The Recipe
Courtesy of: An Unknown Online Source
4 large Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 freshly chopped chives, divided
8 strips of bacon (6 for the salad and 2 for topping) cooked and crumbled
1 tsp black pepper
salt to taste
In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise and sour cream. Make sure the two are complete combined and then add half of the chives, cheese, and pepper.
Meanwhile, peel and cube the potatoes into bite size pieces. Put in a large pot, cover with water, and boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Drain potatoes and let cool. Only let them cool all the way if you plan to serve the salad cold.
Put potatoes in a large bowl and combine with sour cream mixture. Top with remaining half of chives and crumbled bacon.
Review
If you are looking for an alternative to normal potato salad, this is it! It's just like eating a baked potato but in salad form. Make this for your next bbq or picnic!
The Recipe
Courtesy of: Food Network Magazine - July/August 2010 Issue
2 tbsp grated lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tbsp packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup buttermilk
12 skin-on chicken drumsticks
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups panko
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Olive-oil cooking spray
Mix 1 tablespoon lemon zest and the lemon juice in a large bowl. Add 1 cup water and the sugar and whisk to dissolve, then whisk in the buttermilk. Pierce the drumsticks several times with a fork and season with salt and pepper. Toss in marinade, cover and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring the chicken to room temperature. Put the panko, thyme, the remaining 1 tablespoon lemon zest, the cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt, and black pepper to taste in a large resealable plastic bag and shake to mix. Put the mayonnaise in a bowl. Set a rack on a baking sheet and spray with cooking spray.
Remove the drumsticks from the marinade, dip in the mayonnaise, then drop in the bag and shake to coat; transfer to the rack.
Mist the chicken with cooking spray. Bake until golden, about 35 minutes; flip and bake until browned and crisp, 35 to 40 more minutes.
Review
We have made this recipe a couple of times, and for a good reason. It's delicious! You get a fried chicken like taste but from the oven. The lemon flavor of the chicken blends well with the crisp of the panko! We highly recommend trying this out, but it's more of a weekend type meal.
The Recipe
Courtesy of: Sarah's Grandma
2 lbs pork steak, diced
1 bunch of celery, cut up (2-3 cups)
1 4oz can mushrooms
2 cans chicken rice soup
1/2 lb wide noodles
1 8oz can whole corn, drained
3/8 lb mild cheddar cheese (3/4 cup)
bread crumbs
Brown
meat in butter. Add celery and soup to the pan and simmer for 1 hour.
Cook noodles according to directions. Add the remaining ingredients and
noodles to the pan and mix well. Pour into a greased baking dish and top
with bread crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
Tips/Tweaks
Family Tricks
If you simmer and bake
the portions for 1 hour each, according to the directions, the casserole
tends to be quite dry. To avoid this, we tend to add one can of water
to the simmering portion about half way through the cooking process. We
have also lessened the simmer time in the past, but the pork and celery could be
not as tender. We also then bake the casserole for about 30-40 minutes.
The dish then turns out perfect!
Review
This recipe has been in
Sarah's family for a long time. Although it's quite time consuming and
can be annoying to cut up the pork steak, it really is well worth it!
Definitely an entire family favorite!
The Recipe
Courtesy of: Food Network Magazine - July/August 2012 Issue
3 russet or yukon gold potatoes
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 lb kielbasa, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
1 large sweet onion, chopped
1/2 tsp caraway seeds or dill seed
8 large eggs
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 scallions, sliced
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Pierce the potatoes in a few places with a fork and microwave until almost tender, about 10 minutes, turning halfway through. Let cool slightly, then peel and cut into 1/2-inch dice.
Heat the butter in a large cast-iron (or oven safe) skillet over medium-high heat. Add the kielbasa and cook, stirring until it starts to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the onion and caraway seeds and cook until the onion is soft, about 3 minutes.
Stir in the potatoes, then flatten the has into an even layer, pressing gently with a spatula. Cook undisturbed until crunchy and browned on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Flip the has in sections and cook until browned on the other side, about 5 more minutes. Remove from the heat.
Using a spoon, make 4 shallow indentations in the hash and crash 2 eggs into each. Transfer to the oven and bake until the egg whites set, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and top with the parsley and scallions.
Tips/Tweaks
Keeping it Healthy
We typically use turkey kielbasa because it's a little healthier than normal. Otherwise, there is not much else you can do to keep this dish on the healthier side, but is already fairly healthy.
Substitutions/Additions
Since we have made this meal many times, we have explored adding things to it. Our favorite additions have been halved cherry tomatoes, which you add in with the eggs right before baking, and sliced mushrooms, which you cook with the onion. Also, in keeping with Wisconsin traditions, some shredded cheddar cheese is also a great addition as a garnish.
Typically, the caraway seed or dill seed is an overpowering flavor that we are not too fond of. We have added an Italian seasoning grinder (from McCormick) as our seasoning and omit the salt and pepper at the end.
Tips
If you would like to keep the egg yolks runny, keep an eye on the skillet while it's in the oven. We have found that pulling it out around 8 or 9 minutes will give you a fully runny yolk. The full 10 minutes is more of a soft-boiled egg yolk, and 11 or 12 minutes is a fully cooked yolk. These times can vary, so keep an eye on the skillet.
