Sweet Potatoes with Applesauce

Ingredients:

6 medium sweet potatoes or yams (2 lb), peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 1/2 cups applesauce

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

3 Tbsp margarine or butter, melted

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped nuts, toasted

Directions:

1. Place sweet potatoes in 2 to 3 1/2 qt slow cooker. Mix remaining ingredients except nuts; spoon over potatoes.

2. Cover and cook on Low 6 to 8 hours or until potatoes are very tender.

3. Sprinkle with nuts.

Spinach and Strawberry Salad

Salad Ingredients:

1 package of baby spinach

1 pint strawberries

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup sliced red onion

crumbled goat or feta cheese

Dressing Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp chopped onion

1 Tbsp poppy seeds

Directions:

1. Mix above salad ingredients together in salad bowl.

2. In a small bowl, mix all dressing ingredients together well, except poppy seeds.  Chill and add poppy seeds before serving.

Roasted Cauliflower

Ingredients

6 cups of cauliflower florets

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp sliced garlic

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

2. Place florets in a 9x13 baking dish.  Add the additional ingredients. Mix.

3. Bake for 15 minutes. Enjoy.

Variation:  sprinkle with Parmesan cheese after removing from the oven

The Perfect Baked Potato

I had to write this here because every time I look up how to bake a potato in the oven I always get different instructions and different temps. On the search for how to make the perfect baked potato, I finally figured it out!

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Wash and pat potatoes dry, then pierce them with a fork to let out steam while cooking.
3. Place potatoes on rack in the middle of the oven for 40 minutes to an hour or until tender.

You get a soft tender inside and crisp skin. Just the way I like them!!

Grilled Eggplant

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant

3 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 cloves garlic, very finely minced

1 pinch each thyme, basil, and oregano

salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Heat grill. 

2. When grill is hot, slice eggplant about 1/2-inch thick. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper. Brush both sides of the eggplant slices with the oil and vinegar mixture.

3. Place eggplant on the hot preheated grill. Grill about 15 to 20 minutes, turning once.

Homemade Mac & Cheese

I just made homemade mac & cheese for the first time ever. Not gonna lie, I usually just make it out of the box on a weekly basis for my kids. I’d like to think most Mom's do... This is a very easy and much more delicious option though! This is mac & cheese I'm not embarrassed to admit I eat!

Ingredients:

2 cups macaroni

¼ cup butter or margarine

¼ cup flour

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

¼ tsp ground mustard (I didn’t have any on hand so I just put in a squirt of yellow mustard)

¼ tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 cups milk

2 cups shredded or cubed cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cook macaroni as directed on package.

3. While macaroni is cooking, melt butter in a 3 quart sauce pan over low heat. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in cheese. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cheese is melted.

4. Stir cooked macaroni into cheese sauce. Poor into ungreased 2 quart casserole dish. Bake uncovered 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly.

Variation: Try adding your favorite crumb topping to add some crunch. I used Whole Wheat Crackers crumbled up on top. Yummy!

Twice Baked Potatoes

I took this picture after I made some twice baked potatoes one night.  I had every intention of writing down  what I did because I didn't follow a recipe or anything.  Of course, it's more than a month later and that never happened.  You should google a recipe and make them tonight, or experiement and create your own recipe.  (Then share it with me!)

Pork Stuffing

This is a family recipe from my in-laws. Hubby loves this stuff! He grew up with his Nana making it, then his Mom, and now ME! The measurements are guesses and as you make it more you can play with the amounts. It’s really not hard, though at first I was really intimidated.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground pork

4 slices of stale bread (I use whole wheat)

1 small onion, chopped

¼ cup of chicken broth

1 tsp poultry season

Directions:

1. Brown the pork and onion together in a pan.

2. Rip up the slices of bread and add to the pork mixture.

3. Add chicken broth and poultry season.

4. Mix together well until it has the desired texture. You can add more bread if it’s too meaty or more chicken broth if it’s too dry.

If you don’t have any poultry seasoning you can use: ¾ tsp sage, and a ¼ tsp blend of any of the following spices: thyme, marjoram, black pepper, and rosemary. The other day I didn’t have any poultry seasoning or most of the spices above so I sprinkled some thyme and garlic powder and it was still delicious!

Potatoes Poupon

The original recipe comes from Kraft Foods.

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp Dijon Mustard

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

2 lb potatoes (about 6 medium potatoes), cut into bite-size chunks

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Mix all ingredients except potatoes in small bowl.

2. Spread potatoes into lightly greased 13x9-inch baking pan.

3. Add mustard mixture to pan; toss to coat

The original recipe calls for red potatoes, but red potatoes kind of freak me out so I just made them with regular Idaho potatoes and they were still yummy... Not sure what the difference would be?  Anyone know?