Creamy Tomato Soup ~ Instant Pot

It's a snowy day here in Georgia and nothing is better than a hot delicious bowl of soup.  Maisie put in her request for Creamy Tomato Soup.  As we had all the necessary ingredients in the house, her wish was granted.  This recipe was made in our 8-qt Instant Pot but could easily be made in any pressure cooker or even in just a pot on the stove.  We enjoy the soup with a bit of added heavy whipping cream, just for some extra creaminess, but even without the cream the soup is creamy delicious!

Creamy Tomato Soup ~ Instant Pot

• 4 Tbsp. ghee or butter
• 1 med. onion, large dice
• 2 small potatos, peeled and large dice
• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper 
• 1/3 cup sundried tomatoes
• 1 - 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 - 14.5 oz. can tomato sauce
• 1 -  6 oz. can tomato paste
• 4 cups water
• 2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (optional)

Heat pressure cooker and add the ghee.  Once metled, add the diced onion and sautee until tender.  Add the potato, garlic & black pepper.  Mix well and saute until the garlic is fragrant.  Add the sundried tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, and salt.  Close the pressure cooker and steam release valve.  Set high pressure for 10 minutes.  When time is up, allow for 10 minutes of natural release and then release any remaining pressure with quick release.  Use an immersion blender to blend the soup smooth.  Add additional salt and pepper to taste.  If using the cream, stir in before serving.  

Enjoy

Loaded Potato Soup

It’s Secret Recipe Club time and this month I was assigned the blog Cupcakes with Sprinkles which is written by Meghan, a sweets loving, cooking and crafting Mama to two cutie-patootie little girls.  So I know you’re scratching your head thinking Cupcakes with Sprinkles and a sweets loving Mama and here I am posting a recipe for Loaded Potato Soup???  Well I had just done a whole slew of sweet treat baking as I was sending a care package off to a friend’s daughter who’s away on her mission for the next year, so here in the Cook Lisa Cook home we were sort of sweet treated out.  Also, about a month ago we were out for dinner and Eammon ordered loaded potato soup and just adored it and had asked if I would try to make some at home for him, so when I saw Meghan’s loaded potato soup recipe I knew what I’d be making.  Trust me though a number of her sweet treat recipe have been saved to make in the future.  I mean check these out and I know you’ll be adding them to your list of recipes to make:  Boston cream pie, one of my all time favorites, white chocolate mousse torte for my white chocolate loving husband and Avalanche Bars which I know I’ll be making one day soon with Maisie.

The day that I made Meghan’s soup was a cold day here in Georgia so it was a perfect & delicious meal.  I’m not even going to mention how much of the pot Eammon consumed in just one day but I’ll put it to you this way, I have already made this soup again and seeing how much Eammon especially loved it the first time, I was smart and made a double batch the second time around.  Oh and here’s something amazing and almost unheard of, other than adding a bit of salt, I changed nothing in Meghan’s recipe…yes amazing for the cook who is always tweaking and changing recipes.  Oh and when I say I didn’t change anything, I mean even the second time around, this recipe is just absolutely perfect and I hope you’ll give it a try…but make a double batch, trust me on that one!    

Loaded Potato Soup (recipe from here)

• 1/2 lb bacon, diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 5 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 30 oz. Cheaters Chicken Soup or 2 - 15oz cans chicken stock or vegetable stock  
• 3 TBS. butter
• 3 TBS. all-purpose flour 
• 1 1/2 cups milk (I used skimmed)
• 3/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper 
• sea salt, to taste
• sour cream for garnish

In a large stock pot, cook bacon until crisp. Remove and set aside. Keep the bacon grease in the pot and add the onions, cook until tender.  Leave the onions in the pot and add the potatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender. With a slotted spoon remove about a cup of potatoes. Place in a bowl and mash with a fork. Set aside.

In a small sauce pan melt the butter. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes on med-low. Whisk in the milk, turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Simmer until thickened.  Slowly stir the milk mixture in to stock pot of potatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer. Stir the bowl of smashed potatoes back into pot.  Add 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese and three-fourths of the bacon to the pot. Add pepper and salt to taste. Stir to combine. Cook an additional 5 minutes.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and top with some shredded cheese, bacon and sour cream.

Enjoy!

