A reminder to myself.
Blessings.
House
A reminder to myself.
Blessings.
Category: Uncategorized
Baked Smashed Vinegar Potatoes
David loves vinegar. My cucumber salad never has enough vinegar. He also loves potatoes. So when I came across this recipe from Gail Simmons, we had to try it.
Ingredients:
2 lbs. small red- or white-skin new potatoes
1 cup plus 2 tsp. malt vinegar, divided, plus more for brushing
5 tbsp. kosher salt, divided, plus more for sprinkling
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
½ tsp. coarsely cracked black pepper
2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh chives, divided
1. Combine potatoes, 1 cup vinegar and 1 tablespoon salt in a large saucepan over high heat. Add water to cover potatoes by 1 inch. Bring to a boil; cover and simmer until potatoes are just tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 450º. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Whisk 4 cups cold water and remaining 4 tablespoons salt in a large bowl until salt is dissolved. Add 2 cups ice. Using a slotted spoon, transfer cooked potatoes to ice water. Let stand 30 seconds; drain and pat dry. Allow potatoes to cool slightly.
4. Meanwhile, melt butter in a saucepan (or in a microwave) with pepper and 1 tablespoon chives (I always have dried chives – so this is what we used). Remove from heat and whisk in remaining 2 teaspoons vinegar. 
5. Use heel of your hand to gently smash and flatten each potato to a ½-inch thickness. Arrange smashed potatoes in a single layer on prepared baking sheet.
6. Brush potatoes with butter mixture, and sprinkle generously with salt. Flip and repeat on other side. Bake until edges are crispy and golden, 30 to 40 minutes. Brush generously with more vinegar; transfer to a serving platter. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon chives and desired amount of salt. Serve hot.
I think it needs additional butter as I like my potatoes crispier. The vinegar taste was there, and we really never thought of boiling potatoes in vinegar.
Overall, a tasty dish. We served the potatoes with mini meatloaves. My plate below. One meatloaf and two smaller potatoes.
David loved this.
Blessings.
Zucchini Mini Meatloaf
I had planned on making lasagna with zucchini noodles, but things don’t always work out the way I plan.
Most of the zucchini went bad, but one survived. So I decided to shred it, and make mini-meatloaves. The zucchini add a ton of moisture, and with some other flavors, really nice mini meatloaves.
One pound of ground chuck, half of onion, and one small zucchini shredded. Added Italian seasoning, two eggs, and some panko breading.
I have the Brownie pan from Pampered Chef. I love the little square portions I am able to make with anything I cook.
These are about two ounces each piece, and works out to be about 95 calories each.
My plate with the vinegar smashed potatoes (another post). Perfect, juicy and the right portion size.
Blessings.
Sunday Thought
Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. –Romans 8:39
I have been battling forgiving myself for not doing well enough with losing weight, or with studying, or keeping up with friends, or having the house clean, or with – well, you get the idea.
I rely on this constant. He loves me, and will never leave me. I can be as bad I think I could ever be, and Jesus will be there. I can count on it. Why do I forget it? All of these other things really don’t matter.
“I want you to be all mine. I am weaning you from other dependencies. Your security rests in Me alone–not in other people, not in circumstances. Depending only on Me may feel like walking on a tightrope, but there is a safety net underneath: the everlasting arms. So don’t be afraid of falling. Instead, look ahead to Me. I am always before you, beckoning you on –one step at a time. Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, can separate you from My loving Presence.” – Jesus is Calling Sarah Young
Blessings.
Korean Beef BBQ
I have been craving Korean BBQ for a while now, and decided to give it a try making it at home.
Part of my goals/weight loss is cooking more at home. I found a couple of recipes, and combined what I thought would be good. David and I loved the marinade, and will make it again.
Ingredients:
For the steak:
- ¼ cup tamari or lite soy sauce
- ¼ cup mirin (we made our own with Sherry and sugar)
- ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup Asian pear (used a firm Bartlett pear)
- small onion, grated
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 1/2 pounds flank steak (next time will use Ribeye)
- Canola or other neutral oil
To serve (optional):
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- Cilantro or mint leaves
- Kimchi
- gochujang
- Cooked rice, optional
- Nori (seaweed sheets), optional
Marinate the steak for 20 to 30 minutes: Cut the skirt steak into 2-inch wide strips. Add the strips to the bowl of marinade and stir until evenly coated. Marinate the strips of beef for 20 to 30 minutes at room temperature.
