March 14, 2009

You probably know that it's almost St Patrick's Day, but did you know that it's also Potato Ho Down time too?  I bet you didn't!

I was thinking about the two events, and two words came to mind:  green potatoes!  That's right, you heard me correctly…green potatoes.  And no green food coloring is involved; just good edible ingredients.

I browsed my cookbook collection for an idea, and thumbed through “Savoring the Day: Recipes and Remedies to Enhance your Natural Rhythms” by Judith Benn Hurley.   It's mostly vegetarian, and a little bit hippy-dippy, but it' a pretty good cookbook, although it's out of print now.  I found one of her lunch recipes called Dilled Potato Pie, which is supposed to be calming.  I figured we could all use more calm, and the recipe fit my criteria of green and potatoes so away I went.  I made a few changes and here's what I came up with.  My entry in this month's Potato Ho Down is Madame Potato Ho Wolfie Lee's Dilled Potato Pie!

Green Potatoes with Pesto

Madame Potato Ho Wolfie Lee's Dilled Potato Pie
(adapted from “Savoring the Day” by Judith Benn Hurley)

2 pounds red potatoes, peeled and sliced
1/2 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, pressed
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided usage
1/4 cup milk
1-1/2 cups watercress leaves, chopped
1/4 cup fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh dill, minced
2 tablespoons fresh chives, snipped
3 eggs, lightly beaten
6 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the sliced potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water.  Add a big dash of salt, and boil until completely tender, about 15 minutes, depending on how thick the slices are.  While the potatoes are cooking, saute the onion and pressed garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil until translucent.

When the potatoes are tender, drain them and add them to a large bowl.  Mash them with the milk and 2 tablespoons olive oil.  Add the cooked onions and garlic, watercress, parsley, dill, chives, eggs, parmesan, salt and pepper. Mix until well combined.

Spray a pie dish with non-stick spray, and spoon the potato mixture evenly into the dish, smoothing the top.  Bake until hot throughout and beginning to brown, about 40-45 minutes.   Serve hot with pesto or a pat of butter.

Green Potatoes with Butter

I have to say I was skeptical about this recipe…I was afraid it would be too bland, or just look too “Kermit-the-Frog-in-a-blender”.  Sorry for that visual, Kermie fans.  I'm a fairly adventurous cook though, so I plowed through and resisted the temptation to substitute spinach for the watercress.  The only time I've ever had watercress was raw in the vegetarian chef salad at Cafe Express; I've never had it cooked or even bought it fresh.  I was very pleasantly surprised though.  I didn't get a watercress flavor at all.  All of the flavors blended together very harmoniously, but mildly.

The pie was really delicious!  I liked it with a pat of real butter on top (you are dealing with mashed potatoes, after all), but it was equally good with a drizzle of pesto over it or sitting in a pool of pesto with more parmesan sprinkled around.  I think this recipe could be modified to accommodate any flavors you like: different cheeses, adding hot sauce, or substituting other herbs.  You could also play with adding other vegetables to the potatoes, including spinach, broccoli, asparagus, corn, whatever you like!  But do try the watercress!  And do remember it for your St Patrick's Day menu if you need an unusual side dish.

Green Potatoes: Over the Top!

See the complete collection of March's Potato Ho Down dishes hosted by Evil Chef Mom on March 18th.  For more info on the monthly Potato Ho event, get the scoop at Noble Pig.  And don't be afraid of eating green potatoes!

~BigSis

March 13, 2009

I wanted to be sure to get this post up today in case anyone is having their St. Patrick's Day celebration on Saturday. If you are hosting a party or just having a couple of friends over, these Reuben Sandwiches are easy and they're a real crowd pleaser.

I mentioned the recipe for these sandwiches a couple of days ago in my St. Patrick's Day Party Ideas post.  These are a little different since you bake them in the oven for a few minutes and serve them open faced.  If cut into smaller pieces, they made for excellent party appetizers.

I really love that you can put these together before the party. Whenever you're ready to serve, you just pop them in the oven for five minutes to melt the cheese.

In hindsight, I wish that I hadn't used Reduced Fat Swiss for this recipe. Full fat cheese probably would have gotten more browned and bubbly. I was trying to cut back a little bit on the fat considering the fat content in the mayo and the corned beef.

I've been thinking about these sandwiches so much that I decided not to wait until St. Patrick's Day to serve them. We're having them for dinner tonight!

~LilSis

March 12, 2009

Lean Mean Green Cuisine!

