Herbed Sliced Potatoes

We harvested about 60 pounds of potatoes from our garden this year!  So I am always looking for new ways to cook up these beauties!  I found this recipe here and LOVED that I got to use fresh herbs from my garden to season them! They were so easy, beautiful and delicious!  They will be gracing our table time and again!

Herbed Sliced Potatoes

4 large potatoes or 6 smaller ones
4 T butter (about 1 T per potato)
1 t course sea salt
2-3 T chopped, fresh herbs (I used thyme, basil, rosemary, and flat leaf parsley)
1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan, I used asiago, romano and parmesan mix

Preheat the oven to 400.  Wash potatoes and peel if desired (I used Yukon Gold, very thin skin, and left the skin on). Place each potato between two wooden spoons and slice until you hit the spoons.  This will cause the potato to be sliced but still hold together on the bottom.  Mix the herbs into the melted butter and brush onto the sliced potatoes making sure to get the butter and herbs between the slices.  Sprinkle with the sea salt.  Bake for 45 minutes.  Once or twice while cooking, spoon the butter that has dripped off back onto the potatoes. Sprinkle the potatoes with the grated cheese and put back in the oven for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are soft and the cheese is melted.

Cheesy Potatoes

This is a recipe my Grandma Twinkle always made to go with a Honey Baked Ham.  They go together perfectly!  This makes such a great Easter meal!

Cheesy Potatoes

1 lb. frozen hash browns

1 cup chopped onions

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup butter, melted

8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375.  Grease a 9x13 pan.  Mix all the ingredients together until combined.  Press potato mixture into prepared pan.  Bake for 1 hour or until golden brown on the edges.

Gnocchi with Marinara and Fresh Spinach

Gnocchi is the Italian word for dumpling. These have been a favorite of my husbands for a long time.  So when we went to a great little restaurant near us for dinner he ordered this fabulous Gnocchi dish with marinara sauce and fresh spinach.  We both liked it so much we decided to try our hand at recreating it.  It was sooo good!  Just as good as the original!  The Gnocchi recipe we found on Food Network.

Gnocchi with Marinara and Fresh Spinach
(4 servings)

kosher salt (optional)
1 pound russet potatoes
3-4 large egg yolks
1/2 fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 t nutmeg
1/2 t salt
1/4 t fresh ground black pepper
1 cup flour, plus more for dusting
1 recipe Garden Fresh Pasta Sauce or your favorite store bought brand
Fresh spinach
chicken sausage (optional)
fresh grated Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 425.

Spread a layer of kosher salt on a baking sheet and arrange potatoes on top.  Bake until a bit over cooked (about 45 minutes).  Let sit until cool enough to handle, cut in half, and scoop out the insides.

Grate the potatoes on the large holes of a box grater.  You should have about 2 cups.  Make a mound of the potatoes on the counter with a well in the middle.  Add the 3 eggs, salt, pepper, nutmeg and cheese to the well.  Mix well with your hands. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the flour over the potatoes and, using your knuckles, press it into the potatoes.  Fold the mass over on itself and press down again.  Sprinkle on more flour, little by little folding and pressing the dough until it holds together (try not to knead it, this will make the gnocchi tough). Work any dough on your fingers back into the dough.  If the mixture is too dry, add another egg yolk or a little water.  The dough should give under light pressure.  It will feel firm but yielding.  To test if the dough is the right consistency, take a piece and roll it with your hands on a well-floured board into a rope 1/2 inch in diameter.  If the dough holds together, it is ready.  If not, add more flour, fold and press the dough several more times and then test again.

On a floured surface, cut the dough into 4 equal pieces.  Roll each piece into a rope about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 1/2 in long pieces.  Lightly flour the gnocchi as you cut them.  You can cook these as us or form them into the classic Gnocchi shape using the times of the back side of a fork.  We watched this YouTube Video and it made it way easier.

Lightly four the Gnocchi as you shape them and then place them on a parchment covered cookie sheet.  If you will not be cooking the Gnocchi now, you can freeze them for a later use.

When ready to cook, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt.  Drop the Gnocchi into the boiling water and cook for about 90 seconds from the time they rise to the surface. Drain the Gnocchi.

Place some Gnocchi in a bowl or on a plate.  Top with fresh spinach, then sauce and finally shredded Parmesan and chicken sausage if desired.  The heat of the Gnocchi and the sauce will slightly cook the spinach leaving a slight crisp to it.  Delish!

Ranch Potatoes

I LOVE this super easy, super fast way to do potatoes! It is from the back of my Hidden Valley Ranch box, so maybe I am the last to hear about it. These are such a great side to go with grilling!

