Sweet Potato Fries

Grow Alabama has started delivering sweet potatos again and not being a big fan of sweet potatoes I've been at a loss at what to do with them. So this week I set out to make something other than sweet potato casserole and so I searched Tasty Kitchen and came up with this recipe for Sweet Potato Fries. I made them last night and they were even tasty for me! Charlotte thought they were too spicy though so tomorrow when I make some more since we have sweet potatoes coming out of our ears I will omit the seasoning on a few for her. But this was a really easy recipe that didn't require a lot of work and the fries came out really great. And one of the best parts was that they were baked so they were a relatively good way to eat veggies.

Sweet Potato Fries
Serves 2

2 whole sweet potatoes
3 T Olive Oil
1 t Salt
1 t Pepper
1/2 t Smoked Paprika (couldn't find this at the grocery store so just used paprika, use less than 1/2 teaspoon!)
2 T Brown Sugar
- Preheat oven to 425
- Peel potatoes (if desired). Cut into wedges until you get the size fry that you want.
- Put potatoes in a bowl. Combine with other ingredients and mix thoroughly with your hands so that every wedge is covered.
- Set a wire rack on a baking sheet and spray with non-stick spray. Lay wedges on the wire rack. Bake for 25 minutes. Rotate pan and put back in for 20 minutes. (Time is approximate, cook them to whatever your desired doneness level is.)

Meat with Potatoes

This recipe is from Stephanie at Happily Ever After.  This dish combines meat with any kind of veggies that you like.  It was really easy to put together and was very tasty.  I felt like it was a pretty decent meal health wise also because of all of the veggies I put in it!

Meat with Potatoes

Hamburger (1-2 lb., depending on your crowd)

Green Pepper (1-2)

Green Beans (I used one bag of frozen green beans)

Onion (1)

Celery (1 C)

Potatoes (1-2, washed and sliced)

1 8oz. can of Tomato Soup

1 pkg. of Lipton Onion Soup Mix

1 C of water

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Form meatballs from the hamburger, put on bottom of 9x13 pan.  Cut up fresh veggies and layer on top of meatballs, ending with the potatoes on top.

Mix tomato soup and onion soup mix together with water.  Pour over top of veggies and hamburger.  Cover with foil, bake for 1-1.5 hours (depends on your oven and how much hamburger you use).

This is a great, flavorful dish that is perfect on a cold winter night!  The soup mixture makes a thick sauce that gives everything a wonderful taste.  It's so simple and yummy and that's the beauty of it.  Plus, you can tweak it with the ingredients you have on hand or the ones you prefer.  I've made it several ways, depending on whether or not I feel like grocery shopping!

**Notes: I used 1 lb meat, added carrots, and left out the celery and pepper because I didn't have any.  You could use whatever veggies you have and have as much or little meat as possible.


The funny thing about this recipe is when Stephanie posted it she mentioned that if you were reading all of her posts about food you would think she was pregnant because that's what her posts were like when she was pregnant with their almost 1 year old, Ava.  She said that she was not pregnant but they found out a few weeks ago that she is! So if you get a chance drop by and wish them congratulations!

Potato Salad with Bacon and Parsley

 

This recipe is from Real Simple's June 09 issue.  It was a feature on "Summer Vegetable Sides" but potatoes are always in season -- at least you can always get them at the grocery store -- so I think this is a year round recipe.  This differs from the "traditional" Southern potato salad with a mayonnaise base.  Since Jason isn't a big mayo fan I thought this would be a good recipe.  We enjoyed the recipe but I didn't have as many potatoes as I was supposed to and so the ratio of sauce to potatoes was a little strong.  If you are cooking less potatoes than the recipe calls for I would recommend mixing the sauce in a separate bowl and just putting in enough sauce to lightly coat the potatoes.  My potatoes also cooked a little too long, so make sure you don't overcook them or they'll start falling apart when you're trying to mix in the sauce!

Potato Salad with Bacon and Parsley

Serves 6 Hands-On Time: 10m Total Time: 25m

• 1 1/2 pounds new potatoes
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 4 slices bacon
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

1. Place the potatoes in a pot with water to cover and 1 teaspoon salt and simmer until tender, 15 to 18 minutes. Drain and run under cold water to cool. Cut into quarters.
2. Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to paper towels. Crumble when cool.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the oil, vinegar, mustard, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Toss with the potatoes, bacon, and parsley.