My previous Secret Recipe Club Recipe Posts: 

Lemon Almond Biscotti 
Creamy Mints 
Thai Peanut Noodles with Chicken 
Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings 
Fried Green Tomatoes 
Chicken Satay Noodle Salad 
Double Chocolate Mousse Cake 
Candied Popcorn
Fruit, Nut & Poppy Seed Chicken Salad 
Broiled Sushi 
Health(ier) Peanut Brittle 
Crunchy Fudgy Heart Bites 
Texas Chicken with Lime Butter 
Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens 
Thin Mint Irish Coffee 
Levain Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies 
Welsh Cakes 
Nutella Crêpes 
Cilantro Lime Chicken 
Holy Guacamole 
and
Home Style Chicken Curry

Crispy Oven Roasted Potatoes

These are Eammon’s absolute favorite potatoes but because of the calories in them, I make them only for holidays or as a very special treat.  When I make these special potatoes I use a very special ingredient, FAT!!  Yes pure, delicious, culinary gold, saved fat from when I previously made either chicken, duck or even as a last resort, bacon.  I keep containers of rendered fat in my freezer for when I want to make these potatoes or other special recipes.  My favorite fat to use when making these potatoes is the fat skimmed from a pot of Cheaters Chicken Soup as it not only has the rich chicken fat flavor but also all the garlic, onion and other flavors from the “Rotisserie” Chicken and the soup so it gives these potatoes the most delicious flavor EVAAH!! {Sorry, I’m originally from Boston and the accent just comes out every once in a while.}  I have also used pure rendered chicken and duck fat and while not as flavorful, still off the charts delicious.  If you’re not into saving chicken fat, fry up some bacon and use that fat.  Once you try these potatoes you’ll find fried or oven potatoes made with oil…well just boring and bland.  These potatoes are a special treat and oh-so-very worth every.single-calorie!!

Crispy Oven Roasted Potatoes

• red skinned potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes 
• chicken fat skimmed from Cheaters Chicken Soup, rendered chicken, duck or bacon fat, enough to liberally coat the potatoes 
• sea salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
• peanut oil, oil of your choice or cooking spray 

Pre-heat oven to 450F.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly coat with oil or cooking spray.  Cut each unpeeled potato into eight pieces or for large potatoes, ten pieces.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the potatoes.  Parboil the potatoes for five minutes, until just the outer edge of the potatoes are soft but the potatoes are still raw in the middle.  Pour the potatoes into a colander to drain and toss them around to get the edges roughed up.  Place some of the chicken fat into the now empty, still warm pot and allow it to melt.  Add the drained potatoes to the pot and toss to coat with the melted fat.  Pour the potatoes onto the prepared baking pan in a single layer and place them skin side down.  Roast for 30 minutes.  Toss the potatoes and cook another 10 minutes, toss one last time and cook for a final 10 minutes.  Season with salt & pepper and serve hot.

Enjoy!

French Fries Hash Browns

Last December when we were in Aruba with my parents, my Mom was trying to use up all the food we had in the kitchen before heading back to the states.  In the freezer was a bag of French fries which most likely would have gone uneaten had she not diced them up and fried them up with some onions & garlic, making boring old fries into a wonderful little side dish.  Well they were really good and I remember that dish each time I have leftover fries so that’s how this recipe was born.

This month for the Improv Cooking Challenge our hostess Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker asked the participating bloggers to make any recipe of their choosing using the two given ingredients of tomatoes & peppers.  What perfect ingredients as I have a bounty of both tomatoes and peppers coming daily from my garden.  I love being able to walk outside, pick fresh veggies and eat or use them in a recipe within minutes, so perfectly fresh. Where last month I struggled with what to make for the challenge, this month I knew immediately as this recipe is something that I make for Eammon’s breakfast quite often and I pair it with some perfectly cooked over-easy eggs.  It’s a great way to use up leftover French fries and also get a little bit of veg into him.  The other nice thing about these hash browns is that I use what I have on hand and no matter what variation I make, he always enjoys it.  Next time you have leftover French Fries I hope that you’ll give this recipe a try.

