Sweet Potato Hash

Made myself this delish, filling, healthy hash by dicing up 1/2 of a big sweet potato and some onion, sautéed in a fry pan until the potato is done (I added a little water and covered it for a few minutes, then remove the cover and cook until the potato is softened but not mushy), mixed in a handful of precooked turkey sausage crumbles, then made a hole in the middle of the hash and cracked an egg into the opening. Cover until the egg is cooked to the doneness you prefer (I like the whites completely set and the yolk runny) and serve with a bit of chopped avocado on top. 

 

Taco Pie

True story - I flew home last month for a very short visit and my sis was nice enough to invite me over for dinner since I didn't have any food in the house. Thoughtful, right? I asked if she needed anything since I have to drive by the grocery store on my way to her house... and she basically said she needed everything for dinner and had to work late so wouldn't be home in time to make it - you can see where this is going right? Inser eye roll.  I stopped and bought all the ingredients, and then made dinner at her house... so much for my one chance of having her make me dinner!! LOL ;)

I kept it simple and made Taco Pie. Usually we make this in a round dish so it's like a pie but I wasn't sure how many people were eating it so I doubled the ingredients and made it in a 13x9 dish.

You can totally adjust this to your liking - I browned 2 pounds of ground beef (if you buy leaner meat you won't have so much grease to drain off, I usually get the lowest fat one) and a chopped onion together in a frying pan until the meat was cooked thru (I don't like big chunks of ground meat so I really break it up while it's cooking).

In a bowl combine 2 cans of refried beans with a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes with chilies (or just regular diced tomatoes) and a small can of chopped jalapeños. You can add a little chili powder or taco seasoning if you want. Mix in the cooked burger and onion mixture.

Spread a little of the meat mixture in the bottom of the dish. Top with flour tortillas, it's ok to overlap them. Spread 1/3 of the meat mixture over the tortillas and sprinkle with a handful of shredded cheese. Add another layer of tortillas and repeat twice ending with cheese on the very top. Bake for 30 minutes at 350' until hot and cheese is melted. I like to serve with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and sour cream but you do whatever you like!

You're welcome sissy :)

Goat Cheese Mousse...by Janis

I'm not sure what inspired Janis to try this recipe - I would have looked at the ingredients and said never mind - but we are SO lucky and thankful that she did! This was devoured so fast I literally grabbed the last cracker on the plate and elbowed my way in to get a taste before it was gone. Get past the ingredients and try this - you will not regret it.

Note: Janis changed the presentation from what the directions say - she flipped the bowl over to un-mold and served it over a layer of fig jam. Pretty and delish!


 Ingredients:

• 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
• 3/4 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup quark* (if not available, substitute 4 ounces ricotta cheese blended with 1 tablespoon sour cream)
• 2 ounces soft goat cheese
• 3 tablespoons fresh chives
• salt to taste
• freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• sweet pepper or cranberry chutney
• crackers or toasted french baguette

makes about 4 cups

Directions:

1. Sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan; let stand 1 minute. Cooke 2 minutes over low heat, stirring until gelatin dissolves.
2. Whisk together gelatin mixture, yogurt, quark and goat cheese in a large bowl. Stir in the chives. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Beat cream in a separate chilled bowl until soft peaks form. Fold gently into cheese mixture. Cover and chill 3 hours. Serve with the chutney, crackers or toasted baguette. 

*quark is a soft white cheese that comes in a container like sour cream or yogurt - see Janis's picture of the ingredients to get an idea of what to look for. 

She got the recipe from a cookbook by Linda Steidel. I don't know which one but you can google Linda and see her many books!

Hasselback Butternut Squash

Oops I did it again. Told you I'd share a butternut recipe after I posted the butternut bunny, and then forgot. Oh well, better late than never and all that. 

This hasselback squash recipe is so good, impressive, not hard, and different. What's not to like about that (unless you don't like butternut squash!)?

To make the slits in the squash you want to slice them pretty deep but not all the way thru - one trick to doing this is to lay a wooden spoon on either side of the (peeled and seeded) squash, then when you make the slits the spoon stops your knife from going all the way thru. 

Rub the squash with olive oil and bake, cut side down, for 30 minutes at 375'.

Mix together some panko breadcrumbs, grated parmesan cheese, thyme, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper with a little bit of olive oil. I didn't measure but I'd guess 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, 2 big tablespoons parmesan, 1 teaspoon thyme, a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste, and 2 teaspoons of olive oil. You might need to make more of this mixture - I just winged it. Open the slices a bit to sort of fan them out, then press the breadcrumb mixture on top and in between the slices. Bake for another 20-30 minutes until the squash is tender when you pierce it with a fork, and the topping is golden and crunchy.

