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Category Archives: Potatoes

St. Patrick’s Day Recipes – NYT Cooking

St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner, and if you are looking for some great ideas of what to make this year or want something different beyond the usual corned beef and cabbage, New York Times Cooking has put together an excellent collection of recipes that cover everything you might need. From soda bread to side dishes to desserts and drinks, you will find it all. Check it out.

On a side note, I haven’t been around lately because I have been fighting a terrible cold for 2 weeks now. The cold has pretty much sapped all my strength and leaves me coughing quite a bit. When this has been combined with a heavy workload I have had recently, I have little time for blogging. I am hoping to kick the cold this week as it seems to be waning, and then I can get back to posting recipes. Please bear with me a little bit while I get my strength back. Thanks!

 

Source: St. Patrick’s Day Recipes – NYT Cooking

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Make an Effortless Weeknight Meal – Sheet Pan Chicken with Sweet Potatoes, Apples and Brussels Sprouts

There are stretches of time around our house where things are quiet, and I have plenty of time to plan out a menu, go shopping and make an excellent meal. Then there are the rest of the days of the week where everything gets a little hectic, and we need a meal that can get put together quickly and without much fuss. I still would rather cook something at home than turn to getting a pizza or other takeout food, so there is nothing wrong with throwing a one-pan meal in there to make things quick and painless for dinner. Times like this are when your trusty sheet pan can be the perfect vehicle for your entire meal. I make quite a few one pan or one pot meals, often in a Dutch oven or cast iron skillet, but a sheet pan is perfect for these meals too. I came across this recipe at Well Plated for chicken, sweet potatoes, apples, and Brussel sprouts that was ideal for dinner the other night and thought I would see how it went.

Sheet Pan Chicken with Sweet Potatoes, Apples, and Brussels Sprouts

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of excess fat and lightly pounded to even out thickness

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

4 cloves minced garlic

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary, divided

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided

4 cups Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved (quarter if very large), about 1 pound

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 medium red onion, cut into 3/4-inch pieces

1 medium apple, peeled, cored and cut into rough 1-inch pieces 

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Place the chicken breasts in a large, zip-top bag. Drizzle the chicken with 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil, then add the garlic, 1 tablespoon of rosemary, the cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Zip the bag tightly, then shake and rub the bag to coat the chicken in the oil and spices. Set the chicken aside while you chop the vegetables and apples, or refrigerate the chicken for up to 1 day.

Once chopped, place the Brussels sprouts, sweet potato, onion, and apple on a large, rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle the vegetables and apple with the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil, then sprinkle everything with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Toss the ingredients to evenly coat everything, then spread the vegetables and apple into an even layer on the baking sheet.

Remove the chicken from the marinade and place the pieces on top of the apple and vegetables. Place the baking sheet in the oven and roast everything until the chicken is cooked through and the internal temperature reaches 160-165 degrees, about 18  to 22 minutes. Once the chicken is cooked through, remove it to a plate to rest and cover it with foil to keep it warm. Toss the apple and vegetables on the pan, then return the pan to the oven and continue baking until the contents of the baking sheet are caramelized and tender, about 10 to 15 additional minutes. Sprinkle the vegetables and apple with the remaining 1 tablespoon of fresh rosemary. Serve everything warm with the rested chicken.

This is an excellent meal any time of the year, though it seems particularly cozy and warming in the winter months. The flavors are great with the sweet potatoes, apple and Brussels sprouts all nicely roasted together, and the chicken picks up the subtle flavor as well when it is cooked with everything like this. I made two slight changes to this recipe, cooking the sweet potatoes, Brussel sprouts and apples alone at first for about 15 minutes and then adding the chicken pieces on top of everything to cook for the final 20 minutes, so I didn’t have to take the chicken out to let it rest. I also omitted the rosemary since Michelle is not a fan of it and just stuck with salt and pepper, though there are other herbs you could use instead if you wanted some extra punch and flavor. This is the kind of meal that would work well with any chicken pieces you like (drumsticks or thighs would work too) or even use some boneless pork chops instead for something different. The whole meal takes about 35 minutes to cook so you can’t go wrong giving it a try.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by on February 16, 2017 in Cooking, Dinner, One Pot Meals, Potatoes, Poultry

 

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Recipes for Picky Eaters | Bon Appetit

We all have picky eaters in our households. For us, Sean won’t eat tomatoes, Michelle is not a big fish eater, and I don’t eat pasta and cheese ( I know, gasp!). Very often this means re-working recipes to make it fit everyone’s needs. Of course, there are some great recipes for the picky eaters in your life that mask some ingredients they may protest about but love once they eat them. I have done it myself, using some cheese in things I usually would not eat and they were quite tasty. In any case, Bon Appetit has put together 32 recipes for the picky eaters in your life to help them learn to love some great dishes. Check it out!

