I don’t make recipes like this very often. Like this meaning.. I consider it too unhealthy to include in a normal meal rotation for us. But.. I did grow up with a love for cream sauce and what is it really going to hurt every once in a while? The grocery store finally had potatoes on our most recent trip so we snagged a large bag and this just felt like the perfect side dish with our dinner the other night.
First, wash and slice your potatoes pretty thin (they will cook faster that way). I think we used about 4-5 average sized potatoes. We made a LOT – we are notorious for that! Next, melt a stick of butter in a pan. Grab your flour, milk, salt and pepper. Slowing add flour to your melted butter, stirring constantly until you get a nice thick consistency – about like the picture below. You can even go a little thicker – you will just need more milk!
Mix in your salt and pepper to taste. Then start slowing adding your milk until you have a nice, thick yet creamy consistency. It’s pretty darn tasty just like this!
Then add in some cheese. We chose to use sharp cheddar as that is what we had on hand. I’d say it was about a cup. Mix together over low/medium heat until the cheese is mostly melted. Careful not to let the cheese stick or burn to the bottom of the pan.
Take and oven safe dish and layer some sauce on the bottom, then a layer of your potatoes, more sauce and repeat.
It should look something like the picture above. Lastly, I topped this with fresh lemon thyme and parsley. The lemon really added a nice bright flavor to an otherwise somewhat heavy dish.
Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 30 minutes. You can use a fork test to make sure they are done, depending on how thick your slices were they could take a little longer. That’s it – enjoy!
Scalloped Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 potatoes russet
- 1 stick butter
- 2 cups flour completely approximate!
- 2 cups milk again – approximate!
- 1 cup cheese sharp cheddar suggested
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon thyme
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley
Instructions
- Wash and thinly slice potatoes.
- Melt butter in pan and slowly add in flour about 1/4 cup at a time until you achieve a thick paste like consistency. Mix in salt and pepper to taste.
- Slowly mix in milk about 1/4 cup at a time mixing well until you have a nice creamy consistency.
- Add cheese and stir over low/medium heat until pretty much melted/incorporated, but be careful not to let your sauce burn or stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Coat bottom of dish with sauce. Add a layer of potatoes. Add another layer of sauce and then another layer of potatoes. Pour the rest of the sauce to cover the top of the dish.
- Top with fresh chopped lemon thyme and parsley.
- Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 30 minutes or until fork tender.
Brown Butter Sage Roasted Radishes
Radishes are so pretty and very easy to grow! These beauties all came from our little backyard garden. I planted the Easter variety – which is just a multi pack. My favorite is when you are surprised with the watermelon radishes. I just think they are so beautiful! There are a lot of things you can do with radishes and typically that involves simply slicing them thin or eating whole. I wanted to share something a little different with you this time.
This is super simple. Quarter your radishes or halve if smaller. Place in an oven safe dish and sprinkle with some salt and pepper.
Melt a stick of butter in a pan. Add sage leaves and simmer until the butter starts to froth and turn a little brown.
Remove the sage leaves and place on a paper towel to absorb extra liquid.
Pour the melted butter on top of the radishes and stir to coat well.
Place your sage leaves on top of the radishes. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Then, uncover and bake for another 30 minutes or until the radishes are fork tender. The last minute, turn your oven to broil to crisp up the sage leaves. Enjoy!
Brown Butter Sage Roasted Radishes
Ingredients
- 1 dozen radishes approx
- 1 stick butter
- 1 bunch sage leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Quarter or halve your radishes. Place in an oven safe dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Melt butter in a pan on stove. Add sage leaves and simmer until butter starts to froth and turn brown. Remove sage leaves and place on paper towel to absorb extra liquid.
- Pour butter over radishes and stir together to evenly coat.
- Place sage leaves on top of radishes and cover pan with foil.
- Bake in over at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 30 minutes or until radishes are fork tender (check in 15 minutes).
- For the last minute, turn over to broil to crisp up the sage leaves. Enjoy!
