What's for Dinner at My House: Sausage, Potato & Coleslaw

Yes, this is a bit (okay, more than a bit) carb heavy for a girl who is supposedly going low carb. I keep waffling on that. One day I'm low-carb, one day I'm moderate carb and the next I'm just "grain-free" but not actually low carbs. That's how I can justify potatoes, which are like one of my favorite food groups. (Potatoes should be their own food group, should they not?) Now, the loaf of white french bread hiding under the (nitrate free) sausage, slathered in homemade mayo? Yeah, um... no excuses for that lovely crunchy carb on my plate. The main thing for me is to try as hard as possible to stick with real food ingredients.

The coleslaw is a bigger portion than it looks, it's called perspective. I did NOT have three times as much as potatoes as cabbage... or maybe I did. Anyway, it's what we had for dinner and it hit the spot. By the way a few twists to mention: the coleslaw I used up the rest of the homemade Caesar Salad dressing I made the other night. The other twist is that the potatoes are the Salt & Vinegar recipe I tried out from Noble Pig's blog and man are they GOOD.

So... what's for dinner at your house?
-Amanda

Potato Pancakes

Tonight for dinner I made a wonderful braised pork dish and when I was thinking of side dishes these potato pancakes came to mind. They are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. And while these don't exactly fit into my low-carb diet right now, my family enjoyed them. And they are fried in (non-homogenized) lard, which contrary to popular belief is actually good for you!

-Amanda

Potato Pancakes

1 Idaho potato, peeled
1 small sweet potato, peeled
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 eggs
2 tbsp flour or arrowroot
1/2 cup lard for frying

Cube Idaho potato and place it in a small pot. Just barely cover with water and bring to a boil. When it is very fork tender, drain all the water away.Meanwhile, grate sweet potato in a large bowl. Sprinkle apple cider vinegar over top to prevent browning. When Idaho potato is done, either use a ricer, a food mill or a mesh colander to push the potato through for a very fine mashed potato. Add it to the sweet potato and mix thoroughly. Crack two eggs in the bowl and sprinkle with flour or arrowroot powder. Mix everything together. Bring lard up to a frying temperature and form small 3 inch pancakes in a skillet. Drain on a paper towel.

Steak Marinade and Duck Fat French Fries

 It's almost a sin to eat steak on a paper plate, but my dishwasher is on the fritz and I'm just too spoiled to wash all my dishes by hand.

I had the girls plate their own food. Maddie very carefully lined up her grapes. She piled the french fries on top of the steak as if to hide it. Too bad when she finished her fries I saw all that steak sitting there. And they've eaten steak lots of times before but right now they are in a very picky stage of life. My mom bought me the duck fat for my birthday and I was excited to use it for the first time!
-Amanda

Steak Marinade 

(for one lonely steak)

1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbs olive oil
1 tsp honey
a clove grated garlic
1 tsp basil
salt & pepper
a sprinkle of hot pepper flakes

Mix all ingredients in a shallow dish with edges. Marinade steak for at least 4 hours, flipping occasionally. Grill or broil.

Duck Fat French Fries

2 small potatoes
sea salt
duck fat

Cut potatoes into french fry shape. I used a mandolin.  Place in a bowl and toss with 2 tbsp of duck fat. Sprinkle with sea salt. Spread evenly on a cookie sheet and bake at 425 for 20 minutes or until crispy and golden.

Potato Salad for a crowd

I'm going to a farewell party for one of my husband's co-workers today. He's moving from the company's Dallas location out to the San Jose location. So everyone is getting together to say goodbye. The theme of the party is Farewell to Texas since they are moving away from this awesome state that has such good food. I'm contributing Texas Potato Salad, Jalapeno Cheese Bread and Sausage Balls. Here's my family recipe for Potato Salad.
-Amanda

Potato Salad

5 lb bag of red potatoes
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise (Not miracle whip!)
3-4 tbsp yellow mustard
4 hard boiled eggs
2-3 stalks of celery,,finely diced
1 small onion, finely diced (red is nice, but whatever color onion you have)
1 cup cut up mini dill pickles (you can use relish, but I like bigger chunks)
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Clean potatoes and cut them up into big chunks. Boil them until they are fork tender, but be careful not to over cook them. You want them to maintain their shape, and not turn into mashed potatoes. In a medium size bowl mix the diced onion, pickles, mayo, mustard, celery, sugar, chopped hard boiled eggs, salt and pepper. In a very large bowl (the biggest you have) place the drained, cooked potatoes. Add the dressing mix and stir together gently until all the potatoes are coated. Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly. The potato salad will taste better after it has cooled in the refridgerator. Serve cold.

