Jo Jo Potatoes

I love these!


INGREDIENTS

5 Med. Organic Potatoes
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tbs. Balsamic Vinegar
1 pkg. Shake and Bake, Extra Crispy

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut potatoes into desired shape, about 1 inch thick in the thickest part, I did wedges.

Put potatoes, olive oil, and vinegar in a large bowl with a tight lid, put
lid on and shake potatoes to coat well.

Open bowl and pour in Shake and Bake mix, replace lid and shake to coat.

Bake on a pizza pan or cookie sheet in preheated oven for 1 hour.

Serve.

Harvest Beef Roast with Homemade Gravy

I haven't done a roast in SO long! So I decided to do a special Harvest Roast. I just put it in the oven, it smells so good!

INREDIENTS

1 Largish Beef Roast
3 med. organic potatoes
1/2 bag frozen sliced carrots, rinse the ice off them.
2 red apples
1 Large yellow onion
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 Tbs. Italian seasoning
1 Tbs. garlic powder
1 cap full of liquid hickory smoke
2 Tsp. black pepper

DIRECTIONS
1. Cut the potatoes, apples, and onion into 2 inch cubes. Toss veggie mixture with flour and put in a 9x13 baking dish.

2. Place roast on top of veggies and sprinkle with remaining ingredients.

3. Tent baking dish with tin foil, and bake in 350 degree oven till meat thermometer reads an internal temperature of 155 degrees... I like my roast well done.

4. Take roast out of the oven and remove the roast to a serving platter LET IT REST for about 15 minutes before carving. Stir veggie mixture and remove veggies to a serving bowl. Save the liquid for making your very own brown gravy.

5. Measure your liquid and bring it to a boil in a sauce pan. Add half the drippings amount of flour... so if you measure 2 cups of roast drippings, add 1 cup of flour. reduce heat to medium, and cook till thickened.

Serve.

Brie and fruit with melba toast

On a cooking group I have joined, another member posted a recipe for brie and preserves that reminded me of my own brie and fruit recipe that has become a family hit...


INGREDIENTS

1 Brie cheese wheel
2 cups frozen strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup honey
scant handful of nuts, chopped (I have used walnuts, macadamias, almonds, pecans...)
Melba toast


DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine strawberries and honey in a small sauce pan and cook till syrupy, remove from heat, stir in half the nuts.

Place cheese wheel flat on a pretty glass baking dish, cover with preserves.

Bake till cheese is soft, remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining nuts.

Serve immediately on Melba toast.

A Thanksgiving Dinner

We have invited my grandmother over for an early Thanksgiving Dinner tonight... on the menu is:

The Turkey (of course)
Green Bean Casserole
Yum Yams
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Stuffing
Cranberry Sauce
Rolls
Cran-Apple Juice
Pecan Pie

Sounds great, huh?!

Ok, now for the breakdown...

The Turkey

We have used Wolfgang Puck's brine and roast turkey recipe for the last 6 years... every year is a success! We don't do the pan gravy or the stock... but you could if you like!

Green Bean Casserole

We use French's recipe for this side dish... doesn't everyone?

Yum Yams

This is a family recipe...

Ingredients

2-3 Sweet Potatoes, cubed
1/2 red apple, diced
1/2 green apple, diced
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 tbs. butter
marshmallows to cover

Directions

Combine all ingredients except for marshmallows. Bake in 350 degree oven till sweet potatoes are tender. Put marshmallows on top, bake till marshmallows are browned and puffed.

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

This one is pretty straightforward... Bake 8-10 potatoes, with skins on. Mash, then add one 16 oz tub of sour cream and 3 tbs. minced fresh garlic.

We use a packet of gravy mix, because I hate making it from scratch.

Stuffing

Stovetop, of course....

Cranberry Sauce, Rolls, Cran-Apple Juice, Pecan Pie

These are store bought... no secret there!



So there you have it! Our fabulous Thanksgiving Dinner. No fuss, no frills, just kicking back with the family and having some good food!

Breakfast Smoothie

I love smoothies, and my latest smoothie creation is soooo good, I had to share.

This recipe has it all! Fiber, iron, protein, antioxidants, healthy fats, probiotics from the yogurt... the list goes on! And to top it off, it is SO tasty!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup fresh spinach, stems removed
2 tbs. flax meal
1 tbs. olive oil
1/2 cup mandarin oranges
1/4 cup strawberries
1/4 cup blueberries
traditional honey flavored greek yogurt to taste/thickness

DIRECTIONS
Combine fruit and spinach in a food processor and process till VERY liquidy... you don't want bits of spinach in your teeth now, do you? Add flax meal and olive oil in the last minute or so of processing.

When finished processing, add yogurt and pulse a couple of times to get it mixed in.

Pour and serve!

Serves 2 generously.... we like a lot of yogurt in ours.