Sweet Potato Fries

I have been ordering from Bountiful Baskets and I am loving all the produce we have gotten. A few weeks ago, we got some sweet potatoes and I was sooo excited! I have quite a few yummy recipes that I love, but I decided to make some sweet potato fries at my husband's request.

Here's the seasoning mix I chose to use:

2 tsp. Seasoned salt
1 tsp. tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. parsely
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Peel your sweet potatoes and then cut them up until they are about 1/4 inch thick and 3 inches long (or however long your sweet potato is!)
Put the sweet potatoes in a plastic bag with 2 Tbsp. olive oil and shake until the potatoes are well coated. Add the seasoning mix to the plastic bag and SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE until they are well coated and the seasoning is evenly distributed. One suggestion I found online was to use 2 tsp. of the spice mixture for every 2 sweet potatoes depending on how spicy you like it.
Bake at 425 for 40 minutes turning once halfway. Once they come out of the oven, top them with more seasoned salt. Serve immediately... They were so yummy and perfect to eat watching a BYU football game... Enjoy!

Makin' Salsa

Ever since I was a teenager, I have been making salsa every single summer. My parents grew a huge garden every year (which I hated at the time... but now I very much envy) and they would grow tomatoes and peppers with which to make salsa. The summer that I was the only child left at home, my parents and I had a system. My dad would wake up first and pick the tomatoes and peppers and grill them. He would put everything into bowls and leave in the refrigerator for me. When I woke up (hours later...) it was my job to skin all the peppers and tomatoes, chop everything up (onions, cilantro, peppers, tomatoes, and garlic) and add the other ingredients and mix it and leave it ready for my mother who would then can and process the jars to seal them.

Unfortunately, now that I'm an adult, I have to do all the steps of this salsa making by myself, with occasional help from my husband when he is home to help!

Therefore... I have eliminated the grilling from the recipe. I don't think it adds very much to the overall flavor and it takes SOOO much time.


My sister told me that she just blanches her tomatoes... which I have to admit, I had no idea what it meant to "blanch" something.

So.. here's my recipe for Salsa (and instructions for blanching tomatoes)

Ingredients:

25 medium tomatoes
3 yellow peppers
5 green bell peppers
6-9 jalapenos
(without seeds... the more seeds you leave in, the hotter the salsa will be)
1 bunch cilantro
(I put in 2 bunches because I like a lot of cilantro flavor)
3-4 cloves garlic
2-3 onions
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup salt

To blanch my tomatoes, I use my sink. I tied a string (or ribbon) to my drain plug and then filled the sink with my tomatoes. Boil a large pot of water.
Pour your boiling water over the tomatoes and let sit for about 4-5 minutes. Then pull the string to release the water. I have to admit that I had a little trouble with all of my tomatoes blanching. The skins should start to peel and roll, but if they don't do that, they will usually peel right off if you just use a little knife to cut the skin open. Even if they don't look like they have blanched properly, they probably have and you just need to help them get started.

I don't find the skins of the peppers to be a problem, but the skins of the tomatoes really bother me in my salsa, so I make sure I get all of them off.

Chop all your ingredients to the size and texture you like for salsa. I like mine chopped really small so I use my little mini-food-chopper. Thankfully, I have help in operating it so that I can keep chopping other peppers while he is chopping in the machine...

And then we have to clap and celebrate each time he does such a good job chopping the onions and peppers for me. Mix all ingredients together. This can be eaten fresh (and is soooo very tasty) or it can be canned and processed like I love to do. I usually make either 5-6 quart jars or 10-12 pints.

I use my hot water bath to seal the jars, processing quarts for 45 minutes and pints for 35 minutes.

TIP: Make sure when you are handling the jalapeno peppers that you wear gloves. I use those yellow bathroom type of gloves and I have them specially labeled and with my canning supplies. The juices from the jalapeno peppers can burn your hands and your hands will be burning for hours and hours... Just trust me... I've done it and its not fun!

Happy Salsa Making!

Brown Sugar Muffins

1 cup brown sugar

1 cube butter/margarine
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt

Here's my little helper with all my ingredients:
Cream brown sugar and butter. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Put in paper lined muffin tinsBake at 400 for 12-18 minutes. Just watch closely. I use whole wheat flour and I love it, but it definitely decreases the cooking time. If you use all white flour, you will have to cook them longer. These are so yummy and I love having them for breakfast/snack throughout the day... Enjoy!

