Tag Archives: potato

Slow Cooker Roast with Potatoes and Carrots

28 Apr

Slow Cooker Roast with Potatoes and Carrots

 

I know this picture doesn’t make it look very appetizing, but it really turned out very good!  The roast was a chuck roast that I had purchased from Starbar Farm & Ranch.  When I used to make this, I would use a packet of onion soup, but since I didn’t have any on hand, I found a blend of spices online that was similar and without all the extra stuff too.  After the meat was cooked, I shredded it and mixed it in with the potatoes and carrots, making it like a beef stew.

 

Slow Cooker Roast with Potatoes and Carrots

What you need:

4-5 lb beef roast
2.5 lb potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces (I left the skins on)
8 oz peeled baby carrots
1 onion, cut into wedges
4 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
3 tablespoons dried minced onion
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups water

How to make it:

Place roast in slow cooker.  Place potatoes, carrots, and onions around the roast.

In a small bowl, combine beef bouillon, minced onion, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Sprinkle over roast and vegetables.

Pour the water over the vegetables that are around the roast.

Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until meat can be pulled apart easily with a fork.

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Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

31 Mar

This has been on my list of things to try making for a while.  Our main Olive Garden favorite is Zuppa Toscana, which I still make regularly, but I still wanted to give this one a try.  It is actually really easy to make and doesn’t take too long to make.  For the gnocchi, you have the option of buying at the store (usually in the pasta, refrigerated, or frozen section) or making your own.  I had a leftover baked potato in the fridge, so I decided I would try making my own.  It’s not too hard either, just a little time-consuming.  I’ll give the recipes for both.

Potato GnocchiPotato Gnocchi

What you need:

1 large russet potato, weighing about 1 pound
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup flour, plus more for work area
Pinch of salt

How to make it:

First, bake potatoes. I used a potato that I had baked in the slow cooker earlier in the week.  If you don’t have an already baked potato, preheat oven to 350 F.  Pierce potato with a fork all around potato.  Bake for about 1 hour, or until potato is very soft.  Remove potato to a rack and cut open to allow to cool.

Scoop out the insides of the potato and discard skins (or save skins for some other use).  Pass the potato through a potato ricer or run along a small grater.  Add the egg yolk, flour, and salt, and mix by hand until you get a ball of dough.

Flour your work area.  Take a small ball of the dough and gently roll on your work surface until you have a long roll about 3/4″ in diameter.  Cut off 1″ sections.  Roll each along the back of a fork to get small indentations in each piece.  Place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.

Potato Gnocchi waiting to be cookedAt this point, if you will not be using right away, place the cookie sheet in the freezer.  Once frozen, place gnocchi in a freezer safe bag or container until you will use.

To cook, bring a pot of salted water to a boil.  Gently add gnocchi, a few at a time, to the boiling water.  When they rise to the surface, use a slotted spoon to remove gnocchi.  Repeat for remaining gnocchi.  Serve with sauce or pesto, or set aside to add to soup below.

 

Chicken and Gnocchi SoupChicken & Gnocchi Soup

What you need:

1 lb chicken, cut into 1″ cubes (or 2 cups cooked chicken)
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups half and half (I just use 1% milk in all my soups, and it comes out fine)
1 pound potato gnocchi, made as above or cooked according to the package directions
3 cups coarsely chopped spinach leaves
Salt and black pepper to taste

How to make it:

Heat a little olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add chicken, and cook until no longer pink inside and slightly browned outside.  Remove from pot and set aside.

Heat the 3 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic.  Cook until vegetables become tender, about 10 minutes.  Mix in the flour, basil, salt and pepper.  Stir continuously for about 5 minutes.

Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and half and half to prevent any lumps from forming.  Bring to a light boil, then reduce heat to low to simmer for 20 minutes, until soup thickens.

Add the cooked gnocchi and spinach to the soup.  Gently stir and cook until spinach wilts.  Serve immediately.

 

 

 

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Variations on Potato Leek Soup

2 Mar

After ending up with plenty of leeks and gold potatoes after Bountiful Baskets last week, we’ve been enjoying plenty of Potato Leek Soup.  However, my husband complains about the lack of meat.  So, I tried a couple different variations this week, and they were great!

