Country Potato Salad

Let's be honest. There is too much unhealthy food that is brought to barbecues and get togethers. I'm not saying this to insult anybody or to put down your Grandma or Aunt Sally's famous recipes. I'm guilty as charged myself. I will admit I've made plenty of unhealthy dishes and have bought the already made side salads in a tub, but I think everybody would agree...homemade is better...and it's even better if it's homemade and healthier.

Here is a healthier version of potato salad. It was good, but I think I put too much dill in and it. Everybody at our grill out seemed to enjoy it considering they all went for seconds. I also think that the next time I make it that I'm going to add a bit of mustard to add some more tang.

Recipe from Eating Well


Ingredients


2 pounds small potatoes, preferably heirloom
1 cup chopped celery
2 ounces smoked ham, sliced into strips
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, or scallions
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, or dill
3/4 cup nonfat buttermilk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon peanut or canola oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 large hard-boiled eggs, (see Tip), peeled and coarsely chopped

Instructions
1.Place potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with water and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook, partially covered, until just tender, 12 to 20 minutes, depending on their size. Drain and let cool for about 15 minutes.

2.When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, taste a bit of potato skin—if it’s bitter or tough, peel the potatoes. Otherwise, leave the skins on. Cut the potatoes into bite-size pieces and put them in a large salad bowl.

3.Add celery, ham, parsley, chives (or scallions) and mint (or dill) to the potatoes. Toss to combine. Add buttermilk, lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper; stir to combine. Gently stir in chopped egg. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Tips & Notes

Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired.

Tip: To hard-boil eggs: Place eggs in a single layer in a saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and cook at the barest simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, pour out hot water and cover the eggs with cold water. Let stand until cool enough to handle before peeling.

NutritionPer serving:
138 calories
4 g fat ( 1 g sat , 2 g mono )
58 mg cholesterol
20 g carbohydrates
0 g added sugars
6 g protein
2 g fiber
272 mg sodium
643 mg potassium

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Bangers and Mash aka Sausage and Mash

Sorry about the delay on this post. We usually make corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick's Day, but this year we decided to switch it up. The first time we had this dish was at a fabulous Irish restaurant in Las Vegas when we were there for our honeymoon. Bangers and mash is not only an Irish dish, but it's a British dish as well.

It's simple and has great flavor.

Altered recipe from About.com

Ingredients

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
8 thick sausages  (beef, pork, or flavored as you wish)

For the Mash

2lbs red potatoes, quartered

6 Tbsp milk

1 stick of butter, cubed
Salt and ground black pepper

For the Onion Gravy

2 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/4 pint beef stock
4 tsp corn starch/corn flour
4 tsp cold water
Salt and black pepper

Directions

Heat the oil in a large frying pan, turn the heat to medium and add the sausages. Fry until the sausages are golden brown and firm, turning them from time to time - about 20 minutes. Once cooked place in an ovenproof dish and keep warm until the mash and gravy are ready.

Meanwhile start the mashed potatoes by boiling the potatoes in lightly salted water until soft. Drain and keep warm until ready to mash.

While the potatoes are cooking make the gravy - melt the oil and butter in a large saucepan over a gentle heat. Add the onion and cover with a lid. Cook slowly for approx 10 minutes or until the onions are soft and translucent.

Add the sugar and balsamic vinegar to the onnions and stir well. Cover with the lid and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes.

Add the stock and boil gently uncovered for 5 minutes.

In a heatproof jug or bowl mix the corn starch/flour with the cold water to a thin paste. Pour a little of the hot gravy into the starch mixture and mix thoroughly. Pour the starch mixture back into the gravy, raise the heat to high and boil for 10 minutes or until the gravy is slightly thickened. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Finish the mash by placing the milk and butter in the pan used to boil the potatoes, return to the heat and warm gently until the butter has melted.

Add the potatoes and mash usin either a potato masher, a fork or a potato ricer. Whip the mashed potato lightly with a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve: Spoon the mash onto 4 warmed dinner plates, place two fat sausages either on the top or at the side of the mash and pour the hot onion gravy over.

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Cheesecake Pumpkin Muffins

I heard about this recipe from a friend of mine. She's made this multiple times. So I decided to try it myself.

Is it healthy? Yeh....no not really, but sometimes a person needs to splurge a bit. They sure were yummy though. They also don't look very pretty because they REALLY puffed up when I baked them. I think I put too much batter in the layers. I really don't see that as much of an issue though cause they're still edible. Yum!