Ranch Potatoes

(4 servings)

2 Pounds of red potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces

1/4 cup oil (I used olive oil)

1 (1 oz) packet Ranch Dressing mix

Place potatoes into a large storage bag.  Add the oil and toss to coat. Now add the ranch dressing mix and shake to coat.  Spread evenly onto a greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 (stirring every 15 minutes, so they cook on all sides) for 30-35 minutes or until the potatoes are browned and crisp.  

Quinoa and Vegetable Stew with Chicken

I found this recipe over at Picky Palate. I absolutely LOVE soup (have I mentioned this before?) and am always looking for new recipes to try. I love this soup. And next time I am going to make it without the chicken, it was not necessary to me. The Quinoa has a lot of protein in it so you don't even need the chicken if you don't want it.

Quinoa and Vegetable Stew with Chicken

(8-10 servings)

2 T olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

4 stalks of celery, chopped

4 large carrots, sliced

2 cups sweet peppers, chopped

1 large zucchini, quartered and sliced

64 oz chicken or vegetable broth

1-15 oz can petite diced tomatoes

5 Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and cubed into one inch pieces

3 cups cooked Quinoa

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (I used my fav Rotisserie chicken from Sam's)

2 T Dijon Mustard

1 T hot sauce

1 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper and garlic salt with parsley to taste

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute Onion, celery, carrots, peppers and zucchini until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, tomatoes and potatoes. Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add quinoa, chicken, mustard, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste. Stir in fresh parsley and simmer until ready to serve.

Sausage and Kale Soup

I found this recipe at Martha Stewart.com. It was quick and hearty, the perfect thing for a cold snowy day. It has a great almost creamy broth without the cream/milk. Serve it with some crusty bread and there is nothing better for a week night meal.

Sausage and Kale Soup

(4 servings)

1 T olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 t crushed red-pepper flakes

5 medium potatoes (1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1/2 inch chunks

3 cans low-sodium chicken broth

1 bunch kale, stemmed and shredded

12 ounces chicken sausage, cut into 1/2-inch half moons (We browned these in a pan before adding to the soup)

In a large pot, heat oil over medium. Add onion and cook until soft (about 1-2 minutes). Add garlic and red pepper flakes; cook until fragrant. Add the potatoes and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer until the potatoes are tender, 10-15 minutes.

In a blender, puree half the soup. Return to the pot and add kale and sausage. Simmer until the kale is wilted about 10-15 minutes.

Chicken and Cream Cheese Soup

I found this recipe on The Sister's Cafe, and WOW is it so good! I used a rotisseri chicken from Sam's Club and it made this meal so incredibly easy. I love it when I can have dinner done in 30 minutes. I also love this recipe because I always have the indredients on hand. I made these cheddar and garlic biscuits to go with it, perfect!

Chicken and Cream Cheese Soup

1 lb chicken (breasts or combination)

1 onion, diced

1-2 Tb butter

2 handfuls baby carrots (about 2 cups sliced small)

4-5 potatoes, diced small (I used red potatoes)
4 cubes chicken bouillon, or chicken base

1 c milk

1/4 c flour

8 oz package cream cheese

1. Put chicken in pot and cover with water; boil until cooked. Take chicken out of water but keep the broth. When chicken is cool, shred. (or use a rotisserie chicken)

2. Saute onion in butter. Put onion in pot and add carrots and potatoes. Add 3-4 cups of water or enough to cover vegetables. Add bouillon cubes or soup base for flavor (I add 4 bouillon cubes). Bring to a boil and simmer until veggies are tender.

3. Mix flour with milk and add to soup. Soften cream cheese in microwave then add to soup in little pieces and stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper.

Left Over Roast Beef Stew

I never know what to do with left over roast. But this roast was so good I just couldn't let it go to waste. So I decided to make beef stew... nothing screams "Fall" more than beef stew. My boys devoured this. And it was so fast since the roast was already cooked. Dinner was ready in about 30 minutes, come on, who doesn't love a fast meal!

