Baked potato wedges

This is a very simple yet delicious recipe from Ina Garten (recipe here). A variety of herbs could be used.

Ingredients:
4 large baking potatoes
4 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp rosemary

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Scrub the potatoes. Cut them in half lengthwise, then cut each half in thirds lengthwise. Each potato will produce 6 long wedges. Place potatoes on a sheet pan with the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and rosemary. With clean hands toss all the ingredients, evening coating potatoes. Spread the potatoes in a single layer with 1 cut-side down.

Bake the potatoes for 30-35 minutes, turning to the other cut side after 20 minutes. Bake until they are lightly browned, crisp outside and tender inside. 

Delicious dinner rolls

I have never successfully made tasty rolls…until I tried this recipe. These are fabulous. I froze the cooked rolls and they are still very good when thawed.
Original recipe can be found on How Does She.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of milk
• 3/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons yeast
• 2 cups of warm water
• about 9-10 cups of all purpose flour
• at least 1 cup of butter

Instructions

*Please note I did NOT hand mix these rolls. I'm way too lazy. I used my Bosch and just barely mixed it. 

1. Scald 1 1/2 cups of milk, 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup of butter, in a microwave safe bowl, for about 2 minutes. Cutting the butter into pieces helps it melt faster. There will probably be some little cubes of butter still floating in the hot mixture, they will melt.
2. add yeast to this hot mixture, but it will be too hot to just dump the yeast straight in (it would kill it!). To cool it down stir in 1-2 cups of flour, then add 1 egg and 1 Tablespoon of salt, and leave it to cool for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile, in a measuring cup dissolve 2 Tablespoons of yeast in 2 cups of warm water and 1 Tablespoon of sugar. Let it sit for a couple of minutes until it is bubbly.
3. Make sure your milk mixture is just warm, not boiling and add the yeast mixture!
4. Using a fork or wooden spoon, gradually stir in 9-10 cups of flour (counting the flour you have already added to cool it earlier). I would recommend only adding 2 cups at time and stirring in between. These rolls turn out so much better when they are mixed by hand.
5. At the end the dough will be dense and sticky, and may be hard to stir, you can use your hands to incorporate the rest of the flour if needed. Be sure not to add too much flour. Then smooth the dough out and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Leave it in a warm place and let it rise.
6. When your dough is close to raising completely, butter 2 cookie sheets and set them aside.
7. Let the dough raise until it has doubled in size.
8. Cover your working space with flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Dump your dough out and divide it into 4 balls. Eyeball the sizes, then lift them up and feel the weight of each ball. Try to make them even, but they don’t have to be perfect.
9. Using one ball of dough at a time: roll the dough into a circle on a floured counter. Once it is rolled out spread the top with butter from edge to edge. You will use about 2 Tablespoons per circle of dough.
10. Cut the dough into quarters using a pizza cutter.
11. Then cut each quarter into 3 pieces. You should end up with 12 triangles from each circle of dough.
12. Roll the dough starting with the wide end of the triangle
13. Tuck the tail of the triangle under the roll and place it on the buttered cookie sheet. You will make 3 rows, with 8 rolls per row. This will give you 24 rolls per pan. Two balls of dough will fill 1 pan. You will get a total of 48 rolls!
14. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the pans of rolls in a warm place (on top of the oven if possible) to let them rise. Once they are touching and full in size, cook (one pan at a time) in the oven ’till they are golden brown. About 10 – 15 minutes, It may take longer depending on how hot your oven cooks. Keep a close eye on your first pan to get the right time for the second.
15. While they are still hot and fresh out of the oven run a stick of butter over the tops of the rolls for a delicious buttery glaze.

Thai Cucumber Salad

3 large cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch slices 1 tablespoon salt 1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped 1/4 cup chopped cilantro 1/2 cup peanuts

1.	Toss the cucumbers with the salt in a colander, and leave in the sink to drain for 30 minutes. Rinse with cold water, then drain and pat dry with paper towels.
2.	Whisk together the sugar and vinegar in a mixing bowl until the sugar has dissolved. Add the cucumbers, jalapeno peppers, and cilantro; toss to combine. Sprinkle chopped peanuts on top before serving.

Bottled Salsa

I use my food processor to chop all the ingredients.  I also drain off some of the water from the tomatoes because I don't like runny salsa.  Note to self:  wear gloves when handling jalapeno peppers.  They are no joke.  It seems like this recipe makes 5-6 large bottles.

48-58 tomatoes
4 medium onions
8 yellow peppers
4 green peppers
20 jalapeno peppers
1-1/4 c vinegar
2 t. sugar
4-1/2 t.  salt
1 t. crushed red pepper

Simmer over low heat, draining excess water until desired consistency is achieved.  Remove from heat, add 1 bunch fresh chopped cilantro and stir well.  Add salsa to bottles, leaving 1-2 inches at the top.  Seal with lids and place in water bath (bottles should be nearly covered with water).  Process for 15 min. or until lids are sealed.  Store for up to a year.