Potato Leek Soup with Sausage:  While soup is cooking, crumble and brown 1 pound of Italian sausage.  Drain excess fat.  Stir into finished soup.

Potato Leek Soup with Sausage

 

Potato Leek Soup with Ham: After soup has finished cooking, add in 2 cups of fully cooked ham (such as Zaycon Foods ham)

Potato Leek Soup with Ham

 

I will update the original post for Potato Leek Soup with these variations as well!

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Spinach and Mozzarella Chicken with Lemon Roasted Potatoes

15 Jan

Spinach and Mozzarella Chicken with Lemon Roasted Potatoes

 

This turned out amazing!  I had gotten spinach from Bountiful Baskets in the juicing pack I contributed for, and wanted to make it with chicken somehow.  So, I started looking through some recipes, and came up with a marinade for the chicken, then topped with spinach and mozzarella cheese.  I wanted them to be somewhat flatter, but didn’t pound them flat very well.  Just meant that it took a little longer for them to cook.  Since I had gotten red potatoes and lemons as well in my regular basket, I thought roasting the potatoes with lemon would be a nice addition.

 

Spinach & Mozzarella Chicken

What you need:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/3 cup olive oil
Juice of 2 lemons (or about 1/3 cup)
1 tablespoon rosemary
2 cloves minced garlic
Salt and pepper
2 cups fresh spinach
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

How to make it:

In a small bowl, combine olive oil, lemon juice, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper.  Put chicken on a flat surface in between 2 pieces of wax paper and pound flat.  Place chicken in a gallon size zipper bag and pour contents of the bowl over chicken in the bag.  Seal bag and place in refrigerator overnight, or for at least 1 hour before cooking.

Remove chicken from bag and discard remaining marinade.  Preheat oven to 400 F.  Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Cook chicken in skillet for about 5 minutes each side to slightly brown it.  Remove from skillet and place in a baking dish.

In the same skillet, put in the spinach and cook for a few minutes until spinach wilts.  Place spinach on each of the chicken breasts in baking dish.  Next, put shredded mozzarella on top of the spinach on each chicken breast.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked fully through and cheese is melted.

 

 

Lemon Roasted Potatoes

What you need:

3 pounds red potatoes, well scrubbed
Juice of 1 lemon
Olive oil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Dice the potatoes, leaving skins on.  Place in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, mix together remaining ingredients.  Pour over the potatoes in the large bowl.  Toss to fully coat potatoes.

Spray a foil lined baking sheet with non-stick spray.   Spread potatoes in an even layer on the baking sheet.

Cook in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.  Stir potatoes around on baking sheet.  Continue to bake for 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes are browned and softened.

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Roasted Vegetable Medley

16 Dec

Roasted Vegetable Medley

 

I have made a vegetable medley in the past, but it was a different mix, sweet potatoes, carrots, red peppers, parsnips, Mexican grey squash, and asparagus.  This time, I used what I had just gotten from Bountiful Baskets and some things I had in my fridge, red potatoes, rainbow carrots, radishes, red onion, Mexican grey squash and yellow squash.  It ended up really good this time too, the veggies got a very sweet taste to them.

 

Roasted Vegetable Medley

What you need:

2-3 red potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces (I left on the peels)
2-3 carrots, sliced into thin rounds
1 bunch radishes, cut in halves or fourths, depending on size
1/2 of a red onion, cut in larger wedges
1 zucchini, or Mexican grey squash, sliced into thin rounds
1 yellow squash, sliced into thin rounds
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Olive oil

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Line a baking sheet with foil and spray or brush with olive oil.  Place potatoes, carrots, and radishes on the baking sheet.  Drizzle or spray with olive oil and season with half of basil, oregano, garlic salt, and pepper.  Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.  Then, add the zucchini, yellow squash, and red onion to the baking sheet.  Drizzle or spray with olive oil, and season with the remaining spices. Bake again for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables have all softened.  If desired, splash vegetables with balsamic vinegar before serving.

