Potato craving now gone

So the question is "how do you solve a potato craving?" 
Answer: By making something that looks like this:

Poor Jeff, the look on his face when sat down to lunch with something that looked like the dog regurgitated put in of him was just too funny.  He was very sweet and actually ate the whole thing but I could see it was a struggle.

I had tried to make mashed potatoes with mashed carrots and chopped bacon.  I think the issue was that I caramelized onions and added them to the mix giving it a kinda burned smokey flavor. The texture was also quite odd and after I got the vision in my brain of what it reminded me of I felt a little put off.  Well at least Jeff will no longer be having potatoes for every meal.

Potato Hashbrowns

awww the potatoes want to go outside and play

Day two of Copper Chef America....the secret ingredient is........ still potatoes!  dummmdum dummm

Alright maybe I'm still giddy from the holiday gorging and that's why I'm talking to giant bags of potatoes now, but there they sit in mass quantity staring at me... daring me to to something with them.  Going to try something a little less cheesy and more crunchy.  We actually ate this with ketchup on the side.  What a lunch!

Potato Hashbrowns

Ingredients:

• 4 potatoes
  
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup  flour
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil, plus a little extra for the pan

1. Peel the potatoes and grate using a cheese grater on the larger side.

2. Place in bowl and mix in eggs.  Add flour, onion powder, salt, pepper, and 2 Tbsp oil and mix well.

3. Add several Tbsp of oil to a large frying pan and turn to medium/ med heat.  When pan is hot carefully scoop potato mixture in pan, flattening it out with a spatula into more of a pancake.  Cook till brown, scraping under with the spatula to loosen from the pan, for about 2 minutes each side.

Potatoes Gratin with Bacon

Have you ever woken up one morning just craving potatoes?  Not just one potato but loads, covered in cheese, all bubbly....mmmmmm.  That's not usually how each morning starts for me but that was the case yesterday.  I made the mistake of going to walmart which of course the only potatoes they had were in 10 lb bags ( I guess there was an after holiday rush) so hopefully now we have enough to satisfy this craving.  If you look closely at my recipe you will see that its just basically my Alfredo sauce with lots of cheese - its Gratin on a dime!
Now I just need to figure out what to do with the rest of the potatoes.....

Potatoes Gratin with Bacon

Ingredients:

• 6 russet potatoes
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 3 Tbsp flour
• 2 cloves grated garlic
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• pinch of nutmeg
  
• 2 cups cheddar cheese
• 4-6 pieces of cooked turkey bacon, chopped
  

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a 9x9 casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Peel potatoes and thinly slice them making sure all are same thickness (around 1/4 in).

3. Melt butter in saucepan.  Whisk in flour, salt, pepper, and garlic.  Add milk and nutmeg stirring constantly till it just starts to bubble.  Remove from heat and stir in cheese till completely melted (taste cheese mixture and add more salt & pepper if desired). Stir in bacon.

4. Make one layer of potatoes in casserole dish, pour a little of cheese mixture over top, make another layer alternating cheese and potatoes till ending with cheese mixture. (be careful not to fill to the brim as it may bubble over in your oven).

5. Cover with foil and bake for about an hour.  Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes till top is brown and bubbly.  

Roasted Root Veggies and Chocolate Truffles

Christmas Day we had our tradition of going over to the Jackson's house for feasting and visiting.  With my sister's family included there is usually close to 20 people so it makes for a really nice celebration of the holiday.  There is always tons of good food and the delicious opportunity of stuffing yourself to where you can't move....ahhhhh i love it!
I decided to bring over a batch of my homemade eggnog since it was so additively yummy.  My personal preference is the non rum version so I made it without and just let people add rum if they wanted it.  About 5 minutes after we brought out the eggnog it was gone so I am thinking that it was a success.  :)
I also brought a veggie dish and in my grand tradition of being weird I decided to make roasted root vegetables: parsnips, carrots, rutabagas, & turnips.  I saw someone cook with them on TV and it looked good so why not!   Jeff summed it up perfectly when he saw me chopping them up -  "who even uses those vegetables anymore?".  Exactly!   That's why I gave him specific instructions to not tell people what they were - these veggies have a bad rap.  (even I didn't know what a rutabaga looked like).  I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty the turnips turned out  - they were really good and had the look and texture of roasted potatoes.

Carrots,   parsnips,   turnips,   rutabagas 

The veggies were half gone before I told anyone what they were eating.  This turned out to be a good healthy recipe that was really simple - and Jeff went for seconds so cheers!

Roasted Root Veggies

Ingredients:

• Parsnips
• Carrots
• Rutabagas
  
• Turnips
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Olive Oil
  

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Peel and cut the vegetables into same size pieces. Sprinkle the salt, pepper, and garlic powder evenly over the veggies.  Drizzle olive oil over and toss to coat.

