Roasted Smashed Potatoes

These potatoes are OUT OF THIS WORLD delish. I'm just loving all things Pinterest these days! This Pioneer Woman recipe has been floating around the world of Pinterest for a couple weeks and I just had to try them. They aren't difficult to make, but, you do have to follow a few steps. Never fear, the finished product is so worth the effort that making these little beauties is a no brainer. I served them along-side Cranberry Chicken (recipe to follow later this week) and a side salad. Enjoy (I promise you will)!

12 to 18 baby new potatoes
Olive Oil
Kosher or sea salt
Pepper
Fresh or dried herbs of your choice (I used dried basil)

Preheat oven to 450F

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook them until they are fork-tender (16 - 20 minutes). On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato.

With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes, rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again.

Brush the tops of each smashed potato generously with more olive oil. Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh chopped or dried herbs of your choice (I used dried basil).

Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Try not to burn your fingers and tongue when you pop one of these babies in your mouth WAY too soon after pulling them out of the oven! Double yum!!

French Dip Sandwich

I always think of my mom when I eat a French Dip sandwich. I remember her ordering one for me at a restaurant when I was young. She told me the sandwich was "really fun" to eat because you got to dip it into a special sauce called "au jus". And she was right! French Dips are fun to eat! And with this recipe, they are also easy to make! The rump roast cooks for half a day in a slow cooker along with the onions. How simple is that?!
I adapted this recipe from an issue of Cooking Light.

1 1/2 lb bottom round beef rump roast
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 onions, sliced
1 can beef broth
2 Tbl Worcestershire sauce
3 to 4 hoagie rolls (depending on how much meat you like per roll!)
1/3 c. mayo
1/2 to 1 Tbl horseradish

Rub the rump roast with garlic salt and pepper.

Place sliced onions in the bottom of a prepared slow cooker. Add beef broth and Worcestershire sauce; place roast on top of onions. Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours or on LOW for 7 to 8.

Slice hoagie rolls and gently scoop out the center of each roll. I like doing this because it gives the onions and meat a place to rest, and keeps them from sliding out of the sides when you bite into it.

Heat broiler. Toast cut side of rolls for 1 to 2 minutes.

Remove roast to a cutting board. Strain the liquid from the slow cooker into a bowl, reserving onions. Cut roast horizontally in half then crosswise into slices.

In a small bowl blend mayo and horseradish.  Spread mayo blend evenly onto each roll. Top with reserved onions and beef. Serve each sandwich with a little dish of the liquid (jus) for dipping. Enjoy!

Forgotten Chicken

I saw this recipe floating around Pinterest and I had to try it! If ever I have posted an easy, simple dish to make, this is it, folks! The prep time was around eight minutes. Then you put the chicken in the oven and forget about it for three hours while it cooks itself. The chicken turns out very tender and moist, while the rice is creamy AND crunchy (the top layer gets a good crunch while cooking). As a bonus, I had one whole chicken breast left over. So, I shredded it (it shredded beautifully), added some mayo and voila, I had the makings for a chicken salad sandwich the next day that fed both my husband and myself (I used pretty large chicken breasts!).
Please pass this on to all the mothers you know who have little time to cook! You can serve this with a side salad or a veggie like broccoli. And don't forget the crusty bread! Enjoy!

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and pounded if you like (I always pound my chicken for extra tenderness)
• 1 can of cream of chicken soup
• 1 can of cream of celery soup
• 2 cans of water
• 2 cups uncooked Minute Rice (I used brown. You can use brown or white rice) 
• 1 package of onion soup mix

Preheat oven between 250F and 275F (I did 265F)

In a medium sized bowl, mix cream of chicken soup, cream of celery soup, two cans of water and two cups of uncooked minute rice together.

Spread rice/soup mixture in the bottom of a 9X13 glass baking dish that has been sprayed with PAM. Place the chicken breasts on top of the rice/soup mixture (do not overlap). Sprinkle the chicken evenly with the onion soup mix.

Cover with foil. Cook for 2 hours. Remove foil. Cook for an additional hour. That's it! Enjoy!

Chicken Marsala

This recipe comes straight from the blog Savory Sweet Life. It is absolutely delicious....wait, let me say that again (just in case you didn't fully understand me the first time)- this chicken marsala is ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! I always think of chicken marsala as a fancy dish that is time consuming and difficult to make. In reality, this dish used only a few ingredients and was not too time consuming.....it still did, however, appear to be quite fancy and I'm totally okay with that! Everyone from my husband down to my three year old raved over the chicken! I served this dish with a side of buttered noodles. PLEASE make this meal for your family! It is a gem of a recipe! Enjoy!

2 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all purpose flour (or corn starch for gluten-free)
up to 1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil (I used about 1/3 cup)
8 ounces container of mushroom, cleaned and sliced
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sweet Marsala wine
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup sherry OR dry white wine
Optional: 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Garnish with chopped parsley or oregano

Split each chicken breast through the middle to make 2 pieces. Place plastic wrap over them and pound each one flat using a meat tenderizer/mallet until they are about a quarter inch thick. Season a good amount of salt and pepper on both sides of each piece. Place some flour on a plate and and dredge each piece of chicken in it.
 

