Twice Baked Potatoes

Twice Baked Potatoes

#likebakedbutsomeonedidallthehardstufffirst

#somuchbetterthanhalfbaked

#weshouldalwaysworryaboutanythinghalfbaked

#freakinglovethesecreamycarbs

#ihavenoideawhathashtagsareevenfor

These were honkin' huge taters.  Half of one still makes a great big serving. You can use much smaller ones.  Cute little yukons or red.  

It's all good.

Scrub the dickens out of these puppies. I love potato skins - best part, so must be clean. I never use a veggie brush. What if someone forgot to mention they scrubbed the grunge out of the sink (or their nails) with it? Veggie brushes cannot be trusted.  Therefore, I always wad up a ball of foil, scrub, then toss. Works great.

Hold the little feller in a clean cloth - they are hot, even when they cool for a while. Take your time scooping out the matter.  Gotta have a good little shell to work with.  Make sure they are thoroughly baked or they won't mash up right and will be so much harder to scoop out!

Let's be honest. 

A potato is a mere vessel for which to hold wonderful things such as butter and cheese, gravy... and bacon. (These don't have bacon because I already had bacon in another part of the meal)

Twice Baked Potatoes

7 large potatoes

1 pint sour cream

3/4 cup butter

Salt - be generous here

6 cups grated cheddar cheese - divided (I used sharp)

1 pkg fresh chives, snipped with scissors

Scrub potatoes and wrap in foil.  Pierce to let steam out.  Bake until tender.  These big ones took 1 1/2 hours at 400 degrees.  Remove from oven and let cool slightly.  Carefully cut in half lengthwise.  Holding each half in a clean cloth, scoop out insides into a mixing bowl, leaving 1/4 inch rim of potato left.  

In mixing bowl, combine potato scoopings, butter, salt, 3 cups of the cheese, and 3/4 of the package of fresh chives.  Whip until smooth and fluffy. If you need more moisture, add a little milk or cream, but usually that much sour cream does it. 

Fill shells, top with remaining cheese, chives and if desired, add bacon.  

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, uncovered.

NOTE:  Can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until final baking.  Just increase time if necessary.


Posted by: Rona

Vegan Avocado Wraps with Sunflower Herb Spread AND Smoky Zucchini Bisque

Let me just say, I'm not a vegan (and never will be)- not with the deep emotional bond I have for butter, cream, and steak.

But I LUV clean eating too.

Mother Nature's got it goin' on eh?

The other day we were in Sedona and tried this weird little vegan restaurant. Although we were the only diners without dreads, Tarot cards, a Subaru or B.O., 

I must say the whole experience was pretty cool and the food was"herbaceous, delightful and balanced"

- just as they described.

With natural beauty all around us, 

we had to eat from the earth's bounty that day.

The best part was the chef and I became BFF's inspite of our differences, and he shared his secret weapon with me - 

the Sunflower Herb Spread.  

$$ The Money $$$

It made the wrap.

Next step - go home and recreate it.

The Smoky Zucchini Bisque is my healthy rendition of a not healthy recipe.  I made some simple changes which took out a ton of fat and calories, but it still has a great flavor and is creamy, warm and soothing.  

When you eat nutritionally dense foods, you just feel good.

"Love runs from my head down to my toes." - Freddie Mercury
:-)

Every now and then my inner hippie comes screaming out.

The Sunflower Herb Spread is the 'mama'.  She holds it together while adding a little flavor and personality.

The bisque is great topped with a dash of Tabasco or Siracha.

And here we go...


Vegan Avocado Wrap

Layer the following on whole grain bread or wrap:

thick layer of sunflower herb spread
baby spinach leaves
tomato slices (salt and pepper these)
avocado slices
thinly sliced red onion
shredded carrots
sprout of the day


Fold in thirds (because it's probably too big to roll up) and slice in half on a diagonal.


Sunflower Spread

2 cups raw sunflower seeds, soaked in water overnight (or for at least an hour)
3/4 to 1 cup fresh herbs (anything goes here)
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup vinegar
1 small clove garlic, minced (a little goes a long way here)
Salt and pepper

Drain and rinse the sunflower seeds. Throw it all in a high powered blender or food processor.  I like it not totally smooth.  You can mince the herbs yourself and add them at the end if you like them more noticable.  Some good herbs to try would be basil, thyme, chives, dill, parsley, tarragon, rosemary (but smaller quantity).  

Note:  By soaking the sunflower seeds the nutritional value is greatly enhanced, plus the ability for the body to better absorb the nutrients.

Smoky Zucchini Bisque

5 med. zucchini (about 3 pounds)

4 cups chicken broth

3 Tbsp. dried onion flakes

or 1 cup chopped onion

3 oz pkg. bacon bits - I subbed 2 t. liquids smoke flavoring

2 cups half-&-half - I subbed 1 can fat free evaporated milk (could use almond milk too)

Freshly ground pepper

1. Heat the chicken broth in the large pot on high.

2. While the broth is heating, cut the zucchini in slices or chunks and place it in the broth.

3. Add the onion flakes and bacon.

4. When the soup comes to a boil, turn the heat down to medium. Cover the lid and let it simmer 10-15 minutes.

5. When zucchini chunks are tender, puree them with a stick blender. Or, use a stand blender and puree in two batches.

6. Add a few grinds of pepper to taste, and the half and half, or milk, or fat-free half-and-half. Serve topped with more bacon, croutons or a sprinkle of cheese.