Mango Salsa

This is a delicious recipe I found on allrecipes and then tweaked to my taste buds. I served it over grilled chicken and coconut rice. It was so refreshing and delicious. My only hang up is the red onion. Though I do love red onions they always seem to overwhelm a dish. The original recipe called for 3/4 cup (talk about overload). I used a 1/4 cup and still felt it was too much. My suggestion is to only add 1/8 cup or use green onions which are much more mild. I also added some chopped cilantro and felt it really upped the flavor.

Ingredients

• 1 mango - peeled, seeded and diced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lime
• 1 avocado - peeled, pitted, and diced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Chopped cilantro to taste

Directions

1. Toss together mango, bell pepper, onion, sugar, olive oil, and lime in a bowl. Gently fold in diced avocado, and season with salt.

Coconut Rice

My recent tropical travels have inspired a few new recipes. This is a great one for coconut rice. The coconut flavor is very subtle. I got this from allrecipes. Also I used lite coconut milk to cut down on fat.

Ingredients

• 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked jasmine rice

Directions

1. In a saucepan, combine coconut milk, water, sugar, and salt. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Stir in rice. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 18 to 20 minutes, until rice is tender.

Guacomole

This is seriously amazing.  It comes from my friend's recipe blog and you can find the original here.  I changed it a bit because I am afraid of Jalapeno peppers and raw onions.  Also, I did not use a food processor as suggested in her recipe.

2 ripe avacados, pitted and peeled
1 jalapeno, finely chopped and seeded
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Roma tomato, chopped
1 Tbsp. lime juice
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper


Mash avocado using a fork or mini wisk, add other ingredients until combined (leave chunky).  Melissa suggests that if the avocado is too ripe you can add more lemon (or lime) juice and salt. 

Raspberry Jello Salad

I'm going to start posting our traditional Christmas foods. So, in no particular order:

Grandma Johnson's Raspberry Jello Salad
1- 6 oz pkg sugar-free raspberry Jello
1 pkg frozen unsweetened raspberries
1 can crushed pineapple
2 bananas, sliced in circles

Make Jello according to package directions. Mex raspberries and pineapple and refridgerate. Add sliced bananas before Jello solidifies (otherwise they will sink to the bottom).

Sweet Potato Fries with Honey Lime Dip

Baked Sweet Potato Fries
2 medium-sized sweet potatoes* (I boiled them just until they were tender on the first layer. This really helped make cutting them into fries easier. I peeled them just as you would a Russet Potato.)
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 t cumin (The cumin seemed a little strong. Next time I don't think I'll use it)
1/2 t oregano
1/2 t coriander
1 t kosher salt
1 t parsley
fresh ground pepper (about 10 turns of a pepper mill)

Put the sweet potatoes in a bowl and drizzle the olive oil over them. Use your hands to make sure each one is coated. Place the fries on the baking sheet. It's very important that they are not touching, After 15 minutes take pan of oven and flip the fries. Put the pan in the oven and cook for another 15-20 minutes. Just keep an eye on them. They should be nice and golden brown.

Honey-Lime Dip for Sweet Potato Fries
(Note: this recipe made more than enough. You could half it and be just fine)
6oz container plain, low-fat yogurt
1 T mayo (I used fat free)
1/2 T honey
1/2 lime
1/4 t cumin
1/8 t oregano
1 t parsley (I didn't see add the last 3 ingredients by mistake. Turned out to be delicious without them)
1/2 t granulated onion
3/4 t kosher salt

Baked Mashed Potatoes

To make this recipe a bit healthier, I use all fat free dairy products. They are still delicious.

2-1/2 lbs. potatoes
3 oz cream cheese
1/2 c. sour cream (I added more to taste)
1/4 c. milk

salt and pepper to taste

Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to boil and simmer until soft. Drain and mash. Add sour cream, cream cheese, basil, and garlic. Combine using a mixer until smooth.

Spread in baking dish and cook at 325 for 30-45 min or until hot.

This makes enough for 6 servings.

Hamilton's Whipped Sweet Potatoes

Whipped Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients:
4 or 6 sm. sweet potatoes
1 1/2 tbsp. butter
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
6 tbsp. milk
¼ c - ½ c sugar, depending on sweetness
1egg
Brown sugar crust
½ c brown sugar
1 tbsp flour
1/8 tsp cinnamon
¼ c melted butter
Method:
Peel and boil sweet potatoes. When tender, pour off water. Add butter, milk, sugar, egg and cinnamon and whip with mixer.
Pour mixture in a 9x9 square baking dish and smooth out. Combine flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Spread melted butter evenly over sweet potato mixture. Sprinkle topping over butter and bake for 20 - 25 minutes @ 375º to create a nice crust. Top with chopped pecans