Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Courtesy of The Pioneer Woman - she is AMAZING!  Every single recipe of hers I've tried has been a HUGE hit, so I'm trusting her completely with my Thanksgiving menu! :)

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Prep Time:

 1 Hour

 

Cook Time:

 30 Minutes

 

Difficulty:

 Easy

 

Servings:

 10

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 5 pounds Russet Or Yukon Gold Potatoes
• 3/4 cups Butter
• 1 package (8 Oz.) Cream Cheese, Softened
• 1/2 cup (to 3/4 Cups) Half-and-Half
• 1/2 teaspoon (to 1 Teaspoon) Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon (to 1 Teaspoon) Black Pepper

Preparation Instructions

Peel and cut the potatoes into pieces that are generally the same size. Bring a large pot of water to a simmer and add the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 to 35 minutes. When they’re cooked through, the fork should easily slide into the potatoes with no resistance, and the potatoes should almost, but not totally, fall apart.

Drain the potatoes in a large colander. When the potatoes have finished draining, place them back into the dry pot and put the pot on the stove. Mash the potatoes over low heat, allowing all the steam to escape, before adding in all the other ingredients.

Turn off the stove and add 1 ½ sticks of butter, an 8-ounce package of cream cheese and about ½ cup of half-and-half. Mash, mash, mash! Next, add about ½ teaspoon of Lawry’s Seasoning Salt and ½ a teaspoon of black pepper.

Stir well and place in a medium-sized baking dish. Throw a few pats of butter over the top of the potatoes and place them in a 350-degree oven and heat until butter is melted and potatoes are warmed through.

Note: When making this dish a day or two in advance, take it out of the fridge about 2 to 3 hours before serving time. Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 20 to 30 minutes or until warmed through.

Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes

(Courtesy of busycooks.about.com)

Potatoes are actually cooked and mashed out of the crockpot, then cooked for a couple of hours to blend the flavors. This recipe for Crockpot Mashed Potatoes is perfect for the holidays because there's no last minute preparation.

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours

Total Time: 3 hours, 25 minutes

Yield: Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

• 5 lbs. red potatoes, cut into chunks (peeled if you like)
• 1 Tbsp. minced garlic
• 2 cubes chicken bouillon
• 8 oz. container sour cream
• 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes, garlic and chicken bouillon cubes. Cook potatoes until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, reserving a little of the cooking water.

Mash potatoes with sour cream and cream cheese, adding reserved cooking water to reach desired consistency. Transfer to a 4 quart crockpot, cover, and cook on low for 2 to 3 hours. Just before serving, stir in butter and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Streusel Topping

Sweet Potato Casserole with Crunchy Pecan Streusel

Cook Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes

Yield: 6-8

Ingredients

• 4 sweet potatoes, cooked and peeled
• 1 tablespoon of butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla
• Pecan Streusel Topping:
• 1 cup of chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons of melted butter
• 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Prick sweet potatoes, using a fork, a couple of times on all sides.
3. Place sweet potatoes on oven rack and bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until potatoes are done.
4. Remove sweet potatoes from oven and let sit for 5-10 minutes until potatoes have cooled.
5. Remove skin and place the potato flesh in a large bowl.
6. Next add melted butter, honey, and vanilla. Mix together with a hand blender until potatoes are creamy and smooth.
7. Place mashed potatoes in a 2 1/2 quart round corningware baker. {or in a 8x8 glass pan}
8. In the meantime, in a small bowl add chopped pecans, brown sugar, melted butter, and cinnamon. Mix together until all combined. Sprinkle pecan streusel over the mashed sweet potatoes.
9. Put sweet potato casserole with pecan streusel in 350° oven for 45 minutes or until topping is browned.
10. Serve!

Libby's Pumpkin Pie

This comes right off the can of Libby's pumpkin.  I use it for my pumpkin pies every year and it's always delicious!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 large eggs
• 1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
• 1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell
• Whipped cream (optional)

Directions

MIX sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

POUR into pie shell.

