worse. I also wonder how this would taste with a cream of soup instead of the cheese sauce. Of course, that makes it even unhealthier but possibly tastier!
So the first night we had this, I would've rated it a 3.5 out of 5. As leftovers, I rate this a 4.5 out of 5. We will be making this again!
This recipe is pretty easy to make but does require a bit of multi-tasking. We also used real potatoes (obviously) instead of frozen ones so the author recommended dicing them and soaking them in water for ten minutes first. We weren't sure the casserole would have enough liquid in it to cook the potatoes but they turned out so good! They were chewy instead of mushy. You could top this casserole with mashed potatoes or something of the like but the chewy fry-ness of this gives it a different taste. We baked it for 40 minutes because the cheese sauce was starting to burn but the potatoes were still pale.
I will admit the sour cream and onions in the ground beef makes it taste a tad like stroganoff so at first it tastes a little off with the mixed vegetables (we used green beans, corn, carrots, and broccoli). But the flavors come together and taste even better as leftovers (like most things). Next time, we will also add more cheese on top of the potatoes, probably within the last 5 minutes of cooking. 1/2 cup for a 9x13 pan really isn't that much. I'm not sure, even without the extra cheese, I would call this casserole healthy (or in the author's words, "Good for you") but it could be worse. I also wonder how this would taste with a cream of soup instead of the cheese sauce. Of course, that makes it even unhealthier but possibly tastier!
So the first night we had this, I would've rated it a 3.5 out of 5. As leftovers, I rate this a 4.5 out of 5. We will be making this again!
Friday, January 2, 2015
Shepherd's Pie with Ham
Hey everyone. Once again, I apologize for not blogging in a while. Especially with the holidays, time just got away from me. As usual, I will try to blog more in the upcoming days but we will have to see how things go.
A while ago, David and I were looking for a new recipe that used ham and potatoes. David wanted a shepherd's pie sort of thing but I had never heard of one made with ham. I figured it was possible but you'd have to alter most of what was in it to make it taste right (in my opinion). I googled for one and found this recipe. It turned out great! David did most of the work because Baby was not cooperating and needed more attention. The only thing I would change from his recipe was the amount of black pepper he put in the potatoes. He didn't measure but it got kind of spicy. Well, I don't know if spicy is the right word but it was just too much pepper.
As we normally do, we made a couple changes to the recipe. First, we didn't put the cream cheese in the mashed potatoes. We didn't have any on hand and we don't really like the texture it gives them. Second, we used water instead of broth as a time saver (we don't buy broth. We sometimes have bouillon but then you have to boil water and stuff). Third, we used cream of chicken instead of cream of celery. In our small town, I don't think the grocery store even carries cream of celery. We have VERY limited cream ofs. I think everything else, including the directions, remained the same.
This recipe did take a while, especially because we didn't have leftover mashed potatoes so we made them from scratch. I think it was worth it but I would wonder if you could prep it ahead of time and put it in the fridge before baking. I will also mention that it tastes great leftover too!
A while ago, David and I were looking for a new recipe that used ham and potatoes. David wanted a shepherd's pie sort of thing but I had never heard of one made with ham. I figured it was possible but you'd have to alter most of what was in it to make it taste right (in my opinion). I googled for one and found this recipe. It turned out great! David did most of the work because Baby was not cooperating and needed more attention. The only thing I would change from his recipe was the amount of black pepper he put in the potatoes. He didn't measure but it got kind of spicy. Well, I don't know if spicy is the right word but it was just too much pepper.
As we normally do, we made a couple changes to the recipe. First, we didn't put the cream cheese in the mashed potatoes. We didn't have any on hand and we don't really like the texture it gives them. Second, we used water instead of broth as a time saver (we don't buy broth. We sometimes have bouillon but then you have to boil water and stuff). Third, we used cream of chicken instead of cream of celery. In our small town, I don't think the grocery store even carries cream of celery. We have VERY limited cream ofs. I think everything else, including the directions, remained the same.
