This one's really simple guys, but also really tasty. Mashed potatoes form an important part of several other recipes we'll be covering in the future, so I felt it was important show you how it works now.
Ingredients:
4 or 5 medium potatoes (or more smaller ones or less larger ones)
3 Tablespoons butter
1/3 cup of milk or a couple splashes of heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Here's how it works:
1. Wash and peel the potatoes (some people like to leave the peels on, but I don't like the
texture).
2. Cut the taters up into bite sized pieces
3. Dump the chunks into a pot and cover them with water.
4. Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat, and let it simmer for about 20 minutes.
5. Drain the contents of the pot through a colander (one of those bowl looking things with the
holes) and dump them into a large mixing bowl
6. Using a hand mixer on a slow setting, mix the ingredients until smooth. Try not to over mix, or the potatoes will come out gluey.
You can spice the dish up a bit by adding garlic, cheese, or any number of different ingredients. Experiment a bit. The mashed potatoes are delicious on their own, but they offer a great opportunity for creativity.
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Recipe: Red Beans and Rice Soup
Hey guys, back again.
Here's a really simple recipe that requires mostly off-the-shelf ingredients.
Ingredients:
1 small onion, chopped
1 box Zataran's Red Beans and Rice (low sodium, if you can get it)
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
Creole seasoning
1 package smoked or hot sausage (the kind in one long, curvy link) chopped into bite sized pieces
1 tablespoon oil (olive, vegetable, whatever you have laying around)
4 cups water
Directions:
1. Drop the oil into a medium sized pot, then add the onions and cook over medium heat until they soften
2. Add sausage, continuing to cook on medium for about 5 min
3. Sprinkle on Creole seasoning. I like to add enough for a light layer over the sausage, but you can add as much as you like. Just keep in mind that most creole seasoning is mostly salt.
4. Add tomatoes, water, and Zataran's.
5. Bring the mix to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, so that its just bubbling
6. Put on the lid, and let the soup cook for approx. 30 minutes. Make sure to stir every now and then.
7. Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit for at least 5 minutes. You'll burn your mouth if you try to eat it any sooner.
And that's it. Now you have a thick, hearty, tasty soup. This is especially good on a cold or rainy day. This recipe keeps really well, so if you want to save effort, make a double batch and freeze what you don't eat!
Cost: $3-$4 for creole seasoning (which you can use to make this recipe a couple dozen times) $1.50-$2.00 for the sausage (try to find it on sale) approx. $.50 for the onion, $.60 for the tomatoes, and $2.00 for the Zataran's. That's about $9.00 initially, for about 3 or 4 meals. After that it gets even cheaper, about $5, since you'll already have the seasoning.
EDIT TO ADD: The sausage I mentioned above looks like this:
Here's a really simple recipe that requires mostly off-the-shelf ingredients.
Red Beans and Rice Soup
Ingredients:
1 small onion, chopped
1 box Zataran's Red Beans and Rice (low sodium, if you can get it)
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
Creole seasoning
1 package smoked or hot sausage (the kind in one long, curvy link) chopped into bite sized pieces
1 tablespoon oil (olive, vegetable, whatever you have laying around)
4 cups water
Directions:
1. Drop the oil into a medium sized pot, then add the onions and cook over medium heat until they soften
2. Add sausage, continuing to cook on medium for about 5 min
3. Sprinkle on Creole seasoning. I like to add enough for a light layer over the sausage, but you can add as much as you like. Just keep in mind that most creole seasoning is mostly salt.
4. Add tomatoes, water, and Zataran's.
5. Bring the mix to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, so that its just bubbling
6. Put on the lid, and let the soup cook for approx. 30 minutes. Make sure to stir every now and then.
7. Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit for at least 5 minutes. You'll burn your mouth if you try to eat it any sooner.
And that's it. Now you have a thick, hearty, tasty soup. This is especially good on a cold or rainy day. This recipe keeps really well, so if you want to save effort, make a double batch and freeze what you don't eat!
Cost: $3-$4 for creole seasoning (which you can use to make this recipe a couple dozen times) $1.50-$2.00 for the sausage (try to find it on sale) approx. $.50 for the onion, $.60 for the tomatoes, and $2.00 for the Zataran's. That's about $9.00 initially, for about 3 or 4 meals. After that it gets even cheaper, about $5, since you'll already have the seasoning.
EDIT TO ADD: The sausage I mentioned above looks like this:
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Recipe: Baked Salmon
Hey guys! Here's the first recipe here at FoE+1, and its actually what I had for dinner tonight!
If you have a Kroger grocery store near you, they will, on occasion, drastically mark down their seafood when the expiration date approaches. I try to check every time I'm there just in case this happens. Since salmon is normally pretty expensive, whenever I find it on sale like this I'll buy at least 2 or 3 fillets. Since they average around 2 lbs. each at $1.99 a pound or so, you can get some real value out of your purchase if you make use of your freezer when you get home.
After you get back from the store, cut the fillets in half, wrap each half in aluminum foil, put it in a plastic freezer bag, and then stick it in the freezer until you need it.
