Loaded Twice-Baked Pototoes

This is probably my all time favorite twice-baked potato recipe because it's not only easy, but freezes well for later use.

6 large potatoes, baked
1 c. sour cream
5 slices bacon, cooked
1 c. (4 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
1 green onion, chopped
1/4 c. milk
2 T. butter, melted
1 T. chopped fresh parsley
1 t. salt
Additional shredded cheddar cheese

Cut hot potatoes in half lengthwise and carefully scoop out pulp into large bowl, leaving the shell intact. In bowl, mash pulp until smooth. Beat in sour cream, bacon, cheese, onion, milk, butter, parsley & salt. Fill shells. Cover & refrigerate for about an hour. At this point, you can choose to freeze the stuffed shells for later use. You need to wrap each potato half in plastic wrap, and place each individually wrapped half in a ziplock freezer bag or a freezer container. To serve, simply thaw and place in an ungreased shallow baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden and heated through. During the last 5 minutes of baking, sprinkle on additional shredded cheddar cheese.

Grillin' Love

Ok, if salmon isn't the main dish for the man in your life, maybe a hearty meal on the grill will satisfy him.

Marinated Steaks

2-4 steaks, any size, any variety
1 small bottle Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c. red wine vinegar
juice of 2 lemons
2 bay leaves
2 garlic cloves, slivered
seasoned salt
cracked pepper

Mix all ingredients together, allowing steaks to marinate 2-3 hours. Grill to desired doneness.

Potatoes & Onions on the Grill

Par-boil 4-6 medium potatoes, cut into chunks for 10 minutes. Drain. On a very large piece of heavy duty foil, sprayed with cooking spray, place potatoes and thinly sliced large vidalia onion. Season with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg and dot with several pats of butter. Seal up completely and place on grill for about 10-12 minutes while steaks are cooking. Be careful opening foil as steam could burn.

And, last but not least, dessert. Can grill this one, but it's beautiful and worth every effort. I got this recipe years ago from "Taste of Home" magazine and it's been a favorite of ours ever since. Read through the recipe though, because you have to start this one the day before to get the meringue *just right*. Again, don't shy away from that -- it's totally worth it!

Cherry-Berries in a Cloud

6 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-3/4 cups sugar

FILLING:
2 packages (3 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped
2 cups miniature marshmallows

TOPPING:
1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 teaspoon lemon juice


DIRECTIONS
Place egg whites in a large mixing bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Add the cream of tartar and salt; beat until foamy. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high until stiff peaks form (do not under beat). Spread evenly in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 275° for 1 hour; turn off oven (do not open door). Let cool in oven overnight or at least 12 hours.
In another large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth; gently fold in whipped cream and marshmallows. Spread over meringue. Chill for 4 hours. Cut into 16 pieces. Combine topping ingredients; spoon 1/4 cup over each serving. Yield: 16 servings.


A hearty meal for Valentine's Day or any other day for that matter! Enjoy!!

Say "I Love You!" With a Heart-Healthy Meal

If the only thing you normally make for Valentine’s Day is reservations, then this is the year to try something new. Times being what they are, flowers and dinner out might strain the budget. But a memorable dinner at home doesn’t have to. Columnist Harriet van Horne once said, “Cooking is like love – it should be entered into with abandon or not at all.” It’s true. This year make a restaurant quality meal that’s as visually appealing as it is healthy for you. Cooking for your family on special occasions is not only an act of love, but it’s the stuff memories are made of as well. So, this year – make a memory. Make dinner.

The entrée is Salmon with Maple-Soy Glaze which can be prepared in under 20 minutes start to finish. I like to serve this with wilted garlic spinach, which is also a really quick and healthy side dish.

Salmon with Maple-Soy Glaze

1 full salmon fillet
4 T. pure maple syrup
2 t. soy sauce
½ t. lime juice
¼ t. liquid smoke

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place fillet in 9x13 baking dish, coated with non-stick cooking spray. Mix maple syrup, soy sauce, lime juice & liquid smoke. Brush onto the top of salmon fillet evenly. Sprinkle fillet with a little sea salt & cracked pepper. Bake 12 minutes or until fish flakes easily with fork.

Wilted Garlic Spinach

2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 bag spinach, pre-washed
Olive oil

In medium non-stick skillet heat oil over medium high heat. While it’s heating, slice garlic cloves. Drizzle olive oil into skillet, about 1 tablespoon. Cook garlic, stirring occasionally, until nearly crisp. Remove garlic from pan at this point and put the entire bag of spinach into seasoned oil and lower heat to medium. Continue stirring spinach until all leaves are wilted, which shouldn’t take long – less than 5 minutes.

Serve alongside salmon fillet.

Simple. Satisfying. Savory ~ and served with love.

Just Fon-DO It!

As promised, I am posting some favorite fondue recipes of mine for my sister-in-law. (Hi, Kim!!) We both received electric fondue pots from our aunts for Christmas and can now fondue without Sterno!! I am so grateful I won't be burning my hand every time I make one of these dishes. That was always the worst part.

Anyway, without further ado, my recipes.

Beef Fondue

1/2 cup soy sauce
15 shakes of Liquid Smoke
10 shakes of onion juice
sirloin steak, cut into 1 1/2" cubes.

Marinate steak (cubed) for 2 hours, turning after 1 hour. Simply skewer meat and cook to your liking in fondue pot halfway filled with canola or vegetable oil.

Pizza Fondue

2 T. butter or margarine
1/2 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 T. cornstarch
1 1/2 t. oregano
1/4 t. garlic powder
2 (10 1/2 oz.) jars pizza sauce
2 1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese
1 c. grated mozzarella cheese

Melt margarine in skillet and brown ground beef with onion over medium high heat. Once meat is done, drain and place in fondue pot.

