FBF: Purple Mashed Potatoes

FLASH-BACK FRIDAY

PURPLE MASHED POTATOES

click on image to see full post from 7/26/2012

Pork Chops & Potatoes in Mushroom Sauce

PORK CHOPS & POTATOES 

in MUSHROOM SAUCE

1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
6 medium red potatoes, sliced
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
6 boneless pork loin chops

• In a 5-qt slow-cooker, combine the first 7 ingredients. 
• Stir in potatoes and onion. 
• Top with pork chops. 
• Cover and cook on low for 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 hours or until meat is tender.

Curried Chicken & Veggie Stew [Crock-Pot]

CURRIED CHICKEN and

VEGETABLES STEW

1 (16 oz) package of frozen stew vegetables [I just used about 6 carrots, 1/2 onion and a few potatoes]
4 large chicken thighs, skinned [I also used boneless]
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 (10.5 oz) cream of chicken soup
2 tsp curry powder
1 Tblsp cilantro

• Place [frozen] stew vegetables in a 3-1/2 or 4-qt slow cooker. Top with chicken. Sprinkle with pepper. 
• In a small bowl, stir together soup and curry powder. Pour soup mixture over all in cooker.
• Cover and cook on low-heat for 6 to 7 hours or on high-heat for 3 to 3-1/2 hours. 
• Remove and discard the chicken bones and, if desired, break meat into large pieces. 
• Sprinkle each serving with cilantro.

recipe from Better Homes and Gardens "Diabetic Slow Cooker" Fall/Winter 2012 edition

Crock-Pot Potato Medley

CROCK-POT POTATO MEDLEY

1 pound of mixed potatoes, (such as red potatoes, golden potatoes and purple potatoes, and the combination is usually called a "medley")
2 tblsp butter, plus 1 tblsp
2 tblsp olive oil
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary

• Wash and slice potatoes in half or into similar sized pieces. Toss in olive oil, thyme and rosemary.
• Melt butter and pour into bottom of crock-pot. Add potatoes on top. Dice the 1 tablespoon into small pieces and place over potatoes.
• Turn crock-pot on low and cook 4 to 4-1/2 hours or until fork tender. Turn to warm until ready to serve

Purple Mashed Potatoes

I saw these in our commissary and I grabbed them because I've never seen them before and I love experimenting with new foods! Turns out, they are quite popular, and quite loved! I kept hearing they are great when roasted, so I didn't listen and made them into mashed potatoes.

PURPLE MASHED POTATOES

2 pounds purple potatoes, estimated 9-10 pieces
4 tblsp butter
1 tblsp rosemary
2 tsp salt
milk

• Boil potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain.
• In a large kitchen-aid mixer, beat potatoes, butter, rosemary, salt and enough milk to make it right consistency.
• Adjust seasoning to your taste!

Click HERE to see recipe for the cinnamon pork tenderloin

Cinnamon Pork Tenderloin

CINNAMON PORK TENDERLOIN

3 tblsp soy sauce
3 tblsp cooking sherry
1 tblsp brown sugar
1-1/2 tsp honey
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 garlic clove, minced
1 pork loin, about 2 pounds [or 2 smaller ones--adjust cooking time]

• In large resealable bag, combine first 6 ingredients. Add pork; seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate 4-6 hours.
• Drain and reserve marinade. Grill pork, covered, over medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until thermometer reads 160 degrees F, turning occasionally.
• Let meat stand 5 minutes before slicing.
• While meat rests, combine cornstarch and water. 
• Pour marinade in a small saucepan and heat over medium-high heat. Simmer for 3-4 minutes, add cornstarch and continue simmering until the mixture is at the right consistency for sauce.

Check back on thursday for the recipe for the purple potatoes!

Mint-Honey Lamb Skewers

MINT-HONEY LAMB SKEWERS

I added potatoes to my skewers, this recipe is for the lamb pieces only.

1 cup chopped fresh mint

3/4 cup dry white wine

2 tblsp lemon juice

2 tblsp honey

3 lbs cubed lamb stew meat

1 tblsp apricot preserves

2 tblsp cornstarch

1 tblsp water

• In a small bowl combine mint, wine, lemon juice and honey. Stir to combine.
• In a large bowl place the lamb and add the wine mixture and toss until combined. Cover and refridgerate 4 hours to overnight.
• Place lamb on skewers and reserve remaining marinade and set aside.
• Grill skewers until lamb is cooked through, about 8 minutes on each side. Set aside.
• In small saucepan, bring reserved marinade to a simmer. Whisk in apricot preserves until dissolved and then reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes, adding water as needed,
• Dissolve cornstarch in 1 tblsp of water and whisk into sauce to thicken; simmer for 1 minute longer and baste over the lamb skewers, then serve.