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Slow Cooker Baked Potatoes

29 Nov

Recently at Bountiful Baskets, we got some HUGE russet potatoes.  We love baked potatoes in my house, but potatoes that big can take forever to bake.  Well, I discovered there is a pretty easy way to get a baked potato – in the slow cooker!  So, here is what you need to do!

First, wash and completely dry your potatoes.  Poke with a fork around the potatoes.  Wrap them in aluminum foil and place in the slow cooker.

 

Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or high for 5-6 hours.  Remove from foil and serve.

 

Here is how we had ours, fully loaded with shredded cheddar cheese, crumbled bacon, sour cream, and chives.  I know, not the healthiest, but so good!

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Loaded Baked Potato Soup

12 Nov

 

So, I usually make potato soup in the slow cooker, but I didn’t really think far enough ahead of time to get it going.  So, I decided to try a stove top version instead.  I looked up a few recipes, and came up with a mix between my normal recipe and some others I found.

 

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

What you need:

1/2 pound bacon
1/2 onion, finely diced (I used a red onion)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup flour
1 quart chicken broth
2 1/2 pounds potatoes, diced, peeled or unpeeled (I used a mix of red and white potatoes, and left the peels on)
1 8oz package cream cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

How to make it:

In a large stockpot, cook bacon until crispy.  Remove from pot and crumble; set aside.

Keeping the bacon grease in the stockpot, add onions and minced garlic.  If there is not enough bacon grease, melt 4 tablespoons  of butter in the stockpot.  Cook onions and garlic until caramelized.  Stir in flour.  Pour in chicken broth while stirring constantly to avoid any lumps.     Add the potatoes, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.  Use a potato masher or immersion blender to mas potatoes to desired consistency (I prefer my soup to be a little lumpy).  Stir in bacon, cream cheese, and shredded cheddar cheese, and continue to cook until cheese is melted.

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Potato Leek Soup

10 Sep

I have eaten Potato Leek Soup before, but it was a store bought soup mix.  I have never actually cooked with leeks, so I was excited to see them in my Bountiful Baskets this week while most people were turning up their noses at them.  Plus, we also got gold potatoes, so Potato Leek Soup had to be made!  My husband was really excited too, and he really enjoyed the soup.  It also worked out that Saturday was an overcast, rainy, cooler day, great soup weather.  And, it was coupled perfectly with the baguettes I had gotten from my Sunizona Family Farms FarmBox.  Can you tell how excited I am about how well this meal came together?!?!

Potato Leek Soup
Based on recipes here and here

What you need:

1/2 cup butter
2 leeks, white and pale green parts only, chopped (There is a great video here on how to clean and chop the leeks, thank you Kelly H. for the link!)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth (make sure to use gluten-free broth if you need this gluten-free)
2 1/2 lbs potatoes, preferably Yukon gold, diced
2 cups half and half or whole milk
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper

How to make it:

Melt butter in a large stock pot and add chopped leeks, plus salt and pepper to taste.  Cook leeks in the butter until tender, about 10-15 minutes.  Do not let leeks brown, brown will give them a burnt taste.

Next, wisk the cornstarch into the chicken broth, leaving no lumps.  Pour into the stock pot.  Then, add the diced potatoes and half and half.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until potatoes are tender.  Stir in the parsley and more salt and pepper, if desired.  If you want a smoother soup, remove about half of soup to a blender and puree, then return to the pot.  You can also use an immersion blender or hand potato masher to slightly mash some of the potatoes in the soup.  Serve hot.

Variations:

Potato Leek Soup with Sausage:  While soup is cooking, crumble and brown 1 pound of Italian sausage.  Drain excess fat.  Stir into finished soup.

Potato Leek Soup with Ham: After soup has finished cooking, add in 2 cups of fully cooked ham (such as Zaycon Foods ham)

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Our 4th of July Barbecue

4 Jul


Today is a day we celebrate our freedom in the USA.  So, I planned to make a little extra food today in celebration.  We had invited a friend over to join us, but he ended up cancelling.  We had a ton of food ready to go, but the extra will take us through the next few days with some spin-off dishes.  So, what did we have?