I really do eat this way.  While it's true that LilSis and I are 1/8th Irish, I'm not having this green cuisine in honor of St. Patrick's Day. This is how a too-tired-to-cook vegetarian can eat, and still get some nutrition.  I put this dinner together on the fly and then realized it was all green so I had to get a photo of it since March 17th is right around the corner!  It's not a prize-winning photo, but you get the idea.

I'm obsessed with asparagus right now, it's like vegetable crack to me.  I can't get enough of it.  Same with hummus.  This version of my Healthy Hummus has a small handful of fresh chives thrown in.  I also have some delicious green beans that SisMama made, without bacon or ham, thank you very much!  Add a green salad, and my lean mean green cuisine is complete (OK, it's just lettuce, but it's all I had and I put dressing on it, so TA DA, it's now salad).  St. Patrick's Day or not, it was a scrumptious meal!  It's funny how your palate can change.  The longer I eat clean, the more I crave pure unprocessed good foods that are fuel for the bod.  Now, if I could just lose my craving for Kettle Chips!

Happy Patrick's Day everyone!  And don't forget to eat your green stuff!

~BigSis

March 7, 2009

It's Girl Scout cookie season! But, where are all the Girl Scouts? I haven't seen any outside my local grocery store where they normally camp out nor have I had one come door to door.  So, these Samoa-inspired coconut treats from Food Network will have to tide me over until I can get my hands on some Girl Scout Samoa cookies. You can find the recipe for the Samoa Tartlets here.

Bo is in town visiting from Chicago and we were looking for a sweet treat to make. She actually suggested the Samoa Tartlets from the latest issue of Food Network Magazine. She had already made this recipe and gave them rave reviews. (I think hers turned out better than mine.)

Okay, you all know that I am not a baker. I'm really trying though! Just don't compare my photo too closely with the photo in the Food Network Magazine!  I wouldn't say that the cookies were burnt, but they are definitely darker than the ones in the magazine. I purposely set my timer for 18 minutes instead of 20 minutes and they still came out a bit overdone.

We did make one change in the recipe that made the cookies even better, I think.  I found the Edy's Girl Scouts Samoas ice cream, so I had to buy that instead of the plain coconut. It's REALLY GOOD!

If you like the Girl Scout Samoas, you've gotta try these. They're quick and easy. Enjoy!

~LilSis

March 3, 2009

Hot off the Skillet!

I absolutely love breakfast!  During the week, we all have pretty quick breakfasts, but on the weekend, I like to make something a little more special. A great omelet is probably one of my favorite breakfasts.

On Sunday, I decided to make a Frittata, an Italian omelet, for a change. I really wanted to make one with asparagus, but I had spinach on hand, so I used that instead. I started with a basic Frittata recipe from Bon Appetit, but I changed it up a little to suit my taste. I really liked the addition of the Rotel diced tomatoes. And, next time, I'll add mushrooms and maybe some crispy bacon! Overall, I was pretty happy with the way this Frittata turned out.

HayHay couldn't wait for it to cool a little, so this is what it looked like after I cut a slice for him.  Ahhhh! Have I mentioned that I LOVE cheese?

And here's a perfect little slice.  I managed to get a teeny tiny piece while it was warm. I actually wanted a second little piece, but when I returned to the kitchen, the entire thing had disappeared. So, it was definitely a hit with the guys!

Spinach & Ham Frittata

3 T Olive Oil
1 garlic clove, minced
10 oz. package frozen spinach
4-5 oz. ham, diced
7 eggs
3 or 4 teaspoons Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilis, drained
ground pepper to taste
5 or 6 oz grated cheese (I used Trader Joe's Shredded Three Cheese combo of Cheddar, Monterey Jack and Mozzarella)

Heat oil in heavy medium nonstick skillet over low heat. Add minced garlic and saute about a minute or two. Mix in spinach and diced ham. Add the Rotel tomatoes and chilis on top of the spinach mixture. Whisk eggs, add ground pepper, and pour over spinach mixture. Cover skillet and cook until eggs are almost set, around 8 minutes. Preheat broiler. Sprinkle frittata with the cheese and place under broiler until cheese melts and bubbles, just about a minute or two.  Serve warm.

~LilSis

February 23, 2009

Have you seen the movie “The Bucket List” with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman? If you haven't seen it, the idea is that Jack's character has a list of things that he wants to do before he kicks the bucket. He meets up with Morgan's character, who is terminally ill, and the two of them begin to live Jack's list, one adventure at a time.

The Bucket List (2007)

I was telling my coworker, SA, the other day that I had a list of things that I wanted to learn to cook or bake well, and she said that I should call it my “Cooking Bucket List”. I love the idea of having this list that I can always add to and work through one dish at a time. These bucket lists could also inspire people to cook more often too. These days, it's become normal for people to constantly buy food when they're out and about, but it's much healthier and cheaper to cook yourself. For those wanting to learn how to cook, it might be worth visiting the Prepared Cooks blog to read some tips that might come in handy. Hopefully, that sort of blog will help people to learn the basics, ready for them to complete a cooking bucket list.

