Whipped Vegetable Trio

"What in the hell are parsnips anyway?!"  These were delicious!  We had these with Chicken Cheese Broccoli Calzone and a sald.

3 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 medium parsnip, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
4 c water
1 tbsp EVOO
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/4 onion, chopped
1 tbsp butter
1/2 c milk
1/4 c sour cream
1 tbsp dried chives
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
5 basil leaves, chopped

In a large pot, bring water to boil and add potatoes, parsnips, and carrots.  Bring to a boil again and reduce heat.  Cover and simmer for 15-17 minutes.  In a small skillet, heat EVOO over medium heat and cook onion and garlic.  Once potato mixture is fork-tender, drain water.  Add onion garlic mixture to pot.  Add milk, butter, sour cream, chives, salt, and pepper.  Mash until creamy.  Garnish with basil leaves.

Roasted Spicy Sweet Potatoes

This was the side along with a salad to my Crab Cakes with a Kick last night for dinner.  I loved these so much but apparently, my body did not because it spiked my blood sugar higher than its supposed to be... oops.

1 large sweet poatoe, washed, dried, and chopped into bite size pieces
2 tbsp EVOO
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp rosemary
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Coat chopped sweet potatoes in EVOO.  In a small bowl, combine seasonings and herbs.  Toss potatoes in seasoning mixture and place in coated 8x8 baking dish.  Bake for 30 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.

Caesar Salad

3-4 large heads of romaine lettuce, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, finely minced
1 package of croutons (I prefer Fresh Gourmet Deli Style)
Ken's Light Creamy Caesar Dressing and Ken's Caesar (non creamy version)
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 c coarsely chopped parmesan cheese
10 basil leaves, coarsely torn

In a large salad bowl, combine romaine, garlic, and croutons.  In a small bowl, depending on how 'dressed' you prefer your salad combine 1/2 of that amount of each type of Caesar.  Toss into salad.  Add cheese and basil leaves. Grind pepper into salad (I think I use approximately 1-2 tsp of black pepper... I like it with a kick).  Serve.

Two Tone Twice Baked Potatoes

I acquired 10 lbs of Russet potatoes at some point over the past two weeks and now I have to find things to make.  I also hand a few sweet potatoes.  I have to admit I prefer sweet potato fries over twice baked potatoes with sweet potato but these were good too for some different.

1 sweet potato
1 large Russet potato or 2 small Russet potatoes
2/3 c sour cream, divided
1/3 c milk
2 tbsp chives, divided
salt, pepper to taste
3 tbsp butter, divided
3/4 c shredded Cheddar cheese divided
3 slices of cooked bacon, chopped (optional-I happened to have this so I threw it in)

Wash Russet and sweet potatoes and prick all over with a fork.  Bake at 400 F for 60-70 minutes.  Turn oven to 350 F.  Cut off top of Russet potatoes and scoop out pulp into a small bowl.  Add 1/3 c sour cream, all of milk, 1 tbsp chives, 1 tbsp butter, and 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese.  Season with salt and pepper.  Mash together.  Cut off top of sweet potato and scoop pulp out into another small bowl.  Add remaining sour cream, chives, and cheddar cheese.  Season with salt and pepper.  In each potato shell, scoop Russet potato mixture into one half and sweet potato mixture into the other half.  (There will be additional filling, I typically put this in a small Ramekin and cook with the twice baked potatoes).  Place on baking sheet and bake 20 minutes or until heated through.

Twice Baked Blue Cheese and Bacon Potatoes

In addition to the Shrimp Scampi in Cream Sauce I made last night for our anniversary dinner, I also whipped these up.  I did it more out of necessity to get rid of some stuff in the refrigerator.  I now love these and will be making them more often and am also thrilled I made extra :)

4 baking potatoes
1/2 c sour cream
2 heaping tbsp of cream cheese
1 tbsp butter
4 tbsp blue cheese crumbles
1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp black pepper
4 slices of cooked bacon, chopped

Preheat oven to 425.  Wash potatoes and poke all over with fork.  Bake for 40-60 minutes.  Remove and cut out the top of potato, discarding the skin.  Spoon out the pulp into a large bowl.  Combine all of the ingredients and mix with an electric mixture until desired consistency.  Add more or less milk if desired.  Spoon back into the potato shells.  (I typically have remaining filling when I make twice baked potatoes of any variety so I put the leftover filling in a ramekin and follow directions the same with potatoes).  Place in oven and bake for additional 20 minutes.

*Deep Fried* Sweet Potato Fries

So I heart fried food (yes, I know it's bad for me... blah blah) but my Fry Daddy has been on vacation for the past few months.  We whipped it out today to try deep frying our new favorite vegetable and we're very pleased with the result.  If you've read any of my posts before, you know we've had Garlic Sweet Potato Fries a lot recently, which are great.... but.... they're baked, not fried.  I think I like these more... surprise surprise ;)  I wouldn't call this a recipe because I don't have exact measurements... just a general idea of what to do.  If you don't have a deep fryer, then shame on you but I guess you could fry them on the stove top in a pot of oil... which sounds almost as dangerous as me wanting a blow torch to make creme brulee and considering what I continually do to my thumb with the box grater, you know a blow torch is a bad idea for me.

2 sweet potatoes, washed, patted dry and cut into french fry shape
egg ( we used 3)
milk (maybe a cup or so)
flour (about a cup)
seasonings (garlic powder, salt, cayenne pepper... or whatever you like)
vegetable oil for deep frying

Heat oil to 350 F.  Combine egg and milk in a shallow dish.  In another shallow dish combine flour and seasonings.  Dredge fries through egg mixture then flour mixture.  In batches, deep fry the sweet potato fries till golden brown.  Place on a plate lined with paper towels to soak up excess oil and salt or season.  Continue to deep fry.  Eat and enjoy and then go run a few miles to counteract what the oil is doing to your arteries ;)