Cook on a grill or stop top grill with the pan at a high heat setting. This cooks quickly, so be careful not to burn.
To serve: Sprinkle the beef with sesame seeds and cilantro or mint, if using. Serve with rice, kimchi, nori, and gochujang. We did roasted mini peppers and purple onion. 
David’s plate, served over rice.
My plate. Lots of peppers and not so much meat. This so satisfied my craving for Korean.
Like I said earlier, we will make this again! So yummy. Need to change the meat as the flank steak gets a little tough. Marinade was spot on.
Blessings.
Cheese Crisps
I have seen these around Pinterest, and other sites, and decided to give them a try. And, I got a fail—-big Pinterest FAIL!
So the recipe was pretty simple. Take cheese slices, place them on the baking sheet (with a silpat), bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Well, this was my fail. Too many cheese slices on the baking sheet. Everything melted together. Yes, fail. So to recover, I cut the sheet and tried baking them a bit further.
I spread them out more as well. They turned out wonderful this way. Crispy, crunchy, and savory. 
Loved these, and will make them again….So much better than buying them already done. I liked failing at this. It made me want to succeed, and conquer cooking. It was supposed to be super simple, and easy. It was, but if you do it correctly.
Blessings!
Hearty Coq au Vin-Instant Pot
We got an Instant Pot at Christmas (Kohl’s Sale), and finally tried to cook something in it. I was scared at first with the pressure cooker, but now I can’t wait to find recipes to cook in it. I found this yummy recipe at the Instant Pot site.
Ingredients:
6 chicken thighs
salt and pepper
Pancetta – cubed
2 cups leeks, cleaned and diced (rinse or soak the cut leeks to remove the sand/dust)
1 1/2 cups carrots chopped
2 cups mushrooms sliced or quartered
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon garlic (minced)
1/4 brandy (we didn’t have any but the recipe called for it)
2 cups dry white wine
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup chopped onion (called for pearl onions)
4 sprigs fresh thyme
3 tablespoons butter softened
5 teaspoons all purpose flour
Instructions:
Pat the chicken dry, and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
Press ‘Sauté’ and cook pancetta until crisp. Press ‘Cancel’ and remove; set aside.
Press ‘Sauté’ and brown the chicken in batches. Remove and set aside.
Sauté mushrooms and set aside.
Cook leeks and carrots until leeks are soft, about 1 minute.
Stir in tomato paste and garlic and cook till tomato paste begins to change color and/or begins to stick to the bottom of the pan, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Turn off Instant Pot and deglaze with brandy (included in instructions if you use it, we didn’t), until almost evaporated, stirring often.
Stir in chicken, wine, broth, onions and thyme and close the Instant Pot. Cook on ‘Manual’ for 15 minutes.
While Chicken is cooking, mix together the softened butter and flour.
Do a Quick Release of pressure when cooking time is up and open the Instant Pot. Stir in the sauteed mushrooms.
Press ‘Sauté’ and drop the butter and flour mixture into the Instant Pot using a teaspoon.
Stir the coq au vin and simmer until thickened.
Top each serving with pancetta. Serve with Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes and Parsnips. We served ours over cooked rice.
Note: If the Instant Pot gets too hot while sauteing the first set of ingredients, turn it off to cool it down every so often.
My dish without rice. This was hearty, and good depth of flavor. I am not so scared of my Instant Pot now…prepare yourselves for more posts with the Instant Pot.
Blessings.
No-Bake Energy Bites
Or Protein Balls. I made these for my Lunch prep for last week. Super yummy.
1 cup oats
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1/4 chia seeds
1/4 hemp seeds
1/3 cup honey
1 scoop protein powder (I used vanilla flavored)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
Keep these separate for rolling in later.
1/4 cup shredded unsweetened cocount
1 Tablespoon Cacao
Mix the dry ingredients then add the peanut butter and honey. Stir until well blended.
I rolled them in Cacao and coconut. Next time I will incorporate those items into the balls, as they really didn’t stick as well as I thought they would.
Form into balls, and place into the freezer for about a hour to firm or set. Thaw to enjoy!
Blessings!
Stars
Happy Birthday to Martin Luther King Jr.
Blessings!
Sunday Thought
“Show courage. People need to see what it looks like. Show it. Then feel it.” -Beth Moore
Blessings!
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