FBF: Romaine Salad with Avacado

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Romaine Salad with Avacado

Click on image to see full post from 6/2/2011

FBF: Polynesian Sausage Kabobs

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Polynesian Sausage Kabobs 

Click on image to see full post from 5/24/2011

FBF: Orange Jam

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Orange Jam

Click on image to see full post from 5/17/2011

FBF: Wedge Salad

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Wedge Salad

Click on image to see full post from 5/10/2011

FBF: Strawberry Jam

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Strawberry Jam

Click on image to see full post from 5/3/2011

FBF: Crock-Pot Pork Chops & Red Potatoes

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Crock-Pot: Pork Chops & Red Potatoes

Click on image to see full post from 3/22/2011

The Ultimate Mashed Potatoes

So a few years ago, one of my amazing friends, Catherine, invited us for a Thanksgiving dinner. So, of course we went and had a ton of food and turkey and the whole sha-bang. With the whole sha-bang, were these incredible mashed potatoes. I mean INCREDIBLE. I just HAD to know how to make them. So she told me. And I've been making my mashed potatoes this way ever since.

This isn't exactly "low fat" or "low carb" either...but using "low fat" cream cheese instead helps...just a smiggen.

THE ULTIMATE MASHED POTATOES

6-8 red potatoes, diced
1 block cream cheese (8oz)
2 tablespoons Milk (maybe more/less)
1-1/2 tsp kosher salt

• Boil diced potatoes, skin on, in water until tender. Drain.
• Place potatoes and cream cheese in stand mixer (doing this by hand is extremely difficult, be warned, you might hurt in places you didn't dream about having after you do!) and beat on medium until mixed together.
• Carefully add milk (this is where it would be more/less. If its too thick, add more milk!) and add the salt.
• Make sure you taste them and add more salt if needed. NO PEPPER!
• Beat the potatoes in the stand mixer for a good 3 minutes. You want them whipped pretty good!
• Serve warm (of course!) and enjoy!

This is a great recipe to freeze as well. I usually make OVER the amount I need and freeze in little batches. I use the little batches when my hubby is out of town and I need a quicker dinner--just pop in microwave and heat for a few minutes, stirring in between.

Flash Back Friday #12 & Mini Pommes Anna

FLASH-BACK FRIDAY

Almost forgot about these guys! They were so dang good...

MINI POMMES ANNA

Click on image to see full post on 2/11/2011

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My favorite this past week was from Catalina Bakes

BLACK CURRENT MARZIPAN SWRILS

Click on image to see full post!

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And thanks again to everyone who linked up last week!

FOR THE LOVE OF...EVERYTHING

THE KITCHEN IS MY PLAYGROUND

   

 

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Flash-Back Friday [FBF] #5

I LOVED this "old" one! If you like treating yourself to Fillet Mignon, try this recipe--mashed potatoes and ALL!

BLUE CHEESE CRUSTED FILLET MIGNON
W/ PORT WINE SAUCE

The garlic mashed potatoes were iiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnncredible!!

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FLASH BACK LINKY is up again! With my co-host Micha from Cookin' Mimi

 

Follow Cookin' for my Captain and Cookin Mimi  on GFC [Google Friend Connect], grab our FBF button and then Link away!

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Home-made French Fries

HOME-MADE FRENCH FRIES

These are really simple to trow together! The hardest part is cutting the potato into french fry sizes..unless you have a french fry cutter, which I don't.

Anyway...
Cut several large baking potatoes into fries, then put them in a large kettle of cold water (will make them crisp) for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Place fries on a sheet pan in a single layer. Drizzle with a little vegetable oil and then bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until tender, stirring them around occasionally

Sprinkle with salt! Enjoy this healthy snack!

You can also fry them for a bit-less-healthy snack. =)

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I also want to wish my baby girl a Happy 7th Birthday!

PMM #3 & Almond Sugar Cookie Bites

I just realized that I haven't posted this recipe! Eeeeek! Its the best, and the easiest to make on the spot. I like making a huge batch of the cookie part and freeze the ones I'll use later. This is a pampered chef recipe, but I can't find the recipe, so I'm guessing the amounts. Have no fear, this isn't an exact science. Just keep having faith. =)

  ALMOND SUGAR COOKIE BITES

1 cup almonds, chopped up really small
1 package sugar cookie dough [Pillsbury has great dough--in the biscuit section at your grocery store]
3 or 4 small strawberries
2 or 3 kiwi's
4 oz Marscapone cheese
1 cup homemade whipped cream
Lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a mini muffin pan.