Click here for an equally good recipe for Hasselback Potatoes. 

Chicken with Apples

My friend Erica gave me the idea for this recipe and it sounded so good I had to try it. Please excuse the photo from after baking it, I left it in the oven too long and it turned out not so pretty - but it tastes great, I promise!!! Just the top got too brown, it was still very juicy and flavorful. Adding onions, butternut or acorn squash, or potatoes would also be great - it would also be good served with rice or rice pilaf. 

Spray a big casserole dish with non-stick spray. Add chopped apples and boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I cut them into large pieces) to the dish and season with salt and pepper. Pour a cup of chicken stock over top and bake at 350' until it's cooked thru; I baked it for 50 minutes but it (obviously) didn't need that long. 

Tuna Orzo Salad

Made this salad for lunch using leftover orzo, a can of drained oil-packed tuna (I learned from Al that using oil-packed tuna in pasta dishes tastes so much better than water-packed tuna!), a can of rinsed and drained garbanzo beans, thawed frozen peas, a handful of shredded italian cheese (the only kind I had on hand), then tossed it all with plain greek yogurt, a tablespoon of dijon mustard, some greek seasoning (I know, I'm really making this quite the international dish LOL), salt and pepper. It sounds weird - a little italian, a little greek...but it turned out really good!

Spiced Chickpeas

I've posted about roasting *garbanzo beans before - they make a great crunchy snack, side dish, or salad addition and I eat them ALL the time...this last batch I made a little different by tossing them with a little cumin, chili powder, cayenne, and coarse salt so they are a bit spicy (add more seasoning to make them spicier if you like that!) and quite addictive. Have you tried roasting them yet? So good!

Click here to see how to roast them, and then play with different seasonings and spices to change them up!


*I knew I posted about roasting chickpeas before but couldn't find the post when I searched the blog - until I realized I posted them as "garbanzo beans". Did you know they are the same thing? I don't know why they have two completely different names (other than to confuse me and make finding my posts difficult!)...

Beet Chips

Do you like beets? I think beets are one of those love or hate 'em veggies. I'm in the love category. I saw a recipe for beet chips and wanted to try them - the original recipe used red beets but with all the slicing and potential chances to stain everything in my kitchen I went with golden beets instead just in case...super easy and quick, and since I love beets I think they're yummy. 

You do need to eat them right away, they got soggy after sitting out for a little while. There was a yogurt turmeric sauce recipe posted with these but I didn't make that part. Click here for the original source and the dip if you want it. 

Line a large microwave-safe plate with paper towels. Working in batches, spread beet slices on towel-lined plate; microwave at high for 3 minutes or until crisp.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

LeDonna sent me this recipe that she got from a "nice lady in town" who shared the cake with them and it's so fantastic that L asked her for the recipe and if it was ok to share!  Thanks LeDonna (and nice lady in town)! 

What's even better is that she made the cake and sent me pics, instead of my making it (and then eating it all!)...double thanks! She made this a little different from the recipe by baking it in a 13x9 cake pan instead of in a bundt pan, and instead of frosting it she just sprinkled it with powder sugar - said it's very moist and tastes great. This is definitely one I'm going to try - one way to get your veggies ;)

• chocolate cake mix
• 4 eggs
• 1 t. cinnamon
• 1/2 C.  oil
• 1 t. vanilla
• 2 C. unpeeled, grated zucchini
• 1/2 C. chopped dates
• 1/2 C. chopped nuts

Grease and flour 10" tube/bundt pan. Bake 350' for 40-50 mins. Remove from pan after 15-20 minutes. Cool and sprinkle with confectioners sugar or frost with favorite frosting. 

Brownie Cups

Made these brownies for a dish-to-pass party that Dave was going to - he was driving his Vespa tho so didn't have room for a big pan of brownies (plus good luck him remembering to bring the pan back haha!) and if I cut them into squares and put on a paper plate I worried they'd get all messed up in the "trunk" of the Vespa... so I baked them in individual cups which made transporting them really easy for him. Unless I'm trying a new recipe I usually just make a boxed brownie mix and doctor it with a big handful of mini chocolate chips, then fill the cups about 1/2 full.

 I got this idea from Brooke a couple years ago when she did them this way for a dessert assortment tray, click here for that post; baking them in cupcake liners gives you the perfect brownie (in my opinion!), firmer around the edges and soft in the center.