Potato Casserole

I'm always looking for a new way to whip up a potato. While I do love the traditional baked potato, it gets a little boring sometimes. My husband has an adoration for anything in casserole form. When he see's me pull out his favorite red casserole dish he practically dances with excitement. Not to down talk my husband, it is all because of him I come up with some fabulous meals! I was making steak the other night and didn't want a normal baked potato or even mashed potatoes. I had an abundance of bell peppers and little red potatoes. Anytime I have ingredients but am not sure what I'm going to do with them out comes the red casserole dish. Cue dancing. Now I realize the picture isn't "pretty" in the normal sense of the word but in casserole world, it's crispy, it's cheesy, it's gooey... it's beautiful.

Potato Casserole

Ingredients:
1 lb red potatoes (small)
1 of each red, green, yellow and orange bell pepper- julienned
1 small yellow onion- diced
2 cloves of garlic
Olive oil- to coat pan
1/3 cup light sour cream
1/4 cup mozzarella
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
1 tsp rosemary
Salt and Pepper- to taste
Johnny's Garlic Spread-(optional) if you don't own this, order it NOW! Thanks to my fabulous Mother in Law for introducing me to this. It now goes on everything I make, YUM.

Directions:
Wash and boil the potatoes till cooked. In the meantime saute onion and bell peppers in olive oil over medium heat. Once the peppers are soft add the garlic, continue to cook until caramelized but not burnt and lifeless. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Drain potatoes and slightly mash them, leaving them smashed but still chunky. Place the potatoes in a greased dish and top with the peppers, onion, and the pan juices. Drop spoonfuls of sour cream on potatoes. Sprinkle with mozzarella and cheddar. Season with Johnny's Garlic Spread, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and cover with foil. Bake at 325 degrees until bubbly and gooey, about 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for about 5 minutes more to give it a crispy top.

Mexican Egg Rolls

A few years ago I was handed the job of making chile rellenos for Christmas Eve. After 1 year of "stuffing" chile with cheese and attempting to bread and fry it with the breading still on, I was done. I decided I wanted to reinvent the Chile Relleno. Not that the original aren't great, because they are, I'm just not the best at making them. And so the Mexican Egg roll was born.

Mexican Egg Rolls

Ingredients:
1 pkg Egg Roll Wrappers
2 Tbsp Flour
2 Tbsp Water
Whole Seeded Green Chile
Cheddar Cheese- sliced in 1/2'' pieces
Canola or peanut oil- for frying

Directions:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Lay out one wrapper with the corner facing you. Place a 4'' strip or 2 Tbsp of chopped chile in the center of the wrapper. Lay a piece of cheese on top of the chile. Fold the corner up over the chile and fold in the left and right corners into the center and continue to roll up. Make a paste out of flour and water and brush onto the edges and corners to seal. Make sure all the edges are sealed so that the cheese doesn't squeeze out when you fry it . Place the rolls in heated oil turning occasionally until golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Baked Pasta with Chicken Sausage

This dish is super easy and incredibly yummy. Honestly you could add whatever you want to this dish and it would be amazing. It's sturdy enough to stand alone with just the pasta and sauce or could easily transition into a giant casserole with meat and veggies. I originally started making Pioneer Woman's Baked Lemon Pasta but every time I opened the fridge I found something else I wanted to add. I truly can't remember a time I followed a recipe word for word- it's a problem I know. Her recipe is perfect left alone, I just have a tendency to make things my own and really enjoyed it. I hope you do too!!

Baked Pasta with Chicken Sausage

Ingredients:
1lb Spaghetti (or your favorite noodle)
1 large or 2 small Lemons
Zest of 1 Lemon
4 cloves of Garlic
3 Tbsp Butter
2-3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 cup low fat Sour Cream
4 0z low fat Cream Cheese
Salt to taste
1 pkg Chicken Sausage (I used roasted garlic and herb)
2 cups Broccoli (steamed or blanched)
4 Green Onions- chopped
Parmesan- as desired

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter and heat olive oil in a skillet over low heat. When the butter is melted add minced garlic and squeeze the juice of 1 lemon into the skillet. Stir in sour cream and cream cheese. Add zest and salt. Turn off heat. Add cooked pasta, steamed broccoli, and green onion to skillet and toss to coat. Add cooked sausage now or after baked. Transfer to an oven safe dish, cover with foil and bake for 10-15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 5 or so minutes- don't let the pasta dry out. Remove from the oven and top with parmesan cheese and more lemon juice.