This recipe did take a while, especially because we didn't have leftover mashed potatoes so we made them from scratch. I think it was worth it but I would wonder if you could prep it ahead of time and put it in the fridge before baking. I will also mention that it tastes great leftover too!
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Pork Chops and Donuts
Yesterday, David worked from home because I had a doctor appointment (they told me that they counted the weeks wrong and my c-section makes more sense at 41 one weeks so now it is the 22nd--less than a week!). On these days, I find it easiest to make slow cooker recipes because then I can guarantee he is home (not stuck in traffic or at work) when it's ready. I know they can stay on warm for a while but I don't like to do that, plus that means eating alone. Plus, we usually have time for a nap when he's work from home because we don't have his hour+ commute. Then when we wake up, dinner's ready. It's really quite convenient.
So I decided on pork chops and something with mushrooms. I found this recipe but I modified it a smidge and I cut it in half (since I was only making two pork chops). If you use fresh mushrooms, be sure to cut the water (or wine) in half since they will let out moisture too. I wanted to keep the sauce as a gravy so I was trying to be very careful about how thick or thin it got. I only used a half of an onion instead of a whole onion (if you were cutting the recipe in half) because that seemed like plenty of onion to me. I also added carrots and red potatoes (but next time I'll add these halfway through because they caused issues with the amount of liquid in the pot and especially the carrots, cooked really fast).
It was really good though! The pork fell apart and you didn't even need to use the side of your fork to cut it. I would definitely eat it again. Since we added so many vegetables, we have some of those leftover that tonight we will serve over quinoa (for the protein--otherwise we'd use rice).
Also last night, David had such a hankering for donuts since we had talked about picking some up after my appointment but ended up not doing so. The weather wasn't the greatest so we didn't really want to go out and buy some (plus buying donuts at night is always risky because they've been out all day. Mornings are really the best time to go). I found a recipe online that uses cake mix, since I didn't want to wait for the yeast to rise in the traditional recipes. Plus, we have box cake mix on hand for some reason (we don't usually). I'm not sure where the recipe people got their cake mix because they ask for 18.25oz of mix but our boxes were only 15.25. However, we decided to make it anyway and adjust from there if it was too liquidy. I'm so glad we waited because they ended up pretty thick as it was. I don't know what that extra 3 oz of mix would've done to it but I don't want to find out!
We don't have a thermometer that went high enough for the oil temp so we had to guess. At first, the oil was definitely too hot and they cooked way too quick. So we turned down the heat (more than we would've guessed was right but they started coming out better) to basically low. We didn't add the sugar at the end (mostly out of laziness I think). Of course they're deep fried so they're going to taste good but they remind me of the ones you get at Chinese buffets. They're good but not quite what I would call a donut. It seemed to get rid of the craving though so mission accomplished!
So I decided on pork chops and something with mushrooms. I found this recipe but I modified it a smidge and I cut it in half (since I was only making two pork chops). If you use fresh mushrooms, be sure to cut the water (or wine) in half since they will let out moisture too. I wanted to keep the sauce as a gravy so I was trying to be very careful about how thick or thin it got. I only used a half of an onion instead of a whole onion (if you were cutting the recipe in half) because that seemed like plenty of onion to me. I also added carrots and red potatoes (but next time I'll add these halfway through because they caused issues with the amount of liquid in the pot and especially the carrots, cooked really fast).
It was really good though! The pork fell apart and you didn't even need to use the side of your fork to cut it. I would definitely eat it again. Since we added so many vegetables, we have some of those leftover that tonight we will serve over quinoa (for the protein--otherwise we'd use rice).
Also last night, David had such a hankering for donuts since we had talked about picking some up after my appointment but ended up not doing so. The weather wasn't the greatest so we didn't really want to go out and buy some (plus buying donuts at night is always risky because they've been out all day. Mornings are really the best time to go). I found a recipe online that uses cake mix, since I didn't want to wait for the yeast to rise in the traditional recipes. Plus, we have box cake mix on hand for some reason (we don't usually). I'm not sure where the recipe people got their cake mix because they ask for 18.25oz of mix but our boxes were only 15.25. However, we decided to make it anyway and adjust from there if it was too liquidy. I'm so glad we waited because they ended up pretty thick as it was. I don't know what that extra 3 oz of mix would've done to it but I don't want to find out!