3. Pour out veggies in either a casserole dish or cookie sheet - using two if necessary to make a single layer.  Roast in oven for about 45 minutes till tender, turning them a couple of times during cooking.  Add a little more olive oil if they seem to be getting too dry.

The last thing I made came from the Food Network's Giada's Everyday Italian.  The recipe looked too good to pass up: Balsamic Chocolate Truffles.  I know, balsamic vinegar in chocolate?  But it really worked well.  This is something that you eat one of and your sweet tooth is cured for the rest of the year, very rich!

Balsamic Chocolate Truffles

Ingredients:

• 8 1/2 oz dark chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup cream
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder

1. Slowly melt chocolate and cream in a double boiler over hot but not boiling water. 

2. Place chocolate in bowl and add vinegar mixing well.  Cool in fridge for at least one hour.

3. Put cocoa in bowl (I did a chopped walnut mixture too).  Scoop out chocolate and form into little balls.  Roll chocolate in cocoa power or nuts and set in a single layer.  Place back in fridge for at least 15 minutes to set.  Store in airtight package

Merry Christmas!!!

On Christmas Eve we went over to my sister's house for dinner.  Emma received her big present from us over there too - her first big girl bike!  She was a bit wobbly and had a hard time peddling but she felt like a big kid and was really excited about it - especially with my nephews riding around on their bikes with her.  Jeff and I took turns holding onto her and helping her turn the bike, we didn't want her first experience to include a fall :)

Happy Holidays from all the Taylors - even the feathered ones!

Eggnog and Gingerbread cookies

Wow!!! We are now both in love with eggnog and neither of us were fans before.  The difference between store bought and homemade is like night and day - I almost want to call it something else it was just sooooooo good.  Worth the effort 110%!  This recipe is a merge from several recipes, I wanted to try and make it lower calorie but still be flavorful and this combo does just that! (though don't let it fool you there are still calories lurking there).

The gingerbread cookies were really good too though I had some issues transferring the cut dough to the pan.  We had a lot of armless and headless gingerbread men so the presentation was kind of morbid but they were still very tasty.

Emma helped me make the first ones and decorate them - it was really fun and very messy.  She even helped me wash some of the dishes which was again fun but messy :)

presenting the finished masterpieces

The Best Homemade Eggnog Ever

Ingredients:

• 2 cups milk
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 6 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups half & half
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup Rum (optional)

1. Combine milk, cloves, 1/4 tsp vanilla, and cinnamon in a saucepan or double boiler and heat over low heat. Slowly bring mixture to boil stirring occasionally (really important you do not heat too fast!  It took me like 20 minutes for this part). Remove from heat when it just starts to boil.

2. In a large bowl combine egg yolks and sugar.  Whisk together with beaters until fluffy.

3. Slowly, using a hand whisk, add the hot mixture to the egg mixture.  Pour back into saucepan and cook over medium heat stirring constantly 3 minutes until thickened.  Let cool completely to room temperature.

4. Stir in half & half, 1 tsp vanilla, nutmeg, and rum (if using).  Refrigerate at least 5 hours or overnight.

**** when you go to serve make sure you whisk it all back together as it will separate in the fridge ****

Armless Gingerbread Men

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp molasses
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 cups flour

1. Cream butter & sugar together.  Mix in egg, then add molasses beating well.

2. Beat in baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. 

3. Using either a pastry blender or fork blend in the flour.  The mixture will seem all crumbly but if you get your hands in at the end you can form it into a ball easily.

4. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease several cookie sheets.

6. For the rolling out and cutting of the gingerbread men you can either use a lightly floured work surface or use parchment paper.  The dough was really sticky so I put the dough between two pieces of parchment paper and rolled it out that way; way less messy and much easier.  Roll out to about 1/4 in thick; thinner makes crunchier cookies thicker makes softer cookies.

7. Bake for 8-12 minutes depending on thickness of cookies.  Remove from pan to a cooling rack immediately - the cookie will harden when cooled.

Crazy Week

Wow its been a busy week!  Trying to get christmas gifts finished and visiting friends ... this is the kind of busy I like!  :)

We've had a pretty boring eating week - Jeff's had a little stomach bug and I've been at the dentist getting crown work done (I can honestly say that my husband is getting me a crown for Christmas, its every girl's dream!).