Healthy Birthday Cake

I made this Castle Cake for a birthday party this past weekend. It was a very special cake. For one, it was for my niece, and two it was made of black beans!! I'll admit when I first heard black bean chocolate cake, I was nervous. My sister has an allergy to gluten and dairy. And also a sugar intolerance. It's hard living with food allergies and also makes it very hard to find any sweets worth having. With some research she found a fabulous gluten free, dairy free, very low sugar black bean chocolate cake recipe. We made a test cake and could not believe how good it tasted! You certainly couldn't tell it was made of beans! It was a completely healthy cake, and no one had to feel guilty eating it. Don't be afraid of the name or have an nervousness about this cake, it's so GOOD!


Ingredients:
1-15 ounce can of unseasoned black beans
5 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons Coconut oil
3/4 cup Erythritol or (1/3 cup Honey + 1 tsp Stevia)
1/2 tsp Stevia (if using erythritol)
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tbsp water (omit if using honey)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease your cake pan with cooking spray or shortening. Since this is a no flour cake dust cocoa all over the cake, make sure to get it one the sides as well. This will prevent the cake from sticking to the pan.

Drain the beans and rinse the beans, you don't want any bean juice. Shake off excess water. Put beans, 3 of the eggs, vanilla, stevia, and salt in a food processor or blender. Blend until everything is liquefied. Make sure to get all the lumps out. Mix cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder in a bowl. In a separate bowl beat coconut oil and erythritol or honey (I used honey) until fluffy. Add 2 eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each one. Combine bean and egg mixture. Mix in cocoa powder and beat the batter on high until smooth. Put the batter in a pan and tap the pan on the counter to pop air bubbles.

Bake for 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Or until the cake is firm. If the cake is over baked it will be really crumbly and not as moist. Let the cake cool and turn out and set on a cooling rack until room temperature. The cake can be wrapped and refrigerated for a few days. Ice with your frosting of choice and ENJOY! It's really good with cream cheese or chocolate frosting. I made a tofutti cream cheese frosting, it was delicious. I'll post the recipe later on.

Gnocchi with Onion Cream Sauce

I got a bottle of Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette as a gift yesterday. I didn't want it to just be used on salad, so I though it just might make a great pasta sauce. When I first typed Onion Cream Sauce I deleted it and tried to think of a better name because it sounds nasty. But that's what it is! And it's not nasty it's delicious. So I'm going to leave it at that and not worry about how it sounds. The gnocchi could easily stand alone as an entree but I served it as a side dish to a pan fried steak and roasted parmesan broccoli. So good! Enjoy!

Onion Cream Sauce
Ingredients:
1/2 cup low fat ricotta cheese
1/3 cup low fat sour cream
Juice of 1 small lemon
1 1/2 tsp of minced garlic
4 Tbsp Onion Vinaigrette (or other thick dressing)

Mix ingredients to combine and refrigerate unless using immediately. Boil gnocchi and serve with heated sauce. I heated the sauce in the same pan used to cook the steaks. It gives the sauce a deeper, and in my case buttery flavor. Top the gnocchi with parmesan cheese. Eat it on it's own or make it a side dish, enjoy!

Citrus and Herb Salmon

I went back and forth all day trying to figure out what my first post should be. From muffins to soup to pasta. Then I decided I'll post whatever I decide to make for dinner. This just happens to be a household favorite and quite bold, a fantastic combination! I’m always looking for ways to change the “usual” way of cooking something. Most prefer Salmon grilled. And while I’m not against grilling I wanted a new spin. In this dish every bit gets used up, with the drippings reduced into a smooth rich sauce. It goes great with steamed broccoli, I wish I had some on hand tonight!

4 Tbsp Olive Oil

½ White Onion minced

5 cloves of garlic minced

2 salmon fillets

2 tsp dried parsley

3 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried rosemary

2 chopped green onions

1 medium lemon- thinly sliced and seeded

For Pan Sauce:

½ cup dry white wine (such as Pinot Grigio)

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/3 cup low fat sour cream

¼ cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over low to medium heat. Add onion and garlic, cook until translucent. Turn heat to medium and place salmon in skillet skin side down. The skin will easily peel off after the fish is cooked. Season fish with parsley, oregano, rosemary and green onions. Add salt, and pepper to taste. Place lemon slices on fillets and scatter the remaining in the skillet. Cook 4 minutes on each side, turning once. It should be firm with some give to it, not squishy. Once the salmon is cooked take out of the pan and place it in foil to keep warm. Turn heat to high and remove any really burnt bits and lemon slices. Pour in wine and scrape the bottom of the skillet. Bring to a boil. Stir in sour cream and parmesan. Once incorporated add 1 Tbsp olive oil and turn off heat. I like this Salmon served over rigatoni (I love Dreamfields) or with roasted new potatoes. Poor the sauce over the fish or the pasta or both! YUM!! And if you're like me you'll steam a couple pieces for the dog too :)