Twice Baked Potatoes, Family Size :)

Although I know football season just ended-- there is ways the next season... football, baseball, hockey, the olypics, and because it goes well with beer.  The twice baked potatoes featured here are easy, fast, and fool-proof!  The simple and universals approach for these means that even people who think they don't like potatoes will love these ;) Enjoy

Ingredients:

5 baking potatoes

1/2c bacon bits
3/4c moterilla cheese
1/4c milk
black pepper and seasonings to taste

Serves: 5, with two per person... but you know your guest!

Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes, almost all of which is back time

These are such an easy party food- But they also go great with steak and breaded chicken!  Twice baked potatoes also freeze amazingly for the busy days of the week.


Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

2) Bake five washed potatoes for 40 minutes.  Make sure you poke holes in to skin of the potatoes in several places first to avoid having to clean up an explode potato from your oven!

3) Grate or slice cheese and mix with bacon and milk. The milk is a healthier version of the butter you usually see in recipes like this :)

4) Once the potatoes are cook enough to touch-- cut them in half longways (as shown in the image to the right).

5) Scoop out the soft potato centers and add them to your bacon bit  mixtures.

6) With a serving fork or potato smasher, mix the potato thoroughly with  the bacon bit mixture.

7) Re-fill the potato skins with the bacon bit mixture to just over the hight of the potato skin-- this will help make the potatoes look decadent AND it will make sure you use up your ingredients  evenly ;)

8) Place the filled potato skins on a backing sheet and return to the oven for 30 minutes, if a crisp top is desired.  The crisp top is highly recommend! 

9) Serve hot!

Cost:

Potatoes       $1.50
Bacon bits    $1.00
Milk                $0.15
Cheese         $0.75
Total              $3.40
Per serving   $0.68

Cheesey Eggplant Pie!

Otherwise know as eggplant parmesan.  This version is pasta-less, but feel free to add your own.  My husband and I prefer garlic bread as the carb in this one :)  It's a fast dish to prep so you can get back to the party, of 1, 2 or more!

Indigents: 

1 large eggplants, cut crosswise into rounds

2c pasta sauce

2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

3tbs basil

1/4tsp black pepper

1/4tsp red pepper

2 eggs, beaten in a large bowl

1 1/2c breadcrumbs, fine, and seasoned to taste

1c flaked cheese (harder is better)

Serves: 4-6 people

Time: 20 min. pre

          40 min bake

             1 hour total

This recipe requires a slightly longer cook time due to the "skipped" step of dehydrating the eggplant with salt.  If you choose to do this step: Toss all the eggplant rounds with 2 teaspoons salt in a large bowl... then rinse and let drain for 30 minutes. This step does leave a fair amount of salt in the dish, so health conscious cook beware!  

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375°F.

2) Set up your dinner prep area as the eggplant does oxidize.  Make sure you are ready with your washed eggplant and cutting board, your beaten egg, your seasoned bread crumb mixture, and your baking dish!

3)Add 2 tbs of pasta sauce to the dish you will be baking in.  Swril teh dish or spread teh sauce with a spoon to coat the bottom of the dish.

4) Slice the eggplant in to 1/4 to 1/3 inch rounds.  This is a cross section cut.

5) Coat both sides of the round with the egg mixture.  (If you choose not to dehydrate the eggplant, not much egg will stick.  If you did dehydrate the eggplant, you will probably need a third egg.)

6) Place your egg coated round in the bread crumb mixture.  Flip the round to cover both sides. PRO TIP: Add some cheese to the bread crumb mixture as well ;)  

7) Transfer eggplant to your backing dish.  If you want your egg plant extra crispy you will need to precook the eggplant in a pan after you coat it in bread crumbs.  Otherwise, you can arrange it to go straight in the oven.

8) Work with one piece at a time until you have arranged the first layer of eggplant. 

9) Add 1c of sauce, a layer of cheese, and 1/2 your basil, minced garlic and pepper seasonings.

10) Create another layer of eggplant rounds.  Fill in as necessary to make for a "full pie."

11) Add  the rest of the sauce, cheese, seasonings and garlic.

12) Bake covered for 35 min. The sauce should be bubbling and the cheese melted and golden!

13) Uncover for the last 5 to 10 minutes to give it a crisper top.  Serve hot!

Cost:

eggplants              $1.50

pasta sauce           $1.50

seasonings            $0.30

eggs                      $0.27

bread crumbs        $1.00

Cheese                  $5.00               

Total                     $9.57

Per serving           $1.59

Savory Butternut Squash Soup

The wonder of the fall is upon us, and with it the warm fuzzy feelings that come with the holiday season.  One of my favorite for these family times is butternut squash soup!  I hope it keeps you as warm as has kept my family :)

Ingredients:

1 large butternut squash

1 large red onion

2 large bake potatoes

2 small apples

16 oz concentrated chicken stock

1tbs cinnamon

1tsp paprika

1tsp nutmeg

1tbs black pepper

1tbs basil

1tsp thyme

1/2c butter

Serves: 8+

Time:

To prepare         20min

To cook             4 hr on high, or 6 hr on low

Total                 1 day

Directions:

1) Peel the uncooked butternut squash and potatoes.  You will also need to slice the squash down the middle so that you can scoop the seeds out.

2) Chop all ingredients into large chunks and fit into the crock pot.  Play tetris with the food if need be!

3) Add the chicken stock and 8 oz of water over the top.  Now you can add your spices as well right to the top!!