We don't have a thermometer that went high enough for the oil temp so we had to guess. At first, the oil was definitely too hot and they cooked way too quick. So we turned down the heat (more than we would've guessed was right but they started coming out better) to basically low. We didn't add the sugar at the end (mostly out of laziness I think). Of course they're deep fried so they're going to taste good but they remind me of the ones you get at Chinese buffets. They're good but not quite what I would call a donut. It seemed to get rid of the craving though so mission accomplished!
Monday, January 13, 2014
Leftover Mashed Potatoes
Also this weekend (yep, two blog posts this Monday!), we had to eat up some leftover dirty mashed potatoes. Neither David nor myself is really a fan of leftover potatoes because they always get weird when reheated. Plus, there was really only enough for one person. I decided to look up what other people do because surely we can't be the only people who hate leftover potatoes. That was when I found this recipe.
We cut it in half because we only had one cup of mashed potatoes and made a few variations. This is what we did.
1 cup cold mashed potatoes
1 egg
1/2 tsp flour
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup vegetable oil (we used a big skillet since it needed a lid and there was no way 1 tablespoon was going to be enough. We still had some sticking issues with this amount too)
1/4 cup Colby Jack cheese
We mixed it all in a bowl (minus the oil) until smooth (I thought our potatoes were lumpy enough that this wasn't going to be possible but David got it down to a really nice consistency). Heat your oil over medium-high heat. Then you squish the mixture into a pancake shape in your pan. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. You will have to scrape the pancake off a little bit since you don't turn down your heat or flip the pancake but that's okay. It makes a really nice, crispy bottom. I will warn you that the moisture created by leaving the lid on the pan will make your oil sizzle and jump (but with your cover on, it's not a problem).
This tasted MUCH better than leftover potatoes but I still felt it was missing something. The garlic and cheese definitely helped and I wouldn't call it bland. It was also buttery because our potatoes were (one person had commented that if your potatoes are bland, your pancake will come out bland). David thought it was great and we both agreed we'd eat it again as is so it's a keeper!
We cut it in half because we only had one cup of mashed potatoes and made a few variations. This is what we did.
1 cup cold mashed potatoes
1 egg
1/2 tsp flour
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup vegetable oil (we used a big skillet since it needed a lid and there was no way 1 tablespoon was going to be enough. We still had some sticking issues with this amount too)
1/4 cup Colby Jack cheese
We mixed it all in a bowl (minus the oil) until smooth (I thought our potatoes were lumpy enough that this wasn't going to be possible but David got it down to a really nice consistency). Heat your oil over medium-high heat. Then you squish the mixture into a pancake shape in your pan. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. You will have to scrape the pancake off a little bit since you don't turn down your heat or flip the pancake but that's okay. It makes a really nice, crispy bottom. I will warn you that the moisture created by leaving the lid on the pan will make your oil sizzle and jump (but with your cover on, it's not a problem).
This tasted MUCH better than leftover potatoes but I still felt it was missing something. The garlic and cheese definitely helped and I wouldn't call it bland. It was also buttery because our potatoes were (one person had commented that if your potatoes are bland, your pancake will come out bland). David thought it was great and we both agreed we'd eat it again as is so it's a keeper!
Friday, January 10, 2014
Sloppy Joe Tater Tot Casserole and Cleaning the Chest Freezer
Last night, I was in the mood for tater tot casserole. I knew this would use up some things in our freezer (veggies, meat, tots,...) and we had planned on reorganizing our freezers so the less we had to deal with, the better.
