Twice Baked Potatoes

We often bake too many potatoes in the hopes that my kids will actually eat them.  They hate potatoes of all forms except french fried.  So, alas, we always have leftover baked potatoes of all varieties.  I decided to try a twice-baked recipe and it turned out very nice.

1. Cut up any leftover (already baked) potatoes into small bite-sized pieces
2. Put half into a greased baking dish
3. Add any necessary salt and pepper
4. Add a few spoonfuls of sour cream on top 
5. Sprinkle with shredded cheese (I used extra sharp cheddar)
6. Add crumbled cooked bacon
7. Add remainder of potatoes
8. Top off with some more shredded cheese

Bake uncovered on 350 for 20-25 minutes.  YUM!

Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower

So this is another recipe snagged from Pinterest.  The original post was from Amateur Gourmet and you can find it HERE.  Or from the pin HERE.  I modified a bit, but really liked it.

What you need:

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Garlic

Lemon

Parmesan Cheese

1. Cut broccoli and cauliflower into large pieces.  Make sure it is dry (apparently this is important).

2. Place on cookie sheet covered with foil.  Toss broccoli and cauliflower with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Use oil generously.  (I eyeballed all of these, but original recipe said 5 tbsp oil, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper for 2 large bunches. )

3. Peel and slice garlic cloves and add on the cookie sheet as well.  I used 2-3 for my smaller portion. 

4.  Roast on 425 for 20-30 minutes.  (I was baking with something else that needed the oven at 350 so I split the difference at 375 for 30 minutes and it worked fine.)  You want it "crisp-tender and some of the florets starting to brown".

5. When it's finished, pull it out of the oven and squeeze fresh lemon juice over it.  (Also says to zest the lemon, but couldn't locate lemon zester so skipped.) 

6. Top with grated Parmesan cheese at the end.

You can also add fresh basil and pine nuts, but I skipped that as well.

Roasted Butternut Squash

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cube the squash.

Melt some butter in a bowl and add some brown sugar.

Cream together until well mixed.

Toss squash in the bowl to coat with yumminess.

Dump squash into greased dish and bake for 45 minutes to an hour.

Once tender, enjoy!

Watermelon Salad

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 cup sliced red onion, cut lengthwise
15 cups cubed watermelon
3 cups cubed English cucumber
1 (8 ounce) package feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
cracked black pepper
sea salt

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, pour lime juice over red onions. Allow to marinate while assembling the salad.
2. Gently combine the watermelon, cucumber, and cilantro in a large bowl. Season with black pepper.
3. Toss watermelon salad with marinated onions and feta cheese and season with sea salt just before serving.
   

Nutritional Information
Amount Per Serving Calories: 94 Total Fat: 3.5g Cholesterol: 13mg

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Refreshing-Watermelon-Salad/Detail.aspx?prop31=2

Oven-Baked Red Potatoes

The number of potatoes you use will solely depend upon how many people you are feeding. I have seen this done in a 9x13 dish and in an 8x8 for a smaller serving.

Red Potatoes
Dry Packet of French Onion or Onion Soup
1/4 Olive Oil

Rinse potatoes and boil for 15-20 minutes. While boiling, prepare the "topping". Mix 1/4 cup olive oil and 1 packet of dried french onion soup in a gallon-size ziploc bag. Cool potatoes for a few minutes and cut into bite-size pieces. Put potatoes into the bag, seal the bag and mix into the seasoning.

Bake in greased dish on 350-375 (depending on your oven) for about an hour or until the potatoes are cooked through.

Thanks Betsy!

Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs

So many people have trouble with this one that I just had to share the "recipe" I use. Andy has a cookbook called "Dad's Own Cook Book". I highly recommend it. Search for it on Amazon.

Place cold eggs in a saucepan or pot and cover with cold water. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 12 minutes. Plunge the eggs immediately into cold water to stop the cooking process and to make them easy to peel.

I even put the eggs immediately under a cold faucet and add ice over them. Perfect eggs every time!