By the way, our kitchen is complete, and I can start cooking again. I’ll be doing a post on Wednesday about the new kitchen, and I already have some recipes that I can’t wait to post. See you then!

Source: Recipes for Picky Eaters | Bon Appetit

 

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Quick and Easy Christmas Dinner Menu Ideas and Recipes : Cooking Channel

If you are still looking for some quick and easy recipes to use for your Christmas dinner, Cooking Channel has 25 great ideas for you for side dishes, entrees, salads and more that are very easy to make and can help you round out a menu that is planned even at the last minute. Check it out!

 

Source: Quick and Easy Christmas Dinner Menu Ideas and Recipes : Cooking Channel

 

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The Food Lab: How to Roast the Best Potatoes of Your Life | Serious Eats

As easy as roasting potatoes may sound, getting the potatoes to come out just right with the perfect combination of crispy and crunchy outside with a creamy inside is not as simple as it seems. More often than not I find I struggle in getting the combination perfect and either get ptoatoes too crunchy outside and dried out inside or moist inside but not crunchy. Well Serious Eats seeks to make the process easier for you and I by showing just what you need and what you have to do to create the perfect roasted potatoes any time. Check it out!

Source: The Food Lab: How to Roast the Best Potatoes of Your Life | Serious Eats

 

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100+ Classic Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes : Food Network

Sure, the turkey is the centerpiece of your Thanksgiving meal, but the side dishes you serve can really help the dinner shine and be what people remember the most about the meal. Choosing new, interesting or classic side dishes is easy when you take a look at over 100 different side dish recipes that Food Network provides for you. Check it out!

Source: 100+ Classic Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes : Food Network

 

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Our 20 Most Popular Thanksgiving Side Dishes – Recipes from NYT Cooking

It’s that time of year again – when people begin to think about Thanksgiving and what the meal will contain. It’s never too early to start planning out your menu and the more organized you can be the smoother the days leading up to and Turkey Day will be for you. A good place to start is to consider some of the side dishes that you will want to make for the day. New York Times Cooking has put together 20 of their most popular Thanksgiving side dishes so you can see some classic recipes or give something new a try this year. Check it out!

Source: Our 20 Most Popular Thanksgiving Side Dishes – Recipes from NYT Cooking

 

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The 101 Recipes You Need to Know How to Cook | Bon Appetit

Every home cook has some basic recipes that they turn to all of the time for weeknight meals, special Sunday suppers or dinner parties. There are some classics and basic recipes that you learn along the way that you can always rely on when you want to turn out a great meal. Bon Appetit has put together 101 of the basic classic recipes, with everything from appetizers to desserts and everything in between so that you can have recipes to fall back on, learn and use when you want them. Check it out!

Source: The 101 Recipes You Need to Know How to Cook | Bon Appetit

 

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Easy From Start to Finish – Peach Glazed Pan Roasted Chicken Thighs with Potatoes and Broccoli

I find myself more and more trying to figure out ways where I can make meals that are all cooked in one pan. Not only does this make cleanup much easier for all of us after dinner so we don’t have to spend 45 minutes doing dishes (no dishwasher for us; everything is done by hand) but it also allows for dishes that provide a great melding of flavors along the way. I particularly like to do one pan meals with pork and chicken. They seem to be the best for meals of this type and are most adaptable so that you can use potatoes or rice and whatever vegetables you like the most and cook everything together. Of course, adding some great flavor to your protein helps a lot too. I had picked up some peach preserves when I last went to the farmer’s market and have been looking for a meal to use them with. The preserves tasted great on their own so I knew they would really perk up a chicken dish. Instead of going out and finding a recipe like I usually do I decided to wing this one on my own and see how it would turn out.

Peach Glazed Pan Roasted Chicken Thighs with Potatoes and Broccoli

1/2 cup peach preserves

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, trimmed

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

8 ounces fingerling potatoes, rinsed and halved

2 cups broccoli crowns

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a small saucepan set over medium-low heat, add the peach preserves, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, ginger and garlic. Whisk the mixture until it is well blended and heat at a low simmer for about 10 minutes.

