Run With The Fishes

Last week’s Whip It Up challenge. The theme for the week was produce. We were running low on groceries. When this happens, we usually have breakfast for dinner; Omelets, Pancakes, Cereal. I have always wanted to make homemade hash browns but never really got around to it. Last Thursday seemed like the perfect chance.

Ingredients:
Potatoes! Surprise!

Shred the Potatoes. Then squeeze all of the moisture from those suckers. The more moisture left in, the chewier the hash browns. Eww, chewy hash browns.

Heat some vegetable oil in a large skillet.

Spread the potatoes thinly and evenly. Season with salt and pepper. Let brown on one side (hash BROWNS). Then flip!

Once both sides are done, serve and eat.

We had them with fried eggs and toast.

Everyone liked them, especially the kids topped with lots of ketchup. I made two batches, one plain and one with some onions fried up with the potatoes. The second batch was much tastier. I don’t really know if I will go through the effort of making these again, it’s just so easy to buy the frozen hash browns.

Hey, Did I tell you about the summer contest I am trying out? Definitely RA is challenging everyone to try a new recipe a week and tell everyone about it. Since I try to do this already, it seemed perfect. They have a theme, that you can follow or not as you see fit. This week it was pasta. Yum. We love pasta at our house! Easy peasy, right?

It should have been, but, I set another challenge for myself last week. My pantry is so full of dry goods (canned foods, beans, and rice) that I want to make myself go through most of it before I have to go to the grocery store. I also want to see if we can make it with just going to the store once a week. Last week, I swear that we were there every single day. Maybe not for groceries, but once you walk into the store, you never leave with just the one thing you were after. At least you don’t if you are me. It completely blows our grocery budget to shreds.

My plan last night was to have spicy bean soup. Greg and I really like it and the kids will eat it, but with protest. Nathan had someone over to spend the night and I didn’t want to subject him to something my not-so-picky eaters only tolerate. Luckily, as all four of the children in the house said, “Everyone likes spaghetti!”. The only problem, no jarred spaghetti sauce. I did have cans of tomatoes and tomato paste coming out the wazoo. A quick search for “marinara recipe” turned up so many results.

I found one that had enough ingredients that matched what I had on hand. I’m not sure if price-wise it beats the jarred sauce but it really does taste better.

Ingredients

2 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 tablespoons dried parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon dried onion from the soup package
7 leaves of fresh basil

1. In a food processor place stewed tomatoes, tomato paste, chopped parsley, minced garlic, oregano, salt, sugar, onions, and pepper (basically everything). Make sure that you pay attention to the liquid line on your processor. I didn’t.

After cleaning up the mess, blend until smooth.

2. Pour all into a pot and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While the sauce was cooking, I cooked some spaghetti noodles (al dente) and browned some extra lean hamburger meat.

I know, onion soup. I was out of onions, so used the dehydrated onions from the soup package (but NOT the soup itself). Same goes for the garlic. I was out of fresh, so had to use some jarred minced garlic. The original recipe also calls for some white wine, but someone (ahem Greg) drank the last of the white wine without telling anyone.

I’m sure I”ll be doing some version of it again because everyone loved it. Next time, I’ll add the wine and use fresh onions. Maybe I’ll also add in some carrots, mushrooms, or bell peppers.

I made these for Thanksgiving to try something new. They are much better when served warm. I also think I am going to try an extra bit of flavor by adding some mushrooms in with the onions when sauteing.

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix dry ingredients.
Add in egg, vanilla, milk and oil. Beat until smooth.
Grease or line muffin tin with wrappers. Fill 2/3 of cup. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

1 medium acorn squash
1 large apple, diced
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 Tbls unsalted butter

Pierce the acorn squash with a sharp knife in 4 or 5 places. Put the squash in microwave with several layers of paper towels under it. Microwave on High for 5 minutes. (To cook squash conventionally, cut in half, remove seeds, and place in a pan, cut side down, with 1/2 inch of water. Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes).

While squash is cooking, comgine apple with the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cut the butter into small pieces and combine with the apple mixture.

Turn the squash over and microwave for an additional 5 minutes. Carefully remove the squash from the microwave and cut into two identical halves. (Remember it’s HOT!) Remove the seeds with a spoon.

Place squash in microwave safe dish, cut side up. Spoon half of the apple mixture into each cavity of the squash. Microwave for 3 minutes on high. Remove and serve.

Serves 4. Nutritional info: Calories – 213, Fat – 3.5 g, Protien – 5g, Cholesterol – 0mg, Carbohydrates – 46g, Sodium – 3mg

The High Performance Cookbook by Susan M. Kleiner, Ph.D., RD and KarenRae Friedman-Kester, MS, RD

4 Avocados, pitted and peeled
1 onion, diced
1 tomato, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
diced slices of jalapeño
dash of red pepper
salt, to taste
juice of 1 lime

Mash Avocados with fork until smooth, add in remaining ingredients according to desired taste.

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, well beaten
1/4 to 3/4 cup water

Sift flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Add egg; mix. Add water gradually until batter is stiff but smooth.
Press dough flat on a plate or floured board.
With a sharp knife, scrape small pieces of dough off and drop into boiling salted water. There should be only one layer at a time of spaetzle cooking. Boil gently for 5 to 8 minutes, or until done to your taste.
Remove with perforated spoon and let drain. Saut� the finished spaetzle in butter until golden and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

1 (14.5 ounce) cans green beans, drained
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 (6 ounce) can French fried onions
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Place green beans and soup in a large microwave-safe bowl. Mix well and heat in the microwave on HIGH until warm (3 to 5 minutes). Stir in 1/2 cup of cheese and heat mixture for another 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer green bean mixture to a casserole dish and sprinkle with French fried onions and remaining cheese.
Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven until the cheese melts and the onions just begin to brown.

1 can sweet potatoes
1/4 cup butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup brown sugar
Cinnamon
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Place sweet potatoes in a medium baking dish. Distribute butter pieces evenly over the sweet potatoes. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.
Cover and bake in the preheated oven 25 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are tender
Add Marshmallows during last 10 minutes of baking.