My previous Improv Cooking Challenge entries:

July 2012  Corn & Butter:  Fritos Crusted Pollock 
June 2012  Cherries & Almonds:  Dried Cherry Almond Tart 
May 2012  Strawberries & Cream:  Strawberry Soup 
April 2012  Peanut butter & Jelly:  Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars 
March 2012  Potato & Cheese:  Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole 
February 2012  Ginger & Carrots:  Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing 
January 2012 Lemon & Sour Cream:  Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart 
December 2011 Eggnog & Cranberries:  Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter 
November 2011 Pumpkin & Cream Cheese:  Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake 
October 2011 Caramel & Apples:  Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

French Fries Hash Browns

• Olive oil
• 1/2 medium sweet onion, diced
• 5 banana peppers, sliced into rings
• 1/2 jalapeno, seeds removed, finely minced
• 1 cup coarsely diced leftover oven baked French fries
• 2 thick slices salami, diced
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• salt & pepper to taste

Heat a large cast iron skillet or frying pan over high heat and add enough olive oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan.  Add the onions, banana peppers, jalapeno, French fries and salami and cook, stirring often until everything starts to lightly caramelize an then add the tomatoes.  Cook until the tomatoes start to pop and caramelize. Add salt & pepper to taste.  Serve with a gorgeous fried egg.

Enjoy!

Slimmed Down Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole

My friend Lisa recently had surgery and while she recovered I wanted to make dinner for her and her family.  Lisa has been on Weight Watchers and she really liked the sound of my Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole so I set out to make a healthier version for her and her family. 

I cut way back on the oil that I used in the recipe and it made for a thicker coating on the potatoes which I really liked.

I used less potatoes, creating only a single layer in the pan.

Because I used less oil I had less leftover oil/hot sauce left in the bowl to use for marinating the chicken.

Though there was enough to coat the chicken, I think that next time I will just add a few dashes of extra hot sauce to the chicken.

The potatoes roasted up beautifully with the reduced oil and I loved the thicker coating of the hot sauce mixture.

Raw marinated chicken placed on top of the roasted potatoes,

In place of the regular bacon I used turkey bacon and for the cheese I used Weight Watchers Reduced-fat shredded Mexican-style cheese.

Ready for the oven.

The casserole baked up the nicely though not quite as gooey melty as when I use other cheese.  The reviews, well Lisa and her family loved the casserole and finished off the entire pan and if asked to make a slimmed down version again I wouldn’t hesitate to make this exactly as written below.  Also, after making this slimmed down version and seeing how it worked out, I think that in the future I will only use the reduced amount of olive oil and if needed I’ll add a bit of extra hot sauce to help marinate the chicken. As far as the bacon and cheese, just because of my personal taste preferences I’ll most likely continue using real bacon and regular cheese.  So in the future our family will enjoy a less slimmed down version but I guess cutting any bit of fat out of a recipe is good for the diet. 

Slimmed Down Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole

• 24 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 30 oz. potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes  (I leave the skin on)
• 2 TBS. olive oil 
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 TBS. freshly ground pepper
• 1 TBS. paprika 
• 2 TBS. garlic powder 
• 6 TBS. hot sauce 

Topping:

• 8 oz. Weight Watchers Reduced-fat shredded Mexican-style cheese
• 6 oz. turkey bacon, diced and pan fried until crispy
• 1 c diced green onion

Preheat oven to 500F.  In a large bowl mix together the olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder & hot sauce.  Add the cubed potatoes and stir to coat.  Carefully scoop the potatoes into a cooking spray coated 9 x 13 inch baking dish, leaving behind as much of the olive oil/hot sauce mix as possible.  Bake the potatoes for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes, until cooked through and crispy & browned on the outside.  While the potatoes are cooking, add the cubed chicken to the bowl with the leftover olive oil/hot sauce mix and stir to coat.  Once the potatoes are fully cooked, remove from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 400F.  Top the cooked potatoes with the raw marinated chicken.  In a bowl mix together the cheese, cooked turkey bacon & green onion and top the raw chicken with the cheese mix.  Return the casserole to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the topping is bubbly delicious.  Serve with extra hot sauce and/or ranch dressing.

Enjoy!

Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole

This is my sixth month participating in the Improv Cooking Challenge which is hosted by Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker.  As always I looked forward to participating and finding or coming up with a great recipe which included the two theme ingredients.  This month the participating bloggers were asked to make any recipe of their choosing using the two given ingredients of potatoes & cheese.  I knew immediately what I was going to make as this recipe has been a favorite in our home for a few years and as I haven’t made it in ages nor have I ever posted the recipe to my blog, well it was time to make it.  Back the end of 2006 when we first brought Maisie home, not only was I very sick but she wanted no part of me putting her down or leaving her so that I could cook.  Because we still needed to eat, I started going one night every month or so to one of those kitchens where in two hours you partially prepared twelve meals and then you brought them home to your freezer.  When dinner time would roll around all I would have to do was take my prepared items and quickly cook them.  It was nice because we were eating real food that I had previously prepped, but at home I had virtually no clean-up and my time in the kitchen was mere minutes. This recipe was inspired by one of the meals I once prepared in that kitchen but through the years I’ve changed and adapted the recipe to suite our tastes and this is the version I have been making for a few years.

NOTE:  A reduced fat & lower calorie version can be found here:  Slimmed Down Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole 

My previous Improv Cooking Challenge entries:
February 2012  Ginger & Carrots:  Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing
January 2012 Lemon & Sour Cream:  Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart 
December 2011 Eggnog & Cranberries:  Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter 
November 2011 Pumpkin & Cream Cheese:  Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake 
October 2011 Caramel & Apples:  Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies 

In a large bowl mix together the olive oil, hot sauce, salt, pepper, garlic powder & paprika.

Add the potatoes and stir to coat.

Add the potatoes to a greased baking dish.

 When scooping the potatoes into the baking dish, leave behind any extra olive oil/hot sauce mix.

Add the diced chicken to the “left behind” olive oil/hot sauce mix and stir to coat all the chicken.  Allow to marinate as the potatoes bake.

Roast the potatoes for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes, until cooked through and nice and crispy on the outside.

Once the potatoes are fully cooked add the marinated chicken.

In a large bowl mix all the topping ingredients together.

Top the raw chicken with the topping.

Bake until the chicken is cooked through and the topping is melted and bubbly delicious.

 
Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole 

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 8-10 medium potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes  (I leave the skin on)
• 1/3 cup olive oil 
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 TBS. freshly ground pepper
• 1 TBS. paprika 
• 2 TBS. garlic powder 
• 6 TBS. hot sauce 

Topping:

• 2 c. Fiesta Blend Cheese or a mix of Cheddar & Monterey Jack
• 1 c. crumbled bacon 
• 1 c diced green onion

Preheat oven to 500F (This is NOT a typo, 500F is correct!)  In a large bowl mix together the olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder & hot sauce.  Add the cubed potatoes and stir to coat.  Carefully scoop the potatoes into a cooking spray coated 9 x 13 inch baking dish, leaving behind as much of the olive oil/hot sauce mix as possible.  Bake the potatoes for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes, until cooked through and crispy & browned on the outside.  While the potatoes are cooking, add the cubed chicken to the bowl with the leftover olive oil/hot sauce mix and stir to coat.  Once the potatoes are fully cooked, remove from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 400F.  Top the cooked potatoes with the raw marinated chicken.  In a bowl mix together the cheese, bacon & green onion and top the raw chicken with the cheese mix.  Return the casserole to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the topping is bubbly delicious.  Serve with extra hot sauce and/or ranch dressing.

Enjoy!

Potato Crusted Pork Chops

Before we left for Aruba I was walking through the grocery and had a major AHA moment when I happened to notice an end cap filled with boxes of something I’ve never purchased, potato flakes and I realized that they looked just like panko.  It dawned on Marblehead here that I could use them to “bread” pork, chicken or fish, making some of our favorite meals “safe” for Maisie and her food allergies.  I am really starting to find my way and though a bit of a pain in the tush, it is interesting to find new ways of making meals so that Maisie can continue to enjoy some of her favorite foods in a new and safe way and soon it will be my norm in cooking.  Once I got home with the potato flakes I looked up recipes on the web and sure enough there were dozens of them.  Most said dip the meat in an egg wash and coat with the potato flakes but obviously that wasn’t going to work for Maisie as she can’t have egg whites.  So I just lightly coated the meat with a little peanut oil and then the potato flakes which I seasoned with some garlic powder, salt, pepper and Italian seasonings and I baked the pork the way I always have and it worked out wonderfully.  The seasoned potato flakes were delicious and we we enjoyed one of our favorite meals in the new “safe for Maisie” way.