Here's my Cooking Bucket List as of today. I want to learn to make these things, and make them well before I kick the bucket.

What other color would my bucket be?

Intimidating things I've never tried to do but really want to…

• Flour tortillas
• Vegetarian tamales
• Macarons – the French kind, not the coconut macaroon we commonly think of
• Mole sauce (vegetarian version)
• Bobby Flay's Goat Cheese Enchiladas

Things I've done once or twice, but want to work on and perfect…

• Pavlova – I made Nigella Lawson's basic recipe once and loved it, but her chocolate raspberry pavlova is calling to me
• Great pie dough – starting with the foolproof pie dough recipe from Cook's Illustrated with vodka
• Biscuits – finding the ideal “go-to” recipe, although I love a good biscuit SO much, I could gain 10 pounds working on this bucket list item
• Awesome bread – I think I need to get the book “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day“
• Delicious homemade pizza with fabulously thin crust like Fratelli's (not cracker-style like Pizza Hut, although it's good)
• Vegetarian “sushi” rolls – Veganomicon is a great place to start

Failures that I resolve to conquer…

• Chocolate Silk – a multi-layered dessert that was the signature dish of a former co-worker. I made it once, and every single layer failed to set up right. I will not be defeated!

I'll be posting from time to time as I work on my Cooking Bucket List. Meanwhile, I bet some of you have Cooking Bucket Lists. What's on your list? How about you, LilSis?

~BigSis

February 16, 2009

Going out to dinner tonight? Who doesn't love Outback Steakhouse or Romano's Macaroni Grill, right? Well, unless you're a 320 pound linebacker who is trying to pack on the calories, you better beware!

One would hope that big name chain restaurants would be trying to include healthy options on their menus. BUT that is NOT the case! Unfortunately, most restaurants haven't figured out that we might go out to dinner more if we were offered more healthy choices.

I love it when Hungry Girl posts these nutritional facts on entrees from well known restaurants serving up dishes with astronomical amounts of calories and fat grams. Check out her latest Girls Bite Out post.

Romano's Macaroni Grill used to be a family favorite of ours and HayHay's choice for his family birthday dinner every year. But we stopped going there a couple of years ago. Over 2100 calories and 141 grams of fat for Parmesan Crusted Sole? Are you kidding?

The Pollo Magro Skinny Chicken is the only healthy choice on Macaroni Grill's entire menu at 320 calories and 5 grams of fat, but I can't say that I would go there to order that. You can grill a better chicken breast at home!  And, I'll make my own salmon, too, thank you very much! I ordered the Simple Salmon one time back when we were still enjoying picking up orders at the curb. When I ordered the salmon, I wasn't aware that it contained 32 grams of fat.

Oh, and the prize for the Worst Food in America goes to one of HayHay's all-time favorites, Outback Steakhouse's Aussie Cheese Fries with Ranch Dressing!

Outback Steakhouse's Aussie Cheese Fries

Did you know that one order of those yummy cheese covered fries contains 2900 calories and 182 grams of fat? WOW!

I really do enjoy going out for a nice dinner! I just wish that more restaurants would include some nutritional facts on their menus.  I have heard that Applebees offers a lighter menu, so I'm going to research that a bit. Now that I've done a post on some of the worst choices we can make when we eat out, maybe I'll do one in the near future on some better choices!

~LilSis

February 11, 2009

I think Valentines Day is actually more fun for the kids than for us adults! HayHay always loved giving the little boxes of these sweetheart conversation hearts to his friends along with their Valentine card.

It was always so much fun for the kids to address all their Valentine cards and decorate a shoebox or little brown bag to take to school to collect all their treats. I miss those days!

Even when HayHay was too young for school, our neighborhood playgroup hosted some very fun Valentines Day Parties for all the kiddos.  HayHay is too old for that now, but for those of you with the little ones, here are a few ideas.

Whether your hosting your own Valentines Day Party or taking some goodies to a  school party or a friends house, here are a few cute and easy ideas.

Check out this recipe for the Cupid Crispies from Parents.com.

These Passion Pops, also from Parents.com are easy and very cute.

My friend, J, made these adorable pretzel rods for our Race for the Cure bake sale, but they would be perfect for a Valentines Day Party. You could decorate them with more pink and red hearts and pink sprinkles.

