Oven Roasted Red Potatoes and Carrots

It's so great to have a few side dishes that are really simple to make. This is another one of those dishes that doesn't require exact measurements (as you can see by the lack of amounts in the ingredients list). I like to measure the ingredients in this recipe, as my mother would say, "by gosh and by golly". What a silly phrase. But it just kinda seems to makes sense. You basically just want to sprinkle your way through the herbs listed in the ingredients. Sprinkling will do the trick.

After making this, you'll be one step closer to having another hearty, easy side dish in your arsenal.

Adapted from AllRecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds red potatoes, cut into one-inch pieces

1 cup baby carrots

1/3 cup olive oil

oregano

parsley

garlic

salt 

pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Spread potatoes and carrots in a baking dish. Coat generously with olive oil. Sprinkle vegetables with oregano, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper.

Bake for 40 minutes, stirring halfway.

Add some steak or chicken and enjoy a delicious, hearty meal.

Crash Hot Potatoes

 Do you ever have a hard time coming up with simple, delicious side dishes? When I spend so much time on a meal, I hardly want to put in a ton of extra effort for a side dish. 

Enter Crash Hot Potatoes. 

Ree Drummond used the phrase "Flavorful, Crispy Surface Area" to describe these and that is the perfect phrase. The skins on these babies crisp up to create a taste 1,000s times better than potato chips. The flavoring of olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh herbs is the perfect combination to bring out the natural goodness that is potatoes.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

From The Pioneer Woman

INGREDIENTS:

Small potatoes (I use red potatoes)

olive oil

kosher salt (or regular salt, but kosher is best if you have it)

pepper

fresh chopped herbs (like rosemary, parsley, thyme, chives, etc.)

DIRECTIONS:

Add potatoes to a large pot and bring to a boil. Cook until potatoes are very tender.

Generously drizzle a sheet pan with olive oil to ensure potatoes don't stick. Place tender potatoes on the cooking sheet, leaving plenty of space in between. 

With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes. Rotate the masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with olive oil. 

Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and fresh chopped herbs (I used parsley). 

Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Potato Latkes

Happy Hanukkah! In celebration of the last night of the 8-crazy-nights Jewish holiday, I am posting a recipe for potato latkes. These are de-lish. Also, here is a very fitting song for Hanukkah and latkes (Thanks Katie). Listen to it, but beware, it will get stuck in your head. 

Adapted from AllRecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups peeled and shredded potatoes (about 3-4 large potatoes)
1/4 onion, finely chopped
3 eggs, beaten
4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
oil for frying

DIRECTIONS:

Place the potatoes in a cheesecloth or old dish towel and wring, extracting as much moisture as possible.

In a medium bowl, stir together the potatoes, onion, eggs, flour and salt.

In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet, heat the oil until hot. Place large spoonfuls of the potato mixture into the hot oil, pressing down on them to form 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick patties. Brown on one side (about 3 minutes). Turn, and brown on the other (about 2 minutes). Let drain on paper towels. Serve hot!

SERVING SUGGESTION:

Serve with cinnamon applesauce on top.

Mashed Red Potatoes with Garlic and Parmesan

I love mashed potatoes, especially when they are homemade. I love tasting the chunks of real potatoes and feeling the skin mixed in with all the goodness. Holidays are the perfect time of year to perfect your potato mashing skills, but mashed potatoes are so good, they can be enjoyed year-round. This red potato recipe is so simple and keeps measuring to a minimum. Oh yeah, and these taste amazing. I was asked to make this recipe for Thanksgiving this year but seeing as I flew in the morning of, potato mashing duties were deferred to my lovely aunt.

I definitely cooked these up the week after Thanksgiving though. Just can't get enough.

From Food.com

INGREDIENTS:

2.5 pounds red potatoes, unpeeled, quartered

3 cloves garlic, peeled

2 Tablespoons butter

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Put potatoes and garlic in a large pan. Cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer until potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes. Drain well. Return potatoes to the pan and mash with butter, milk, and salt. Stir in the parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

Chicken Vesuvio

I really, really, really, really, really need to find my camera charger so that the pictures of my food don't look completely yellow-colored or unappetizing. My philosophy is any picture is better than no picture so the show must go on. 