Left Over Roast Beef Stew
2-3 cups left over roast, roughly chopped
3 large carrots, sliced
1 rib of celery, chopped
4-5 small red potatoes, cut into cubes
1 med onion , sliced
2 t minced garlic
4 T butter
4 T flour
2 cans (14.5oz) beef broth
1/2 t paprika
1 T Worcestershire sauce
2 T tomato sauce
a dash of allspice or ground cloves
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
fresh chopped flat leaf parsley

Melt butter in soup pot and saute carrots, celery, potatoes, onion and garlic for about 5 minutes. Add flour and cook for another minute. Add broth and spices, Cook until the broth thickens. Than add roast and bay leaf. Simmer on low with the lid on for about 20 minutes or until veggies are tender. Add chopped parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

Chicken Stew over Biscuits

We recently went to Mackinaw Island to see the Fall colors and get out of town for a few days. It was as beautiful as ever, even though it was in the 40's. We stopped for lunch at a little place along Main Street and my husband had turkey stew over biscuits, it was Amazing! So after spending a week with a cold and in desperate need of comfort food, I decided to recreate that delicious meal. This biscuit recipe I got off the Sister's Cafe and I LOVE them! The sister's and the biscuits ;) !

Chicken Stew over Biscuits

1 rotisserie chicken (I got mine at Sam's club, the kind that is already cooked)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
5 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 stock of celery, chopped
4 small red potatoes, sliced
4 oz mushrooms sliced
1/2 cup peas
fresh thyme
flat leaf parsley
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

Remove skin from chicken and shred meat. Melt butter in pan and saute veggies until tender. I just used whatever veggies I had in my fridge or garden. Add flour and cook for about 1 minute. Add chicken broth, about half the shredded chicken (save the rest for something else), a sprig of fresh thyme and the bay leaf. I let this simmer while I made the biscuits, about half an hour. Right before serving chop and add the parsley, salt(if needed), and pepper. Place a biscuit in the bowl and top with the stew.

Biscuits
(Sister's Cafe)

2 cups all-purpose flour (9 ounces)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup fat-free buttermilk (I used milk and added lemon juice and let it sit for a few minutes)
3 tablespoons honey

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Chill 10 minutes. (I didn't chill mine and it worked fine)
3. Combine buttermilk and honey, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moist.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead lightly 4 times. Roll dough into a (1/2-inch-thick) 9 x 5–inch rectangle; dust top of dough with flour. Fold dough crosswise into thirds (as if folding a piece of paper to fit into an envelope). Reroll dough into a (1/2-inch-thick) 9 x 5–inch rectangle; dust top of dough with flour. Fold dough crosswise into thirds; gently roll or pat to a 3/4-inch thickness. Cut dough with a 1 3/4-inch biscuit cutter to form 14 dough rounds. Place dough rounds, 1 inch apart, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 400° for 12 minutes or until golden. Remove from pan; cool 2 minutes on wire racks. Serve warm.

Chicken Pot Pie

This is the ultimate comfort food! I first time I had this was at my BFF Abby's house. I thought I had died and gone to food heaven! It is a Martha Stewart recipe. The flavors are so perfect and comforting and now that it is officially Fall I feel I can start cooking "Fall", if you know what I mean! I borrowed Abby's explanation because she put it into words in a way the made it so easy for me to follow. Here is the link to her blog to see the original explanation. Sometimes to cut down on time I simply cook 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts shred it and use chicken broth instead of stock thus cutting out the whole cook a whole chicken and debone it thing. I love it both ways so if a whole chicken scares you just use chicken breasts. This recipe is the sole reason I grow Thyme and Flat leaf parsley in my garden! We also got to use our carrots, my boys love that they are eating things that they are growing!

Chicken Pot Pie

I've simplified it here by giving you the three major steps:

Prep time: 1 hour & 20 minutes
Total time: approx. 2 hours

1.) Start cooking the chicken (1 hour cook time)
2.) Mix dough, get it in the fridge (1 hour chill time)
3.) About 20 minutes before chicken is done, cut veggies, chop parsley, measure milk, chicken stock, & flour, get casserole pan ready

STEP 1: Cook Chicken:

3-4 lbs. Chicken
4 c. Chicken Stock (or 4 c. water + 4 bullion cubes)
1 Yellow onion, split in half
2 dry bay leaves
1/2 t. whole black peppercorns (or ground pepper, whatever)
1 small bunch fresh thyme
1 rib celery, cut in 3 pieces

Combine all ingredients above in a large stockpot, add enough water to cover the chicken. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered 1 hour. When chicken is cooked, remove the chicken and reserve the stock. Remove the skin & bones, shred into bite-size strips, set aside. Strain stock and save for later.

