Something From Nothing - Growing Potatoes

Back in February, a few of our potatoes had started to grow roots.  Since they were organic, I thought there was a chance they could grow.  I still used the good sections of the potatoes in a stew and put the other pieces in a pot that had herbs in it last season.  I watered it maybe every week, then put it outside and watered it even less often.  Today I dumped the pot over and there were potatoes growing inside!  Not a ton of potatoes, but considering the conditions... I was still happy with the result!  It gives me hope for my blue potatoes that had longer roots, got better dirt, and were planted during warmer weather.

Potatoes planted back in February.

The plant grew and there were only a couple flowers.

Spilling out the potato pot and finding several buttery potatoes!

Blue potatoes plant two months later.  Looking good!  I took the dirt from the first potato pot and mounded it in the blue potato pot.  Can't wait for it to start blooming!

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus - total time 15 minutes

A delicious, salty way to eat your spring vegetables (and celebrate the last day of spring, summer solstice)!  Be sure to cut the woody ends off the asparagus and they will taste even more tender and sweet.  I cooked it with about a tablespoon of butter, turning every three to four minutes.

Creamy Paprika Sauce - total time 30 minutes

This was a recipe do-over.  Originally taken from an eatingwell crockpot recipe... it just didn't turn out that great (picture at the bottom of this post).  This time I made just the sauce to add on top of some grilled chicken.

1 tablespoon butter

1 onions, finely diced

.25 cup tomato paste (I used tomato juice that separated)

2 tablespoons sweet paprika

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

.333 cup cream fraiche

.333 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

salt & pepper

1.  Melt butter in pan and add finely diced onions, cook for a few minutes until onions are tender.  Add tomatoes, paprika, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.  Simmer for 5 minutes. 
2.  Add cream fraiche and cream, continue to simmer for 5 minutes.  Stir in flour to thicken sauce and then serve over chicken.

Original result...

Creamy Squash Casserole - total time 40 minutes

I wanted make a casserole using as many things from my CSA delivery as possible.  After looking through a few different casserole recipes, I just started combining some of my favorite flavors.  Squash, onions, and spinach came from my CSA and the parsley came from my backyard.  Summer time is delicious!

2 cup summer squash, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 pound chicken breast

1 cup spinach

1 cup rice - I used two kinds because I only had a half cup of red rice left

2 garlic cloves, diced

.333 cup cream cheese

.333 cup cream fraiche or sour cream

.5 cup shredded white cheese

1 tbsp butter

.25 cup shredded parm

fresh parsley

salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook rice according to package.  Saute the squash in a pan with butter, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper. 

2.  After the squash is cooked, move pan contents into a large mixing bowl.  Add chicken to pan to cook.  Add cream cheese, cream fraiche, and shredded cheese to bowl.  The warmth of the cooked squash will help melt the cream cheese to make sure it is well distributed.  Add cooked rice and cooked chicken (chopped) to the bowl as they finish (my rice finished first).  Add chopped spinach and stir until well combined.

3.  Transfer mixture to casserole dish, top with shredded parm.  Put in the oven for 25 minutes.  Top with parsley and serve!

Flavor Combinations

New flavor combinations are fun to try, but don't always work out.  I got squash, red potatoes, and onions in my CSA delivery... so I thought I should try to cook it together (only one dirty pan).  I put the potatoes in first, since they take longer to cook... then the garlic.... then onion... and finally squash.  It smelled really good, but these would have been better separate.  Oh well...

Shrimp, Bowties, and Creamy Tomato Sauce - total time 40 minutes

For an easy weeknight pasta dish with homemade creamy sauce, this recipe is a winner!

1 pound of pasta

1 pound shrimp

4 cloves garlic, minced

12 oz can of tomatoes, chopped

1 cup white wine

.5 cup cream

.5 cup parm, shredded

basil, parsley, red pepper flakes

salt & pepper

1.  Prepare pasta according to directions.  Cook shrimp in pan with garlic, salt, and pepper.  Set pasta and shrimp aside.

2.  Add tomatoes, basil, parsley, and red pepper flakes to pan.  Bring to a simmer.  Add white wine and cream, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 8-10 minutes.  Gradually stir in parm, then shrimp and pasta.  Cook for a few more minutes, then serve!

Crispy Roast Potatoes - total time 1 hour

This recipe was on Jamie Oliver's Christmas special I watched two Decembers ago.  I have made them before, but I this time I added a new trick at the end for some crispiness!

2 pounds yukon gold potatoes

2 tbsp butter, melted

rosemary, thyme, salt, & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Wash potatoes and cut into large chunks.  Cook potatoes in a pot of boiling water for ten minutes.

2.  Drain potatoes and allow to cool enough to touch.  Melt butter in a bowl.  Add all herbs and spices. Toss each chunk of potato into buttery herb mixture and set on a baking sheet.  Place in over for 45 minutes.

3.  Turn broiler on for three minutes to get the potatoes crispy and golden brown.

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Saturday mornings are usually reserved for pancakes... some times with eggs... but this time it was sweet pancakes!  My pancake mix is already banana flavored, but it would be easy to mash up some ripe bananas and add to regular pancake mix.  Add a tablespoon of Better'n peanut butter (it is creamier and less calories), a teaspoon of vanilla, and some dark chocolate chips.  Cook in some melted butter.  Drizzle some dark chocolate sauce over top.  So tasty!  I am making this every weekend from now on!  :o)

 

Looks delicious even without the chocolate sauce.

Look at the Snoop dog waiting patiently with a piece of pancake on his paw.  He loves both PB and bananas... so I can't believe he waited long enough for me to take this picture (or really long enough not to snatch it out of my hand)!

Crab Stuffed Shells - total time 50 minutes

Apparently you can stuff pretty much anything in a pasta shell and it will taste yummy!  This recipe is nice and creamy with delicious seafood inside.  

half a box of jumbo pasta shells

1 onion, chopped

12 ounces lump crab meat

12 ounces shrimp, chopped

1 egg

.5 cup mozzarella balls

.5 cup cream cheese

1 tbsp smoked paprika

1 green onion, sliced

salt & pepper

To save time, I would definitely advise a jar of alfredo sauce.  However, I read through the original recipe too quick to realize some of the ingredients were for making alfredo from scratch (I think I was focused on why mayo was in the recipe, ick.)  If you want to make your own sauce, you'll need the following...

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp onion, diced

2 tbsp flour

2 cups milk

2 tbsp cream

.5 cup parm, shredded

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook pasta shells according to package.  Peel, devain, and cook the shrimp and chop to small chunks.

2.  In a medium bowl combine crab, chopped shrimp, chopped onion, 1 egg, 'squished' mozzarella, cream cheese, paprika, salt, and pepper.  Mix all ingredients together.

3.  Drain shells and allow to cool to be able to hold them.  Stuff each shell with a couple tablespoons of crab/shrimp mixture and place into a casserole dish.

Optional Step - Melt butter in medium pot, added diced onion and pepper, cook for a few minutes.  Add a little bit of flour at a time, stir, and combine.  Add milk while stirring.  Add cream for flavor.  Bring to a boil and set back to a simmer.  Simmer for 5 minutes.  Add parm a little at a time while stirring.  Continue to simmer until sauce thickens.

4.  Pour sauce over shells.  Put in oven for 30 minutes.  Add green onions and serve!

Stuff those shells!

 

While homemade alfredo isn't hard to make, it is definitely not something I would normally do for a weeknight meal!