Again, these are pretty easy! Just melt the white chocolate squares, dip the pretzel rods into the melted chocolate, and roll in various decorations. It would even be more fun to do this at the party and let the kids decorate their own.

This next photo is a great, easy way to decorate cupcakes for Valentines Day. I've hosted many Valentines parties where we let the kids decorate the cookies at the party. But, since cupcakes are the rage these days, I would do the same with the cupcakes. Just set up a big table with baked cupcakes, icings in red, pink, and white, and loads of different decorations and let the kids decorate their own. Messy? Maybe! But, lots of  fun for the kids!

And, no, there is not a recipe for the cupcakes. I was trying to keep these ideas fast and easy, so, shame on me, I would use a cake mix to make the cupcakes. I didn't feel this was the right place to post a homemade cupcake recipe from Martha. Honestly, the kids couldn't care less if you make them from a mix instead of from scratch.

And here are some very cute, very pink cupcakes for those that want to go really pink this Valentines Day. The photo is from OC Moms Blog.  Another great, fun idea for decorating cupcakes.

This last treat might be a little more time consuming than the others, but the end result looks like it will be worth it. These Chocolate-Dipped Heart Brownies from The Recipe Girl look like the perfect ending to a perfect Valentines Day Party!

I hope this might give someone an idea or two for a Valentines Day Treat for the kids! Enjoy while your little ones still celebrate Valentines Day by decorating cupcakes and exchanging little cute cards bought at the drugstore. (Those were the days!)

~LilSis

February 10, 2009

Valentine's Day is sneaking up on us just like Christmas did, and 2009 did.  It's February already?  Mid-Feb, in fact?  Oy vey, time goes by fast!

Now that I've made myself sound like a 110 year old woman – not that there's anything wrong with that – let me get on with Valentine's Day Food of Love!  If you're looking for some new ideas for your Heart Day, check out these.  They aren't your Grandma's sugar cookie cut-outs, but again, nothing wrong with that.  🙂

• Strawberry Shortcake Trifle from Bakers Banter
• Fast and Easy Valentine's Treats from Bakerella
• Heart Shaped Nutella S'Mores with Homemade Chocolate Graham Crackers from Baking And Boys
• Cherry Filled Chocolate Wafers from Little Window Shoppe
• Raspberry White Chocolate Mousse Parfaits from Peanut Butter and Julie
• Valentine Treats from Pillsbury
• Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies from BakingBites
• Chocolate Mascarpone Cheese Pie from Sticky, Gooey, Creamy,Chewy
• Valentine's Day Desserts from Joy of Baking
• Valentines Day Chocolate Desserts from Gourmet

Check back for more Valentine's Day stuff coming your way this week!

~BigSis

February 8, 2009

So is it portobello, or is it portabella?  I've always wondered that.  Anyway.  You say potaytoe, I say potahto.  It occurs to me that this Sunday Supper is a lot like my Spinach Quiche with Tomato Sauce, so the spinach with cheese and tomato must be a flavor combination that I subconsciously gravitate toward. Or maybe my body is just needing more iron, calcium and lycopene right now.  Whatever it is, these portobello mushrooms worked really well with the other flavors.

I got a big package of 4 mushroom caps from Sam's Club the other day, and they were by far the biggest ones I've ever seen.  They definitely deserved a special treatment of some kind, and since I had frozen spinach, tomato sauce ingredients, and more of the Cabot 50% Light All Natural Cheddar Cheese on hand, this is the filling I came up with on the fly. I didn't measure, and you don't have to either. Just eyeball the amounts of each component until it looks good to you. You're the one eating it, so please yourself!  By the way, if you have a grill, these would be incredible started on it instead of in the oven!

Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Portobello

Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Portobello with Tomato Sauce

4 large portobello mushroom caps
Olive oil
Salt and Shallot Pepper to taste
Frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
Cabot 50% Light Cheddar Cheese, grated
Tomato/marinara sauce – any kind, homemade or bottled

Clean the mushroom caps with a damp paper towel. Leaving the gills is fine in this recipe so don't worry about removing them. Rub or brush each cap with olive oil on all sides. Salt and pepper to taste. Place in a baking dish (13 x 9 worked for my 4 giant caps) and bake at 350 degrees for around 30 minutes or until tender, turning a couple of times.

When mushrooms are done, drain excess liquid if desired. Smear a little tomato sauce in the bottom of the dish, and place the mushrooms on the bed of sauce. Add a nice handful of spinach to each cap, then top with cheese. Spoon tomato sauce over each mushroom. Bake until hot and bubbly, around 20 minutes.

Add a nice green salad, and you have a great simple, healthful dinner for 4, or a Sunday Supper and 3 lunches for BigSis!

~BigSis