Stuffed Garden Peppers
Peppers are easy to grow in the garden. I have had success with them both in the Midwest as well as in Arizona. Currently I am growing.. jalapenos, serranos, poblanos, bell peppers, anaheim, about 6 banana pepper plants (because they grow so well and there is soooo much you can do with them) and then what I thought was pepperoncini, but still have yet to determine what they actually are. I have stuffed all varieties, but find my favorites for this recipe are the banana, poblano , bell and anaheim peppers. I had one large poblano, a couple very large anaheim and quite a few medium size banana peppers ready to go so that is what I used this time around.
I cut the top off of each pepper, slit almost all the way down, but not cutting in half and remove as many seeds as you can. These are all pretty mild peppers so you don’t need to spend too much time worrying about removing each one. Then, I took some tomatoes, also from the garden, and squeezed them into a bowl. They need to be ripe enough for this, that you can actually squeeze them. I then threw in some of my dried oregano (also from the garden) – it has become one of my most favorite spices. I am growing extra right now so that I will have plenty to dry and store again before I use it all up! Next goes in the fresh parsley (a can is fine as well if you don’t have fresh). One thing I have learned about Italian cooking is that all of the best Italian recipes are heavy on fresh parsley. A few sprinkles of some smoked paprika and some fresh ground pepper finish of your mixture in the bowl.
I used ground pork again, you can use whatever ground meat you prefer or keep on hand. I like the mild flavor of the pork in this recipe and it also tends to be one we have on hand the most. I diced up a few of my smaller peppers and threw them into a tiny bit of oil and heated for a minute before adding my pork. Cook the pork all the way through and then add in your tomato and seasonings from earlier.
Stir together until heated through. Then, we stuff the peppers. Line the stuffed peppers in a baking dish. Top them with your favorite marinara sauce. Homemade is great, canned is just fine. If I am going to use a jar one of my favorites is the Sprouts Brand – organic, tomato basil. Come to think of it, I probably should have added basil in our spices above. I guess the sauce will help make up for that!
Try to spread your sauce out as evenly as possible, covering as much of the peppers as you can. This will help them become a little softer as they cook. Lastly, sprinkle some shredded Parmesan cheese on top. I baked these at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. We seem to think these are very filling and one large pepper is more than enough for a meal for myself! They are pretty darn good leftover as well.
Stuffed Garden Peppers
Ingredients
- 1 dozen peppers assorted sizes and kinds
- 6 fresh tomatoes medium size, approx
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1/4 cup dried oregano
- 2 tbsp parsley fresh or jar
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tbsp fresh ground pepper
- 25 oz marinara sauce fresh or jarred (standard jar size)
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut the top off of your peppers and cut a slit down one side, almost all the way down. Wash out and remove seeds.
- Squeeze your fresh tomatoes into a mixing bowl. Peel and all. Add your spices including: oregano, parsley, paprika and pepper.
- Dice a small pepper or two (that you aren't stuffing) and add to the stove with just a bit of oil. Heat for a minute before adding your ground pork. Cook through.
- Add your tomatoes and seasonings from your bowl to your cooked pork and stir together until heated through.
- Stuff your peppers and place them in a baking dish. You can squeeze them up next to each other.
- Top with your marinara sauce. Spread evenly and cover as much of the peppers as you can. Sprinkle the top with fresh, shredded parmesan cheese.
- Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes. Enjoy!
Italian Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
We grabbed some great, huge sweet potatoes from the Old Town Scottsdale Farmers market. There are so many different ways you can cook them. We love them, especially on the savory side and they are healthy! I used some things that I typically have in my kitchen for this recipe.
Two large sweet potatoes is way more than enough for the 2 of us. We will have leftovers! I like to rub some sort of oil on the outside to add some flavor while baking. Throw them in a 400 degree oven for about an hour – these actually took a little less. Even as big as they are!
I usually wait until the potatoes are done so they can cool enough to handle when you need them. Then, brown about a pound of sweet Italian sausage.
Once the sausage is almost done, I added in some julienne-cut, sun dried tomatoes and stir together over low-medium heat. Then add in some crushed red pepper – to taste. We like spicy food so probably threw in 2 tablespoons.
I then added some torn salumi that we had on hand. We have this amazing meat market in Carefree that makes some of the best salamis. Well, everything they have is amazing! Then, dump in some organic spaghetti sauce. I love the sprouts brand. I used about 1.5 cups.