Curried Potato Leek Soup

This is a clash of cultures. A bit of curry and a poblano chili takes this leek potato soup across a couple of borders but it tastes really rich and creamy. Perfect for a cold day like today!
-Amanda

Curried Potato Leek Soup

4-5 medium russet potatoes
1 poblano chili
2 leeks
4 cloves of garlic
4 cups of chicken stock (use vegetable broth for vegetarian soup)
1 tbsp butter
1/2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 cup fat free half and half
salt and pepper

Cut the tips off leeks and cute lengthwise in half. Fill a large bowl or clean sink with water and rinse the leeks thoroughly. They hold a lot of dirt and this is the only way to get them clean. Shake the excess water off of them and cut into 1/4" pieces. In a small stock pot, melt butter and olive oil. Add leeks and sweat on medium-low heat until tender and wilted. Mince garlic and add it to the leeks as they cook. Chop potatoes into small cubes. You can peel them first if you want, I like the added texture (and vitamins) of the skin. Before adding the potatoes to the pot, salt and pepper the leeks and add the curry powder. Add potatoes and stir until everything is coated with the seasonings. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil.

Either broil the poblano pepper turning every few minutes OR if you have a gas stove, place pepper directly on the flame to blacken also, turning every few minutes. When entire pepper is nice and soft and black, place inside a glass bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. This will allow the pepper to steam itself and after it is cool, the black skin will peel easily off. Remove the top and the seeds. Cut half of the pepper into tiny little bites and add to the potatoes. Reserve the other half of pepper as garnish.

With an immersion blender blend potatoes into a thick creamy soup. If you do not have an immersion blender you can use a regular blender but add a bit of soup at a time and be careful of splatters, since the soup is hot. Add the fat free half and half. Garnish with diced poblano pepper and bacon or diced fried ham.

Ham and Spinach Casserole

Some dishes don't photograph very well. I mean, I don't claim to be a food photographer by any means, but this didn't photograph that well. Anyway, it was very good. It brought back some childhood taste that I couldn't quite place. This would make a great brunch item, perfect for the holidays that are coming up! The girls asked for 3rds not even realizing that it was laced with SPINACH. Then again, that ingredient is probably the lone healthy thing in the dish...
-Amanda

Ham and Spinach Casserole

20-24 oz shredded potatoes (or about 5 smallish baking potatoes)
2 cups shredded cheese, divided
1 can cream of celery soup
1/2 onion diced small
1 stalk celery diced very small
8-10 oz diced ham
1 cup of sour cream
10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and drained
salt and pepper
1 egg (optional)

In a pot, saute the onions and celery until soft. Add soup, sour cream, 1 1/2 cups of cheese, spinach and ham. Stir very well. Add potatoes. (You can either use a grater, a food processor or buy pre-shredded potatoes.) Stir everything really well and pour into a greased baking dish. Top with remaining cheese and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Take out of the oven and break an egg on top and bake for an addtional 10-15 minutes or until the egg whites are cooked through and the yellow is still runny.

Spinach, Potato & Egg Casserole

I found this recipe in a grocery store pamphlet and it sounded good. It's been sitting on my desk for weeks waiting to be tried. I almost threw it out a few times, but then I'd stop because I really did want to try it. It was good, but it seemed to be missing something. I think if it had a crust and was more of a quiche instead of a casserole it would have tasted better, but then again it would have had more calories. Oh, and I used Egg Beaters instead of real eggs, so that probably had alot to do with it. It would be a good dish to serve a crowd for a brunch though.

