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Crispy sticky mashed potatoes

I'm not usually a fan of mashed potatoes, but when you fry them in a very hot oven in butter and oil then I start to like them. This is based on a Nigella Lawson recipe that she calls Sticky Garlic Potatoes. I really didn't change too much - just slightly reduced the garlic and used regular potatoes. Oh, and added some butter so I could live up to my 'ChefMoreButter' nickname. I served these with a roasted chicken and I used the garlic 'scented' potato water to make the gravy. It was delicious! Something to think about if you decide to make these potatoes. They're a little time consuming but well worth the effort. Besides - what else do we housewives/single parents have to do? (yes, I'm joking)

Waffle Bread Pudding - Leftover Tuesdays 6

 

It's Leftover Tuesdays #6 and this month it's being hosted by Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity . More good news is that I finally (FINALLY) got to make my Leftover Waffle Bread Pudding. It took some sly, spy-like moves to keep the family from eating the homemade belgian waffles, but I did it. 

Jell-O Jigglers

 

Who doesn't love Jello Jigglers? I think I eat more of these than my kids do. This is a little embarrassing to admit but I generally have to look up the recipe to remember how to make these jell-o goodies. I just can't seem to remember how to make them. This is a very, very easy recipe. If you use juice instead of water, it could almost be considered healthy. Add alcohol and it could be considered fun as well. I just noticed on the Kraft site that there is a comment that says: "Do not swallow jello jigglers whole". Not sure what's with that, but I'm sure thousands (maybe hundreds) of college students are trying it right now. Nothing better than a party trick involving Jello! Good fun. Now I have to make some more of these just to see what happens when you DO swallow jigglers whole.

Grilled Asparagus

 

It's spring and I hate asparagus. Not even sure if that's how you spell asparagus. However Mr. Chef really likes the stuff and the kids like it or will at least eat it. I think it's just ... not good. As luck would have it, there is a patch of asparagus growing right next to our rhubarb habitat - another (is it a veggie?) thing I don't like. Bleck. So why am I talking about asparagus if I don't eat it? Well - I invited some friends over for a dinner party on the Friday of May 2-4. Being such a great hostess I kindly volunteered Mr. Chef to do all the cooking and he got me back by cooking a fantastic supper filled with foods I don't eat. Including Grilled Asparagus. One of our guests is also a chef and he just "loved how the texture changed so beautifully with the grilling". I'll take his word for it. It's still not my thing. At least we had filet mignon and beer - two things I will eat.

Health and Fitness Support Forum

For anyone interested, I have set up a support group discussion forum at: http://forum.whats-cooking.ca/ Okay, right. I did set up the forum, but it's actually the support group my sister started. She is a health and wellness bully ... I mean advisor. Her current group has about 4 people in it, and she nags, chases and yes, bullies, all of them into working out and eating well. I'm sure they had no idea what they signed up for. She also cooks and takes them grocery shopping ... there is no escape. I've joined the forum too. When one of my co-workers (who is 17 years old) sees me eating an apple and says: "Since when do you eat fruit?", I figure it's time to change my diet. Writing down what I eat has been a real eye opener and has made me realize that I have the worst diet on the planet, even though I am one of those skinny types (yes, had to put that in, just so you all know that 'skinny' doesn't equal 'healthy'.) (Who am I kidding? I've been dying to say that.) What's with the picture below? I just thought it was pretty, and very peaceful. Not everything is as it appears; this was taken from the top of the mountain near Lexington, Kentucky. An accidental encounter with light on leaves. However -- two degrees to my right is the roaring freeway, racing across the valley. Peace is just a matter of angle.

  

Dutch Baby - Oven pancake

I have to admit that this is the first time I've ever eaten one of these. I was looking for a 'yummy' breakfast recipe, as per the request from my hyperactive 5 year old, and came across these Dutch Babies. It occurred to me, while the 5 year old bounced around my kitchen talking non-stop, that I could see why the Dutch would actually eat their babies. Then I read the recipe and decided it was an oven baked pancake, or an oven baked crepe. This dutch-baby recipe has no leavening in it other than eggs; this seemed to be the usual recipe, although I did find some that had some baking soda or powder in them. I decided simple was better (and cheaper). The recipe originally calls for 4 eggs but I've changed this to 3 or 4 eggs. We have our own chickens here on the farm, and our eggs are REALLY large - so I use 3 eggs. But if you are using grocery store eggs, you'll probably need 4 of them. I guess there's a 'method' to making these, which believe it or not I followed, so my suggestion is to actually read the instructions for guidance. I'm not sure what would happen if you didn't follow 'the method', but I wouldn't want to be responsible for any breakfast disasters.

Pineapple Pie

 

Pineapple Pie is a light, fluffy dessert that I had at my mother's house last week. Our family still gets together every other Sunday for Sunday dinner, and my mom likes to use us as guinea pigs and try out new recipes at these gatherings. This cream cheese based pie is one of those experiments. It's a delicious combination, very summer-y tasting, and not too heavy after a good supper. Pineapple Pie uses a graham cracker crust, which you can make yourself (the recipe for the crust is included), or you can buy a store bought graham crust. This recipe is very easy and tastes great, and it's a pie! Three things that make a keeper in my book.

Whole Wheat hand-me-down Breadmaker Bread

For a while it seemed like everyone in the known world had a breadmaker - except me. And then, luckily, they went out of fashion and I finally got one via my mother's friend. It's a circa 1994 Westbend Bread and Dough maker, not quite as sleek as some of the fancy new ones I've seen around, but it does make bread. Of course, being a hand me down, the bread machine came with no instructions or recipes. I searched the net for some Whole Wheat bread recipes, and found this one and a half pound loaf on the Westbend site. I liked that the bread recipe contained an egg for extra protein, used only whole wheat flour and didn't call for gluten flour (because I didn't have any). This bread cooks up nice and light, not too crumbly, and it slices beautifully. It might also be my imagination, but it also seems to stay a little fresher longer than some of the other bread recipes I've tried.

Leftover Tuesday #3 - the Roundup

Leftover Tuesdays #3 was a success again. We had entries from all over the world, ranging from interesting breakfast dishes to fantastic desserts, with some supper dishes in there for good measure. Thirteen dishes were entered in this month's event, with a wide range of leftovers used in each 'chef's' creation. Just follow the link below to see the whole roundup for Leftover Tuesdays part three.

Announcing - Leftover Tuesdays #3 March 21-27

I love Leftover Tuesdays, and luckily for me David over at Cooking Chat has allowed me to host this month's event. 

If you are new to Leftover Tuesdays, here's how it works: The basic idea is 1) to have a leftover item on hand as a result of your cooking (or other dining) between Wednesday March 21 and Tuesday, March 27 2) make something new with those leftover items and blog about this new creation by Tuesday, March 27. No special theme this month, just anything creative you can do with your leftovers! Post your blog entry by midnight (EST) on Tuesday, March 27, and send me an email at megan.minielly @ gmail.com (take out the space), with the subject "Leftover Tuesdays". Be sure to include the following, very important information: Your name and location Your blog name and URL Url for your Leftover Tuesdays entry a jpeg picture (pref. 100x100 px) to be included in the roundup No blog? Well, feel free to enter anyway! Just send me your entry and a picture of it, and I will be happy to include it in the roundup. I will have the Roundup of leftovers posted sometime during the week of the 27th. Leftover Tuesdays round #1 can be seen at Cooking Chat, and Roundup #2 is over at Rachel's Bite. Happy cooking everyone, and thanks for looking.