Best Ever Baked Beans

Photo from http://www.foodlion.com

My sister posted this recipe on our family website and I had never tried it. I modified it a little bit because I felt like it called for way too much meat and not nearly enough beans. I was so impressed with how these turned out. They were absolutely delicious! Here's my version:

Ingredients:
1/2 lb ground sausage
5 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 Tbsp chopped dried onion
3 (16 oz) cans pork and beans
1/3 cup ketchup
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp molasses
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp mustard

Directions:
Brown sausage and onion in skillet. Drain drippings. Combine sausage and onions with all other ingredients in a 2 quart casserole pan. Bake, uncovered, at 350 F for 30 minutes....or if you totally ran out of time like I did... Microwave it for about 12 minutes! (Don't tell anyone!)

Number Of Servings:10-12 servings

These were so yummy. If you like baked beans, you will not regret making these... YUM... I think I'll go have a serving of the leftovers right now!

Garlic Oven Baked Fries

I have had this recipe bookmarked for so many months and finally got around to trying it... It was so worth it and you are going to want to try these! I absolutely love potato wedges and these were oh so good!

Ingredients:

8 garlic cloves, minced
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 russet potatoes (about 8oz each), each cut into 12 wedges
3 tbsp cornstarch/cornflour
1 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

First wash and cut the potatoes up into wedges. Preheat your oven to 450.

In a pan, heat the olive oil and garlic on a very low heat- Just to infuse the oil with the garlic. Then, using a sieve, separate your garlic and oil. Put garlic over the potatoes with 1 Tbsp of the oil and stir. YUM!
Put oil onto a baking sheet:
Cover your bowl of potatoes with plastic wrap and microwave them for 4-5 minutes.

In the meantime, mix the cornstarch, salt, pepper and cayenne

Be careful when they come out of the microwave... they are HOT! Sprinkle the seasonings over the potatoes and stir gently. Then transfer to the baking sheet and pop them in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes on one side and then turn them over and bake for another 15 minutes.

The "Famous" Meatball

I love this meatball recipe- Actually, I shouldn't call it a meatball recipe, because I don't actually make my meatballs from scratch. I am lazy like that and just use frozen ones. I love the Costco frozen meatballs with this sauce recipe.

We served these meatballs at our wedding reception (my aunt is a caterer and we got this recipe from her) and they are seriously delicious. I make these all the time- Girls Nights, Luncheons- you name it, they are devoured! The ingredients sound crazy, but trust me, the end result is pure delicious-ness:

Mix together 1 jar grape jelly (32 oz size)
with 1 bottle chili sauce (This will be on the same aisle as the jelly usually)

Pour over the top of your meatballs.

Then cook your meatballs either according to package directions in the oven, or in the crockpot for a few hours. I promise you will not be disappointed in how these taste....

Sorry for the lack of pictures...I guess I devoured the meatballs too fast to even get a finished shot!

Cheesy Velveeta Potatoes

This is a recipe I got from Josh's Grandma Shaw and I made it for the first time when we had a friend over for dinner when his wife and kids were out of town (It was Andrew....Ashley!) I didn't have high hopes for these because I thought they would taste too much like that fake Velveeta taste, but they actually don't. We really enjoy these and they are so simple and easy. I think they go great with grilled chicken and fresh veggies! Enjoy!Ingredients:

Potatoes (enough to fill a small crockpot)
Small package Velveeta
Diced onion
1 cube butter

Peel and dice potatoes into bite sized pieces (I never completely peel my potatoes... I like a little skin). Fill crockpot 1/2 full then layer with onion and add more potatoes and fill to the top leaving a 1 inch headspace. (You can see that I didn't actually fill my crockpot with potatoes. That would make WAY too much for us!) Sprinkle with salt. Set on high and cook 2-3 hours until fork tender. Cooking time may vary depending on the size of the crockpot. Mine cooked much faster than this. When tender, drain thoroughly. Dice 1/2-3/4 package velveeta (I used like 3-4 ounces) and place on top of potatoes. Slice up butter and add to the cheese (I reduced my butter to 1/2 cube). Let butter and cheese melt (approx. 10 minutes) and gently stir. Delicious!

Easy Rice Pilaf

This is a yummy rice pilaf recipe that I got from my oldest sister a while back. It is super easy and really good. I make this a lot when I realize that I need a side dish and don't have much time. It only takes about 20-25 minutes from start to finish.

1/4-1/2 cup butter (depending on how healthy you are feeling!)
1/2 cup broken spaghetti noodlesBreak up the spaghetti noodles into about 1/2 in pieces. Brown spaghetti noodles in butter- Watch closely because that butter gets really hot reall quickly and I have really burned my spaghetti noodles before. Once browned add remaining ingredients:
1 cup long grain rice2 1/2 cups chicken broth1/2 packet onion soup mix
Simmer on medium heat until rice is tender and water is gone- Add more water as the process goes if you think the rice isn't getting tender enough... It really is a pretty no-fail recipe. Good luck!