The sauce in this dish. Oh, my, goodness, The sauce. That's all I have to say.

*Recipe from Giada De Laurentiis

INGREDIENTS:

3 Tablespoons olive oil

4 chicken thighs with skin and bones (I used chicken breasts, but I think thighs would be more tender)

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 pounds small red-skinned potatoes, halved

4 large garlic cloves, minced

3/4 cup dry white wine (I recently bought cooking wine and it has been a great investment)

3/4 cup chicken broth

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme

8 ounces artichoke hearts

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Heat the oil in a large, ovenproof pot over high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Working in batches if necessary, cook the chicken in the pot until brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to a bowl. Carefully add the potatoes to the same pot and cook until golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the wine and stir to scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pot. Add the broth, oregano, and thyme. Return the chicken to the pot and stir all ingredients to combine. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. 

Cover and bake in the oven until the chicken is cooked through, about 15-20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter and arrange potatoes around the chicken. Add the artichoke hearts to the sauce in the pot. Cover and simmer over high heat until the artichokes are tender, stirring often, about 4 minutes. Turn heat to low and stir in the butter. Pour the sauce over chicken and potatoes, and serve. 

Be generous with the sauce, it's the best part. 

Gnocchi!

As the second installment of Jersey Shore-inspired Italian meals, I present Gnocchi (pronounced "nyocki"). The first time I ever tasted and heard of gnocchi was at a dinner that was used to get me out of the house for a surprise 17th birthday party. The location was Italy's Little Kitchen and I remember thinking, "Oh, Gnocchi! Where have you been all my life?" Having grown up with an express love for mashed potatoes and fettuccine alfredo, I thought, "You mean to tell me that I can have potatoes and pasta in one dish?!" Haha.. Now that I am more well-versed in nutrition, I realize this seems a little carb-crazy, but all things are good in moderation. And some things, like this, are really good.

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs. Yukon Gold Potatoes

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 large egg, lightly beaten

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Poke potatoes all over with a fork and bake on a baking sheet for 45 minutes to one hour, until potatoes are fork-tender. For best results, turn potatoes over halfway through baking. Let potatoes cool slightly. (It helps to let cool in the freezer for a few minutes if you're impatient, like me.)

Peel the potatoes, then grate them using the large holes of a grater into a large bowl. Add lightly beaten egg and salt to the grated potatoes and mix well with a wooden spoon.

Add the flour to the potatoes, a little at a time, using only enough so that the dough will not stick to your hands. Once the flour has been incorporated, bring the dough together and dump onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough, as you would bread dough, for about 3-4 minutes. 

Form the dough into a ball, and then portion it out into six smaller balls. On a floured surface, use your fingers to roll one of the six dough balls into a 3/4-inch wide rope. Cut the dough into 1 inch pieces. 

You can cook the gnocchi as it is now, but traditional gnocchi has ridges. You can create these by pressing each piece of dough on the tines of a fork and then rolling it off and forming a cylinder shape. It helps to dip the fork into flour in between each formation to avoid sticking.  

To cook the gnocchi, place each dough piece into a pot of boiling and well-salted water. After a few minutes, the gnocchi will float to the top. Let cook one more minute, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. 

Serve with marinara sauce and parmesan cheese and enjoy. 

Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes

Classic, delicious, chunky mashed potatoes.

For an additional picture, see Grilled Salmon with Lime Butter Sauce.

Serves: 4
Total cooking time: 25 minutes

*adapted from Gourmet, November 2004

INGREDIENTS:

2 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes (about six potatoes, depending on the size)
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
2/3 cup whole milk (or a combination of a lower % milk and whipping cream)
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare potatoes with potato scrubbing gloves if you have them, or by peeling if you don't have scrubbing gloves. Once potatoes have been scrubbed or peeled, cut into 1-inch cubes. Transfer to a 3-quart heavy saucepan and add 5 cups cold water and 1 teaspoon salt, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

Drain potatoes in a colander, then return to pan and cook over moderate heat, shaking pan occasionally, until dry, 1-2 minutes. Heat milk, butter, pepper, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small saucepan until butter is melted. Add melted mixture to pan and using a potato masher, mash all ingredients together until just combined.

Enjoy.