BAKE in preheated 425° F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving. 

Italian Sausage soup

This is another delicious soup my friend Elania made on Halloween!  She also added orzo pasta - it was tasty!

Italian Sausage Soup

Ingredients

2 pounds Italian sausage

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

4 (14 ounce) cans beef broth

• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans Italian-style stewed tomatoes
• 2 cups sliced carrots

• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans great Northern beans, undrained
• 4 small zucchini, cubed
• 4 cups spinach - packed, rinsed and torn
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Original recipe yields 6 servings

Note: Recipe directions are for the original serving size.

Directions

• In a stockpot or Dutch oven, brown sausage with garlic. Stir in broth, tomatoes and carrots, and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 15 minutes.
• Stir in beans with liquid and zucchini. Cover, and simmer another 15 minutes, or until zucchini is tender.
• Remove from heat, and add spinach. Replace lid allowing the heat from the soup to cook the spinach leaves. Soup is ready to serve after 5 minutes.

Pumpkin Soup

We just ate this at a neighborhood Halloween party and it was so amazing that I HAD to get the recipe  (This recipe is courtesy of my friend Elania)!  It's the perfect way to use up those pumpkins after Halloween! :)

I only altered it a bit, with the "healthy heavy cream substitute" that I discovered here.  It turned out delicious!  This is definitely one of my new favorite recipes! 

Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients

• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 4 cups pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1 cup chopped onion

• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 5 whole black peppercorns

Original recipe yields 8 to 10 servings

Directions

• Heat stock, salt, pumpkin, onion, thyme, garlic, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes uncovered.
• Puree the soup in small batches (1 cup at a time) using a food processor or blender.
• Return to pan, and bring to a boil again. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for another 30 minutes, uncovered. Stir in heavy cream. Pour into soup bowls and garnish with fresh parsley.

Coconut Black Bean Stew

I think this is my first original creation.  I adapt a lot of recipes, but I rarely - if ever- come up with something totally on my own.  But tonight I had a few things in my fridge I needed to use up - and only had 5 minutes to cook dinner - so this was the result of throwing things together in a hurry.  And, considering that my entire family (even the picky 4 yr old) gobbled up the WHOLE pan (Grins had 5ths and everyone had at least 2 bowls!)  I would say it was a success.  I'm writing it down so I can remember what I did, since it was so haphazardly thrown together.

2 cans black beans (plus their liquid)

2 cups cubed, cooked sweet potatoes or squash 

1 can coconut milk

4 ounces chopped fresh spinach

Mix in a pot and cook until heated through (about 5 minutes).

Black Bean Soup

 Black Bean Soup
Recipe from Food Network, courtesy of Dave Lieberman

We have tried a LOT of black bean soups, and this is my favorite by far!  It is so rich and full of flavor, even without the bacon!

Ingredients
10 slices bacon, finely chopped
2 medium onions, chopped (about 2 1/2 cups)
6 garlic cloves, pressed
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups canned chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
4 (15 1/2-ounce) cans black beans, drained but not rinsed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch cilantro
juice of 1/2 lime
Thinly sliced scallions, for garnish
Sour cream, for garnish
Grated cheddar, for garnish
Directions
Put the bacon into a large heavy pot and place it over medium heat. Cook until it starts to give up its fat, about 4 minutes. Stir in the onions and cook, stirring, until they start to turn translucent, about 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until you can smell it, about 1 minute. Add the broth, tomatoes, ketchup, Worcestershire, and chili powder. Stir in the beans, turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat so the soup is bubbling gently and cook 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, pick off all the thick stems from the cilantro. Wash it and shake dry. Chop the cilantro coarsely and stir it into the soup when it has been simmering 10 minutes. cook until the soup is thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the lime juice. Serve with the garnishes.



Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/dave-lieberman/black-bean-soup-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback

Whole Wheat Tortillas

Whole-Wheat Tortillas

SERVES: 12 TORTILLAS

 

(Taken from 100 Days of real food - ADAPTED FROM ANSON MILLS)

INGREDIENTS

• 2½ cups whole-wheat flour (I used King Arthur’s white whole-wheat flour)
• ½ cup oil (I used avocado oil)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup warm water (heat in the microwave for 1 min)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer set with a dough hook, pour in the flour, oil and salt. Beat with the paddle until crumbly, about 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape the sides as needed. If your hand-held mixer comes with dough hooks those can be used as well.
2. With the mixer running, gradually add the warm water and continue mixing until the dough is smooth, about 3 minutes.
3. Take out the dough and divide it into 12 equal sized pieces. I do this by making the dough into a big log shape that is about 8 – 10 inches long. Then I cut it in the middle. Then I cut each of those pieces in the middle and so on until you have 12 pieces.
4. Using the palms of your hand roll each piece into a round ball and flatten it out on a baking tray or board. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes or up to one hour.
5. Heat a cast iron skillet, griddle or 12-inch skillet over med-high heat. The pan should be fairly hot before you begin cooking the tortillas.
6. On a lightly floured board or counter top, use a rolling pin to turn each ball into a 8 to 10 inch flat circle (measure against your recipe if printed on a 8.5X11 sheet of paper). Be careful not to use more than a teaspoon or two of flour when rolling out each ball into a tortilla because too much excess flour will burn in the pan.
7. Grease the pan with a touch of oil (or ghee) and then carefully transfer each tortilla, one at a time, to the pan and cook until puffy and slightly brown, about 30 to 45 seconds per side. Set aside on a plate to cool slightly. Eat within an hour, refrigerate or freeze.

**NOTE: This was taken from 100 Days of Real Food.  Thank you!!!

Black Bean / Sweet Potato Burritos

Some of our family's most favorite recipes come from an incredible website, "100 Days of Real Food".  This is one we recently tried for the first time and LOVED it!  Whenever I make a new recipe for dinner, I ask the children to give me their HONEST opinion of the meal (one of the few times they are allowed to say if they don't like something - politely, of course!)  Each child gave this meal an enthusiastic "2 thumbs up" - so I decided I'd better record it here so we can make it again and again! :)

Thanks to "100 Days of Real Food" - this recipe comes from their recipe archive.

Ingredients
 2 sweet potatoes (I use white Cuban sweet potatoes - my favorite!)
 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
 2 teaspoons cumin, divided
 ½ to1teaspoon chili powder (depending on your heat preferences)
 ½ teaspoon salt
 ¼ teaspoon pepper
 8 ounces organic black beans, drained and rinsed (I use canned for
convenience)
 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded, ribbed, and chopped
 ½ cup chopped red onion (about 1 small onion)
 1 small jalapeno, diced (optional - I leave it out if cooking for my kids)
 6 whole-wheat tortillas
 1 cup grated organic cheddar cheese (optional because they are
delicious without)
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Peel and cube sweet potatoes and coat lightly with 2 tablespoons of the
olive oil (toss in a large bowl to evenly coat). Spread potatoes evenly on a
roasting pan and sprinkle with1teaspoon cumin, chili powder, salt, and
pepper. Roast for 20-25 minutes or until soft through but not mushy.
3. When potatoes are finished roasting, add the other 2 tablespoons of olive
oil to a large skillet on medium heat. Add red pepper and red onion and
sauté until slightly softened.
4. Add black beans to skillet and continue to sauté on low heat. Add
remaining 1 teaspoon cumin and chili powder to skillet mixture. Stir
contents thoroughly until heated through.
5. Gently add the roasted sweet potatoes to the skillet mixture along with
salt and pepper to taste. Turn to low and cover skillet to keep warm.6. Meanwhile, place the tortillas one by one in a dry (no need for oil)
stainless steel or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Heat about 30 seconds
on each side.
If using cheese: sprinkle grated cheese on the tortilla after it is heated on
one side.
7. Move warmed tortilla to a platter and add the desired amount of the
sweet potato filling to each. Then fold to close and secure with a tooth
pick.
Serving Suggestions
Serve with a mixed green salad topped with your favorite salsa (a
mango/cilantro/lime salsa is perfect with this recipe!). Also use leftover filling to
make quesadillas and freeze for a later meal or packed lunch.

