Pioneer Woman's Skillet Potatoes

When I make sausages or burgers, I always crave a hearty potato dish like fries or skillet potatoes to go along with it. I found these Googling a recipe for skillet potatoes to go with the brats that we brought back from Michigan. They are fantastic for dinner topped with lots of Frank's Red Hot or your favorite hot sauce, but they would also be great with breakfast. A cast iron skillet is perfect for this recipe. I picked one up at my local Marshall's for $14.99. Lodge is a great brand. Click here to see Pioneer Woman's recipe.

potatoes (I love redskins or Yukon Gold for this recipe)

olive oil spray

a pat of butter or 1 Tbsp. bacon grease (if you're cooking breakfast this is most convenient)

onion, chopped

bell pepper, chopped (optional)

black pepper

seasoning blend with salt (I used Penzey's Cajun seasoning)

1. Boil potatoes until fork tender, about 20 minutes.

2. Heat a large cast iron skillet and add olive oil spray. Melt a small pat of butter or bacon grease in the pan. Add the onion and bell pepper saute until soft. NOTE: At this point, you can remove the onions and add them back in when the potatoes start to brown. I like them as PW says, "nice and burn-y" so I leave them.

3. Remove the potatoes from the pan using tongs and place them on a cutting board. Cut them into bitesized pieces. Add them to the skillet. Sprinkle with seasoning and pepper. Spread them around and toss gently to coat them with seasoning.

4. Spread the potatoes evenly over the skillet and using a turner, lightly pack them and press them to the skillet. At this point, I cook them about 5 minutes.

5. Turn them over and pack and press them again. Cook them for about 5 more minutes.

Just before the first 5 minutes is a good time to start cooking your brats or burgers. Flip the burgers with the potatoes. This time I cooked everything in one big skillet.

Southwestern Chicken Skillet

During the year and half that I was planning my wedding, I was religiously on The Knot message boards in both Chicago and Detroit getting ideas for planning my wedding. During this time is when my food blog was born. One "Knottie" created a food blog, and many more followed suit. I have many of these women's blogs in my blog list and I refer to them when I'm looking for an inexpensive, easy weeknight meal. Most of them offer great home cooked meal ideas. To me, most of them offer the kind of basic, but super delicious meals that everyone's mothers cooked us growing up. This meal to me, is one of those. I got this idea from Amy Horgan's blog, The Horgan's Cooking Blog and Patrick and I both really loved it! It makes a quick and delicious weeknight meal.

2 tsp. olive oil

2 chicken breasts, cut into chunks

Your favorite Mexican spices, such as a fajita or taco seasoning or a blend of chili powder, cumin, etc. (I have used Penzey's Northwoods Seasoning for this before and it was awesome!)

1 cup uncooked white or brown rice (I used instant brown rice)

1 (10 oz) can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chiles (I used Safeway's version, which is the same)

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1 cup water

3 green onions, thinly sliced

1 cup cheddar cheese ( I used 2% milk sharp cheddar)

Toppings of your choice, such as: sour cream, black olives, more chopped green onions, hot sauce, salsa, etc.

1. Season chicken with seasonings and toss to coat. Heat oil in a large, nonstick skillet and add the chicken. Cook until just cooked through.

2. Add the rice and next 4 ingredients. Bring to a boil.

3. Simmer for 20 minutes until rice is tender. Top with cheddar cheese and remove from heat. Let stand 2 minutes or until cheese has melted. Serve with toppings and enjoy!

Serves 4.

Giada's Fried Smashed Potatoes

I bought redskins to make alongside salmon and asparagas for dinner and that afternoon watching the Food Network, Giada made these potatoes and I decided to make them for dinner that night! They were excellent and Patrick and I both loved them! Here is the link to Giada's recipe. There's also a video, which may help! http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/fried-smashed-potatoes-with-lemons-recipe/index.html

2 pounds baby redskins or fingerling potatoes (here is used baby redskins)

2 Tbsp. olive oil (plus more if needed)

3 cloves garlic, peeled and cracked

Dressing:

3 Tbsp. olive oil

3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh italian parsely

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme (I used dill because it was what I had)

2 lemons, zested

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

1. Put potatoes in a stockpot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Drain the potatoes and let sit for about 5 minutes. Using the palm of your hand, gently press to lightly "smash" the potatoes. Try not to let them fall apart, but if they do that's ok.

2. In a large non-stick skillet, heat 2 Tbsp. oil. Add the garlic cloves and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove the garlic cloves and discard. Add the potatoes and cook without stirring until brown, about 5 minutes. Turn and brown the other side.