 Source- "Soup's On!" by Valerie Phillips (Covenant Books)

Feed your soul.

And yo belly.

Ommmmm......

Posted by R

Sauteed Mushrooms (done right)

Black Angus Ribeye (medium rare) + Sauteed Mushrooms 

= an out of body experience.

I'm just sayin'...

Sauteed Mushrooms done right; not soggy, 

lightly caramelized and seasoned to perfection. 

I have secrets and I'm not afraid to share:

 Secret #1:  

Don't wash under running water.

Our fungi friends are quite absorbent and will soak up the water like a sponge.  End result will be soggy, boiled, steamy mushrooms. 

Instead, lightly wipe shrooms with a damp paper towel.  

  

Secret #2:  

Add garlic when almost done.  

Garlic burns easily.  Burnt garlic is nasty, bitter, horrifying. You'll want to saute these at a medium high/high heat which will kill your garlic way too early.

   Secret #3:  

Bacon grease.  

It will knock your socks off.  

It's a sock-knocker-offer.

Sauteed Mushrooms (done right)

2 packages mushrooms, washed and sliced

1/4 cup bacon grease (saved from last night's BLT's)

2 garlic cloves, mashed or finely chopped

salt and pepper

fresh thyme, if desired (about 1-2 T)

Heat skillet hot hot hot.  Add the bacon grease, when it's almost smoking, add the mushrooms and saute until golden brown, stirring frequently (but gently).  Add garlic, go another few minutes. Season with salt and pepper.  It's now a good time to add the thyme.

Option:  You can add a little butter for more great flavor, but do it after they are golden. 

Another Option:  If you don't have bacon grease, use Canola oil, and add butter at the end.  Won't be as good.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

Ever been to orbit?  

Pack your bags 'cause you're going there.

Posted by: Rona

Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Need a side dish but are banning the beige??  

Oh honey, let's talk.  

Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes

So you know when grandma said, "Leave well enough alone." and it almost sounded boring, depressing, sad?  

Here it is. Well-enough and it's nothing short of spectacular.

This recipe takes the natural beauty of the sweet potato and intensifies it, but still leaving a  pure, delightful taste.  

Let's face it, intensified anything is better.

It's like taking what the good Lord gave ya, and making it a little better, (kind of like mascara), but not a total unrecognizable transformation (like the Life-Style Lift).

Let us all eat orange today.

Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes

3 pounds sweet potatoes
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup olive oil 
juice of one lime (I have left this out when I don't have it)
salt

Peel and dice sweet potatoes into about 1 inch cubes. Or... slice into 3/4 inch slices.  Make sure that knife is sharp, raw sweet potatoes are like cutting into bricks, I swear.  And you might too while cutting these.

Mix oil, honey and lime juice into a Ziploc baggie. Toss in potatoes and shake around to coat. Put on a Pam sprayed cookie sheet. Give them room to breathe - you want these bad boys to roast, not steam. Sprinkle with salt.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, take out and turn over 1/2 way through the baking time, then turn up to 400 degrees and bake another 15-20 until tender and golden. (Keep an eye on these - cooking times vary so much, depending on the size of chunk, how many you cram on a pan, and your own oven temp.  You may not need to turn them up at all at the end.)

So.... I know you'll be tempted to turn the temperature up to 400 at the beginning to speed it up.  You know it works for regular roasted potatoes. Yeah don't do it.  With the honey, the increased temperature will cause a rapid progression of molecular over caramelization - they will BURN! So if you want the reputation as the sweet potato burner lady (or man), then go right ahead.



Posted by: Rona

Grilled Zucchini Roll-Ups

Zucchini by itself tastes kind of like....well...nothing.  It's totally boring without some love.

But it's so low cal and abundant this time of year,  I'm always trying to find something better in a healthier version to do with it. 

These little doodads were pretty tasty.  The basil absolutely makes it, and the tiny bit of goat cheese isn't enough to add a bunch of calories but makes a great creamy addition with all veggies.  Goat cheese is the bomb. 

I want it every day.  It makes everything better.  Just sayin'...


Grilled Zucchini Roll-ups

3-4 zucchini, sliced lengthwise about 1/4 inch thick
olive oil - garlic EVOO would be great!
2 oz goat cheese - I had plain on hand but herbed would be even better!
1 T minced fresh parsley
1 t. lemon juice
baby spinach leaves
about 1/3 cup basil leaves

Brush the zucchini slices with olive oil on both sides and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place on a preheated gill or grill pan until tender (about 4 minutes on each side).  I used a grill pan but an outside grill, especially a charcoal grill would be out of this world yummy!

In a small bowl, combine the goat cheese, parsley, and lemon juice.  Put 1/2 t. on each zucchini slice, about 1/2 inch form the end.  Top with a few spinach leaves and a small basil leaf (or 1/2 of a large one).  Roll up and place on a platter, seam side down. 

I think these are best at room temperature. They would go great with any grilled meat or summer BBQ.

You know you want one.

Posted by: Rona