I have made tater tot casserole before, similar to my mom's, with cream of mushroom soup but I was unable to find that recipe so I googled around for it. Instead, I found this recipe and boy am I glad I did! This recipe was so unbelievably good!! As with most recipes, we did modify it just a touch. We used frozen vegetables (we freeze peppers and onions when they're on sale, the corn was half a bag of frozen corn, and we added half a bag of frozen peas and carrots) and left out the chives but everything else was the same (that's probably the least we've modified a recipe lately).
We happened to have both the bold sauce and the cream cheese, even though neither is a staple in this house. I am pretty sure you could get away with using regular sauce if you wanted and leaving out the cream cheese if you don't have it. Since we added more vegetables (the peas and carrots) than called for, we just added these when we added the corn.
I'm not sure I agree with the 6 servings. Those must be real servings, not what people eat servings. We only got 3 servings out of it but we probably could've done 4 if we had to. 6 would've been a little skimpy (but probably healthier). Since we had the starch, meat, and protein all in the casserole, we didn't serve it with anything. That's the great thing about a casserole. However, if you were trying to stretch the servings, you could serve with a side salad or something like that.
As I mentioned, we also cleaned out our freezers last night. We have a chest freezer and the freezer attached to our fridge. Both were getting messy and hard to find things and our chest freezer needed to be defrosted. We put everything from the chest freezer into a big box and put it in the garage (our garage isn't heated and with the temps being in the negatives, we weren't worried about anything thawing). Then we left the freezer open and unplugged for a few days to let everything melt (we did an initial scraping but since we weren't in a hurry to get the food back in the freezer, we thought this was easiest). Then last night, we put it all back. We have two baskets and a shelf in our freezer, with the rest being open space. We made one basket meat (minus fish since it didn't fit), one basket fruits and veggies, and the shelf is what I call "quick food" (i.e. pot pies and TV dinners). We don't have a good way to organize the rest of it because it's just a big open space so we took a box without flaps and put our pizzas in there (you can tell we eat really healthy in this house...) on their sides and then put our fish and other miscellaneous items next to the box.
We have a lot of empty space in our freezer so we also have frozen 2 liters (of water. We drank the soda, then refilled) to take up more room (to make the freezer more energy efficient) plus we give these to Cocoa on hot days during the summer to lick and lean against.
Our other freezer was much easier to organize, simply because there was less stuff. Our chest freezer has a seal on it that after you open it once, you can't open it again for like 5 minutes (sometimes it's annoying, most of the time it's great). This means everything open that would go back in the freezer (for instance, a pail of ice cream), goes in the fridge freezer since this one doesn't have that seal. We also decided to keep all our after Teeny meals in there. This freezer is also rather empty looking but there's not much we can do about it. We looked into combining that freezer into the chest freezer but that doesn't help because we can't turn the fridge freezer off and it doesn't work the other way, to have the chest freezer go into the fridge freezer because it wouldn't all fit. Guess we need to go shopping!
I have made tater tot casserole before, similar to my mom's, with cream of mushroom soup but I was unable to find that recipe so I googled around for it. Instead, I found this recipe and boy am I glad I did! This recipe was so unbelievably good!! As with most recipes, we did modify it just a touch. We used frozen vegetables (we freeze peppers and onions when they're on sale, the corn was half a bag of frozen corn, and we added half a bag of frozen peas and carrots) and left out the chives but everything else was the same (that's probably the least we've modified a recipe lately).
We happened to have both the bold sauce and the cream cheese, even though neither is a staple in this house. I am pretty sure you could get away with using regular sauce if you wanted and leaving out the cream cheese if you don't have it. Since we added more vegetables (the peas and carrots) than called for, we just added these when we added the corn.
I'm not sure I agree with the 6 servings. Those must be real servings, not what people eat servings. We only got 3 servings out of it but we probably could've done 4 if we had to. 6 would've been a little skimpy (but probably healthier). Since we had the starch, meat, and protein all in the casserole, we didn't serve it with anything. That's the great thing about a casserole. However, if you were trying to stretch the servings, you could serve with a side salad or something like that.
