Colcannon: You had me at potatoes.

Somewhere in my patchwork ancestry there lives a little Irish. How much? I don’t really know. Probably a little slice. It’s enough to give me pale, tan-resistant skin, an affinity for the smell of rain, a tiny hint of red in my hair, and an undying love for potatoes. I don’t know very much about the cuisine of Ireland. I am sure it involves more than potatoes. Yes? Maybe one day I’ll visit and find out first-hand. In the meantime, I’ll stick with potatoes. One of the Irish dishes I’ve always enjoyed is colcannon. It’s easy to make, comforting and delicious, as potatoes almost always are.

This version has more greens than your garden-variety colcannon, which added some great texture and flavor (and a few more vitamins!). The thing about greens is they cook down so much you can eat a lot of them and not really notice, especially in a wonderful conglomeration like this. This is the third recipe I’ve made out of my new cookbook, The Book of Greens, and it’s my favorite one yet. Lest you think this book is all about healthy rabbit food and vegetarian recipes, feast your eyes on the yummy shot of my skillet full of butter, bacon and sopressata. Oh yeah, baby. Life is all about balance.

Colcannon
(from The Book of Greens, by Jenn Louis)

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 large yellow onion, diced
4 oz. sopressata or bacon, coarsely chopped into 1/4 inch pieces (I used a little of both)
8 oz. green or Savoy cabbage (I used 1/2 small head of green cabbage)
8 oz. Russian kale without stems, cut into 1/4 inch ribbons (I used one big bunch. You could also use other varieties of kale or chard)
1 cup milk
A few gratings of nutmeg
Salt & pepper
1 3/4 pounds russet potatoes (how much is this? I used 5 medium-ish potatoes. When in doubt, I always throw in another one, but that’s just me)

Preheat the broiler.

In a large skillet or sauce pan, melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the onion and sopressata and/or bacon and stir to combine.

Adding this mixture to just about anything is pretty much guaranteed to make it delicious.

Add the cabbage and kale and cook until both are tender, 6-8 minutes. Add the milk and season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the greens are soft but not browned, about 15 minutes.

While the greens are cooking, peel the potatoes and cut into cubes. Put the potatoes in a saucepan, add cold water to cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and place in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the kale and cabbage mixture and gently mix on low speed until the potatoes are mashed and evenly mixed with the greens (you could also use an old-fashioned potato masher for this instead of a mixer if you are so inclined). Season with salt and pepper.

Spread the mixture in a baking dish and place under the broiler until lightly browned on top, about 5 minutes. Remove from broiler and serve immediately.

Serves 4 as a side dish. Double recipe if eating as a main dish. <<< My plan for next time.

Colcannon and pork loin. Truthfully, I could lose the pig and double the colcannon. So good.

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Homemade Pizza with “Sun-dried” Tomatoes

One of the best things about overflowing summer produce is the yummy surprises I find in my freezer in the fall. A couple of months ago I had tomatoes coming out my ears and decided to make some mock sun-dried tomatoes in the oven. They were so easy to do, and so delicious. Best of all, they take up a fraction of the space of whole or canned tomatoes, since you can stack them all in a freezer bag and stash them away for later.

Now, you’re probably saying, “fat lot of good this does me in the middle of fall with no garden tomatoes to be found!” Well, on one hand you are right. But on the other hand, this is a great trick to make store-bought tomatoes taste better in the fall and winter. By doing this slow bake, you get rid of the watery, mealy texture of winter tomatoes and bring out all the natural sweetness instead. For extra sweet ones, use the little grape tomatoes! Then use in your favorite pasta, omelet, salad, pizza or whatever!

As with any pizza, feel free to build your own with the ingredients and flavors you like. For this particular pie, instead of sauce I used a simple olive oil and garlic mixture, covered with sun-dried tomatoes. Then top with a scatter of your favorite toppings, some melty mozzarella, and you have a pizza to die for. For a more crispy crust, I recommend using a pizza stone, but if you don’t have one, a parchment lined cookie sheet will do the trick just fine.

