potato

Meatloaf with broccoli and mashed potatoes

Jan 27th, 2012

by ben.

Date: 1/24/2012

Meatloaf recipe: http://kickassbbq.com/smoked_meat_loaf.html

Broccoli recipe: 1 head of broccoli tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese. Roast at 425 for 20 minutes.

Mashed potatoes recipe: Quarter the potatoes and boil them until soft, mash with butter, sour cream, and cream.

Modifications: We used turkey thigh instead of beef, and added garlic, shredded carrot, and only used 4 strips of bacon.

UPDATE 4/30/12: Made this again last night and wanted to document what I thought was a winning combination of ingredients:

2 lbs ground turkey thigh
1/2 large onion, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1/2 carrot, shredded
1 jalapeno, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg
2 T bbq rub
1/4 cup bbq sauce
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped

Time to table: 30 minutes meatloaf prep, 90 minutes meatloaf grilling time. I made the broccoli and potatoes while the meatloaf was grilling.

Servings: 2 adults, 1 toddler, and several lunchs of leftover meatloaf

Ben: LOVE

Erin: Love

Annie: Love

Notes: This was simply amazing. We made this meatloaf before using the smoker, not the grill, but this time was tremendously better. I was surprised at how tasty the turkey thighs were, and the grill cooked the garlic more than the smoker did, so it turned out better. Annie surprisingly loved the broccoli tonight and continued to ask for more off of Erin’s plate. Everything came together great in this meal, AND I timed everything perfectly so that it was all hot when we ate it. I’m pretty great, if you ask me.

Crockpot Potato Pork Hotdish

Dec 18th, 2011

by ben.

No comments yet

Date: 12/8/2011

Recipe:
1 lb (16 oz) ground pork
2 cupd sliced raw potatoes
1 & 1/2 cups sliced carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
10 oz can tomato soup
1/2 cup water
1 tsp. dried parsley flakes
Salt and Pepper to taste

in a large skillet brown meat, onion, and celery. In a slow crockpot container – sprayed with cooking spray – combine meat mixture, potatoes, carrots, peas, and corn. Stir in tomato soup, water, parsley flakes, salt, and pepper. Mixed well. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Time to table: 30 minutes prep, 6-8 hours cook time

Modifications: No modifications really, but I didn’t really measure out any of the vegetables, I just added what seemed like an appropriate amount.

Servings: 6 adult servings

Ben: Love

Erin: Like

Annie: Dislike

Notes: We got this recipe from our neighbor Molly. I thought this was excellent and a great dish for weeknights as its quick enough to throw together before leaving for work in the morning and is reasonably healthy. Erin liked it fine, but wanted some sort of starch or carb to go with it next time. Annie had maybe a single bite. One of those nights.

Corn bread skillet

Oct 4th, 2011

by ben.

No comments yet

Date: 9/27/2011

Recipe: This recipe was from our CSA newsletter and it was great because it used a ton of the veggies from our box:

2 T oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 leek, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
2 medium potatoes, diced
1 poblano pepper, diced
1 medium bell pepper, diced
juice & zest of 1 lime
5 tomatillos, cored and chopped
1 large tomato, cored and chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 can pinto or black beans
3 T cilantro, minced
1 c cornmeal
1/3 c all purpose flour
1 T sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1 c plain yogurt
1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese

Heat oil in oven proof skillet and saute onions for a couple minutes and then add the leeks. After another minute add the garlic, cumin, coriander, potatoes, and peppers. Saute for a couple minutes and add the lime juice/zest, tomatillos, tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Continue to cook, stirring periodically, for about 8-10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 and prepare the cornbread topping: sift together the dry ingredients. Whisk together egg and yogurt and mix into dry ingredients and set aside. Stir beans and cilantro into skillet and top with cornbread batter. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Add shredded cheese and return to oven for 3-5 more minutes, until golden and browning on the edges.

Time to table: 75 minutes

Modifications: I didn’t use any tomatoes because we didn’t have any, and we had also just used the all the leeks in the soup the night before, so we didn’t include that.