Mix cornstarch, oregano and garlic powder with pizza sauce and add to meat mixture. Stir well and heat. When mixture thickens add cheese a handful at a time, stirring well after each addition. Blend until smooth and melted. Keep fondue bubbling on medium heat and serve with toasted garlic bread cubes, toasted English muffins or dunk bread sticks.

NOTE: My mom always served this over toasted English muffins. She would split them in half, butter them, toast them then top them with the fondue mixture. Sometimes I put them under the broiler after that with a little extra mozzarella cheese and make them like little pizzas.

Cheddar Fondue

1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. ground mustard
1/4 t. pepper
1/4. t. cayenne pepper
1/4 t. Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 c. milk
2 c. (8 oz.) grated cheddar cheese

In small saucepan melt butter; stir in flour, salt, mustard, peppers & Worcestershire sauce until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; add the cheese and continue stirring until cheese is melted. Place mixture in fondue pot keeping heat to medium low. Serve with bread cubes, ham, or broccoli or cauliflower florets.

White Chocolate Fondue

1 c. heavy cream
1/2 stick unsalted butter
2 pkgs. (12 oz each) premier white morsels

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine cream and butter. Bring mixture to a simmer, stirring constantly. Remove pan from heat; add white morsels. Stir until melted and smooth. Cool slightly. Transfer to a fondue pot. Serve with apples, bananas, strawberries, cookies, pretzels or pound cake.

NOTE: To make dark chocolate fondue, substitute 1 pkg. semi-sweet morsels and 1 pkg. milk chocolate morsels for 2 pkgs. white morsels above and follow same directions.

Hammin' It Up

This Christmas we had ham as our main course. As always, even with my family here, there were plenty of leftovers. So, we cut it off the bone, bagged it in freezer bags and froze it, planning to use it for omelets in the coming weeks. In the midst of sorting through 20 years of my recipe collection, I came across this favorite and on a busy Sunday, got it started in the crock pot before church and let it simmer all day on low. Remarkably easy and yet completely satisfying, this has become one of my husband's most requested post-ham dishes.

Crock Pot Ham & Potatoes

8-10 medium potatoes, washed thoroughly and thinly sliced, skin on.
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (can use any "cream of ..." soup you prefer)
about 1/2 lb. ham, diced or torn into 1" pieces
2 c. grated cheddar cheese
1 onion, choppped (or 1 T. dried minced onion)
salt & pepper to taste

Layer ingredients in crock pot and stir to combine. Cook on low 6-8 hours, stirring every few hours.

Total comfort food!

Coming soon to a blog near you ...

Just like the healthy fish dish I just posted below, I will add a few lighter-fare recipes this month in order to help us undo the damage brought on by the 12 Cookies of Christmas! Fish, chicken and even pasta -- there are so many ways to get a healthy yet deliciously satisfying meal on the table, so I hope you'll check back in the coming weeks to find tasty ways to get back on track.

Also, I will be posting some recipes by special request of my sister in law, Kim. She and I received electric fondue pots for Christmas and I'm pulling out some of my favorite fondue recipes. As a child of the 70's, some of my mama's best dishes were out of our fondue pot. I will say good-bye to Sterno as I update my retro appliance to the new, improved electric version. These recipes are good for a family dinner or a Super Bowl party or just a fun, family dinner where everybody mans their own fork and cooks for him/herself. Can't beat that!

See you soon, I hope!

Leslie

Happy Healthy New Year!!

Resolutions schmezolutions!! Every year I make the list, at least mentally, and every year for the majority of my post-baby years the same three rear their ugly heads “lose weight”, “eat healthier”, “get in shape”. Pffft! Forget the top ten list of resolutions – I just have to do seven because the first three are now unspoken standards. So, figuring that other people out there have the same mindset as I do about this time of year, I decided I’d share one of my family’s favorite healthy meals – Pan-Seared Whitefish with roasted vegetables and couscous. It’s lean, heart-healthy, quick and delicious! You can’t beat that combination!

Roasted Vegetables

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2 yellow squash, sliced
1 medium zucchini squash, sliced
1 medium red pepper, sliced
(You can also use cherry tomatoes, fresh mushrooms, quartered onions, broccoli and other colors of peppers)
Salt, pepper, Italian seasonings
Drizzle of olive oil

Place cut vegetables in roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil, then salt, pepper and season with Italian seasonings or Herbes de Provence. Hand toss to coat and flatten out to one layer. Roast in oven for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through to cook evenly.

As soon as this is in the oven, follow the directions on the box to make couscous, using chicken stock instead of water. I chose to go with the whole grain variety, but it’s up to you. The couscous literally takes 7 minutes from start to finish. Now it’s time to prepare the fish for pan-searing.


Pan-Seared Whitefish

1 ½ lbs. whitefish fillets (I prefer Tilapia because of its mild flavor)
Salt, pepper, flour (I use whole wheat to make it healthier)
½ c. chopped almonds
Drizzle of olive oil
1 Tablespoon of butter

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat. While pan is getting hot, alt and pepper one side of each fillet, then dust each fillet with flour. When pan is hot and oil is moving and thinning, place each fillet seasoned side down in the skillet, being careful not to move it once you do. When all fillets are in skillet, repeat the salt, pepper and flour process. Let fillets cook 3-4 minutes on each side. Once that’s done, move them to one side of a serving platter and add another drizzle of olive oil and the butter to the same skillet. When butter has melted, add chopped almonds and toast them in the pan. This will only take a couple of minutes. Once they’re toasted, place them on top of the fillets.

Plate the couscous aside the fish fillets and top with the roasted vegetables for a really attractive entrée and side dish!

Simple. Satisfying. Savory ~ and slimming! That’s this month’s dinner @ 6!