Heat the oil over medium-high heat and when the oil is hot fry each piece of chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side until they are golden brown (this may require you to do this in 2 batches). Remove chicken and place them on your serving platter covering them with foil. 

 

Reduce the heat to medium and add butter and mushrooms. Saute mushrooms for 4-5 minutes making sure to season them with salt and pepper lightly. Add marsala wine, sherry, cream, and chicken stock allowing the liquid to reduce slightly – approx. 3 minutes. Pour mushrooms and sauce over chicken and serve. Enjoy! 

 

Walnut Snowball Cookies

These cookies turned out exactly as I hoped they would (always a plus when trying out a new recipe!!). I found the recipe in this month's Food & Wine magazine. They have a delicate, crumbly texture. The walnuts are the perfect compliment to the cookie and the powdered sugar! YUM! I will definitely be making these come Christmas time. Enjoy!

1 1/2 c. walnuts, chopped
2 sticks butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 c. all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350F

Spread the chopped walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for about 8 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside.

Reduce oven temperature to 325F

In a standing mixer or with a hand-mixer, beat the butter and vanilla extract at high speed until pale, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of the powdered sugar and beat at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, scraping down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula half way through. At low speed, mix in the salt, then gradually add the flour and walnuts and beat just until the cookie dough comes together, scraping down the side of the bowl halfway through.

Roll tablespoons of the dough into balls and arrange them on greased cookie sheets. Bake the cookies in the upper and lower thirds of the oven for about 17 minutes, until they are lightly browned on the bottom; switch the sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking. Let the cookie firm up on the sheets, about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a rack to cool slightly.

Put the remaining 1 cup of powdered sugar in a small bowl. Roll the warm cookies in the sugar to coat and return to the rack to cool completely. Roll again in the sugar, if desired.

Hawaiian Ham & Swiss Sliders

This recipe has been floating all over Pinterest for the past few weeks and I finally got around to trying it! These little sandwiches were super tasty and quite filling. I served them for dinner....but, the next time I make them will be for a Superbowl party, block party or I'd even bring them to a potluck! Easy to make! Enjoy!

1 package of Hawaiian sweet rolls
1 small onion, finely chopped 

6 Tbl butter
3 Tbs of Dijon Mustard 

1 -2  Tbl of Worcestershire Sauce 

1 Tbl of poppy seeds OR sesame seeds
1/2 pound thinly sliced ham
8-10 slices of Swiss cheese OR 1 1/2 c. shredded Swiss cheese

I used this whole package of Hillshire Farms Deli Select Honey Ham. It is super thin and layered on the sliders perfectly!

Preheat oven to 350F. 

 

In a small skillet melt the butter over medium low heat along with the minced onion and saute until the onions are soft (approx 5 minutes). Add the mustard and Worcestershire sauce and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the poppy OR sesame seeds and stir. 

Slice the Hawaiian rolls right down the middle and place in a 9X9 inch baking pan. 

Add 2/3 of the onion/butter mixture to the rolls and spread evenly.

 Next add half the cheese on top of the onion/butter mixture (I used shredded Swiss).

                                      Add the ham.

                                       Add the remaining Swiss cheese. 

Now place the top half of the Hawaiian rolls on top of the cheese. Spoon the remaining butter/onion mixture on top of the rolls. Bake at 350F for 20 to 23 minutes. Cut the sliders and serve immediately!

Good Old Fashioned Patty Melt

Who knew a burger on two pieces of rye bread with a little cheese and caramelized onions could taste SOOOOO good!!!? Easy to make, yummy to eat!  I served this patty melt with a side salad and some chips. Enjoy!

Butter, softened
1 whole onion, thinly sliced
2/3 pound lean ground beef
salt and pepper to taste 
1/2 tsp onion powder 
4 or 5 dashes of Worcestershire Sauce 
4 slices Swiss OR American cheese (I used Swiss...I bet a combo of both would be tasty!)
4 slices rye bread

In a medium skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-low heat. Throw in the sliced onions and cook over low heat for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden brown and soft. 

In a medium bowl, mix together ground beef, salt & pepper, onion powder and Worcestershire. Form into 2 patties, vaguely shaped like the bread you are serving them on.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a different skillet over medium heat. Cook the patties on both sides until cooked through in the middle.

Spread butter on the outside of each slice of bread. To assemble take a slice of bread (buttered on the outside), layer with a slice of cheese, followed by cooked hamburger patty, 1/2 of the caramelized onions, second slice of cheese and second slice of bread (buttered on the outside). Repeat for the second sandwich. 

I made my patty melts on a panini maker...could not be simpler!  You don't have a panini maker you say!? I say, go buy one tomorrow! In the meantime, go ahead and wipe clean the skillet you have been using and grill the sandwiches over medium heat until golden brown. Flip the sandwiches to the other side and again, grill till golden brown and cheese has melted.