Spinach, Potato and Egg Casserole

1 medium potato
10 oz bag frozen spinach
8-10 button mushrooms
6 eggs (or 1 1/2 cups egg beaters)
2 egg whites
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small yellow onion
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
3 tbsp flour
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350º.
Chop onion and potato into small dice. Mince garlic. Slice mushrooms. Saute the onion, potato, garlic and mushrooms in a skillet with the tablespoon of olive oil until potato is cooked through (about 15 minutes.)

Defrost and drain spinach.

In a large bowl, whip eggs, egg whites, flour, sour cream and cheeses. Add spinach and sauted vegetables. Pour into a 9x13 inch baking pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake for 40 minutes. Serves 4 large portions at Weight Watchers 6 pts each, or 8 portions for 3 points each.
-Amanda

Kate's Vegetable Chili

I want to take a moment to welcome another Contributing Cook to The Frickin Chicken! I'm taking this site global. You've already met Jules, the American living in Turkey. Now allow me to introduce you to Kate from England. Kate has lived in several places, including America. She likes to eat healthy, homemade and a lot of times vegetarian meals. Enjoy!

Vegetarian/Vegan Chili with baked potato

1. Bake potato

INGREDIENTS: Potato, oven

METHOD: Wash, dry, prick and bake in pre-heated oven on very hot - circa 220 Celsius or 400 Fahrenheit. Cook until crispy on the outside, soft in the middle. Circa 40-60 minutes, depending on potato size.

2. The vege chili!

SERVES TWO HUNGRY OR FOUR AS A SIDE DISH

INGREDIENTS: seasonal root or firm vegetables, red or yellow pepper, sweetcorn, tomatoes, jalapenos, vegetable stock powder, flour (gram, wheat, corn - whatever available), tvp, Quorn (not vegan) or canned beans, chili flakes or powder, paprika, grated cheese (optional), milk or soy milk (optional).

METHOD: Look in the fridge.. or garden (yard). Select suitable vegetables - I chose circa 1.5 cups of prepared and chopped runner (string) beans,

a small can of sweetcorn, one orange pepper, five small mostly ripe home-grown tomatoes
- add some jalapenos and some of the pickling sauce
- add a couple of teaspoons of vegetable stock powder
- add a heaped tablespoon of gram flour (gluten free choice... or choose any other flour - wheat, corn etc)
- add three handfuls of tvp (textured vegetable protein) OR a can of prepared kidney beans/beans/pinto beans
-add as much chili powder and paprika as you fancy - I added a heaped teaspoon of paprika and plenty of chili flakes
Stir the liquid around the vegetables to a paste
- add boiling water from a kettle or microwave (or add cold and bring to the boil in the pan) and stir to a thick sauce.
- add a good squirt of tomato ketchup (cat sup)
Check flavour and consistency - if too dry or too spicy add a little milk or soy milk (vegan option)
Bring to a rolling boil and simmer on very, very, low heat (plate warming hob option) until the potato is ready.

SERVING SUGGESTION:

Serve the potato split with butter (vegetarian) or margarine (vegan).
Pop a good couple of ladles of the vege chili on the side, optional - add a small handful of grated cheese (or vegan cheese)
Nice with a glass of mango and apple juice, cider-shandy (or a light beer and slice of lime for the decadent!!!).

Broccoli Cheese Potato Soup

It's been raining here in Dallas for the past few days, so when I thought about what I wanted to make for dinner tonight, a soup came to mind. Thinking about the ingredients I had on hand, I figured a broccoli-cheese and potato soup would be hearty and fit the bill. I did a (very) brief search for a recipe with these ingredients and came up with nill. Most broccoli cheese soups apparently do not have potato in them. So I took a soup recipe from Panera Bread Company and made it my own.

Broccoli Cheese Potato Soup

1/2 onion
2 tablespoons of butter
1 stalk of celery
1/4 cup of flour
2 cups of fat free half and half
2 cups of chicken stock
2 carrots
1 medium to large potato
1 big bunch of broccoli
1 cup of cheddar (I had to use a Mexican blend because it was what I had on hand, but cheddar would have been better.)