Recipe from Taste of Home

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 eggs
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
1-1/2 cups canola oil

Cream Cheese Filling

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Praline topping

2/3 cup chopped pecans (I omitted these)
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons sour cream

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, pumpking and oil. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups one-third full.

For filling, beat the cream cheese, sugar, egg and flour until smooth. Drop by tablespoonfuls into center of each muffin. Top with remaining batter.

For topping, in a small bowl, combine the pecans, brown sugar and sour cream; spoon over batter. Bake at 400 for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the muffin comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers.

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Green Rice and Peas

So I don't watch Rachel Ray very often, but I happened to catch this recipe on one of her past shows and thought I'd try it. It wasn't bad. I even ate it cold like a salad. It was refreshing and it had pretty good flavor. It's not something that I'm going to crave by any means, but I'd eat it again.

Recipe from Food Network Rachel Ray
Ingredients

1 1/2 cups long grain white rice (I used long grain brown rice)
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2/3 cup water
1 cup frozen green peas
Juice of 1 lemon
1 large clove garlic, grated or pasted
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 cup basil
1 cup flat leaf parsley
1 small bunch tarragon, leaves stripped

Directions

Put the rice, stock and water in a pot, bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook 18 minutes. Put the peas in bowl to defrost while the rice cooks.

Whisk together the lemon juice, garlic and extra-virgin olive oil; add to a blender with the basil, parsley and tarragon and puree.

Fluff the rice with a fork and add to the bowl with the peas. Pour the dressing over the top and toss to combine; serve or chill.

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Tuna Noodle Casserole

Whose mom didn't make tuna noodle for supper when you were a kid. Well this isn't your mother's tuna noodle casserole that's for sure. Ryan and I like to try recipes that put a healthier twist on old time favorite comfort foods. This was okay, but I think we could do better. I did like the fact that it wasn't caked with creamed soup, but there was just something about it that needed a bit more zip in the flavor.

Recipe from Flat Belly Family Cookbook

Ingredients

6 ounces whole wheat egg noodles
1 pouch (6.4 ounces) light tuna
1 can (14 ounces) water-packed artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/2 cup frozen green peas
1/4 cup canola oil mayonnaise
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon capers, chopped
Zest of 1 lemon + 1 tablespoon juice
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Coat an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

3. Combine the tuna, artichokes, peas, mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons of the cheese, the capers, and lemon zest and juice in a large bowl. Toss gently until thoroughly mixed. Stir in the noodles and spread the mixture evenly in the baking dish.

4. Scatter the bread crumbs and remaining 2 tablespoons cheese evenly over the top and bake for 30 minutes, or until heated through.

Nutrition per serving: 4 servings
403 calories
23 g protein
45 g carbohydrates
14 g fat
1.5 g saturated fat
25 mg cholesterol
700 mg sodium
5 g fiber

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Ground Turkey and Peppers

There's not a whole lot to say about this one. This was an easy weeknight meal to make. In a way it could have used a little more "oomph" when it comes to spice. It was a nice, light dinner though, and we're big fans of the fresh herbs and veggies.

From: simplyrecipes.com


Ingredients

Olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion, including some chopped greens from scallions or green onions
1 bell pepper (red or yellow preferred), chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Kosher salt (we omitted salt in our recipe)
1 lb ground turkey, preferably ground turkey thighs
1 teaspoon chipotle powder or chili powder (or to taste)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley or cilantro


Directions

Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add the chopped onions and bell pepper and cook until onions and peppers are softened, a couple minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds more.

Push the vegetables to the edge of one side of the pan and position that side of the pan so that it is off the burner, away from the heat. The empty part of the pan should be right over the burner. Add one or two more tablespoons of oil to coat the empty part of the pan. Put crumpled chunks of ground turkey in the pan, sprinkle with salt and chipotle or chili powder.

Cook the turkey without stirring until it is browned on one side, then turn the pieces over to brown the other side. Once the turkey is just cooked through, stir in the onions and peppers, and sprinkle with more salt and chili powder to taste. Remove from heat. Stir in fresh chopped parsley or cilantro.

Serve alone, or with steamed rice or noodles.

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Cake Mix Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have one word for you....simple. That's what I think of when I think of this recipe. Some of Ryan's coworkers wanted cookies again. I didn't have time to do anything extravagant that night so I whipped these up so nobody would be disappointed. They had the taste and response that chocolate chip cookies would have except they were more the consistency of a chocolate chip bar. They devoured them so I definitely consider that a success.

 

 

Ingredients

1 box of yellow cake mix
2 eggs
3 cups chocolate chips

Directions

Mix together and put in a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

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