Review
This dish is perfect for a big brunch with the family or even for brinner (breakfast for dinner time). It's very easy to make and serves a lot of people. We highly recommend trying this dish out!
The Recipe
Courtesy of: Food Network Magazine - July/August 2012 Issue
1 5-6 oz package cellophane noodles
1/3 cup soy sauce
5 tbsp sesame oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup brown sugar
1.5 tbsp apple cider vinegar
12 oz skirt steak, sliced 1/4-inch thick against the grain
1 yellow onion, cut int 1/4-inch wedges
Kosher salt
10 oz shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
1 cup shredded carrots (from about 3 carrots)
6 cups baby spinach (about 10 oz)
Soak the noodles in warm water to soften, 5 to 10 minutes, then drain and snip into pieces with kitchen shears.
Meanwhile, combine the soy sauce, 3 tbsp sesame oil, the garlic, brown sugar, and vinegar in a bowl. Put the beef in another bowl and toss with 2 tbsp of the soy sauce mixture.
Heat 2 tsp sesame oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add the onion and 1 tsp salt and stir-fry 2 minutes. Add the beef and stir-fry until just cooked through. Transfer to a bowl.
Rinse and wipe out the skillet, return to the heat and add 2 tsp sesame oil. Add the mushrooms and carrots; stir-fry 3 minutes. Add the noodles and 2 tbsp of the soy sauce mixture and stir-fry 1 minute; add 1/3 cup water and cook until the noodles are just tender, 3 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the beef.
Wipe out the skillet, return to the heat and add the remaining 2 tsp sesame oil. Add the spinach and the remaining soy sauce mixture and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add the beef and noodle mixture to the pan and toss.
Review
Although this recipe is a little labor intensive (cook this, remove it from the pan, repeat several times) it really is worth it! We tend to take a few shortcuts by purchasing already cut beef (called stir-fry beef at the local grocery store), pre-shredded carrots, and sliced button mushrooms. The veggies and spinach in this dish make it a little healthier than most stir fry dishes, which we also like.
The Recipe
Courtesy of: Sarah's Family
Crust/Crunch Mixture:
1 cup flour
3/4 cup oatmeal
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup melted butter
Rhubarb:
4 cups diced rhubarb (or apples)
Sauce:
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup water
Mix crust/crunch mixture.
Press half into greased 9x9 pan (do not grease if using a baking stone). Cover with diced rhubarb.
Combine sugar and cornstarch with the water in a saucepan. Boil until thick. Add vanilla. Pour over rhubarb.
Cover with remaining crust/crunch mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
Tips/Tweaks
One of the keys to making any rhubarb dish amazing is to peel it. Cut off the ends of each stalk. Take a sharp knife and using the knife and your thumb, peel the top layer starting at each end of the rhubarb. This process is very easy and fast and will reduce the stringiness that rhubarb can give to any dish.
Review
This recipe has been in Sarah's family for a long time and is always a summer classic! Since Sarah's grandma has two rhubarb plants, there is always something rhubarb in the summer. This recipe gives the tart rhubarb a beautiful sweet balance. Delicious!
The Recipe
Courtesy of: Cuisine at Home Magazine
Japanese Steak Rolls:
1 lb flank steak, trimmed
16 8-inch asparagus spears trimmed
16 8-inch scallions trimmed
6 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
6 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
4 tsp sugar
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
Slice flank stead across the grain into 16 strips, 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick. Pound each to about 1/8-inch thick and season with salt and pepper.
Place one asparagus spear and one scallion across the short end of a strip of beef. Roll beef around vegetables and secure with a toothpick. Place on a shallow baking pan in a single layer; roll remaining beef and vegetables.
Combine remaining ingredients, pour over beef and marinate 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare Garlic Lime Rice (see recipe below).
Preheat broiler to high. Broil steak rolls 5 minutes. Remove from pan, tent with foil to keep warm, and strain marinade into a small sauce pan. Remove toothpicks from steak rolls before serving. Boil marinade until syrupy, about 5 minutes. Spoon glaze over each serving.
Garlic Lime Rice:
1 tbsp olive oil
3 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 cup long-grain white rice
2 cups water
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp minced fresh cilantro
2 tsp lime zest, minced
Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high. Add garlic; saute 3 minutes or until golden brown. Stir in rice; saute 2 minutes.
Add water, lime juice, and salt; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes, or until water is absorbed.
Stir in cilantro and lime zest.
Review
There were a few things that we changed in the recipe to better suite our tastes. First, instead of using the full 6 tbsp of rice vinegar in the sauce of the steak rolls, we used 2 tbsp rice vinegar and 4 tbsp chicken broth (we tend to keep some on hand at all times in our fridge). We did this because the rice vinegar can really over power any sauce (as we have learned in the past). We also omitted the cilantro in the garlic lime rice. Also, to use up all of the asparagus, most rolls had 2 or 3 spears in the roll. We quickly blanched the asparagus since the rolls are not cooked very long in the oven.
Overall this recipe was pretty delicious, the lime rice was especially excellent! We decided since this makes a lot of rolls that next time we would use more meat on each roll and make less rolls. However, we did not pound out the steaks enough either, so the meat was a little tough. It would probably be best to marinate the meat in the fridge either over night or for at least an hour before making the rolls. It would help tenderize the meat.