4) Start the crock pot on low-- Then move to high as you need to for timing.  

5) Puree the cooked and hot ingredients.  You can do this literally in a blender-- works great!-- or with a hand held blender, such as Cuisinart's 2 speeder.

6) Spoon the soup into a bowl.  The soup should be pretty thick-- So think that you can draw a swirl in it with the back of a spoon.

7) Melt, SLOWLY, the 1/2c of butter in the microwave.  It's best to do this in many intervals of short time. So 10-15 seconds a go.

8) Give the butter a minute to settle before straining through a cheese cloth-- or paper towel.  The paper towel honestly doesn't work as well, but I for one do not have cheese clothes on hand. 

9) Congrats-- You have just made clarified butter!  Now spoon it into the soup swirl and serve warm.

Cost:

butternut squash       $2.00
red onion                  $0.50
bake potatoes           $1.00
apples                       $0.50
chicken stock           $1.20
spices                       $0.60
butter                        $0.50      
Total                        $6.30
Per serving               $0.78

Rosemary Skewered Grilled Shrimp and Pasta

I think the title says it all, but if that wasn't enough to sell you how about, "It's Seafood Sale Season!"  Which is where the inspiration for this dish came from, in case you couldn't guess.  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did-- And everyone I served it too!

Ingredients:                                                                                                               12 jumbo shrimp,     1 jar pasta sauce,     1 bag pasta,    4 rosemary springs,    seasonings to taste: I strongly recommend basil, black pepper, and garlic salt

Time: 35 min

Serves: 4, (With left over pasta and sauce...)

Directions: 

1) Shell and rinse the raw shrimp.  For the pretty final effect, leave just the tail on the shrimp, although this isn't necessary.

2) As pictured in series above, once you have shelled and washed your shrimpies, you must devain them.  Please actually do this step!  Turns out the toxins from eating shrimp are almost exclusively in their shit-- Literally.  By devaining the shrimp you get rid of any possible DDT contamination.  ALL shrimp are at risk of DDT contamination, no matter where you buy them or how much you pay.  Shrimp just like to grow in DDT dump sites ;P The "vain" is on the back side, so the opposite of where the legs were.  You will have to cut along the back of the shrimp to find the vain.

3) Skewer the shrimp onto the rosemary springs.  Season as desired-- and pop them in the oiled pan!  If you are grilling, you should oil the shrimp themselves before putting them on the fire. :)

4) Turn the shrimp over after 5-10 minutes.  During this time you should also be boiling your water for the pasta!  You will know when the shrimp are thoroughly cooked because the split you cut into the shrimp to devain them will become very apparent as the meat seems to expand!  Cooked shrimp will look opaque and the outside will have the classic pink look.

5)  Once the pasta is cooked, drain and add the pasta sauce directly to the pot with the pasta in it.  I am a fan of less dishes.  This will heat the pasta sauce quickly too!  Then just plate up, and serve hot!  Bon Appetite!!

Cost:
Shrimp            $6
pasta sauce     $2
pasta               $1
rosemary         hopefully free :)
Total               $9
Per serving    $2.25

For the work days: A Hearty, Comfort Food, Bake Dish Potato Casserole II

This one is with meat!  As much as I'm all for being vegetarian friendly, (for both environmental and for cost reasons),  my husband and I do love our meat.  That said, its another week day, so something quick and easy is in order :)

Ingredients:
1             bake potato
1 c          broccoli
1/2          bell pepper
1/16 lb.   Monterey Jack Cheese
2             sausages
seasonings to taste
2 tbs       half&half

Time:
15 min to prep
30 min to bake
45 min total*

Serves: 2 people

*What makes this dish quick is you can do all the prep the morning or even the day before and then just cover it and stick it in the fridge.  Pop it in the oven when you walk in the door, and by the time your ready to eat, dinner is "magically" done!

Directions:

1) Skin the potato.  It doesn't have to be perfect.  If you are going to leave some skin on, then you should make sure the potato is scrubbed extra thoroughly before you start.

2) Chop the potato into slim chunks ( and yes I know that's an oxymoron) and place in the bottom of your 8X6 or 8X8 casserole dish.  If you are making this dish for more than 2 people, then you will need to double all ingredients accordingly and increase the dish size.

3) Add the half&half and turn over the potato pieces to make sure they are all covered.  This is particularly important if you are preparing the dish in advance, as it keeps the potato from browning.  Even if you are preparing this dish in advance, this will make the potato not stick to the bottom of the dish and you still want to add the half&half.  The higher fat content of half&half will make it taste richer, but feel free to substitute.

4) Pre heat the oven to 350. Or do this step at the otherwise appropriate time :)

5) Layer desired veggies and meat.  In this case I fire roasted the bell pepper (and then scrubbed the burned skin off) to give the dish a sweeter taste.  As you've probably noticed, I am a big fan of broccoli.  The sausage does not need to be precooked, and actually works better if you don't!

6) Slice and layer the cheese on the top of the casserole.  Feel free to add seasons of choice.  I chose: Fresh rosemary, dried thyme, black pepper, and a dash of garlic powder.

7) Cover and place in the oven.  Cook for 30 minutes.  Serve hot!

Cost:

bake potato                   $0.50

broccoli                        $0.25

bell pepper                   $0.50

Monterey Jack Cheese $0.80

sausages                       $0.75

half&half                      $0.20

Total                             $3.00
Per person                    $1.50