Scoop out your sweet potato filling and mix in with everything else. Cook on medium heat for about 5-10 minutes, until well mixed. I’ve saved the potato skins before to “refill,” but this time I decided it was just easier to use ramekins. Scoop your filling into your potato skins or your ramekins and place on cookie sheet in oven for about 10 minutes.
There you have it! A pretty quick, simple, healthy dinner recipe.
Italian Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 large Sweet Potatoes
- 2 tbsp Coconut Oil
- 1 lb Sweet Italian Sausage
- 2 tbsp Red Pepper Flakes
- 1/4 cup Sun Dried Tomatoes Julinne-Cut
- 6 pieces Salumi (or pepperoni, etc) approx
- 1.5 cup Spaghetti Sauce
Instructions
- Coat your sweet potatoes with the coconut oil. Bake on a lined baking sheet at 400 degrees for approx 1 hour. Until they are fork tender. Let them cool enough to handle.
- Brown 1 lb of sweet Italian sausage in a pan over medium heat. Add the Sun dried tomatoes and stir together.
- Add in Red Pepper Flakes and your torn Salumi and mix together well.
- Pour in your spaghetti sauce. Whatever brand you prefer. I used a sweet basil this time.
- Cut your sweet potatoes in half and scoop out the filling. If you want to use your potatoes as your shell be sure to leave a thin wall.
- Mix your sweet potato filling with the other ingredients and cook for approx 10 minutes.
- Put your cooked, combined filling into your potato “shells” or into Ramekins. Put back into your 400 degree oven for 10 minutes.
Red Skin Spice Cake
This is not something you will see from me often. Cakes and sweets are really not my thing and not typically found in my diet. But – today is my birthday and I’m craving my favorite cake so I thought I would share with you. This recipe is from my mom. I’m not sure where she found this other than while she was living in Texas. It’s not too difficult – mine won’t be the prettiest as I’m NOT a baker, but as long as it tastes good that’s all we really care about in this house.
We start with 2 cups of flour (sifted) and 2 cups of sugar. Add in 1 tsp of ground cinnamon, 1 tsp of ground cloves and 1/2 tsp of nutmeg. Mix the dry ingredients together. Add 1 cup of oil, 1 tsp of vanilla, 3 eggs, 1 tsp of red food coloring (or a touch more for the deeper red color) and 2 jars of baby food. The original recipe calls for baby food plums. I cannot find those for the life of me so really any fruit will do. This time I used apples. Beat all of the ingredients together well in stand mixer or with a hand mixer.
Next, grease and flour your pan. I always use a bundt pan for this and I feel the deeper groves in your pan the better. My mom always taught me to use crisco with a paper towel. Wipe the entire pan and then dump some flour in and shake it over the sink or trash until there is just a very light coating. You don’t want too much flour or it will stick to your cake, yet you want the entire pan covered so that your cake comes out in one nice piece.
Pour your batter into the pan and bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour.
While your cake is baking, make the icing. I use a mixture of powdered sugar, lemon juice and red food coloring. You just have to play with the amounts until the consistency is where you want it. You want it to be pretty thick, but just able to drizzle over the warm cake. I’d start with about 1.5 cups of powered sugar to 1/2-1 lemon (depending on how juicy) or you can use store bought lemon juice if you don’t have lemons. And then the food coloring just until it’s red enough for your liking – remembering this will thin your icing as well. I usually have to keep adding more sugar, etc.
I use the toothpick test to see that my cake is done – if you put a toothpick in the middle, it should come out pretty clean. Give it a few minutes to cool before flipping onto your cake stand or plate.
Now while the cake is still warm, drizzle your icing over and let it melt down the sides. I like a lot of icing!
Red Skin Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour sifted
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground gloves
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup oil
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp red food coloring approx (or more)
- 2 jars baby food (plums or other fruit like apples)
Instructions
- Sift together all dry ingredients through the salt.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and beat well.
3. Optional (add 1 cup chopped pecans)4. Grease and flour pan and pour mixture in.
5. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour.
6. While baking, make the icing mixture of powdered sugar, lemon juice and red food coloring (until just thick enough to drizzle over hot cake)7. Wait just a few minutes, until cool enough to handle and flip the cake onto stand or plate and drizzle icing on top while still warm.