We had top sirloin steaks, which I got on sale for $3.99/lb at Safeway last week, that I marinated in Dale’s Seasoning.  The shrimp was from Zaycon Foods, and I marinated to give it a spicy, garlic, lime flavor (see recipe below).  I also grilled corn on the cob, and to do that I cut each corn cob in half, sprayed with olive oil, sprinkled a little salt and ground black pepper on, and wrapped in aluminum foil, and put on the grill for 10-15 minutes.  Finally, I made a potato salad.  Unfortunately, I was in a bit of a hurry and didn’t cook the potatoes quite right and so they were a little crunchy, but the rest of the taste was right on.  This recipe called for sweet relish and onion, so since I had made Refrigerator Pickles a couple days ago, I chopped up the onions and “pickles” to add to the potato salad.  The recipe for this is below as well.

I have quite a bit of steak and corn left, so I am thinking I will cut up the leftover steak and saute with green peppers and onions to make steak fajitas.  Then, I will use the corn to make Roasted Corn Salsa as a side to go with it.  I also made a few extra hard-boiled eggs when I boiled eggs for the potato salad, so I chopped them up and chopped up more of the onions and pickles to mix in with it, and then mixed in some mayonnaise and mustard to make egg salad for sandwiches for lunch tomorrow.

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Spicy Garlic Lime Shrimp

What you need:

1 pound large shrimp, fully cooked, peeled, and deveined
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons tequila, optional (I omitted)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne (red) pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

How to make it:

Mix together all ingredients, and toss to coat shrimp well.  Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Option 1: Place shrimp on metal skewers.  If using bamboo skewers, soak the skewers in water while the shrimp marinades.  Heat a grill to high and lightly oil the grate.  Place shrimp on grill and cook for 2-3 minutes per side.

Option 2:  Heat a large skillet on the stove to medium high heat.  Pour contents of bowl into the skillet.  Stir, and cook about 5 minutes, just enough to heat shrimp through.

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Potato Salad

What you need:

1 lb potatoes
3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup sweet pickle relish (I chopped my Refrigerator Pickles and some onions from that for the relish and onions)
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Ground black pepper to taste

How to make it:

Peel and chop potatoes.  Place in a large pot and cover with cold water.  Place on stove and bring to a boil.  Boil for 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are tender, but not mushy.  Drain water and allow to cool.

In a large bowl, combine the potatoes and the rest of the ingredients.  Stir well.  Chill in refrigerator before serving.

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Bacon Wrapped Chicken with Goat Cheese and Chives

25 Jun

I had thawed chicken for tonight’s dinner, but had no idea what I wanted to make.  I remembered I had bacon on hand, and bacon always makes everything better, right?  So, I started looking at bacon wrapped chicken recipes, and found a few that had a filling of cream cheese and chives.  I didn’t have cream cheese on hand, but I did have soft goat cheese from our Farmer’s Market visit, so I decided it would work.  I also had fresh chives from the fresh herb pack. Normally, this would be baked in the oven, but since it is so hot here, I didn’t want the extra heat.  I thought about grilling, but we had a threat of rain all afternoon.  So, I cooked this in a little olive oil on the stove top, and it turned out really well.  I served with baked potatoes and salad.

 

Bacon Wrapped Chicken with Goat Cheese and Chives

What you need:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8 oz soft goat cheese or cream cheese
1 tablespoon fresh chives, minced
4 strips bacon
Olive oil

How to make it:

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Pound each chicken breast to 1/2′ thickness.  Spread goat cheese or cream cheese over each chicken breast.  Sprinkle each with minced chives.

Roll each chicken breast.  Wrap each breast with a piece of bacon, stretching bacon around each breast to make it thinner.  Place the wrapped chicken breasts in the skillet with the preheated oil. (You can see I was in a hurry and didn’t get the bacon wrapped around the chicken real well)

Turn wrapped chicken often to get even cooking on all sides.  Cook until internal temperature is 180 F.

Alternate baking instructions: Place wrapped chicken, seam side down in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 35-40 minutes or until a thermometer reads 180°. Broil 6 in. from the heat for 5 minutes or until bacon is crisp.

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