Transform Leftover Bake Potatoes

Left over baked potatoes are a great thing to have in the fridge. I always make potato hash or fried potatoes. Just roughly chop up and onion, throw in a pan with some butter, chopped leftover potatoes, and anything else you want to throw in and fry until browned and heated through. Today as a lunch I threw in a chopped bell pepper, garlic, and some of Penzey's Ozark Seasoning. Could add sliced or shredded meat, or would be great alongside eggs.

Enchiladas

These are by far my favorite enchiladas! My mom always made these when I was growing up, and I know they are a favorite to everyone in family. They are easy to do, you can make the sauce ahead of time to store in the fridge for later in the week, that way all you have to do is assemble them! All of the ingredients are fairly cheap, and it is a filling meal that everyone will love!!

Enchiladas:

for sauce:

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup flour

2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1/2-1 4oz can chopped green chilis ...depending on how mild you want it...I use the whole can

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp ground cumin

for filling and topping:

1/8 cup minced onion

1/2 lbs. grated cheddar

1/2 lbs. grated monterey jack

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp ground cumin

shredded chicken (I like to season it with a little adobo seasoning and cayenne red pepper)

and/or

refried beans (I use fat free, and I add a pinch of cayenne red pepper to spice them up)

flour tortillas-about 13

For sauce: Saute onion in oil until tender, add garlic, cook 2 minutes. Stir in flour, cook 2 minutes. Add broth, stir until bubbly and thickened. Stir in chilis, salt, pepper, and cumin, set aside. (or store in an air tight container in fridge if using at a later time)

For filling: Combine all ingredients except chicken and/or beans. Reserve one cup of cheese mixture.

Assembly: Spread a little sauce in bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Lay all tortillas out on table. Evenly distribute chicken and/or beans, then cheese mixture. Roll up and place in pan. Top with remaining sauce. Cover with foil, bake 20-25 minutes at 375, until it looks bubbly. Remove foil, top with reserved cheese, return to oven for 5 minutes, or until melted. You can garnish with olives, green onions, salsa, sour cream. Serve with rice on the side.

Build Your Own Potatoes

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love potatoes! So it's no wonder that this is one of my favorite meals, and it definitely doesn't hurt that it is so simple. We call it "build your own potato"...and it is just that. I bake potatoes (scrub under under running water until clean, poke holes in it with a fork, rub them with olive oil and sprinkle kosher on them since we love eating the skins in this house, and bake for about an hour give or take at 350). Then I just set up an assembly line of toppings like steamed broccoli, shredded cheese, sour cream, crumbled bacon, and salsa. Everyone takes a potato and puts what they want on it, it's easy, and everyone is happy! You can keep it as simple as you want or you could get much more creative with your toppings. Left over chili makes a great topping for baked potatoes, you could try any "theme", like taco potatoes with salsa, monterey jack, green onions, and olives, or pizza potatoes with mozzarella, italian sausage, and onion. Be creative, a potato is good start to something great!

Another Pesto Favorite...

One of my other favorite things to do with pesto is put it in panini or grilled cheese. Today, in a hurry, I just spread it on the inside of some good bread, and put mozzarella cheese in between the slices, buttered the outer sides of the bread, and cooked it the way you would a grilled cheese. On a day when I don't have two children screaming at me for their lunch, I would do it in a grill pan and use a second pan to press it. I also really like to add fresh tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms or fresh spinach, but again, that is something I would do on a day with no screaming children :) I did still manage to greatly enjoy this one, and my oldest son, Kieran, ate some too.

Everybody Loves Chocolate!

I'm going to keep this one short since I think chocolate kinda speaks for itself....and also because I am trying to shove some delicious brownie into my mouth right now... :)

The one thing I will say is this, buy a high quality, naturally high fat cocoa powder. Words cannot explain the difference it will make in your baking. I, of course, buy mine from Penzey's. Since making the switch I can definitely tell the difference, brownies are so much more dense with a deeper chocolate flavor. And the price isn't much different than the common grocery store brands!

(The BEST) Brownies:

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 lbs. butter

2 tsp. vanilla

4 eggs, well beaten

2 1/2 cups sugar

1 3/4 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

*powdered sugar for the top-optional

In a heavy pan, melt butter with cocoa and oil. Let cool completely. Beat eggs, vanilla, and sugar together. Add cooled chocolate mixture. Add flour and salt, mix well. Spread evenly in a foil lined, greased, 9x13 pan. Bake 20-25 minutes at 350.

This one below is a new favorite of mine, I found it in Rachael Ray's magazine, and they are to die for!

Peanut Butter-Stuffed Milk Chocolate Sandwich Cookies:

Makes 8.

