Roasted Potatoes

Ohmygoodness, these were yummy and so easy. I had a hankering for roasted potatoes but I had never made them. To speed up the process, I put them in the microwave for 3 minutes to partially cook them first and then it only took 20 minutes in the oven.

6 small red potatoes
1/4 white onion, frenched
3 T. evoo
3 tsp. garlic, chopped
kosher salt
coarse ground or fresh black pepper
2 tsp. italian seasoning

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Wash the potatoes thoroughly and cook in the microwave for 3 minutes. Let them cool for a few minutes (because they will be hot!). Cube into bite size pieces. On a foil-lined cookie sheet, lay potatoes and onions in a single layer. Drizzle evoo on top and make sure the potatoes are evenly coated. Add garlic, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning on top of potatoes. Roast in oven for 10-15 minutes. Stir to turn potatoes, roast an additional 10 minutes. Serve immediately!

Oktoberfest ! Ja!

It's the end of October already! Can you believe it? In honor of Oktober, I decided to cook a German meal. Because really, who doesn't love German food? If you raised your hand, then you obviously haven't German food before. In case you haven't, here's a start. I, by the way, could eat this stuff EVERYDAY. I would put sauerkraut on most things if I could. Yum!

German Quiche
*Modified from Rachel Ray



1 cup sauerkraut, squeezed dry + 2 extra handfuls
2 baking potatoes (mine weighed 1.29 pounds in case you're wondering)—peeled, grated and squeezed dry
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
3 teaspoons caraway seeds
Salt and pepper
1 c. egg substitute (or 4 lg. eggs)
1 cup heavy cream
One 9-inch frozen (deep dish!) pie shell

Preheat the oven to 375°. In a large bowl, combine the sauerkraut, potatoes, bacon and caraway seeds; season with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, beat together the eggs and cream. Stir into the potato mixture. Pour the mixture into the pie shell; place to pie shell on a cookie sheet. Bake until the filling has set and is golden around the edges. Serve warm or at room temperature.

(*Note: The original recipe said to bake for 35 minutes. I had to bake my quiche for almost 75 minutes and the potatoes were still slighty raw and the center was not completely set. Next time, I would grate the potatoes, then partially cook them in the microwave and then bake in the quiche. I also think the non-setting had something to do with using egg substitute. I'll be making this again for sure and will experiment!)



German Beer Brats

5 uncooked brats
1 medium onion
1 bottle of beer (I used Miller Lite)
1 bottle of water
red pepper
garlic
salt

Turn oven on broil. Put all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Make sure that you have enough liquid to cover the brats. Bring to a simmer, simmer for 10 minutes. Remove brats and place on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Leave onions simmering on sove top. Broil on each side until brat turns brown and crispy (I prefer mine extra crispy!). This process goes fast, so leave the door cracker and keep an eye on your brats. Brats are ready to eat as soon as they are brown enough for you! Serve with onions and a good german mustard!

*Note: You can also skip the broiling and throw the brats on the grill. However it was cold and I don't do grilling, so broiling is basically upside down grilling. =)



Glücklich Essen!

51st Anniversary Four Course Meal

My grandparents celebrated their 51st anniversary this year (yay!). Instead of the ginamorous party we threw for them last year, I decided to put my skills to use and cook them a nice dinner for the two of them. I decided to go ultra swanky and attempt a four course meal. Honestly, it was my first time to try and get the out at the right time. It was going well until dessert, that was a little late. BUT it went over well and everything turned out great. My pork turned out a little dry, so I need to remember the carry over cooking time next go around, but all in all, it was pretty great! I'll list the recipes after each picture. OH! And the theme for dinner was fruit. Each course had fruit in it and was used in different ways. For a little bit I was worried that it might have been a too sweet meal, but I think I definitely managed to balance the savory with the sweet. I wrote all these recipes down in my food book which is currently somewhere in my house. I thought since I was in the updating mood, I'd at least post the pictures.

First Course: Strawberry Cheese Ball

Okay, I cheated and bought this from HEB. But it definitely could be made at home. It tasted like strawberry cream cheese and cheddar cheese mixed rolled in pecans and cinnamon sugar. Very good. This worked out perfect because it tasted like fruit AND looked like fruit.


Second Course: Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese, Figs and Apple Vinagrette

Specific recipe to follow once I find my book.


Third Course: Apple Stuffed Pork Chops with Cheddar Potatoes and Honey Kissed Carrots



Specific recipe to follow once I find my book.




Fourth Course: Fluffy Panckes with Bananas and Butterscotch Sauce

Specific recipe to follow once I find my book.

Sweet Potato Chips

So tonight I had a hankering for chili dog and fries. Yum. But I'm trying to eat healthy, so lucky me, I had turkey dogs and turkey chili and whole wheat buns lying around. But alas, I knew fries couldn't be good. Well, I remembered I bought a swanky little apple peeler, corer, slicer at Target a few month ago. So I thought I'd make spiral cut sweet potato chips (only after realizing my bag of potatoes were missing, where they went, I have no idea!). The result of my swanky peeler/corer/slicer was not too keen. The ultra-thin ribbon chips I had hoped for were more thick and chunky. But ALAS! I also have a mandoline that I drug out. Sliced my sweet potato on the thinnest slice possible, covered a cookie sheet with foil, arrange the sliced chips in a single layer on the cookie sheet, sprayed with cookie spray and put in the oven at 450 for 8 minutes. I flipped, sprayed with oil again, then added salt, fresh cracker pepper, and cayenne (It's not THAT hot, and gives a little surprise to the sweetness). Baked again for 8 minutes. Unfortunately that last 8 minutes was a little too long. Some of the chips ended up a little burned.

*Second attempt: I sliced the long thick ribbon into single "O's" if you will. Baked them about 400 degrees for 8 mins on one side, flipped, oiled and seasoned, 8 mins again. THEN I cranked up the heat to 450 and baked for 5 more minutes. Not crispy but definitely good!!! I think lower heat first is the key. I'll definitely have to revisit this idea. After all, I have 4 more sweet potatoes in my pantry still!!!