Dice onion into small pieces and saute in the butter over medium heat. Add diced celery, salt and pepper. When onion is translucent, add flour and stir/whisk for 3 minutes or so to "cook" the flour. Don't walk away or it will burn! Add all of the half and half while stirring out any lumps. Add chicken stock. Add diced carrots, chopped broccoli and potato. Simmer for 20 minutes or until potato is cooked through. With an immersion blender (or by transfering half of the soup to a blender) puree the soup, leaving it a bit chunky. Add cheese stirring it to melt in. Serves 6-8 portions, I served with a grilled cheese sandwich. Crumbled up bacon would have been delicious too!
-Amanda

Homemade Hamburger Helper

One of the first things I learned how to cook was a hamburger helper. When you are twelve or thirteen, learning how to brown meat is a big thing. Then you just sort of pour in the rest of the ingredients from the box, add water and viola! Dinner. With the powdered "flavor" you add to the dish you are also adding a myriad of preservatives and other un-pronounceable "ingredients." I'm not saying that I don't like Hamburger Helper, because I do (and I really love one of the Tuna Helper flavors) but honestly it isn't that hard to recreate all from scratch. And it just tastes Num Num Num as my twin toddlers say.

Homemade Hamburger Helper

1 package of ground beef or turkey (my package was 1.25lbs)
3-4 potatoes
1/2 onion
2-3 cloves garlic
5-6 large button mushrooms
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
3 cups of beef broth
1/4 cup flour

*Other things that would be tasty additives would be peas, chopped zucchini or spinach

Dice onion very small and place in skillet that you've sprayed with non-stick spray. Set stove to medium heat. Mince mushrooms and add them to the onion. Chop and add garlic. Increase heat to medium high. Add meat and brown, breaking up with the back of a wooden spoon so it crumbles. Add seasonings: dried oregano, thyme, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaf (salt & pepper to taste.) While meat is browning, slice potato into very thin 1/8" or less slices. This is great application for your mandolin if you have one! Put the potato slices in the skillet with the meat and vegetables.

In a small bowl whisk together flour and beef broth until there are no lumps. Pour over meat and potatoes carefully stirring the dish to make sure that none of the potatoes stick together. Bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat, cover and let simmer for 45min or until potatoes are done.
-Amanda

Pommes de terre aux olives

I'm guessing that means something like "Seasoned Potatoes with Olives" cause that is what this dish is or perhaps it translates to "An excuse to use lots of fresh herbs from my garden." Because that is also what this dish is all about. Whatever. It is delicious. This is my modified version of a recipe from a friend's website who says she got it from The Frenchwoman's Kitchen

Pommes de terre aux olives

2 lbs new potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 large garlic cloves, whole
4 shallots, sliced into rings
3-4 oz of pitted black olives
2 tablespoon chopped tarragon, fresh
2 tablespoons chopped parsley, fresh
2 tablespoons chopped thyme, fresh
8 - 10 medium sized basil leaves, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Peel about half the potatoes. Cube all the potatoes. (Next time I'll cube the potatoes into smaller pieces, this time I just cut them into quarters.) Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-based saute pan and saute the potatoes until they begin to turn a bit brown. Add in shallots and whole garlic cloves and continue to saute until golden. Add olives and season with salt and pepper. (Careful, the olives will be salty). Add about 1/4 cup of water, cover and cook on low heat for 10 minutes. Uncover the pan and add herbs, stirring to mix well. Add a bit more water if needed and simmer until potatoes are soft and almost fall to pieces. Water should be cooked away at this point.

NOTES: If you are going to use dried herbs for this recipe instead of fresh, use less. I'd say about 1 teaspoon of each. The original recipe called for 7 ounces of olives. Instead of the canned pitted black olives I usually have on hand, I used unpitted greek black olives and pitted them before adding them to the pan. These have (to me) a much stronger flavor and so I used much less. So consider the type and taste of the olives you use and adjust accordingly.

-Karen