Showing posts with label potatoes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label potatoes. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
CrockPot Mashed Potatoes with Cream Cheese and Sour Cream Recipe
Day 320.
psst. Make these potatoes. You wont be sorry.
This is one of those recipes where I wonder if the crockpot is really necessary, or is it just being used to keep the potatoes warm. You have to use the stove to boil the potatoes, and then you smash them with the cream cheese and the sour cream.
I suppose you could argue that the crockpot isnt necessary, but I used it. Because it makes me happy, and thats what I do.
These potatoes are too good to not share, and Ill let you be the judge about whether or not the crockpot is a necessary tool.
The Ingredients.
--5 pounds of red potatoes
--1 block of cream cheese, room temperature (8 oz. I used light)
--1 cup sour cream (I used light)
--1 chicken bouillon cube (EDIT: in the photo up above I used Knorr, which does contain MSG. I have since learned about Better than Bouillon, which I can find in my local grocery store and is MSG-free.)
--1/2 cup of water, reserved from boiling the potatoes
--1 tsp garlic powder
--1 T dried parsley
The Directions.
Wash and peel the potatoes, leaving the skin on some if desired. Cut in quarters to quicken boiling time. Put the pieces into a large pot and cover completely with water.
Bring the potatoes to a boil on the stove top. Boil rapidly for 10-20 minutes, or until potatoes are fork-tender.
Scoop out 1/2 cup of the water from the pot. Add the bouillon cube to the water. Drain the potatoes, and return to pot.
Open the cream cheese and put into the pot with the hot potatoes. Add sour cream. Pour in the water with the bouillon cube, also. Add the parsley and garlic powder.
Mash with a potato masher. If you dont have a masher, the way that I seem to not, you can use a wire wisk. Itll work just fine.
After smashing well, scoop the potatoes out of the pot and place into a 4 to 6 quart crockpot. Cook on high for 2 hours, or on low for 4. Can be kept on warm indefinitely. After two hours on high, my potatoes got a bit crusty on the top and edges.
They were divine.
The Verdict.
So very good. My kids seemed to have thought that these were spicy (makes no sense whatsoever) and werent thrilled with the bits of skin I left on. I like a bit of skin, and so does Adam, but apparently the kids find it highly offensive.
I gave a quart to our friends, and they loved them. I will make these for Thanksgiving.
Monday, April 6, 2015
CrockPot Layered Dinner Steak Potatoes Corn on the Cob
Day 232.
I made a complete meal in the crockpot last night, and it wasnt a soup, stew, or casserole. I made rib eye steak, baked potato, and corn on the cob. It wasnt soggy, nor was it dried out, and I was able to leave the house for six hours.
The crockpot rocks.
I had been meaning to try a layered dinner in the crock for a few months, now, but kind of forgot. I am so glad that Julie emailed me! She made steak and sweet potatoes that way last week, with great success.
The Ingredients.
This is what I used. You can use whatever meat or vegetables you have in the house. The trick is to not use too much liquid when cooking the meat, so the potatoes and the corn (or whatever youre using) isnt floating in juice.
--1 1/1 lbs rib eye steak
--1 T of your favorite seasoning rub
--1 T dried onion flakes (a fresh onion would be fine. I wasnt in a chopping mood.)
--2 T Worcestershire sauce (Lea and Perrins is GF)
--1/4 cup tequila (or broth, apple juice, etc.)
--2-4 potatoes
--2-4 ears of fresh corn
--aluminum foil
In my 6 quart Smart Pot, I used 2 whole brown potatoes, and 4 ears of corn. I could have fit another potato in, probably.
The Directions.
Put meat in the bottom of the crockpot. Rub with seasoning and onion, and flip over to get the other side. Add tequila and Worcestershire sauce.
Wash potatoes and cover with foil. Add to the pot. Shuck the corn, and wrap each ear in foil. Add to the crockpot.It doesnt seem to matter if the potatoes are closer to the meat, or the corn. The new crockpots heat from the sides as well as from the bottom, so everything will cook through regardless of location.
Cover and cook on high for 5-7 hours, or on low for about 8. I cooked our dinner for 6 hours on high. My crockpot was quite full.
The Verdict.
This was a great dinner. Its out-of-the-norm for us to have such a complete meal on a Monday night, which made it fun and new. I plan on doing more layered crockpot cooking---its so nice to have everything plopped in and the kitchen clean by noon.
Friday, March 13, 2015
Slow Cooker Turkey or Chicken Soup with Kale and Sweet Potatoes
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| This Slow Cooker Turkey Soup with Kale and Sweet Potatoes can also be made with leftover rotisserie chicken. |
We just finished a month of Daily Phase One Recipes from January, and I've been waiting all that time to share this Slow Cooker Turkey (or Chicken) Soup with Kale and Sweet Potatoes that I made in December, since the sweet potatoes aren't phase one. This soup was inspired by leftover turkey breast cooked in the slow cooker, but you can certainly use leftover rotisserie chicken to make this delicious soup. The day I brainstormed this recipe I also had sweet potatoes and kale that I needed to use, two of my favorite soup ingredients. I loved how this veggie-loaded soup turned out, and sweet potatoes and kale are two of The World's Healthiest Foods, so this is a soup that's loaded with nutrition. I was home so I cooked my soup on high, but you can cook the broth and veggies all day on low, then turn your slow cooker to high and add the turkey and kale when you get home from work.
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Thursday, March 12, 2015
Recipe for Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Red Onions with Feta
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| You could have these Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Red Onions with Feta for Thanksgiving, but I'd happily eat this for a Meatless Monday main dish. |
I realize these Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Red Onion and Feta may be a tough sell with some people who love sugary sweet potato casserole, but I loved them and so did my nephew/cooking assistant Jake who never used to like sweet potatoes at all. I've been trying out savory sweet potato recipes for a few years now, and somewhere along the way Jake realized he *does* like sweet potatoes when they aren't topped with brown sugar/and or mini-marshmallows. I also think that roasting the sweet potatoes is a wonderful trick to bring out their natural sweetness, and combining them with something salty like Feta cheese gives that wonderful salty-sweet combination that is so appealing. I'm adding this to the Thanksgiving Recipes on the blog, but quite seriously, I'd also be very happy with a big dish of this for a Meatless Monday dinner as well.
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