STEP 2: Crust:

1 c. flour
1/4 t. salt
1 T. fresh thyme leaves
10 T. chilled butter, cut into small pieces (1 cube + 2 T. of another cube)
3 T. ice water
1 egg yolk

Pick enough thyme leaves to make 3 Tablespoons. Set 2 Tablespoons aside. Combine flour, salt, thyme either in a food processor or in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add ice water and egg yolk, mix until dough holds together. Try not to over mix. Turn dough out onto plastic wrap, flatten into a circle, wrap well, refrigerate at least 1 hour.

STEP 3: Filling:

5 T. Butter
9 oz. red potatoes, scrubbed, cut into 1/2” pieces
1 large onion, diced (or 12 pearl onions, peeled & cut in half)
1 medium leek, white and light-green parts only, sliced into 1/4” thick rounds
2 carrots, peeled & cut into rounds
6 oz. mushrooms, sliced or cut into chunks

THEN LATER:

5 T. flour
2 c. reserved chicken stock (save the rest for another use.)
1 c. milk
2 T. fresh thyme
2 T. chopped, fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 t. fresh ground pepper
2 t. salt

Heat oven to 375º. Melt 5 T. butter in large sauté pan or stockpot over medium heat. Add potatoes and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, 4-5 minutes, until potatoes begin to turn golden. Add leeks, carrots, and mushrooms, cooking 4-5 minutes more. Add 5 T. flour, and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Stir in reserved chicken stock and milk, bring to a simmer. Cook until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly, 2-3 minutes. Add reserved chicken pieces, chopped parsley, and remaining thyme, 2 t. salt, and ground pepper. Transfer to a large casserole dish. Set aside.Working quickly so you keep the dough cold, roll out the dough until it is 1/4” thick, transfer to a baking sheet and chill if necessary. Otherwise, place dough over the top of the chicken mixture, tuck extra dough around the edges. Cut slits on top to allow steam to escape. Bake 35-40 minutes, until crust is golden. Serve hot.

Dutch Oven Cooking

We went camping last week with some great friends of ours so I had to try my hand at a little Dutch Oven cooking. I totally loved it! There is something so cool about being out of doors and having great food. Especially since it was a little cold and rainy. I tried a few different recipes but this was my favorite. I am excited to try again in our backyard as there are tons of amazing sounding recipes, but for now here is the winner of the first round. I am also including a neat little chart that shows how many coals to use for certain temperatures.

Au Gratin Ham and Potatoes

4 T butter
1 onion
3 T flour
2 cups milk
seasoning salt
pepper
1-1/2 cups cooked ham, diced
3 cups potatoes, diced (I used red)
1/2 c grated cheddar
1/4-1/2 c bread crumbs

Preheat dutch oven to 325. Melt butter and saute onion until translucent. Blend in flour. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly until thickened. Add pepper and seasoning salt. Mix in ham and potatoes and mix well. Sprinkle cheese and bread crumbs on top. Cover and bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

Coal chart for Dutch Oven

Temperature	10" Oven		12" Oven		14" Oven
Degrees F	Top	Bottom	Top	Bottom	Top	Bottom
300	12	5	14	7	15	9
325	13	6	15	7	17	9
350	14	6	16	8	18	10
375	15	6	17	9	19	11

Roasted Red Potatoes with Rosemary

My friend Abby Showed me this little jewel of a recipe. Not a recipe really, more just a technique. But whatever you want to call it, it is yummy.

Roasted Red Potatoes with Rosemary

Cut as many red potatoes as you want into quarters, smaller if they are big. They should be about bite size. Toss them with some extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with dried rosemary, salt and pepper. Put them in a single layer on a cookie sheet and put them in your oven on broil. Stir them every couple of minutes so they don't stick and they turn brown on every side. They usually take about 15-20 minutes in my oven. About half way through, I add sliced onion. These cook much faster than the potatoes. These are great as a side to anything BBQ.

Baked Potato Soup

This has been a favorite of mine for years now. It tastes just like a big baked potato with all the fixins'. Talk about comfort food! It is so quick to throw together, the only thing that takes time is baking the potatoes. We like this with crusty french bread, but it is also great in a bread bowl.

Baked Potato Soup

2 large baked potatoes
2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup flour
6 cups milk
1 heaping T chicken bouillon or base
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, plus more for garnishing
3/4 t pepper
3/4 t salt
8 oz sour cream
2 green onions, chopped
crumbled bacon, optional

Bake potatoes at 400 for 1 hour. When cool, cut into small cubes and set aside. In a large pot, melt butter and add flour. Mix well, then add milk and bring to a boil. Stir until it thickens. Add bouillon, salt, and pepper. Then add cheese and potatoes. A few minutes before serving add sour cream. Garnish with more cheese, green onion and bacon.