Servings: 2 adult dinners, 3 adult lunches, 1 toddler dinner

Ben: Dislike

Erin: Like

Annie: Like

Notes: This was kind of blah. Definitely should use more cheese than is called for. I think the cornbread is a little too dry and crumbly for this kind of dish, it would have been better with a fluffier dough I think. Oh well, we got some lunches out of it and it used up a lot of veggies.

Looks like scrambled eggs with cheese!

Veggie hash with scrambled eggs

Aug 3rd, 2011

by ben.

No comments yet

Date: July 31st, 2011

Recipe:

1 potato, diced
1 onion
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 large bunch of kale, chopped
1-2 cups shredded cheese
4 eggs

Saute the potato and onion until nearly done, but not quite. Add the garlic and kale and cover until the kale has softened and the potatoes are done. Top with the shredded cheese and let it melt while you scramble the eggs.

Time to table: 25 minutes

Servings: 2 adults, 1 toddler

Ben: Like

Erin: Like

Annie: Like

Notes: This was made in an attempt to use more CSA stuff, those boxes can be daunting sometimes! Annie seemed to like this, though she rarely turns down eggs or cheese, so that was kind of expected.

Smoked spare ribs with roasted veggies and potatoes

Jul 21st, 2011

by ben.

1 comment

Date: July 16th, 2011

Ribs recipe: http://www.thesmokerking.com/page1b.html

Modifications: I used the same rub we use for our pulled pork: http://www.crumblycookie.net/2008/05/30/crockpot-pulled-pork/. I didn’t use a mop or a spray for the ribs, just smoked them for two hours, wrapped them in foil and smoked for another hour. The rack I had was 2.65 pounds, and following the “one hour per pound” rule worked perfectly.

Veggies recipe:

1 head of cauliflower
1 head of broccoli
olive oil
salt and pepper

Cut up the broccoli and cauliflower and toss with the olive oil and salt and pepper. Wrap in foil and put on a hot grill for 20-30 minutes, until the veggies are tender.

Potatoes recipe:

3 large russet potatoes
8 oz cream cheese
1 stick butter
0.5 cups sour cream
salt and pepper

Cut the potatoes into fourths and boil for 20 minutes, until potatoes are soft. Drain the water and add the cream cheese, butter, salt and pepper, and sour cream. Stir (don’t even need to mash) until all the ingredients are worked in and the potatoes are broken up and creamy.

Time to table: 3 hours smoking, 40 minutes for the potatoes and veggies, while the ribs were smoking.

Servings: 4 adults, 2 toddlers, with a little leftover potatoes. The ribs were gone.

Ben: LOVE

Erin: Like

Annie: Love

Notes: We made the food and then ate this at our neighbors with them and their daughter. The ribs were heavenly, and incredibly easy to make. Smoking food is easy as long as you have the time to do it, and the food comes out so awesome it’s unbelievable. Erin tricked Annie by combining the cauliflower and broccoli with her mashed potatotes, and she ate them. It’s not lying though, because Erin TOLD Annie she was doing it!

Ribs, pre-rub

Ribs, post-rub, mmmmmmmmm

The ribs were nearly too long to fit on the smoker

Roasted broccoli and cauliflower

Mashed potatoes

Annie with her meal, making good progress on her potatoes with hidden veggies!

Smoked chicken with vegetables

Jul 11th, 2011

by ben.

1 comment

Date: July 10th, 2011

Chicken recipe:

1 whole roasting chicken
1 gallon water
1 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup sugar
smoker (I used an electric smoker, but a grill would also work)

Mix the water with the salt and sugar and brine the chicken for 4 hours. Fire up your smoking apparatus and smoke the chicken for 3-4 hours until done.

Vegetables recipe:

1 pack of brussel sprouts
1 potato
4 tablespoons of butter

Dice the potato and brussel sprouts. Melt the butter in a frying pan and add the brussel sprouts and potatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste and sautee until the brusssel sprouts are done (they’ll take longer).

Time to table: 8 hours prep/smoking time, 30 minutes cooking time for vegetables

Servings: 2 adults, 1 toddler with plenty of leftover chicken for two more dinners.