Homemade pizza with “sun-dried” tomatoes

Homemade Pizza with “Sun-dried” Tomatoes

1 ball of fresh pizza dough (you can make your own or use a pre-made dough, such as Trader Joe’s)
1 tsp. cornmeal
1 tbsp. olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. dried Italian herbs
1/2 – 3/4 cup sliced “sun-dried” tomatoes (see recipe below or use store-bought sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil)
6-7 olives, chopped up, any kind
1 cup fresh spinach, roughly chopped
1 small shallot, sliced thinly and rings separated
1 ball (8 oz.) fresh mozzarella

Remove your ball of dough from the bag, coat in a bit of olive oil and place in a bowl with a towel over it. Let it come to room temperature and rise a bit (usually about an hour is fine). Preheat oven to 450˚ with pizza stone or pan in the oven. While the oven is preheating, prep all your toppings so you can assemble your pizza quickly.

When oven is preheated, remove the stone. Sprinkle stone with cornmeal and press out your dough into whatever shape you want your pizza to be. Since my stone is round I usually go for some sort of roundish, oblong sort of shape. Drizzle with olive oil and scatter garlic and half the herbs over the dough. Rub all around so it’s got a thin coating all over.

Layer on your toppings. I started with tomatoes to mimic “sauce”, then layered spinach, olives, shallots and then cheese on top. Sprinkle with the other half of the herbs.

Bake at 450 for 15 minutes, or until crust is crunchy on the bottom and cheese is melted and starting to brown just a bit on top. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Slice into wedges and serve.

“Sun-dried” tomatoes – no sun needed!

“Sun-dried” tomatoes – no sun needed!

Roma tomatoes
Olive oil
Sea salt (plain, or infused)
Fresh cracked pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 250˚. Line baking sheets with parchment. Slice tomatoes in half lengthwise. Lay out on sheets, sliced side up. Lightly drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.

All ready to pop in the oven.

Bake 3-4 hours or until slightly flattened and sun-dried looking. Let cool. Store in freezer bags, and pull out as needed.

What are you going to put your sun-dried tomatoes on?

CSA Week 7: Sweet Corn and Summer Squash Soup

I am rolling in squash. Last week was pattypan and zucchini, this week LOTS of zucchini. I made two batches of zucchini bread and didn’t even scratch the surface. Luckily I like zucchini. The pattypans, eh, not as much. They have a bit of a spongy texture I don’t really love. But I took care of that problem with this recipe.

Week 7’s CSA box included, as previously mentioned, MANY zucchini (7 or 8 large ones), a huge bunch of beets, lettuce, parsley, Thai eggplants, five cucumbers, new potatoes, sweet corn, and green beans. And I still have quite a bit left from last week. Obviously I have my work cut out for me this week. I don’t think I’m even going to bother buying meat.

Then today, I came across inspiration in the form of a recipe from Cooking Light. I did not follow their recipe, but the basic flavors sounded great so I threw this together based on what I had in my kitchen. The wonderful thing about this recipe is that you blend up the squash. Since for me (and I think for many people), the texture is what I don’t like sometimes (especially with some varieties), blending it into a soup was the perfect solution. The sweet corn was the leading flavor and honestly, if I didn’t know the squash was in there, I would not have guessed. Blending it gave the soup a lovely silky texture without the squashy taste. Since I have so much zucchini on hand, I diced one up and added it just a few minutes before serving to add a little crunch. If you don’t like the texture of the zucchini, add it earlier and blend it up with the others or just leave it out.

Sweet Corn and Summer Squash Soup

Sweet Corn and Summer Squash Soup

2-3 pattypan squash, diced
1 zucchini
1 small onion
4 ears of corn (or you can use 2 cups frozen corn kernels)
A few sprigs of fresh thyme
1-2 tsp. chives, chopped
2 cups chicken or veggie broth
2-3 cups milk
Salt & pepper
Cheddar cheese (optional for garnish)

Heat up a soup pan over medium heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil. Add onions and squash. Sauté for a few minutes until tender. Add half the corn. Cook a minute more. Add 2 cups of milk. With a stick blender (or in a regular blender), blend until smooth. Add the rest of the corn, thyme, broth and zucchini. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let soup simmer a few minutes until zucchini is tender and soup is hot. Add extra milk if you want it a little thinner in consistency. Serve immediately. Top with cheese if desired.

CSA Week 2: Drink Your Greens!

I picked up my second CSA farm box from Sun Gold Farms this weekend and my fridge is once again overflowing with produce. In this box: A huge head of leaf lettuce, a big cabbage, fava beans, sugar snap peas, curly kale, parsley, five zucchini, spring onions and a basil plant. I used almost all of last week’s produce but still have a partial cabbage and some mint, plus some broccoli that I picked up somewhere. I also bought blueberries and tomatoes at the market. Obviously there is plenty of salad on the menu this week, plus some broccoli and spring onion soup and probably some slaw and at least one other thing involving cabbage. But yesterday, it was all about the smoothies.

