Kelly's Potatoes

My friend, Kelly, often makes these potatoes for parties & they are always a major crowd-pleaser! I tried making them for the 1st time last week, when we had our neighbors over for dinner... keeping my fingers crossed that they turned out as good as Kelly's! They were SO easy to make! I made half the recipe, but here is the full recipe:

"Kelly's Potatoes"
1-2 bags of frozen Southern Style Hash Browns
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
2 - 8oz. bags of sharp cheddar cheese
16 oz. sour cream
1 cup or so of milk
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
Salt & pepper
1 stick of butter
Corn flakes

-About 1 hour before making, take potatoes out of the freezer to soften.
-Mix together... onion, 1½ bags of the cheddar cheese, sour cream, milk, soup, salt, & pepper
-After all ingredients are mixed add the potatoes. Spread into a large greased baking dish
-Add remaining ½ bag of cheddar cheese to the top. Then add crushed corn flakes on top of the cheese.
-Melt 1 stick of butter & pour over the top right before placing in a 375 degree oven for about 1 hour+ (check middle to see if potatoes are warm enough).

*Recipe courtesy of Kelly Neary.

Kelly's Potatoes

Corn & Black Bean Salad

I originally saw this recipe on the Today Show, but decided to change it up a bit for dinner the other night. I served it as a side dish with veggie burgers & Chris took some of the leftovers to work the next day. I was so simple & light! You could also serve it with tortilla chips, as an appetizer!

Here's a link to the original recipe: Corn & White Bean Salad

Here's the version I made...
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (or freshly squeezed lemon juice)
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt & Pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic (I used a little less)
~1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
~1/2 cup chopped orange pepper
2 cups cooked corn kernels
15oz can black beans; drained & rinsed
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

*Whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, & a sprinkle of salt & pepper in a large bowl. Add the garlic, tomatoes, peppers, corn, & beans. Gently stir until everything it coated with the dressing. Taste, adjust the seasoning if necessary, stir in the basil & serve.

Corn & Black Bean Salad

Pesto

My new FAVORITE thing... PESTO! I absolutely love it & can't believe I waited until I was 28 to try it. I made it from scratch this past weekend. It was incredibly easy to make with our food processor, was SO flavorful, & can be used with many dishes. *Note: these recipes call for Pine Nuts, which can be kind of pricey. Feel free to substitute with Walnuts.*

Here is the recipe I made, courtesy of Barefoot Contessa:

Pesto Yields: 4 cups
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup pignolis (pine nuts)
3 tablespoons chopped garlic (9 cloves) *I used about 5 to 6 cloves & that was plenty!
5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups good olive oil
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan *I added extra!

*Place the walnuts, pine nuts, & garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for 30 seconds. Add the basil leaves, salt, & pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube & process until the pesto is thoroughly pureed. Add the Parmesan & puree for a minute. Serve, or store the pesto in the refrigerator.
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Another version to consider is this one by Ellie Krieger, who is also from the Foodnetwork. Ellie is known for making dishes healthier & lighter. I was able to make this recipe in our mini-food processor!

Pesto Yields: 3/4 cup
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 clove garlic
3 cups fresh basil leaves, loosely packed
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt & pepper

*Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan over a medium heat until fragrant & golden brown, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes. In a food processor, process the pine nuts & the garlic until minced. Add the basil, Parmesan cheese & lemon juice and process until finely minced. With processor on, slowly pour the oil down the food chute. Process until well blended. Season with salt & pepper, to taste.

Serving Suggestions: There is SO much that you can do with pesto. Here are just a few ideas...

-I used the pesto on homemade pizza in place of red sauce. Chris & I loved it so much that we had pizza 3 times this week :) Also, look in the grocery store for pizza-sized pita bread & use that in place of regular pizza dough. No rolling out the dough, bakes faster, & is much lighter!
-We also brought some pesto along to our picnic at Ravinia last weekend. We used it as a spread to make little Caprese sandwiches (ciabatta bread, spread pesto on the inside, top with sliced tomatoes, & slices of fresh mozzarella cheese). They were SO flavorful!
-Or use pesto with any type of pasta dish (hot or cold)!
-Any other suggestions???

*Photo courtesy of Barefoot Contessa

Pesto

Corn Muffins

I love Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa... her cookbooks, her recipes, & her show. Can't get enough of her :) Here is her recipe for corn muffins. I made them to serve with my Dad's Chili that we are having tonight when our neighbors come over for dinner.

Corn Muffins
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup medium cornmeal
2 T. baking powder
1½ tsp. salt
1½ cups whole milk
½ lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted & cooled
2 extra-large eggs

*Preheat oven to 350.

-Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder, & salt.

-In a separate bowl, combine the milk, melted butter, & eggs. With the mixer on the lowest speed, pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones & stir until they are just blended. Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each one almost to the top. Bake for 30 minutes, until the tops are crisp & a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly & remove from the pan.

*Warm up muffins before serving... add some butter :)

Corn Muffins

Diced Potatoes

From my Mom... a great side for many dishes, and they are super fast to prepare!

Diced Potatoes
Potatoes, Olive Oil, & Mrs. Dash Original Blend seasoning

*Potatoes, diced (enough to fill the bottom of a 8x8 or 9x13 glass baking dish)
Note: I usually use a combination of red & yellow potatoes (diced with skins left on), and sometimes I also add some sweet potatoes (peeled & diced)

*In bowl or large Ziploc bag… combine potatoes with Olive Oil & Mrs. Dash Original Blend seasoning. Toss/shake until coated

*Spray glass dish with cooking spray, add potatoes, drizzle with a little olive oil. Baked @ 400 for little bit over an hour (occasionally take out to toss)

Diced Potatoes

Veggie Casserole

This is another dish from the Food Network's Giada De Laurentiis. I make this for dinner at least every other week... sometimes once a week because Chris loves it! It makes for GREAT leftovers... we always have a ton left over to heat-up for lunch the next day.

Even though it's all vegetables, it actually is filling enough to be a meal. It would make for a great side dish as well.

Veggie Casserole
Small red potatoes (3 or 4), cut into small pieces/cubes, with skin on
1 medium sweet potato, peeled, cut into small pieces
1 red bell pepper, cut into ½" pieces
2 or 3 carrots, peeled, cut into ½" pieces
5 T. olive oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced into rings (use all of the onion)
2 small or 1 large zucchini, cut into slices
Salt & pepper
2-3 large ripe tomatoes, cut into thick slices
½ cup grated Parmesan
2 T. dried Italian-style bread crumbs

-Toss the red potato, sweet potato, red pepper, carrots, & 2 T. of olive oil in a 13x9 baking dish to coat. Sprinkle with salt & pepper & toss until coated. Spread vegetables evenly over the bottom of the pan.

-Arrange the onion slices evenly over the vegetable mixture. Arrange the zucchini over the onion. Drizzle with 2 T. of oil. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Arrange the tomato slices over the zucchini.

-Stir the Parmesan & bread crumbs in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the Parmesan bread crumbs over the vegetables in the baking dish. Drizzle with the last T. of olive oil.

-Bake uncovered @ 400 until the vegetables are tender, & the topping is golden brown, about 50 minutes.

-I like to serve it over Trader Joe's whole wheat couscous (Rice would work as well, but I like to use couscous because it sticks to all the veggies)

Veggie Casserole