Potato Crusted Pork Chops

2 boneless pork chops
1/2 cup potato flakes 
1 tsp. Italian seasoning 
1 tsp. garlic powder
salt to taste
pepper to taste
Peanut or oil of your choice 

Preheat oven to 450F.  Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly oil.  In a bowl mix together the potato flakes, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt & pepper.  Lightly coat the pork chops with oil and then dip into the potato flake mixture covering all sides of the pork.  Place the pork on prepared baking sheet.  Bake 20 minutes or until cooked though.

Enjoy!

Hasselback Potatoes with Garlic Sour Cream

Hands down these are the most delicious potatoes I have ever eaten and are worth every.single.carb-and-fat.calorie they contain.  Buttery, garlicky, fluffy on the inside and a little crispy on the outside.  Perfection!!

Also wonderful is that they’re simple to make.  Thinly slice fresh garlic and then slice partially through the potato a few times and insert the slices of garlic.

Then toss in some melted butter and olive oil…YUM!  Sprinkle on some salt & freshly ground pepper and then pop in the oven.  The most difficult part, waiting the hour for the potatoes to finish cooking.

Hasselback Potatoes with Garlic Sour Cream 

12 red new potatoes
5-6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced (I used a mandolin)
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400F. In a large cast iron skillet or oven safe casserole dish, melt the butter and olive oil together.  In the top of each potato, make several parallel slits making sure not to slice completely through. Place garlic slices into the slits on each potato. Toss the potatoes with the butter and olive oil mix and lay potatoes so that the cut sides are up.  Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.  Bake until the tops are crispy and potatoes are cooked through, about 1 hour. Transfer to a platter and serve with Garlic Sour Cream.

Garlic Sour Cream:
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine sour cream & garlic powder in a small bowl. Season with salt & pepper to taste and refrigerate until time to use.

Enjoy!

Aloo Tikki

Here we are already at the third month of the Crazy Cooking Challenge hosted by Tina of Moms Crazy Cooking.  Each month she challenges participating bloggers to search non-celebrity blogs looking for the ultimate recipe of the month and then to make and feature that recipe and the blog.  The first month we were challenged to find the ultimate mac & cheese recipe and I made a delicious Velvety Mac & Cheese.  Last month the challenge was chocolate chip cookies and for me, my ultimate was Chocolate Chip Gingersnaps, truly delicious. 

This month we were challenged to find the ultimate mashed potato recipe.  Sounded simple enough as everyone seems to have what they consider a wonderful mashed potato recipe but as I was reading through all the various recipes, nothing struck me.  Don’t get me wrong, they all sounded delicious, some with simple additions some with a myriad of ingredients, butter, cream cheese, sour cream, bacon, garlic, herbs and spices but just nothing called to me.  So I looked in a different direction and there were cakes and brownies which had mashed potatoes as one of the ingredients but still, I was uninspired.   Then it happened, I was having lunch with a friend and was happily enjoying some Aloo Tikki,  It struck me, Aloo Tikki are essentially wonderfully seasoned mashed potatoes fried up into little patties, Brilliant!  I was finally inspired so off I went looking for the my ultimate mashed potato recipe in the form of Aloo Tikki and I found it at Arundhuti’s My Saffron Kitchen.  The recipe was simple and the pictures captivating so I was ready to cook…well once I picked up some potatoes. 

I changed the spices in the recipe somewhat to utilize what I had available at home and also to adjust it to my tastes and in the end I have to say, I made some ultimate Aloo Tikki and and I think they qualify as the ultimate mashed potato recipe of the month.  If you think so too, I’d appreciate your vote on the links below.  I hope too that you’ll give Aloo Tikki a try and remember if you have some regular mashed potatoes, they could easily be used as the base for these.

My beautiful Maisie Miao Miao helped by mashing the boiled potatoes.

We mixed all the ingredients together in one big bowl and then using a large cookie scoop I portioned out the potato mixture.

I patted down the scoops to make patties, each about 1/4-inch thick.

I coated the outside of the patties with a cornmeal & cornstarch mixture.

 In about 1/8-inch of oil, I fried the Aloo Tikki.

 Once browned on the first side I carefully turned and browned the other side.

  Crispy on the outside, creamy spicy potatoes on the inside and the peas have a nice little pop when you bite into them, perfection!