Baked Beans

4 cans baked beans
½ cup brown sugar
2 tbsp. ketchup
1 tbsp. mustard
Bacon

Mix ingredients in a greased dish and cover with bacon. Bake on 350 for 1 hour.

Potato Casserole

2 lbs. frozen hashbrowns
¾ cup melted margarine or butter
½ cup chopped onion
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup
1 pint sour cream
2 cups grated mild cheddar cheese
2 cups bread crumbs

Defrost potatoes. In large bowl, combine the potatoes, ½ cup melted margarine, salt, pepper, onions, soup, sour cream, and cheese. Place in greased 9x13 pan. Mix bread crumbs with 3 tbsp. melted butter. Sprinkle over mixture. Bake uncovered at 350 for one hour.

Thanks Julie!!!

Seasoned Roasted Vegetables

Zucchini
Squash
Mushrooms
Onion
Carrots
Spray oil
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp poultry seasoning

Wash and cut vegetables into bite-sized pieces. Put vegetables on a pizza stone or in a greased pan. Spray with butter or oil. Mix spices and sprinkle over vegetables. Bake on 425 for 25 minutes.

Marshmallow Salad

1 bag miniature marshmallows
1 jar maraschino cherry halves
1 - 15 oz can of pineapple chunks
2 - 11 oz cans of mandarin oranges
1 - 16 oz container of sour cream (I use Breakstone’s reduced fat)

Drain all of the fruit. Combine all ingredients into a large bowl until the fruit and marshmallows are evenly coated with sour cream. Refrigerate a few hours before serving. You can also add a can of fruit cocktail or coconut.

Pasta Salad

One box tricolor pasta
One cucumber
One container grape or cherry tomatoes
One family size bottle of Kraft Fat Free Zesty Italian Dressing
McCormick’s Salad Supreme seasoning – this is in the spice aisle

Cook the pasta. Cut cumber and tomatoes into bite-size pieces. Toss together while adding ¾ of the bottle of salad dressing. Sprinkle with salad supreme spice and toss again. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour to allow dressing to soak in – you can refrigerate overnight. Immediately before serving toss again with the ¼ of salad dressing that is remaining.

You can also add onions, black olives, mozzarella cheese, etc. depending on your preference. Salad supreme spice can be left out if you can’t find it.

Salsa

I've gotten a ton of salsa recipes this summer. Here is what I've been using from all the recipes:

1 can black beans (washed and drained)
1 can corn (washed and drained)
2 avocados (bite size pieces)
Onions- white, green, red or combo
Tomato (I use 3-4 Roma)
Chopped cilantro (optional)
Can also add a dash of cumin, salt, or garlic powder

1 lime - squeeze all the juice over the salsa at the end and stir!!! Very yummy with the hint of lime tortilla chips.

Big thanks to Betsy and Victoria!

Superfood’s Sweet Potato Oven Fries for Two

Ingredients:
Enough sprigs of fresh rosemary to cover a baking sheet (optional)
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
2 small/medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed and blotted dry

The spices can be doubled to 1 tsp for larger serving of 3-4 potatoes or halved for 1 potato. Spice can be mixed ahead of time and kept in pantry in sealed container.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a large baking sheet with olive oil spray.

2. Spread rosemary sprigs on the baking sheet in a single layer, making sure that the entire surface is covered.

3. In a small bowl, mix together the chili powder, cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper.

4. Cut ends off of the potatoes. Leave skin on. Cut potatoes into ½ inch thick circles.

5. Lay the potatoes on the rosemary sprigs in a single layer and sprinkle generously with the seasoning mixture. Spray generously with olive oil spray.

6. Bake for 20 minutes, remove from the oven, and spray again with olive oil spray.I don't always use the rosemary and I often just bake them on our pizza stone. I only put salt/pepper on a couple of them for the kids because they are SPICY.

7. Return to oven for about 25 minutes, or until the fries are golden and puffed. Brush off the rosemary sprigs and serve warm. (Dipping in ketchup is good also!)

I often skip the rosemary if I don't have any on hand and just bake them on our pizza stone.  I also leave a few "naked" for the kids...because these can be SPICY!