Yesterday I was having some issues. Issues with being a total klutz, to be exact. Every time I turned around I was knocking something over or dropping something or running into something. You would think smoothie making would be a pretty safe choice, since chopping and/or major cooking could lead to disaster on days like this. So I threw everything in the blender, and pressed go while I scrambled a couple eggs to go with it. As I’m beating the eggs, I noticed that as the blender is blending, it’s sort of traveling along the counter top with the vibration, and out of the corner of my eye I see it start to tip off the counter. In a flying leap I lunged over there and caught the floor-bound blender (as it’s still blending) one-handed (!) and as I’m setting it safely back on the counter I bumped the bowl of scrambled eggs and further scrambled them as they fell to the floor, splattering everywhere. I turned off the blender (yay, me!), cleaned up eggs, rescrambled, cooked eggs, and then poured my smoothie into glasses, dribbling a bit down the sides, but happy with the consistency, which was no doubt improved by its brief flight. I don’t recommend trying any of that at home.

If you don’t like to cook your greens, and you’re sick of eating salad, stuff those greens into a smoothie and drink them instead. You can change up the recipe to your liking depending on what fruit you have available, but I find the berries usually mask the taste of the greens, some stone fruit or banana adds sweetness and adding some herbs or citrus adds a bit of brightness as well. My kids love these and never complain about the bits of greenery I add to them. With some of the more hardy greens, be sure to have plenty of liquid and blend a little longer than usual. If you have a wimpy blender I’d probably go with spinach instead of kale since it liquifies much easier. I usually freeze all the fruit, but if your fruit is not frozen, add some ice cubes to give it that smoothie texture.

Blues and Greens Smoothie

Blues & Greens Smoothie

2 big leaves of kale, ribs removed
1-2 cups blueberries, frozen
2 nectarines (fresh or frozen)
Mint – a couple of sprigs, stems removed
1 big scoop of plain yogurt
A few ice cubes if you want it extra cold or if your fruit isn’t frozen
1-2 cups sparkling water, juice, coconut water, regular water or milk (I like the sparkling water because it makes it just a tiny bit fizzy!)

Blend everything together thoroughly. Kale is a pretty hardy green, so I usually add some extra liquid and let it blend a long time to really pulverize it so I’m not chewing my smoothie, because nobody loves that. Add a little more liquid if needed to make it a drinkable consistency. Pour into glasses and enjoy while it’s cold. This made enough for 2-3 servings.

Farmers Market Frittata

Not sure what you guys do with your Saturdays but mine usually start at farmers market. I go and get a mocha from the coffee cart and then start my rounds. This usually includes eating enough samples to qualify as breakfast and filling up my giant market bag so full I can barely carry it back to the car.

For this frittata, you can put just about anything in it that you happen to have on hand. This week I had purchased zucchini, cherry tomatoes, goat cheese and red onions. And eggs! Don’t forget the lovely eggs from happy happy chickens who wander around and peck things and live like chickens should. Feel free to substitute ingredients if there is something you like better or need to use up!

This makes a dandy breakfast, but I’ve also been known to serve it with a giant green salad and call it dinner.

Farmer’s Market Fritatta

Farmer’s Market Frittata

1 zucchini, sliced
Handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
1/3 cup red onion, sliced
Goat cheese
Parmesan
5 eggs
Salt & pepper

Chop veggies. Beat eggs with a bit of salt & pepper in a bowl. Set aside. Heat 10″ skillet over medium heat. Add a bit of olive oil. Add onion and cook for a minute or two. Add zucchini and tomatoes. Sprinkle with a dash of salt and pepper. Cook for 1-2 minutes until zucchini is barely tender.

Veggies in the pan. Just a quick saute is all they need to bring out the flavor!

Pour eggs over veggies. Swirl to cover veggies evenly. Dot with goat cheese and sprinkle with a bit of parmesan.

If some of your veggies stick out don’t worry about it, it will all come together just fine.

Cover and turn heat down to medium low. Cook for 5-10 minutes until eggs are set on top. Cut into wedges and serve hot. Pairs perfectly with a side of fruit or salad.