2 1/2 cups (15oz) milk chocolate chips

4 Tbs. unsalted butter at room temp.

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs, at room temp

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

3 Tbs. confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, melt together 2 cups chocolate chips and 2 Tbs. butter on medium power until almost melted, about 1 1/2 minutes; stir just until smooth.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and 1/4 tsp. salt. Using an electric mixer, beat together the eggs, granulated sugar and vanilla at high speed until thickened and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Mix in the melted chocolate at medium speed; whisk in the flour mixture. Stir the remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Refrigerate the dough until firm enough to scoop, but still soft, 10- 15 minutes

3. Onto each prepared pan, drop 12 rounded tablespoons of dough 2 inches apart. Bake, switching and rotating the pans halfway through baking, until the cookies appear bubbly and still soft, about 15 minutes *(I thought it took less time, about 8 minutes, If I left them in 15 minutes they were crunchy cookies, not soft and chewy)* Let cool completely.

4. In a medium bowl, beat together the remaining 2 Tbs. butter and the peanut butter. Sift in the confectioners' sugar and the remaining 1/4 tsp. salt; beat until fluffy. On the flat side of each of 8 cookies, spread about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the peanut butter mixture; sandwich with the remaining cookies.

Homemade Pizza

I think pizza is pretty much everyones favorite food, or it's at least at the top of your list! But eating out, ordering in, and frozen pizzas can be pricey, and it's not always great quality pizza. The best thing you can do is learn to make your own pizza crust! It's easy to do, and it's not nearly as time consuming as you may think. You make it with ingredients you more than likely have in your house anyways, you can chose your own toppings, you know that they are good quality, and it's always fun for kids to top their own pizza! If you're making your own crust, you can make personal pizzas, you can make shapes, you can make a thicker crust, or a super thin crust. Once you know the recipe you will see how simple it is to tailor it to your liking. I like to make it part whole wheat, and I also like to throw in some oat bran for texture. In our house, our favorite toppings are onion, olives, marinated artichoke hearts and turkey pepperoni. Our favorite sauce is Newman's Own Marinara. The following is a basic recipe that has been used in my family for a long time. However when my grandma makes it, it is very different than my mom's, and mine is different from both of theirs, but they are all great!

Pizza Crust:

about 2 1/2 cups flour (can use some whole wheat flour)

2 1/2 tsp. yeast

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup warm water

2 Tbs. olive oil

Combine 1 cup of the flour with the yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add the water and olive oil and stir until smooth. Gradually add the remaining flour until the dough is workable. Knead it briefly, you can do this right in the bowl. Cover with a towel and let it rise for about 30 minutes. In the meantime you can prep your pizza toppings (chop olives, peppers, onions, etc.) Punch down the dough, roll out onto a lightly floured surface. Work dough until it is the shape of your pizza pan (you can use a cookie sheet or whatever you have). Transfer the dough onto a cornmeal dusted pan. Let rest for about 15 minutes. Bake crust for about 8-10 minutes (depends on the size) in a 425 degree oven. Check it occasionally, it may form bubbles that you can just poke with a fork. Let the crust cool slightly before topping with sauce, cheese, and toppings. Once topped, bake for 15-25 minutes (again depending on size, and how brown you like your crust) until edges are golden brown and cheese is melted.

Pesto

Summer is not summer without pesto! It's wonderful on pasta, veggies, bread, anything!! So this year I am growing a few basil plants since I don't want to go broke trying to buy fresh basil to feed my addiction. I made my first batch this past weekend and it turned out great. The following is my favorite recipe. It is very simply, and full flavored! Since this is a simple recipe, I rarely measure anything since it's easy to eyeball.

You will need:

4 cups of fresh basil

approximately 1/3 cup olive oil (use good quality extra virgin, it's worth it!)

1/3 cup pine nuts (a small handful) - toasted

2-3 garlic cloves

about 1/2 cup parmesan (a good handful)

kosher salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

To toast the pine nuts, just put them in a pan over medium heat for a few minutes, don't let them get more than a golden brown, they are very oily and burn quickly!

Combine basil, pine nuts, garlic, and parmesan in a food processor and let it go until it's become a paste. While the food processor is still going, drizzle in the olive oil a little at a time until it is the consistency you like, you really just want to add moisture and a little flavor, don't over do it. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To store, keep in an airtight container and you may also want to put plastic wrap over it because it will discolor a bit if exposed to air.

You can also freeze it!! Before freezing drizzle a little olive oil over it so it doesn't discolor. You will be glad you saved some when december rolls around....!!!

My absolute favorite pesto dish is a pasta dish. I saute fresh chopped mushrooms with a little garlic, salt, and pepper. I add cooked noodles (I like a curly shape that holds lots of sauce in them) and heat them through with the mushrooms, add fresh chopped tomatoes, and deglaze the pan with a splash of white wine. I remove it from the heat once the wine has cooked out, and I add some pesto, just enough to coat all the pasta, and serve with some extra parmesan on top. It is so simple, and so tasty!