For those that dont know, we love our MMORPG  (for those non serious nerds thats a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game).  The one we play celebrates the Christmas holiday in-game and tonight we will be doing all the Christmas quests (making cookies for santa, killing the grinch, rescuing Rudolph from pirates - you know, real traditional stuff).  To make it fun I plan on making homemade eggnog and gingerbread cookies for us to snack on while playing.  Last year I just bought the eggnog and the cookies I made were more like bricks so hopefully this year I can get the recipe right.  I've never made eggnog before but I remember my dad making it so I have to give it a shot.  Better brace yourself Jeff  :)

Pumpkin Muffins

I got this great recipe for pumpkin muffins from my mother-in-law Barbie when we were visiting last.  Emma fell in love with them and, as they are not loaded with sugar and pretty healthy for a muffin, I was grateful for the addition of this to the super picky eater's diet.  To give it a little extra healthy punch for her I sift in (to keep the big pieces out) some milled flax seed .... & to make it not so healthy for Jeff I add chocolate chips to his.  Yes I am the evil stepmother who doesn't let her stepdaughter know there are chocolate chip versions out there - I figured she gets enough sugar in her life & she already thinks the muffins are a treat (for breakfast this morning she ate 3 big muffins and 2 little ones .. yikes!)

The best part about this is that it freezes well and with a quick zap in the microwave for 30 seconds you have yourself a nice warm snack.  I copied Barbie's method of freezing by wrapping each one individually in clear plastic wrap. 

My friend Jen found the best combination  - pumpkin muffins and hot Chai!   Breakfast of Champions

Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 cup oil
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 large can (29 oz) pumpkin
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
  
• 4 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 6 oz chocolate chips (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Beat oil and sugar together. Add eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin and beat once more.

3. Sift in spices, baking soda & powder.  Sift in flour and mix well.  Add chocolate chips last.

4. Line a muffin pan with cupcake wrappers or use nonstick cooking spray.  Drop spoonfuls into cups and bake 15-18 minutes till a toothpick comes out clean (for medium sized muffins).

5. For a pumpkin cookie version drop spoonfuls on a grease a cookie sheet and bake 18-20 minutes.

Saving for later. .....mmmm... maybe later today

In the mood for mexican food

I had this HUGE craving for Mexican food last night.  Since I had corn, beans, salsa, cheese, & tortillas in the house I thought a nice casserole would be easy if I just bought the chicken.  Then I started thinking about the enchiladas my sister-in-law made while they were visiting last month & thought maybe I could try that too.  We ended up with 5 different (slight) variations of the same dish just to see which was better.

The first pan, the casserole, had the basic recipe below minus the sour cream, enchilada sauce, tortillas and added crushed tortilla chips to the top.  Half had rice mixed in & the other half had none.  The second pan I made 3 different enchiladas, going by memory on how Stacy made it, one with the basic recipe plus cheese, one with sour cream, and one with sour cream and rice.  And the winner was..........enchiladas with sour cream no rice!  Though all of it tasted good & was promptly finished off at lunch today.

Don't you just love the strained expression on my face holding the pans up... "take the picture now hun before I drop this on my foot".

With this recipe measuring can basically be thrown out the window, its hard to mess up.  This is a fun recipe to play around with and experiment (as evident by my crushed tortilla chips version).  Substitute turkey, ground beef, kidney beans, or whatever you have laying around.  It can also be made lower calorie by not putting in sour cream and using low fat tortillas (or just going with my plain Casserole version.

Mexican Casserole Enchiladas

Ingredients:

• oil for cooking the chicken
• 3-4 chicken breasts
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 1/2 package taco seasoning mix or a batch of the recipe on previous post
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 can sweet corn, not drained
• 3/4 cup salsa
• About 1/2 cup sour cream
  
• 1 can enchilada sauce
  
• 1-2 cups shredded mexican style cheese
• 6 large tortillas

1. In a large pan saute the chicken with 3-4 Tbsp oil on medium/ med high heat till chicken is cooked through.  Remove pan from heat and cut chicken into chunks.  Drain any liquid from pan and saute crushed garlic for 1 minute on medium heat.   Add chicken and toss with taco seasoning.  Add drained can of beans, undrained can of corn, and salsa. Cover & simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  If it looks like it is getting dry add a little water.

 

2. With a slotted spoon, scoop mixture in a separate bowl and add sour cream and cheese.  Mix thoroughly.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 9x13 inch baking pan with cooking spray.

4. Pour the enchilada sauce in a large plate.  Take one tortilla and coat both sides of it.  Scoop several spoonfuls of the chicken mixture into coated tortilla, roll tortilla up folding bottom ends under, and place in baking dish seam side down. Repeat. (if you don't have a huge mess right now you are not doing it right :)

5. Sprinkle top with lots of cheese and bake for 15 minutes until cheese is melted.

 

Craving is now satisfied :)

 

Taco Seasoning

I found a great homemade recipe for taco seasoning....for when you don't have the packet on hand or you are like me & nuts about regulating the salt in your food.  The original recipe is from here.

Yields about 1 oz or  1 packet.

Taco Seasoning:

1 Tbsp chili powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp paprika

1  1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp black pepper