Cut about a teaspoon off the sugar cookie dough and roll it in chopped almonds and place it in one of the mini muffin cups. Repeat until all the mini muffin cups are full. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until very lightly brown. Remove to wire rack and cool completely.

Whip together whipped cream and marscapone cheese until blended. Add in vanilla and a tablespoon of lemon zest. Place a dollop on each sugar cookie muffin.

Slice kiwi and strawberries in small slices. Place one of each on each bite and then sprinkle with a little more lemon zest.

Make sure you have enough--they go very quickly!
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Now for my Penny Meal Monday recipe....

CLASSIC MEATLOAF WITH MASHED POTATOES

These are more thing that I keep on hand for such an emergency. It does take an hour to cook, so keep that in mind.

ground beef: $1.49; potatoes: less than $1.00; other add-ins: about $0.75; TOTAL: less than $3.25!

For the meat loaf, mix until blended the ground beef, egg, 1/2 package of crackers [picture shown is full package] a heaping spoon of tomato sauce [shown is paste--grabbed wrong one for picture!] and sprinkle about 2 teaspoons seasoning [shown is what I always use--TexJoy]. After mixing, press into glass loaf pan and cook on 375 degrees F for 1 hour. Serve with mashed potatoes!

Blue Cheese Crusted Filet Mignon with Port Wine Sauce

This was the perfect Valentine dinner for my sweetheart! The combination of the potatoes, filet Mignon and asparagus was meant to be! If you try one of these, please go ahead and try all three. It would be a sin not to!

BLUE CHEESE CRUSTED FILET MIGNON WITH PORT WINE SAUCE

Melt in a skillet over medium heat:
1 tablespoon butter
Add:
1/2 white onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
Cook, stirring constantly, until onion is tender. Stir in:
3/4 cup low-sodium beef broth
Scrap any onion bits off bottom of pan, then stir in:
1/2 cup port wine [I used a "red cooking wine" and still got wonderful results]
Bring to a boil, and cook until mixture has reduced to about 1/2 cup. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat in a cast-iron skillet over high-heat:
1 tablespoon vegtable oil
Sear quickly on both sides until brown:
4 filet mignon steaks (1 1/2 inch thick)
Place whole skillet into the oven.

Roast steaks in the oven for about 15 minutes for medium rare. [I like mine a little more done, and kept it in 20 minutes, and it was medium] Remove from oven, and place on baking sheet.

Stir together:
3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese [I don't really like blue cheese, but this was so amazing, I couldn't tell it was!]
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs.
Top each steak with a layer of this mixture.

Preheat oven's broiler. Place steaks under preheated broiler 3 to 4 minutes, until cheese topping is browned and bubbly [mine never got to the bubbly part, but it was brown and I didn't want it burning] Remove from oven, and let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Serve on top of "Red garlic mashed potatoes" and spoon port wine sauce over top.

RED GARLIC MASHED POTATOES

8 medium red potatoes, cubed
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/4 cup half-and-half cream
2 tablespoons white sugar [do NOT leave out]
Dash of garlic powder
Dash of salt and pepper

Boil potatoes in large pot until tender. Drain. Add butter [I used my stand mixer for this], then half-and-half and remaining ingredients. Serve warm.

MINI POMMES ANNA

I know I'm doing a lot of potatoes, but we practically have potatoes every night, and having different ways to cook them really help. I made these with the pork loin dish, and it was wonderful--perfect compliment! And the best part is that they are TOTALLY EASY!

MINI POMMES ANNA

They look so fancy! Defiantly impress you quests, or family with these!

Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly butter walls of muffin wells.

You will need:
2 lbs of petite Yukon gold potatoes
5 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 tablespoons of kosher salt
2 teaspoons of black pepper

Wash and peel potatoes. Slice potatoes as thin as you can with a knife or use a vegetable peeler to get paper thing slices. [I did both methods and like the blend it made]

Place sliced potatoes in a bowl and toss with melted butter.

Start layering slices in a circular pattern in each muffin well. Every couple layers, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Continue until wells are filled to the top.

Cover with foil and back for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes until edges start to turn golden brown.

To remove, cover the top with foil and turn the pan upside onto foil.Transfer released mini Pommes Anna to platter and serve.