Hawaiian - Teriyaki Chicken

• 3/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 1/4 teaspoons peeled, grated fresh ginger (from about a 1-1/2-inch piece), grated on the small holes of a box grater
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 2 medium scallions, thinly sliced

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Bring the soy sauce and honey to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring often until the honey has completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger, stir to combine, remove from the heat, and set aside.
2. If using chicken breasts, place them on a cutting board and cover with a sheet of plastic wrap. Use a meat mallet or a frying pan to gently pound them to a 1/2-inch thickness. Cut each in half so you have 4 pieces roughly the same size. (If using chicken thighs, no need to pound or cut.) Season both sides of the chicken with pepper.
3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over high heat until shimmering. Add the chicken in a single layer and cook without disturbing until browned, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook the second side until browned, about 3 minutes more.
4. Reduce the heat to medium, slowly pour in the reserved sauce, and cook, flipping the chicken occasionally to coat in the sauce, until cooked through, about 3 minutes.
5. Transfer the chicken from the pan, letting the excess sauce drip off, to a clean cutting board. Reduce the sauce in the pan over medium heat until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes more. Slice the chicken crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces. Place on a serving dish, top with the sauce, and sprinkle with the scallions.

Hawaiian - Lomi Salmon

LOMI LOMI SALMON
Ingredients: (part 1) 
1 1/2 lb salmon fillets
sea salt or Kosher salt
Lay salmon on bed of salt in glass dish, cover with more salt. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The following day rinse off the salt and dice the salmon. 
Ingredients: (part 2) 
3 tomatoes diced
1 small onion diced
3/4 tablespoon lime juice
1/8 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon pepper
Mix tomatoes and onions with salmon then add in other ingredients. Chill until ready to serve. Serves 10-15 people.

Hawaiian - Tutu-man Mac Salad

TUTU-MAN POTATO-MAC SALAD
4 large red and/or yellow potatoes cubed

1-1/2 cups shell or elbow macaroni-dry
1/4 cup thinly sliced and chopped red onion
2-3 pickles chopped
2-3 green onion chopped
3 hard boiled eggs (whites chopped, set aside yolks)
2 celery stalks chopped (optional)

Dressing:
1-1/4 to 2 cups mayonnaise
1 tablespoon prepared mustard 
3 yolks from the boiled eggs-rub between hands
1 teaspoon garlic salt
2 T or less pickle juice (optional)
Optional Herbs to taste (dill, parsley, curry powder)

Boil cubed potatoes until tender then drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside to allow to fully cool. Cook the macaroni according to the directions on the macaroni package. Then rinse with cold water and set aside to allow to fully cool.
While the macaroni is cooking mix the dressing in a small bowl and set aside. 
Once the cooked macaroni and potatoes are cool lightly toss with the remaining ingredients. Once tossed mix in dressing. Serves 8-10 people.

Hawaiian - Kalua pig

Ingredients (serves 12)

• Tangy Slow Cooker Pork Roast

• 
• Slow Cooker Barbeque Ribs

• 
• Slow Cooker Italian Beef for Sandwiches

• 
• Pork Chops for the Slow Cooker

• 
• Slow Cooker Ham

• 
• Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

• 
• Slow Cooker Sauerkraut Pork Loin

• 
• Types of Salt

 

• 1 (6 pound) pork butt roast
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Hawaiian sea salt

• 1 tablespoon liquid smoke flavoring

1. Pierce pork all over with a carving fork. Rub salt then liquid smoke over meat. Place roast in a slow cooker.
2. Cover, and cook on Low for 16 to 20 hours, turning once during cooking time.
3. Remove meat from slow cooker, and shred, adding drippings as needed to moisten.