3. To make the dressing, combine all ingredients in a small bowl and combine.

4. Add the dressing to the potatoes and toss or serve the dressing at the table for people to top at will.

Serves 4.

Spaghetti Carbonara

This recipe is an old favorite of my family's. It's easy, it's a comfort, and it's simple to adjust the amounts for dinner alone or with friends.

1 lb. spaghetti

1/2 lb. bacon

1 stick of butter

2 Tbsp. dry white wine (this can be left out)

1/2 c. parmesan

1/3 c. milk

2 eggs

fresh ground pepper to taste

1. Cook pasta and brown bacon.

2. Melt butter in a pan and add wine.

3. Beat together eggs and add milk.

4. Drain pasta and add butter mixture. Toss.

5. Add egg and milk mixture. Toss.
6. Add parmesan and toss. Serve topped with bacon and pepper

Serves 8.

Antipasto Salad-Lightened Up!

I have always loved an antipasto salad, typically as an appetizer before pizza. In the summer when I have more time to chop and plan good lunches, I love trying new versions of salads. For the first week of summer vacation, I decided this would be great on the menu! Feel free to add or subtract toppings as you like.


1/2 romaine heart
Handful of spring mix or other lettuce blend (I used Fresh Express Rocket Zest)
4 grape tomatoes, halved
1 mini orange sweet pepper, cut into rings
2-3 pepperocinis, cut into rings
5 pitted Kalamata olives, halved
1/4 c. garbanzo beans, drained
1 artichoke heart, quartered
2 slices of Polish ham (I used Krakus)
1 slice of light swiss cheese (I used Jarlesberg Lite)
2 Tbsp. your favorite dressing

1. Chop the romaine and add the lettuce blend. Blend the two together. Add the next 9 ingredients.
2. Layer the swiss cheese between the two slices of ham and roll the 3 slices up. Slice to create pinwheels and arrange on top of the salad. Add your favorite dressing and serve!

Serves 1 for lunch
5 WW Points+ (without dressing)
My salad was 9 Points+ with 2 Tbsp. of Garlic Expressions Salad Dressing

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

This recipe is a comfort from growing up. My Mom would always use the leftover ham to make it. I had never made it myself until now, and I forgot just how delicious it was! There is no science to this recipe, just eyeball the amounts of potatoes and ham to feed the number of people you need to.

leftover sliced ham
potatoes, peeled and sliced
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
2 c. milk
salt
pepper

1. Melt butter in a saucepan and add flour, stirring with a whisk. Add milk and continue to whisk until the mixture thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste.
2. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and add a bit of sauce to the dish, just enough to cover the bottom. Make a layer of potatoes, then a layer of ham and continue to alternate (I made 2 layers of each).
3. Pour the remaining sauce over the top of the layered potatoes and ham. Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

I got this recipe from my "How to Cook Everything" cookbook by Mark Bittman. He proclaims it as a mac and cheese for the grownups because it's not extra creamy and cheesy as most kids prefer. I agree that it is more sophisticated, with it's sharp flavor and little bit of a crunch from the breadcrumbs. We have eaten it as a side and a main dish. Either way, it's amazing!
2 1/2 cups milk (low fat or non fat is fine)

2 bay leaves

1 lb. your favorite pasta shape

4 Tbsp. butter

3 Tbsp. flour

1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese

1/2 c. Parmesan

salt and freshly groud pepper

1/4 c. bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 400. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

2. Once the water is boiling, add the pasta and begin to cook. Cook the milk with the bay leavesin a small saucepan over medium-low heat. When small bubbles appear along the sides, about 5 minutes later, turn off heat and let stand.

3. When the pasta is to the point where it feels like it could go another minute or two, remove from heat, drain, and add back to the pan. In a small saucepan, over medium-hi heat, melt 3 Tbsp. of the butter. When it's foamy, add the flour and cook, stirring constantly until the mixture starts to brown. Remove the bay leaf from the milk and add slowly little by little, about 1/4 c. at a time. Whisk with a wire whisk constantly until the mixture starts to thicken. Add the Cheddar and stir to combine.

4. Pour the sauce over the noodles. Add the parmesan, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Melt the remaining Tbsp. of butter and add to the breadcrubs. Stir to combine.

5. Add the pasta to a baking dish and top with the breadcrumbs. Bake 15 minutes. I like to put the dish under the broiler very briefly at the end as well to brown the breadcrumbs. It should only take less than a minute.

Serves 4-6