As I mentioned, we also cleaned out our freezers last night. We have a chest freezer and the freezer attached to our fridge. Both were getting messy and hard to find things and our chest freezer needed to be defrosted. We put everything from the chest freezer into a big box and put it in the garage (our garage isn't heated and with the temps being in the negatives, we weren't worried about anything thawing). Then we left the freezer open and unplugged for a few days to let everything melt (we did an initial scraping but since we weren't in a hurry to get the food back in the freezer, we thought this was easiest). Then last night, we put it all back. We have two baskets and a shelf in our freezer, with the rest being open space. We made one basket meat (minus fish since it didn't fit), one basket fruits and veggies, and the shelf is what I call "quick food" (i.e. pot pies and TV dinners). We don't have a good way to organize the rest of it because it's just a big open space so we took a box without flaps and put our pizzas in there (you can tell we eat really healthy in this house...) on their sides and then put our fish and other miscellaneous items next to the box.
We have a lot of empty space in our freezer so we also have frozen 2 liters (of water. We drank the soda, then refilled) to take up more room (to make the freezer more energy efficient) plus we give these to Cocoa on hot days during the summer to lick and lean against.
Our other freezer was much easier to organize, simply because there was less stuff. Our chest freezer has a seal on it that after you open it once, you can't open it again for like 5 minutes (sometimes it's annoying, most of the time it's great). This means everything open that would go back in the freezer (for instance, a pail of ice cream), goes in the fridge freezer since this one doesn't have that seal. We also decided to keep all our after Teeny meals in there. This freezer is also rather empty looking but there's not much we can do about it. We looked into combining that freezer into the chest freezer but that doesn't help because we can't turn the fridge freezer off and it doesn't work the other way, to have the chest freezer go into the fridge freezer because it wouldn't all fit. Guess we need to go shopping!
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Pulled Pork
I apologize for not posting the last couple days. We were having internet issues (and unrelatedly, extreme cold temperatures).
At the grocery store, they had pork shoulder ribs on sale and we decided to get some. No recipe in mind, I decided to try them in the slow cooker. I didn't want them barbecued since we already have a lot of barbecued meat stocked up. I decided to make what's called Korean Ribs. To me, this means putting my 4.5 pounds of ribs in the slow cooker with 1 cup water, 1 cup brown sugar, and 1 cup soy sauce (basically the whole bottle). Because my ribs were frozen, I had them on high for an hour and then turned it down to low for another 8 hours (I timed this horribly and we ended up eating dinner around 8pm instead of our usual 5pm ish), turning over partway through.
It was so worth the wait! The ribs basically shredded themselves when you tried to turn them over. They had enough flavor on their own but since we were only eating a portion's worth before freezing the rest, we didn't want to season them too much. That night, we had them with a side of asparagus and mashed potatoes (both leftover from when we made lobster tails over the weekend. This was something we also found on sale and they are SO easy to cook!) Then we froze about half of the rest in individual containers for when Teeny is here and we want quick sandwiches and the rest went in a leftover container in the fridge.
As usual, we had no recipe in mind for the leftovers but figured we should put them in something, rather than eat them all plain. I found a recipe for Brunswick Stew (which I had actually never heard of before) and very very loosely based the soup I made on that. We used our pork (probably around 2 pounds worth, maybe a little more), a big jar of tomatoes (with their juice, fresh from David's Grandma's garden), 4 red potatoes (chopped), half an onion (chopped), 3 cups water (we wanted a broth and only have bouillon cubes. I only used two cubes instead of 3), corn (half a bag, frozen), paprika (a LOT, probably around 2 tablespoons), garlic (also probably around 2 tablespoons), and....I think that's everything. I was worried it was going to taste too much like chili, especially because we have already frozen some chili and I knew we'd be freezing this but it definitely turned out with a different flavor. It was really good! We basically just threw everything in the pot and let it simmer for an hour. This would've been another good recipe for the slow cooker but we used the stove top since it was already dinner time when we started (lately we've been having dinner later and later...)
So there you have it! Two amazing recipes to use both frozen pork ribs and leftover pork. Both gave us enough leftovers that now I am feeling more confident in the amount of meals we have frozen for when Teeny comes.