 

 

 

Fish Tacos with Strawberry Salsa

At farmer’s market this week I was shocked to still see strawberries. In October? Yep. There might be something to this climate change thing after all. In any case, as long as they are here I’ll keep eating them. The other thing that is plentiful, huge and super cheap right now is cabbage. Let me tell you I have become very creative with using cabbage. It’s just so hard to pass up such a good deal.

These tropical tacos are easy to make, and simple to modify with different fruits based on whatever you have available. This was a particularly tasty combo and the first time I’ve paired strawberries and fish, but it really worked well!  Plus they are so colorful they practically jump off the plate and into your mouth. If you can’t find mahi mahi, substitute any firm, mild white fish and it will work just fine.

One of the best ways I’ve found to get my kids to eat fish is to put it in a taco. Smothering it with fruit is just taking it up an extra notch in their book.

This recipe made more fruit salsa than we needed for the tacos, but don’t worry! The stuff is delicious on its own, or on top of a green salad, mixed into yogurt, or served over ice cream!

Fish Tacos with Strawberry Salsa

Mahi Mahi Tacos with Strawberry Salsa

Fish:
1 pound mahi mahi or other firm white fish
Lemon pepper
Ground chile powder (I like the plain ground ancho chile powder but if you have regular chili powder blend that will work fine as well)
Salt

Strawberry Salsa:
1 pint strawberries, chopped
1-2 cups pineapple, chopped
1 red or green chile or jalapeno, minced
2-3 tbsp. cilantro, minced
1/3 cup red onion, diced
Juice of half a lime
Ground chile powder
Dash of salt

Cabbage:
2 cups red cabbage, thinly sliced
2-3 tbsp. sour cream (or you can sub mayo or greek yogurt)
Juice of half a lime

Corn or flour tortillas

In a mixing bowl mix all ingredients for the salsa. I do this first so it can kind of marinate together while everything else is cooking.

Strawberry Pineapple Salsa

In another bowl, mix cabbage, sour cream and lime juice. Set aside.

Cabbage mixture to top off your taco!

Wrap tortillas in foil and stick in the oven to warm while you cook the fish.

Cut fish into strips or squares. Sprinkle fish with salt, lemon pepper and chile powder on both sides.

I don’t measure the spices, just sprinkle to your heart’s content.

Heat a bit of oil in a large skillet. Place fish in the skillet, making sure not to crowd the pan. Do it in 2 batches if needed. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side until cooked through and lightly browned.

Build your taco with a tortilla, a couple of chunks of fish, top with strawberry salsa and cabbage!

Yeah, it’s a total mess when you eat it, especially if you go crazy overfilling it like this. But it’s worth it! For less mess, go a little lighter with the fillings.

My son Luke prefers his taco deconstructed so he can eat it with a fork:

Don’t like wrestling with messy tacos? Make a taco plate instead!

Spaghetti Squash Gratin

I’m not a squash fan. Or at least, I didn’t use to be. I’ve been gradually teaching myself to like it. The main trick I have learned in teaching myself to like new foods is to start by cooking it in a similar recipe as foods I do like.

I like spaghetti. With red sauce and cheese.  Now I’m not going to tell you that spaghetti squash tastes exactly like spaghetti. It doesn’t really. In fact, it doesn’t really taste like much at all. When you cook it with cheese and spaghetti sauce, mostly what you taste is cheese and spaghetti sauce. But the spaghetti squash has a nice texture (a little firmer than an actual noodle but not that different) and it’s a great conveyance for your favorite flavors.

The star of this dish – for me – was the ricotta topping. It’s hard to feel like you are missing out when you are eating something so rich and creamy. And here’s the kicker. My daughter ate SQUASH and it was all because she loved the ricotta stuff so much. I gave her a tiny spoonful of this dish (I have a rule that you have to at least try everything once) and told her if she hated it she could make herself a sandwich. Normally she hates squash, so this is how I was expecting it to go down. But instead she went back, loaded up her bowl and ate it all. It was some sort of squashy miracle.

One note on cooking the squash: some people cook it whole, some cut it in half. It will cook faster if you cut it in half (in about 45 minutes or so), but wrestling these things into submission when they are raw is not always easy. I found it much easier to break this sucker down when it was cooked and tender, so I left mine whole.