Aloo Tikki  (Adapted  from here)

2 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and boiled until easily pierced by a knife
1 cup frozen sweet peas
1 medium onion, finely minced (I used Vidalia)
2 green Thai chilies, seeded and minced finely
1 red Thai chili, seeded and minced finely
2 1/2 tsp. amchur powder (dried mango powder)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 TBS. finely grated fresh ginger
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
salt to taste
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup cornstarch
Oil to shallow fry (I used peanut oil)

Drain and mash the potatoes in a large bowl.  Add the peas, minced onion, minced green & red Thai chilies, amchur powder, ground cumin, ground coriander, grated ginger, fresh cilantro and ground pepper.  Mix well and add salt to taste.  Using a large cookie scoop portion out the potato mixture.  Flatten each ball to approximately 1/4 –inch thick.  In a bowl mix together the cornmeal and cornstarch and then coat each patty lightly with the mixture.  In a large fry pan heat approximately 1/8-inch of oil.  Fry the tikkis on both sides until golden brown. Remove to a cooling rack lined with paper towels to drain the excess oil.  Salt if desired and serve hot with ketchup or a chutney of your choice.

Enjoy!

Aloo Gobi

Cauliflower was on a great sale recently so I picked up two heads thinking that I’d use one for cauli-rice under a curry and the other I’d do my usual and we’d just enjoy the florets roasted with a bit of garlic, salt & pepper.  But I’ve been craving Indian spice flavors so I thought why not change things up and do something a bit different.  After a quick check in the pantry and knowing that I had potatoes and onions I decided on Aloo Gobi (aloo = potato & gobi = cauliflower).  I was too lazy to actually go and look up a recipe so I prepared this based on partial memory of making it previously and the flavors that I thought should be there.  So this recipe is probably not very authentic but very delicious none the less.  

Aloo Gobi

1 head cauliflower
4 medium potatoes, peeled (I used Russet)
3 tablespoons peanut oil, divided
1 tablespoon butter
1 onion, chopped finely
1/4 cup fresh minced ginger
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 TBS ground cumin
1 1/2 TBS ground turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 450F.  Cut the cauliflower into florets and the potatoes into bite-size pieces.  In a large bowl toss the cauliflower and potatoes with 2 tablespoons of the oil then place in single layer on a large foil lined baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes, tossing halfway through.  While the cauliflower & potatoes are baking heat 1 TBS of oil and the butter in a large frying pan.  Add the onions and sauté until golden, about 10 minutes.  Add the ginger and garlic and cook for 2 minutes.  Add the the cumin, turmeric and salt and stirring continuously, cook one minute.  Add the water to the frying pan and stir to combine with the onion-spice mixture.  Remove the baked cauliflower & potatoes from the oven and add them to the skillet.  Toss with the onion-spice mixture until well coated.

Enjoy!

Potato Salad with Bacon

I am forever perusing cooking blogs and I don’t even want to venture a guess as to how many recipes I have emailed to myself in hopes of making one day as I’m sure that it’s probably more than I could make in two lifetimes.  Recently though I have been working on better organizing my recipes and as I organize I’ve been watching for those recipes which I could make immediately because of having all the ingredients in the house.  This potato salad was one of those recipes and though I didn’t have the exact ingredients in the original recipe I had perfect-close-enough substitutions and honestly after making the recipe I would leave my substitutions in place as this was a perfect recipe for us.  When I saw this recipe for potato salad. something about it just worked for me so it ended up in my email box.  

Funny thing about this recipe is the night that I first served this potato salad Eammon immediately exclaimed that this was “the best potato salad ever.”  So why is that so funny?  Because Michelle at Brown Eyed Baker got this recipe from her friend’s grandmother and on that original recipe card it was titled “Best Ever Potato Salad”.  So below is my slightly adapted rendition of their Best Ever Potato Salad.

Potato Salad with Bacon (adapted from here)

4 c peeled & cubed potatoes (I used russet because that’s what I had in the house)
10 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 TBS Dijon mustard
2 tsp granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
5 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1 stalk celery, diced
1 medium Vidalia or sweet onion, chopped
1/2 medium red and/or orange pepper, chopped

Boil the potatoes until they are fork tender then drain the potatoes and set aside.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a fry pan over medium heat until crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Pour off all but 2 TBS of the bacon drippings.

Remove the fry pan from the heat and add the mayonnaise, mustard, sugar and salt to the reserved bacon drippings and whisk to combine.

In a large bowl combine the eggs, celery, onion and pepper. Pour the dressing over the ingredients and stir to evenly mix. Add the potatoes and bacon and gently stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.

Enjoy!!