*if not serving right away, wait until cake is cooled to cover, or your icing will continue to melt more as the steam will collect inside your cover.
Sheet Pan Chicken – Bowls
The idea for these bowls came from our good friends in “Napa Valley.” They introduced us to the wonderful Korean flavors we add to these. My favorite part about this dish is the simplicity. I typically purchase my chicken in bulk, separate and marinade before freezing. There are a lot of marinades that would work well with this (I’ll add some marinade options in the near future) and you can really play with whatever ingredients you like best. Also – isn’t this pan just so pretty?
Ok, so first of all we start with the chicken. For this particular dish I chose boneless, skinless thighs. You can use chicken breasts if you would like, but I would probably cut them in 1/3rds to save on cooking time as your veggies will cook faster than your chicken. Like I mentioned above, I like to marinade and then freeze them.
For this dish I used a sweet chili marinade. The marinade is very simple: homemade sweet chili sauce and coconut aminos. I would use about 2/3 chili sauce to 1/3 coconut aminos.
Last year we had much warmer temperatures early on. I had peppers ripening by late April/early May – and I could barely keep up. I was trying to decide what to do with these beauties before I picked my next batch. I decide to try a version of homemade sweet chili sauce. Hopefully a little healthier for us. So – the majority of these peppers went in. There is a mixture of serrano, banana, shishito, jalapeno and a couple poblanos included. I minced these and left the majority of the seeds. Most of these peppers have a fairly mild flavor so I wanted to leave in a tiny bit of heat.
I used about equal parts sugar to water – so depending on how many “chilies” you have, 1 cup sugar to 1 cup water. And a tablespoon of minced garlic. Boil all of these ingredients (peppers, sugar, water, garlic) and then simmer for approx 5 minutes. In a separate bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water. Whisk the cornstarch mixture in with the remaining ingredients continuing to simmer – it should start to thicken within a few minutes. Once it’s thickened, remove from heat. You can store in canning jars in the fridge as above or use in our chicken marinade once cooled. (you don’t want to cook the chicken with your marinade)
Once you have your chicken marinated (I’d suggest at least a couple of hours or overnight). Chop your veggies. In this dish we used carrots, celery, onions, peppers and broccoli. The denser veggies work well as they don’t overcook as easily with the chicken, but you could add any of your favorites (mushrooms and zucchini are other options) If you add softer veggies I like to put them on the opposite side of the pan from the chicken so the marinade doesn’t take over.
Place your chicken on your jelly roll pan (with an edge), then layer your veggies alongside. Throw the pan in the oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. Depending on how large/which cuts of chicken you use – just make sure your chicken hits the 165 temperature and the veggies will definitely be done by the time the chicken is.
Next you put your bowl together. This is really where personal preference comes into play. I’m going to list the ingredients we usually put out and then we each make our own bowls.
Your base layer – either brown rice, cauliflower rice, soba noodles or even a veggie noodle or sometimes we combine two.
Topping options we include are: cilantro (a favorite and must of ours), kimchi, some additional sweet chili sauce, coconut aminos, homemade sriracha (I’ll post a future recipe that excludes all of the sugar), fried garlic, diced peanuts and I’m probably forgetting some. Let me know if you have other ideas!
Sheet Pan Chicken – Bowls
Ingredients
- chicken (thighs or breasts)
- celery
- carrots
- onion (sweet or red)
- bell peppers
- broccoli
- sweet chili sauce
- coconut aminos
Instructions
- 1. Marinade your chicken2. Chop your veggies.3. Spread your chicken onto a sheet pan including the remaining marinade. Spread your veggies in layers next to your chicken – denser veggies closest to your veggies. Mix some of the remaining marinade through your veggies and/or sprinkle some olive oil or coconut aminos (sparingly) over your veggies.
4. Bake at 400 degrees for approx 30 minutes or until chicken is 165 degrees. You may want to flip your chicken over 1/2 way through cooking.
5. If needed, cut your chicken into smaller pieces – easier for eating in your bowl.
6. Choose your bowl “bottom” and toppings and enjoy!