Spaghetti Squash Gratin

Spaghetti Squash Gratin
(from Recipe Sweet)

1 spaghetti squash

Sauce:
1 tbsp. olive oil
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced or minced
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 (28 oz.) can whole tomatoes, drained and smooshed with your fingers or coarsely chopped (or you can use diced ones)
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 cup red wine
1/4 basil leaves, coarsely chopped or torn

Gratin Topping:
1 (15 oz.) container part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 400˚. Poke your squash with a fork or knife a few times and place in the oven whole (I put mine on a pan just in case it leaked some juices). Roast for 1 – 1 1/2 hours until tender. Let it cool just a bit so you can handle it. (You can do this the day before or earlier in the day if time is an issue).

Slice it in half, scoop out the seeds in the middle (discard the seeds), and then using a fork, comb through the squash, creating “spaghetti” strands. Place these in the bottom of your baking dish. Drizzle with just a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Toss a bit with your fingers to combine.

Looks like spaghetti!

In a saucepan, heat 1 tbsp. of olive oil. Add garlic and crushed red pepper.  Cook and stir for a minute. Add tomatoes, salt & pepper, Italian seasoning and wine. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer for 15 minutes. Pour over the top of the squash and spread out so all of the squash is covered.

Smother anything in this sauce and it will be good.

In a small bowl, combine ricotta, parmesan and seasonings.  Carefully spread ricotta mixture over the top of the red sauce.

Ready to cook!

Bake at 400˚ for 40-45 minutes, until lightly browned. Dig in!

Chili Roasted Pineapple Fries

Some recipes are barely recipes.  They are more about me needing something to go with something, and well, I have this pineapple…

This dish defies any predetermined meal placement.  I served this with a side of BBQ chicken, but it would be just as good with a scoop of ice cream for dessert, or alongside a couple of scrambled eggs for breakfast.

One of my favorite Mexican restaurants is this little place in my home town, run by a Mexican lady who is always singing.  Last time I ate there, she gave me a couple of little tins of spices that she’s planning to start selling. I scored ground cinnamon and this wonderful ground chipotle pepper.  I’ve been putting it on everything!  You may think peppers and pineapples don’t go together, but you’d be wrong!  The kick from the peppers and the sticky sweet touch of honey is the perfect combo.

Chili Roasted Pineapple

Chili Roasted Pineapple Fries

Fresh Pineapple
Honey
Ground chipotle pepper (or any ground chili/red pepper powder)

Preheat oven to 400˚. Slice pineapple up into whatever shapes you like.  Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Lightly brush tops of pineapple with honey and sprinkle with ground chili pepper.

Cut into whatever shapes you like. I prefer little stick (french fry) shapes. 

Roast for 10-15 minutes, until just starting to turn brown. If you prefer grilling to roasting, these are perfect on the grill!

Mediterranean Pizza

I can’t remember the last time I went out for pizza.  There are a few places I like in town, but none are very close to my house, and it usually just seems like too much trouble.  I’ve found it’s much easier to make my own, especially if I want a healthy-ish, gourmet-ish sort of pizza.

I threw this together with a few ingredients I had on hand, and the result was a tasty, Mediterranean style pizza that disappeared in the blink of an eye!  I read an article recently about ingredients you should never put on pizza, and I think spinach was on the list, but what do they know?  I actually really like it on pizza, especially if you cook it at a high enough temp that it gets a little crispy on the edges instead of just wilting.  Because nobody likes a soggy pizza.  This is a great way to get some extra veggies into the little ones (and the big ones!) without it seeming like rabbit food.

If you have a Trader Joe’s in the vicinity, they make a great fresh pizza dough that you can find in their refrigerated section.  It comes in plain or garlic-herb varieties.  If you don’t have a TJ’s close to you, you can use any pizza dough that suits you.

Mediterranean Pizza

Mediterranean Pizza

Garlic-herb fresh pizza crust (I used Trader Joe’s pizza crust, but whatever kind you like will work)
1/2 cup basil pesto (click here for my pesto recipe or use store bought)
Pepperoni
1 tomato, sliced or diced
1 cup spinach, coarsely chopped
Assorted olives (I used kalamata and some green Italian ones)
1/2 cup feta
1/4 cup mozzarella
Fresh ground pepper

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.  If you have a pizza stone, go ahead and preheat that too, otherwise you can use any baking pan.  Flatten your dough out with your hands into whatever shape suits you (I usually just make it whatever shape of pan I’m using). Make it as thin or thick as you like.

Spread pesto evenly over crust.