Since this recipe calls for two 6 ounce pieces of salmon, all you need to do to make it is defrost one of your fillet halves in the microwave (take the foil off first!) or the fridge, cut it in two and voila, you're most of the way there!
Here's the recipe:
Two 6 ounce pieces of salmon fillet (bought on sale!)
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 tbls lemon juice (from the bottle is fine, but if you've got a lemon laying around, go ahead and use it)
1/2-1 teaspoon salt (omit if you're trying to cut back)
1 teaspoon pepper (fresh ground if you've got it, but from the shaker is fine)
1 teaspoon dried parsley (1 tbls fresh, if you've got it)
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon minced garlic (I use pre-minced, but that's 2 cloves if you want to do it yourself)
1. Combine all the ingredients except the salmon in a bowl and stir
2. Place salmon in an oven safe dish (I use Pyrex), then cover with mixture
3. Marinate in the fridge for one hour (less, if you're in a hurry) and flip it over every now and then.
4. Get about 12-18 inches of aluminum foil and fold up the sides, forming a kind of trench. Place the fillets in the center of the foil, pour the marinade over it, and then fold the foil into a packet.
5. Place the packet into the baking dish, pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees, then bake for about 40 minutes.
When you pull the dish out of the oven, use tongs or a fork to open the packet and let it cool for a few minutes. You'll have a pair of tender, flavorful salmon fillets ready to eat! Heat up some frozen or canned veggies (I like corn), toss up a salad if you like your roughage, and you have a meal!
You can serve two with this dish, or if you're single, you can save the other fillet for lunch the next day. Sometimes I'll just reheat the fillet and the veggies, but other times I'll pull the fillet apart and use it to make salmon salad for sandwiches.
Salmon salad is easy if you've ever made a tuna sandwich. Just substitute the chopped up fillet for the can of tuna, add mayo, relish, and a little salt and pepper, toast some bread, and you've got lunch!
Cost: approx $1.50 to $2.00 per meal ($2 worth of fish, a few cents worth of oil and herbs, plus whatever you serve it with)
This recipe does take some time to prepare, but most of that is spent waiting for the marinade, which leaves plenty of time to read comics or watch Babylon 5 :)
Note: I found this recipe here, using a tool called SuperCook, which is coincidentally tomorrow's topic!
If you have a Kroger grocery store near you, they will, on occasion, drastically mark down their seafood when the expiration date approaches. I try to check every time I'm there just in case this happens. Since salmon is normally pretty expensive, whenever I find it on sale like this I'll buy at least 2 or 3 fillets. Since they average around 2 lbs. each at $1.99 a pound or so, you can get some real value out of your purchase if you make use of your freezer when you get home.
After you get back from the store, cut the fillets in half, wrap each half in aluminum foil, put it in a plastic freezer bag, and then stick it in the freezer until you need it.
Since this recipe calls for two 6 ounce pieces of salmon, all you need to do to make it is defrost one of your fillet halves in the microwave (take the foil off first!) or the fridge, cut it in two and voila, you're most of the way there!
Here's the recipe:
Two 6 ounce pieces of salmon fillet (bought on sale!)
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 tbls lemon juice (from the bottle is fine, but if you've got a lemon laying around, go ahead and use it)
1/2-1 teaspoon salt (omit if you're trying to cut back)
1 teaspoon pepper (fresh ground if you've got it, but from the shaker is fine)
1 teaspoon dried parsley (1 tbls fresh, if you've got it)
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon minced garlic (I use pre-minced, but that's 2 cloves if you want to do it yourself)
1. Combine all the ingredients except the salmon in a bowl and stir
2. Place salmon in an oven safe dish (I use Pyrex), then cover with mixture
3. Marinate in the fridge for one hour (less, if you're in a hurry) and flip it over every now and then.
4. Get about 12-18 inches of aluminum foil and fold up the sides, forming a kind of trench. Place the fillets in the center of the foil, pour the marinade over it, and then fold the foil into a packet.
5. Place the packet into the baking dish, pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees, then bake for about 40 minutes.
When you pull the dish out of the oven, use tongs or a fork to open the packet and let it cool for a few minutes. You'll have a pair of tender, flavorful salmon fillets ready to eat! Heat up some frozen or canned veggies (I like corn), toss up a salad if you like your roughage, and you have a meal!
You can serve two with this dish, or if you're single, you can save the other fillet for lunch the next day. Sometimes I'll just reheat the fillet and the veggies, but other times I'll pull the fillet apart and use it to make salmon salad for sandwiches.
Salmon salad is easy if you've ever made a tuna sandwich. Just substitute the chopped up fillet for the can of tuna, add mayo, relish, and a little salt and pepper, toast some bread, and you've got lunch!
Cost: approx $1.50 to $2.00 per meal ($2 worth of fish, a few cents worth of oil and herbs, plus whatever you serve it with)
This recipe does take some time to prepare, but most of that is spent waiting for the marinade, which leaves plenty of time to read comics or watch Babylon 5 :)
Note: I found this recipe here, using a tool called SuperCook, which is coincidentally tomorrow's topic!
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