Ben: Love

Erin: Like

Annie: Like

Notes: I was going to add garlic to the vegetables, but I got lazy and the frying pan was already crowded. The smoking method I used was the following:

electric smoker (Brinkmann 810-7080-k)
hickory wood chips, I had to add more every hour or so
I put the chicken on at 12:45 and took it off at 5:15. It rested while I cooked the veggies.

I ordered some wood chunks (as opposed to chips) on Amazon today so that I won’t need to add them to the smoker as often. My dad just got a new smoker and gave me his old one that needed a new element. The element arrived on Saturday and I smoked salmon this morning and the chicken at night, it was a great day for cooking!

I’m going to look into some vegetarian smoking/grilling options because our meat consumption will go through the roof this summer if my current interest in smoking and grilling continues at its current pace.

Warm Potato Salad

Jun 22nd, 2011

by erin.

No comments yet

Date: June 19, 2011

Recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/New-York-Potato-Salad-1454 (very loosely based)

about 8 small red potatoes
3 slices bacon
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons stone ground mustard
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup greek yogurt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
3 stems green garlic, chopped
2 celery stalks, diced
Chopped garlic chives
Salt & Pepper

1. Quarter potatoes and boil until fork tender.

2. Fry bacon, when done remove from pan and chop.

3. Add pepper, onion, and celery to bacon grease and saute until soft.

4. Mix vinegar, mustard, mayo, yogurt, sugar and paprika in a medium bowl, season with salt and pepper.

5. Put potatoes, veggies, and bacon in a bowl. Toss with dressing and top with chives. Can be eaten warm or cold.

Modifications: See above. I cut up the potatoes small for Annie. Garlic chives and green garlic were used because we have some from our CSA.

Time to table: 30 minutes

Servings: 4 side dishes

Ben: Love

Erin: Love

Annie: Like

Notes: This was inspired by our recent visit to Black Forest Inn – I found a recipe that sounded vaguely similar on epicurious and just modified it to suit the way we remembered the potato salad there. This was delicious as a side dish to a grilled brat on a summer evening! Annie was not a huge fan of the potato salad but did enjoy her brat.

Breakfast hash

May 22nd, 2011

by ben.

1 comment

Date: May 21, 2011

Recipe:

4 strips bacon
1 cup diced sweet potato
1 small diced red potato
4 diced cloves garlic
1 cup shredded cheese

Dice the bacon and cook in a fry pan. Remove the bacon and set aside. Cook the sweet potato and potato in the bacon grease until nearly done. Add the garlic and the bacon for the last 1-2 minutes. Top with the shredded cheese and let it melt together.

Time to table: 30 minutes

Servings: 2 adults, 1 toddler

Ben: Love

Erin: Like

Annie: Like

Notes: I soaked up some of the bacon grease with a paper towel. This is, again, one that can be made with whatever veggies you have around. We also sometimes top the hash with a fried egg, just didn’t feel like it today. This is also a lunch item for me, easy to throw together quickly.

Spinach & potato frittata

May 13th, 2011

by ben.

No comments yet

Date: 5/12/2011

Recipe:

6 eggs
1.5 cups of diced sweet potato
1 diced red potato
4 cloves garlic, diced
handful of baby spinach
1 cup shredded cheese
salt and pepper

Beat the eggs with salt, pepper, and the cheese, set aside. Sautee both kinds of potatoes in a cast iron skillet with olive oil until nearly done. Add the garlic for a minute. Add the spinach until lightly wilted. Pour the egg mixture in and stir until mixed in. Let it sit on the stove for 4-5 minutes on medium-low heat until the eggs begin to cook through.

Turn the oven broiler to low and move the skillet into the oven to broil the top of the frittata for 3-4 minutes. Take out and serve.

Time to table: 30 minutes

Modifications: You could really use any vegetables you have on hand as well as bacon or sausage.

Servings: Perfectly fed two adults and one toddler.

Erin: Like

Ben: Love

Annie: Love

Notes: Erin insisted I include the third picture of our recently cleaned house. Annie and I are clearly confused that she is taking photos instead of eating with her family. The frittata paired well with my Summit EPA. (Note from Erin: this meal was my idea, even if Ben was the one who executed it)