It doesn’t have to be perfect, just try to get a little bit all over it.

Layer  pepperoni and spinach.

 

Pepperoni and spinach. For a vegetarian version simply leave out the pepperoni.

Pile on the other toppings, sprinkling evenly over crust. Finish with a few grinds of black pepper, or if you like it spicy, scatter a bit of crushed red pepper over the top.

Tomatoes, olives and cheese scattered on top. Doesn’t that look gorgeous?

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until crust is lightly browned on the edges and bottom.  I like a crispy crust, so I sometimes cook an additional minute or two.  For a softer crust, take it out a bit sooner.

Let it set for a few minutes before slicing.  Cut into wedges and try not to burn the roof of your mouth when you dive in!

Mmmmm!

 

 

Potato Palooza! My Top 20 in Spuds

This week marked two years since I started this blog. It started with a 30-day vegetarian challenge issued by my daughter, Claire.  From there it has become a fun way to share my love of food and cooking with my family and friends (even the friends I’ve never met!), an online recipe box for myself and an ongoing cooking project for me and my kids to work on together.

To celebrate, I thought I would highlight my favorite food – the potato! I know National Potato Day is in August, but let’s be honest.  If you know me, you know it’s always National Potato Day at my house.  Maybe it’s my Irish side, or maybe just because they are irresistible, but I love them.  And apparently, so do you, since some of these rate among my most popular posts over the last couple of years.  I thought it made sense to have a collection of these favorites all in one place.  So I give to you my top 20 in spuds.

One of the most fun things about potatoes are all the incredible ways to cook them.  Which is your favorite?  It’s so hard to choose! Just click on the photo caption to go to the corresponding post.

The #1 most popular potato post on my site, and in the top five of ALL my posts, you can’t go wrong with this fancy presentation of an old favorite.

Downright Fancy Baked Potatoes

Like salt & vinegar potato chips?  You will LOVE these zippy roasted potatoes!

Vinegar Roasted Potatoes

Who says potatoes are a side dish?  Grab yourself some big spuds and let them shine as a main course.

A Studly Spud

Forget frozen french fries.  Leave the chemicals behind and make them yourself!  Easy and oh so good.

Homemade Red Potato Fries

Work out your aggression and enjoy a tasty side dish with these delightful smashed and baked potatoes.

Smashing Potatoes.

One of my very favorites and a cure-all for just about everything.  Restaurant quality hash browns right in your own kitchen.

Perfect Hash Browns

Spanish tortilla. One of my favorite tastes of Spain and such a beautiful presentation too!

Spanish Tortilla

Easy to throw together for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  And you can even use up your leftovers!

Stuffed Baked Potato Frittata

My favorite camping food – but perfect for a lazy evening at home too.

Potato and Sausage Skillet Dinner

Not your mama’s scalloped potatoes.  No cans of soup here.  Just unbelievably good comfort food.

Not Your Mama’s Scalloped Potatoes

Breakfast anyone?  Easy baked eggs with a little potato and cheese.

Baked Eggs with Potato and Brie

Lemony potatoes, perfect side dish for fish or chicken.  I can eat a whole batch of these by myself. Scroll down past the fish recipe for the potatoes (but the fish is worth stopping for too!).

 

Lemon Potatoes – Yum!!!

The most perfect side dish with just about anything, but especially if you are a “meat & potatoes” type.

Best Side Dish EVER!! Garlic Smashed Potatoes.

A very veggie version of Shepherd’s Pie.

Shepherd’s Pie Goes Veggie  Want a meaty version?  Try Pulled Pork Shepherd’s Pie or BBQ Pork Shepherd’s Pie.

The best – and most unusual – stuffed peppers you will ever eat.  A touch of heat and Indian spices make these irresistible.

Stuffed Peppers with a Kick

A classic potato salad to make your grandma (and mine!) proud.

Classic Potato Salad.

A not-s0-classic potato salad.  This hearty spinach salad features tiny potatoes that steal the show.

Spinach Salad with Spring Onion Vinaigrette and Baby Potatoes

Put your leftover baked potatoes to good use in this hearty, comforting soup.

Creamy Baked Potato Soup

Cheesy, with a southwestern kick.  This is a great spin on the classic potato soup.

Cheesy Potato Soup

Who says potato soup isn’t healthy?  Get your veggies for the day without evening noticing in this delicious concoction.

Potato Broccoli Soup