At the grocery store, they had pork shoulder ribs on sale and we decided to get some. No recipe in mind, I decided to try them in the slow cooker. I didn't want them barbecued since we already have a lot of barbecued meat stocked up. I decided to make what's called Korean Ribs. To me, this means putting my 4.5 pounds of ribs in the slow cooker with 1 cup water, 1 cup brown sugar, and 1 cup soy sauce (basically the whole bottle). Because my ribs were frozen, I had them on high for an hour and then turned it down to low for another 8 hours (I timed this horribly and we ended up eating dinner around 8pm instead of our usual 5pm ish), turning over partway through.
It was so worth the wait! The ribs basically shredded themselves when you tried to turn them over. They had enough flavor on their own but since we were only eating a portion's worth before freezing the rest, we didn't want to season them too much. That night, we had them with a side of asparagus and mashed potatoes (both leftover from when we made lobster tails over the weekend. This was something we also found on sale and they are SO easy to cook!) Then we froze about half of the rest in individual containers for when Teeny is here and we want quick sandwiches and the rest went in a leftover container in the fridge.
As usual, we had no recipe in mind for the leftovers but figured we should put them in something, rather than eat them all plain. I found a recipe for Brunswick Stew (which I had actually never heard of before) and very very loosely based the soup I made on that. We used our pork (probably around 2 pounds worth, maybe a little more), a big jar of tomatoes (with their juice, fresh from David's Grandma's garden), 4 red potatoes (chopped), half an onion (chopped), 3 cups water (we wanted a broth and only have bouillon cubes. I only used two cubes instead of 3), corn (half a bag, frozen), paprika (a LOT, probably around 2 tablespoons), garlic (also probably around 2 tablespoons), and....I think that's everything. I was worried it was going to taste too much like chili, especially because we have already frozen some chili and I knew we'd be freezing this but it definitely turned out with a different flavor. It was really good! We basically just threw everything in the pot and let it simmer for an hour. This would've been another good recipe for the slow cooker but we used the stove top since it was already dinner time when we started (lately we've been having dinner later and later...)
So there you have it! Two amazing recipes to use both frozen pork ribs and leftover pork. Both gave us enough leftovers that now I am feeling more confident in the amount of meals we have frozen for when Teeny comes.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Stove Top Potatoes
We were given a lot of red potatoes from David's grandma and we are always looking for new recipes since dirty mashed potatoes are kind of our go to. With red potatoes, I feel like you can't do as many things but the only thing I can really think of is baked potatoes. So yesterday was one of those days were I was searching for a new recipe. Potatoes can take a while to bake in the oven so I wanted something faster. Then I found this recipe. They are so good!
We didn't measure our spices, although they were probably close amounts to what the recipe called for. We also left out the onion powder since we only have minced onion for some reason. The potatoes never did get brown but we also had the problem with them sticking to the pan, even in one of our non-stick pans with butter. I think this would've made them taste even better if we didn't have that trouble. They also took longer to get soft than the 6-8 minutes. I think it was closer to 15.
Also, I'm not sure if it's because they stuck or just because potatoes can be bland by themselves but I might add more seasonings next time to account for the fact that the middle of the potatoes don't have much flavor. We cut our pieces super small (smaller than bite size actually) and still had this problem so we'll adjust for next time.
This was a very easy, quick recipe that I would rate 4 stars out of 5 but if they browned, it might get the full 5. We served them with fish but they reminded me a lot of breakfast potatoes so you could also easily serve them with eggs. Actually, potatoes go with any main dish so it's really up to you what you want to serve them with but I would definitely be interested in trying them with breakfast.
We didn't measure our spices, although they were probably close amounts to what the recipe called for. We also left out the onion powder since we only have minced onion for some reason. The potatoes never did get brown but we also had the problem with them sticking to the pan, even in one of our non-stick pans with butter. I think this would've made them taste even better if we didn't have that trouble. They also took longer to get soft than the 6-8 minutes. I think it was closer to 15.
