Roasted Potatoes

I have had this Cooking Light recipe in a stack of "things to try soon" for about a month now, so I decided to make these for a side for my family's Christmas dinner at my grandma's house. There are about 30 people in the family so we eat a LOT! I made a 5 lb. bag of potatoes and they were gone in under 5 minutes... guess I didn't make enough because not everyone even got some! I know I for one could not wait to eat them, because for the hour drive to Grandma's house all I could think about was how my car smelled like Chicken Shack potatoes (which are amazing, for you poor people who never lived near Detroit and experienced them first-hand)!! I made the vinaigrette in a separate container and put it on the potatoes after I reheated them, right before serving. These were really good and I am making some for tomorrow night's dinner for Kevin and I to enjoy, since we only got a taste last weekend.



New Potatoes with Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette
Source: Cooking Light, November 2008

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
7 garlic cloves, unpeeled
3 pounds small red potatoes, quartered
3 tablespoons minced chives
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard (I omitted since I cannot stand any sort of mustard flavor, and used a dash of Worcestershire sauce and an extra dash of salt and vinegar instead)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, garlic, and potatoes in a roasting pan or jelly-roll pan; toss well to coat. Bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until tender, stirring after 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes.
3. Squeeze garlic cloves to extract pulp. Discard skins. Combine garlic pulp, remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil, remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, chives, vinegar,, and mustard into a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Add potatoes to bowl; toss well to coat.

Yield: 8 servings (about 3/4 cup)

Quick Candied Yams

Since Kevin and I spent Christmas with just the two of us this year, I didn't go all out on the menu. We got some sliced ham from Heavenly Ham, and I served it with corn, peas, and these yams. (Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures, again!) It was a very nice day and it was the first time we had spent all of Christmas day together with just us. Like the title of the recipe implies, they are quick, easy, and tasty! I reduced the sugar because we don't like them to be overly sweet. I also added some cinnamon and nutmeg because I love those flavors together!

Quick Candied Yams
Adapted from the recipe on the side of the Bruce's Yams can

1 can Bruce's Yams (the medium size can)
2 TB butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup syrup from the can
Sprinkle of cinnamon to taste
Sprinkle of nutmeg to taste

Place Yams in a shallow baking dish. Combine syrup from can, sugar and butter in saucepan, stirring to boil to thicken. Pour sauce over Yams. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. Bake in 350° oven for 20 to 30 minutes, basting frequently.

Green Beans with Bacon

I made this as a side dish for our Christmas potluck with Kevin's side of the family (sorry, forgot to take a picture!). The were yummy! I used onion instead of shallots and turkey bacon instead of regular bacon because that was what I had in my fridge, and also to lighten it up a bit. It was very good and I would make the recipe again, but it is nothing too special.

Green Beans with Bacon
Source: Cooking Light

Yields 12 servings (2/3 cup)

Ingredients:
2 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed
3 bacon slices
1/2 cup chopped shallots
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:
Cook green beans in boiling water for 5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and plunge beans into ice water; drain.

Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; crumble. Add shallots to drippings in pan; sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Add beans, juice, salt, and pepper to pan; toss to combine. Cook 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring often. Remove from heat. Sprinkle bacon over bean mixture; toss.

Low Cholesterol Scalloped Potatoes

I have never made scalloped potatoes and I haven't had them in a long time, so I made this to go along with the crispy yogurt chicken. I have had this recipe saved for a while as a "healthier" recipe to try so I just went for it.



Low Cholesterol Scalloped Potatoes
Source: Spark Recipes

Ingredients:
4 cups thinly sliced potatoes
1 onion
1 tablespoon chopped parsley (optional)
3 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons low cholesterol margarine
1 1/2 cups skim milk

Directions:
1. Layer potatoes and onions in casserole, sprinkling flour between each layer.
2. Heat milk and margarine and season with salt, pepper, and parsley. Pour sauce over all layers.
3. Bake 1 hour covered at 350 F. Remove cover and bake additional 30 minutes.
Makes 6 servings.



These turned out pretty good. I overcooked them just a tad so the edges were really dark, but they were nice and moist and flavorful in the middle. I tweaked the recipe a bit since it was only the two of us- I used 1 large baking potato, 1/4 of an onion, and 1 cup of milk and 2 tablespoons of margarine for the sauce. The proportions were right on and it could have fed about 4 people as a side dish.

Veggie Pasta Salad

I love making this stuff, but I don't get a chance to very often. It is one of those things that you make for a crowd. I get carried away throwing stuff into it so it is hard for me to scale it back! It is great because you can use whatever veggies you love or whatever you have on hand. You can also adjust the seasonings to your taste. I loathe mayo so I use Italian salad dressing as the main ingredient.

Veggie Pasta Salad

3 bell peppers, assorted colors
2 small heads of broccoli
1 bunch green onions
1 bunch celery
3 carrots
1/2 - 1 cup Light Italian salad dressing
Seasoning salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Italian seasoning blend
Crushed red pepper flakes



Directions:
Cook the pasta and run it under cold water until it is chilled. Chop the veggies and toss with the pasta. Add the salad dressing and toss to coat. Season to taste.



This stuff is truly simple to make. It is best when you let it sit for a few hours or overnight before serving to let the flavors blend together. It is also fantastic as leftovers for snacks or portable lunches! I made this for a tailgate and was eating the leftovers all week, and never got sick of it.

Sweet Potato Fries

I have never made my own fries before, usually opting for the Ore Ida bagged fries for a side, so I decided to give it a go. I didn't really follow a recipe for this, but just cut up the sweet potatoes, seasoned them and threw them in the oven for about 45 minutes. I thought they tasted pretty good, but they were not very crispy at all so my fiance didn't enjoy them too much. One thing I did try was adding an egg white to the olive oil I tossed them in, because I read somewhere that this will help them crisp up more, but it didn't seem to do anything for me.

Sweet Potato Fries
2 large sweet potatoes
Seasoning Salt
Thyme
Garlic powder
1-2 Tbs. Olive Oil
1 egg white

Would I make these again? Yep! I love sweet potatoes, and like I said, they tasted great, it was just the non-crispiness of them that wasn't so awesome. I would definitely be a little less lazy and cut the fry pieces much smaller, as I think that might have had something to do with it.