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kosher salt

Pinned It, Did It! Hasselback Potatoes

May 15, 2014 by Dana

Hasselback3

I saw these potatoes on Pinterest and immediately showed my husband. Of course they looked delicious, but were they everything Pinterest cracked them up to be? The vote is in…. drumroll please…. YES! They were absolutely awesome for so many delicious reasons!

How I Did It


First, I should say I used red potatoes. I saw a variety of potatoes being used but my husband grocery shops and he picked red potatoes so red potatoes it was!

Second, I used butter instead of olive oil. Sometimes I do toss potatoes in olive oil before baking but I wanted to put slices of butter between the potatoes because it looked cool! I didn’t put butter between every slice, I onlyput 3 really thin pieces in each potato.If you want to do this make sure your butter is cold or it might not work out so well.

Third, I saw a few different spice mixes but I went with good ol’ fashioned kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper.

Fourth, I baked them in a cast iron skillet and this was the  key to getting this really amazing, crispy bottom that made them some of the best potatoes I’ve had. I wouldn’t even consider making them without the cast iron skillet!

Cutting the Potatoes

To get your slices spread apart like an accordion for a nice, crispy finished product you need to slice ALMOST the whole way through. If you don’t go far enough your potatoes wont spread apart, but if you go too far you’ll slice through the potato. So you see, it is kind of an art that takes practice. My slices weren’t as thin as I could get them, so next time I’ll keep that in mind. I also accidentally sliced through one or two potatoes but it was no big deal, I just stood the slices up next to the others and it was fine. I realized toward the end that if I angled my knife I had a better idea of when to stop cutting. Overall, there were a few imperfections but they were still amazing and will be our new go-to potatoes!

 

 

Filed Under: Recipes, Sides Tagged With: butter, hasselback, kosher salt, pepper, potatoes

Roasted Poblano and Cheddar Mac

May 13, 2014 by Dana

poblanomac

My husband brought home a poblano pepper that I didn’t use in chili, so I challenged myself to coming up with a new recipe to use the pepper in. My kids request mac n cheese every time I ask them what they want for dinner, so I combined the two and it turned out to be a great twist on mac n cheese. It was really delicious with just a hint of spice. This side could easily be turned into a main dish by adding some extra veggies and seasoned black beans. If you are tired of the same old mac n cheese, I would highly recommend trying this recipe!


Filed Under: Recipes, Sides Tagged With: adobo seasoning, cheddar cheese, chili powder, kosher salt, onion, poblano pepper, whole wheat pasta

Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup

May 5, 2014 by Dana

chickensoup8 We invited some of our friends from church over so I decided to make a nice big pot of chicken noodle soup. I love this soup and make it often. I always think I will make extra and we will have a lot leftover to eat throughout the week but somehow it always disappears quickly! One thing I do not use in a soup like this is boxed chicken stock or bullion cubes. Although these products can make a soup taste good, they all contain MSG or some form of it (yeast extract, autolyzed yeast). I have not found a boxed product that does not contain these ingredients. Even stocks that are labeled as containing “No MSG” still contain the yeast extract and autolyzed yeast. I would stay away from these products especially because these companies are being deceitful about what is in their products, which is not the type of company I want to support. Not only is MSG linked to obesity, depression, eye damage, and fatigue, it also over-excites your brain cells and tells you that you want more.

This recipe does take some time to make, but 95% of that time is spent just simmering to create a tasty broth. I can put this on the stove and do a number of things before I go back to the soup for the next step. It is a great soup to make on a weekend when you cleaning the house or playing with the kiddos. I also use half regular potatoes, half sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes give the broth a hint of sweetness that sets this soup apart from any other chicken noodle soup you have had!


chickensoup6

 

Filed Under: Entrees, Recipes Tagged With: 100% whole wheat egg noodles, chicken, garlic, kosher salt, onions, potatoes, soup, sweet potatoes