Also, I'm not sure if it's because they stuck or just because potatoes can be bland by themselves but I might add more seasonings next time to account for the fact that the middle of the potatoes don't have much flavor. We cut our pieces super small (smaller than bite size actually) and still had this problem so we'll adjust for next time.
This was a very easy, quick recipe that I would rate 4 stars out of 5 but if they browned, it might get the full 5. We served them with fish but they reminded me a lot of breakfast potatoes so you could also easily serve them with eggs. Actually, potatoes go with any main dish so it's really up to you what you want to serve them with but I would definitely be interested in trying them with breakfast.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
The Mashed Potato Debate
I grew up with boxed mashed potatoes. We rarely, if ever, had the homemade kind. I still like them but I agree with my husband that the real ones taste better. However, I still like them really creamy and smooth instead of chunky and he prefers the chunks. There are many "secrets" online as to how to make the potatoes smoother and the only thing I can agree with is to use Yukon Gold potatoes instead of Russet. Too bad for me because we only have Russet in the house right now and I was planning on making mashed potatoes with dinner. Of course my husband is nice enough to eat anything I make regardless of lumps or smoothness but I wish there was a better way to get the potatoes more my way with the Russet.
It probably doesn't help that we don't have that great of a potato masher. For one thing, it's plastic. It has these little circle holes in it that the potatoes then ooze through and then we get potato worms instead of just potatoes. It drives me crazy and I don't think David has ever even noticed. They make some really nice metal ones with double the amount of those metal lines that mash to help them mash even better but I don't know if it's worth the 30 dollars when I believe ours was found at the dollar store.
I think our favorite way to eat mashed potatoes though, is to make our recipe of Mush. We named it (and came up with it) all on our own and it's called mush because that's what it looks like. You mix tvp (or ground beef or ground turkey or whatever you want for meat) into your potatoes and then you add vegetables. We usually do peas and corn but I think carrots would work out too. As a little kid, you always smush your vegetables into your mashed potatoes anyway (I think my older sister taught me that) so now, the chef does it for you! I have also thought it might be good with gravy but I've never tried it. I'm not usually a big fan of it but lately it's been sounding better and better. If you make a mushroom gravy instead of a beef one, it's just one more way to get more vegetables on your plate! Win-win!
It probably doesn't help that we don't have that great of a potato masher. For one thing, it's plastic. It has these little circle holes in it that the potatoes then ooze through and then we get potato worms instead of just potatoes. It drives me crazy and I don't think David has ever even noticed. They make some really nice metal ones with double the amount of those metal lines that mash to help them mash even better but I don't know if it's worth the 30 dollars when I believe ours was found at the dollar store.
I think our favorite way to eat mashed potatoes though, is to make our recipe of Mush. We named it (and came up with it) all on our own and it's called mush because that's what it looks like. You mix tvp (or ground beef or ground turkey or whatever you want for meat) into your potatoes and then you add vegetables. We usually do peas and corn but I think carrots would work out too. As a little kid, you always smush your vegetables into your mashed potatoes anyway (I think my older sister taught me that) so now, the chef does it for you! I have also thought it might be good with gravy but I've never tried it. I'm not usually a big fan of it but lately it's been sounding better and better. If you make a mushroom gravy instead of a beef one, it's just one more way to get more vegetables on your plate! Win-win!
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Gnocchi
Hey everyone, sorry I've been gone a couple days. We were having internet issues here. So anyway, a few nights ago I made potato gnocchi. It's two pounds of potatoes, half a cup of flour, two egg yolks, and a pinch of salt. I would give you the recipe (and you can ask for it if you want in the comments) but it didn't turn out how I expected. I've never had gnocchi before (and even have trouble pronouncing it right) but I was told to serve it with pasta sauce. It tasted like mashed potatoes with tomato sauce. It was good but...not really what I was looking for. There is a chance I had too much potato and had the flour ratio wrong then because then measure the potatoes in pounds and I don't have a food scale. But is it supposed to taste like that? Any opinions or suggestions for me? Thanks!
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