Sausage and Potato Soup

Since it's gotten so cold outside I have been wanting any kind of soup that I can find. I keep a recipe folder in my email box and whenever I get an email I tag it for that folder and archive it. So on Sunday I started going through some of those emails to see if I could find something to cook this week that was new and I ran across this recipe from one of my Mom's co-workers. It was good as she gave it but I've tweaked it just a little more to our liking. That's the beauty of simple recipes -- you can change them up to just how you like them and you can be pretty sure that they'll still taste great! And this recipe makes a lot of soup so you might want to half it if there are just two of you.
Sausage and Potato Soup

32 oz bag of frozen diced hash browns (or about 3 lbs of peeled and diced potatoes) (the more potatoes the better)
1 1/2 to 2 lbs sausage browned (can be hot or mild)
2 chopped onions
4 cups of water
4 cups of milk
28 oz of chicken broth
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cans cream of celery soup

Mix everything and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 45 minutes. Serve with cheese -- pepper jack or parmesan go especially well.

Onion Topped Sausage 'n Mashed Potato Casserole

I found this recipe in a Southern Living Casserole email that I got last week and I made if for Jason last Wednesday. My version is a little different than the original Southern Living recipe because I couldn't find all of the requested ingredients in the grocery store. But the modified version was yummy and so I know the original would be too! And pretty easy and quick! It's a good fall/winter meal because it's hearty and warm. It made a full 9x13 dish so it would also be easy to split in two and freeze half. Here's my version:

Onion Topped Sausage 'n Mashed Potato Casserole


1 package sweet Sausage links (pre-cooked kind)
2 14.5 oz cans Diced Tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon dried Basil
1 teaspoon Garlic and Herb Seasoning (Mrs. Dash's)
1 pkg Steam and Mash potatoes (frozen section)
1 8 oz package Italian five cheese blend
1/4 teaspoon Dried Italian Seasoning
1 cup French Fried Onions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut sausage into small slices. Warm slices in skillet 2-3 minutes.
3. Stir in tomatoes, basil, and Garlic and Herb Seasoning. Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.
Transfer sausage to a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish.
4. Meanwhile, cook potatoes in microwave as directed. Only microwave, don't mash.
5. Stir together mashed potatoes, cheese, and Italian seasoning in a large bowl. (Mixture will be dry.) Spread potato mixture over sausage mixture in baking dish.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly. Top with fried onions and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Smashed Potatoes with Stir Ins

Yummy! This picture makes me hungry all over again! I had never tried making any form of mashed/smashed potatoes until I tried this recipe but now that I know it's so easy I will definitely be making it again and soon! I got this recipe from an "Easy Meals" magazine from Woman's Day. I couldn't find the recipe on their website though so I can't link to it. Anyway, it was really good and a really great side dish. You can change out what you put in the potatoes to make them go with any meal!

Smashed Potatoes with Stir Ins
Serves 6 (2/3 c servings)

2 pounds (4 cups) medium red potatoes, washed, cut into quarters
1 teaspoon salt
Water
1 cup Half and Half
1/4 cup Butter, cut into chunks
1/4 cup Sour Cream
1/2 teaspoon Salt
5 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1. Place potatoes and 1 teaspoon salt in a 3 quart saucepan; cover with water. Cook over high heat until water comes to a boil; reduce heat to medium. Cook until potatoes are tender (15 to 20 minutes). Drain potatoes, return to saucepan.
2. Meanwhile, heat half and half in 1 quart saucepan just until warm.
3. Add butter to potatoes; mash potatoes until about two thirds are mashed and one third remain lumpy. Gradually add half and half to potato mixture; mix well. Stir in sour cream, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper (if desired), and bacon. Serve immediately.

Variations:
- Ranch Smashed Potatoes: Omit 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir in 2 tablespoons dry ranch salad dressing mix and 1/4 cup chopped green onions with sour cream.
- Chipoltle, Green Chili, and Cheddar Smashed Potatoes: Stir in 1 teaspoon chopped chipotle chili in adobo sauce, 1 (4 ounce) can well drained diced green chilis and 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese.

Note:
I didn't use all of the liquid with the potatoes because mine were getting soupy quickly. Just keep mixing until you get a consistency that you like.

Also, make sure you don't get too many of the potatoes smashed before you start adding liquid. The stirring with the liquid smashes the potatoes quickly.

Cheesy Pork Chop Casserole

I found this recipe on AllRecipes.com and it is so good.  I would guess that this would be just as good with chicken as it is with pork.  It's a very easy recipe!  Enjoy!

Cheesy Pork Chop Casserole

Serves 4

4 potatoes, peeled and sliced

4 thick cut boneless pork chops

1 10.75 oz can condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup

1 10.5 can condensed French Onion soup

1 8 oz package shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan with sliced potatoes.  Arrange the pork chops on top of the potatoes.
3. In a bowl, stir together the cheddar cheese and French Onion soups. Pour the soup over the pork chops. 
4. Cover and bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes or until the internal temperature of the pork reaches 160 degrees.
5. Sprinkle pork chops with Monterrey Jack cheese and serve.