Meatless Monday Eggplant Rollups

April 29, 2014 by Dana

eggplant10 Eggplant is an awesome substitution for pasta because you can season it however you like and give your meal 10 times the flavor.  It also contains a lot of naturally occurring vitamins and minerals (vitamins C, K, and B6, phosphorus, copper, thiamin, niacin, magnesium, and pantothenic acid), as opposed to the enriched nutrients in refined grain pastas. Our bodies do not process enriched nutrients as easily as we process natural nutrients so it is always better to rely on natural sources of these nutrients. If you have never tried substituting eggplant for pasta and are thinking it might not be appealing, I can assure you it is very similar to the texture of pasta when it is sliced thin and cooked. My husband was quite surprised how much he liked these even better then traditional pasta the first time I made them. These rollups are similar to manicotti as they have ricotta cheese inside them and a red sauce on top. If you like these you can experiment with eggplant in other ways such as using it as layers in lasagna. In my opinion eggplant is highly under-rated!

eggplantrollup2


I did use a store bought red sauce for this recipe. Here are a few things to keep in mind when choosing a store bought pasta sauce:

  • Look for one with little to no added sugars (I have found a sauce with no added sugars)
  • If you see soybean oil in it, put it down and don’t purchase that brand again!
  • Check the sodium content…. companies are notorious for putting massive amounts of unnecessary salt in their tomato sauces. The one I used had around 300 mg per 1/2 cup which is in the middle of the spectrum. I have seen some sauces have as much as 700 mg per 1/2 cup! Yikes!

Fun Fact: Eggplant is actually a FRUIT!

eggplantrolluptutorial

 

 

 

Filed Under: Entrees, Recipes Tagged With: eggplant, garlic pepper grinder, garlic powder, kosher salt, onion salt, parmesan cheese, whole milk ricotta cheese, whole wheat white flour

Stuffed Pepper Skillet

April 25, 2014 by Dana


peppers6 Making an entire meal in one pan has one huge benefit…. less dishes! Any dinner with easy clean up is on the top of my “to make” list and this Stuffed Pepper Skillet did not disappoint. My father-in-law picked up some beautiful peppers for us at the Gratz auction and when I was thinking about what to make for dinner stuffed peppers seemed like the obvious choice. The last time I made stuffed peppers I noticed that both my husband and I didn’t finish our entire pepper because there is too much bulk at the bottom with no stuffing. I hate to see food go to waste so I decided this time around I’d go the skillet meal route.  I can confidently say we will be sticking to the skillet version because it was so much more delicious! In this recipe I do use a strained tomato product in a glass jar. I am very untrusting of canned foods with the whole leaching aspect,  so when I found these tomatoes at the grocery store I was happy to have an alternative to canned. They also do not contain any added salt which I appreciate because then I can control the sodium content of my meals. Here is a link to the tomatoes. I also bake off two bone in chicken breasts at the beginning of each week to use in meals and in place of lunchmeat for my 1st grader’s lunch. For this reason I did not include cooking the chicken in the directions, however I simply season them with salt, pepper, and olive oil and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. When they cool I pull the meat from the bones and store in the refrigerator until I need the chicken. It is so simple and saves me time throughout the week. If you want to use boneless chicken breasts, you can cut them into small chunks and sauté with the diced peppers and garlic. Alternatively, a half pound of ground beef or a can of black beans would be great in this recipe as well. stuffed pepper skillet

Filed Under: Entrees, Recipes Tagged With: adobo seasoning, chili powder, cumin, garlic, green peppers, kosher salt, sharp cheddar cheese, shredded chicken, stuffed peppers, tomatoes

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I'm Dana! Foodie + Photographer. Momma of 5. Baby lover. Coffee addict. Cooking through the chaos one recipe at a time! I've built this food blog out of a desire to create and share. My time spend around the table with my family and friends means the world to me. My hope is that you get to feel that too!

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Foodie + Photographer. Momma of 5. I've built this food blog out of a desire to create and share. I feel most alive when I'm talking with family and friends around the table. My hope is that you get to feel that too!

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