In a large oven-safe skillet or roasting pan set over medium heat, add the vegetable oil and heat it until it is shimmering. Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Place the chicken thighs in the skillet, skin side down, and cook until the skin is nicely browned, about 7 to 8 minutes. Flip the chicken pieces over and heat on the second side for about 3 to 4 minutes just to lightly brown. Remove the chicken from the skillet and pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat and oil in the pan. Add the potatoes to the bottom of the pan and cook them for about 2 minutes. Add the broccoli on top of the potatoes. Nestle the chicken pieces into the broccoli and coat each piece of chicken with some of the peach glaze. Place the skillet in the oven and cook for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, coat the chicken pieces with more of the peach glaze. Return the chicken to the oven and cook until the chicken is nicely browned and cooked through and registers 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer inserted into one of the thighs and the potatoes are fork tender, about 20 to 25 minutes.

The great thing about cooking this way is that you get the great flavors from the chicken and the glaze working their way down through the broccoli and potatoes to give them a touch of the sweetness from the peaches. You also get the nice roasting of the broccoli and potatoes as well, which is my favorite way to have each. You can use your own favorite glaze for the chicken to get the flavor you want (apricot would work well here as well) or even substitute pork for the chicken. You end up with nice crispy chicken that has wonderful taste and you get the entire meal done in one dish.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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A Picture- Less Posting of Recipes – Fried Shrimp and Sweet Potato Oven Fries

After taking a nice long break for the Labor Day weekend, I am ready to get back to posting some recipes. There are times where I try out and cooked different recipes and just get caught up in the moment or daily life and forget to take pictures of whatever it is that I have made that day. This leaves me with a bunch of recipes that I do not have pictures for but that I have actually tried. I do not really like to post recipes without posting a picture that goes along with them, even though most of the pictures that I take are hardly what I would call “professional grade” and probably do not make that much of a difference. However I do like to show pictures of that people reading do know that I have actually tried out the recipe being posted so they can see what it looks like when I do it. That being said I do have some recent recipes I have tried that I either failed to take pictures of or, since I recently had to reset my iPhone, have lost pictures along the way because they were still on my phone before I could transfer them over to the computer. Two such recipes are those that I have tried from New York Times Cooking from Mark Bittman and Jonathan Reynolds. They are recipes for oven baked sweet potato fries and for a very basic fried shrimp. Both are very simple to make and allowed me to have a very quick dinner one night when we were scrambling around trying to find something to do.

Oven Sweet Potato Fries

2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the sweet potatoes into sticks  of about 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide and 3 inches long, and toss them with the olive oil.

Mix the garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper in a small bowl, and toss them with the sweet potatoes. Spread the sweet potatoes out on 2 rimmed baking sheets lines with parchment paper.

Bake the sweet potatoes until they are brown and crisp on the bottom, about 15 minutes, then flip the potatoes and cook them until the other side is crisp, about 10 minutes longer. Serve the potatoes hot.

This was a very easy recipe to follow and do and provides you with a perfect alternative to actually frying the potatoes. All they needed was that little bit of olive oil to really make them come out crisp and tasty. They were the perfect accompaniment to a fast fried shrimp recipe.

Basic Fried Shrimp

1/4 cup vegetable or peanut oil for frying

2 pounds small, large or jumbo shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails intact

1 cup milk

2 large eggs

1 cup cracker meal, breadcrumbs (fresh or store-bought) or 1 cup of crushed crackers

In a large cast iron skillet or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat until it reaches 365 degrees on an instant-read thermometer or candy thermometer inserted into the oil.

Place the shrimp in a medium bowl. Mix the milk and eggs in a glass measuring cup with a fork until they are well blended and pour the mixture over the shrimp. Toss the shrimp until they are well coated and drain the shrimp in a colander.

Roll the shrimp in the cracker meal or breadcrumbs and shake off  any excess.

Fry the shrimp in the oil until they are golden in color, turning the shrimp as necessary, about 1 to 2 minutes total. Remove the shrimp from the pan with a strainer or Chinese spider (also called a skimmer) and shake off the excess oil. Serve the shrimp with tartar sauce or cocktail sauce, if desired.

You could always spice up the shrimp a bit by adding some other spices like paprika, chili powder, Old Bay seasoning or any other spices that you might like. Mix the spices in with the breadcrumbs and they will pick up the flavor nicely. The shrimp take no time at all to cook and you may have to do them in batches if you make the full two pounds so you do not overcrowd the pan. They go very well with tartar sauce or cocktail sauce and would even be perfect to have in a po’boy sandwich or even over a salad or with a steak. I’m sorry I don’t have any pictures of them; they came out quite nicely, with a nice golden brown color and great flavor to them since I had purchased some Wild American shrimp and used them for the recipe.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

 

 

 

 
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Posted by on September 6, 2016 in Cooking, Dinner, Potatoes, Seafood

 

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