Awesome Mashed Potatoes

Today I was helping to prep for Xmas dinner tomorrow at my house, and volunteered to try my hand at making mashed potatoes. This is probably my favorite side dish, or dish for that matter when it comes to Thanksgiving/Xmas dinner, as I'm not the hugest turkey fan. Anyway, a while ago, I had the idea of using broth in place of water when boiling things, such as potatoes or rice. When I decided to make the mashed potatoes, I tested this idea out. The rest is mashed potatoes history. No wars were fought.

Ingredients:

1. 1 bag of russet potatoes (about 10)
2. 1-2 C turkey or vegetable broth
3. 1-3 C of cold water
4. 4 tbsps margarine or butter
5. 1/2 C milk
6. 1/2 C cream
7. 1 tsp sea salt
8. Ground black pepper to taste
9. Ground white pepper to taste
10. Additional sea salt to taste

Directions:

1. Peel the potatoes, cut up into about 1 inch cubes
2. Place cut up potatoes in a pot of the broth, (if the broth does not fully cover the potatoes, pour in enough cold water to just cover them)
3. Add about 1 tsp sea salt to water/broth
   
4. Bring potatoes just to a boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes or until a knife can pierce the potatoes and be removed easily
5. Remove potatoes from heat and drain, saving the remaining broth
   
6. Place potatoes back into the pot without the broth and simmer for about 2 minutes, being careful not to burn them
7. Separately, simmer about 1 tbps margarine in bottom of a small pot, then add milk and cream; keep on medium low heat
8. Put potatoes into a blender and add 3 tbsps or more of margarine
9. Blend potatoes on low for about 1 minute
10. Add milk/cream/butter mixture, blend for about 30 seconds
11. Add small increments of reserved broth and blend to desired consistency

=awesome

Other possible additions:

• Garlic: add garlic to butter in small pot and simmer for a couple minutes before adding milk and cream

• Shredded cheddar cheese: when potatoes are still hot, add cheese to pot before blending

• Chives: add while blending

In other news, I apologize for the lack of a picture. Perhaps I will post it tomorrow.

Banana Peach Strawberry Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1 banana
  
• A bunch of frozen strawberries
• Peach yogurt
• Splash of milk (skim, in this case)

Directions:

1. Cut up fruit
2. Blend ingredients in blender of sorts
3. Drink

Definitely worth checking out!

Teriyaki Salmon, Shrimp, and Vegetables Bake

I've been looking at the frozen salmon filets in my freezer for a while and trying to decide what to do with them. I also have been on an (unsuccessful) quest to find "soyaki" sauce. It may only be at Trader Joes. Anyway, I picked up some Soy Vey "Very Very Teriyaki" and decided to test it out.

And yes, with vegetables.

Ingredients:

• However many filets of salmon you want (defrosted)
• However many shrimp you want (defrosted, deveined/tail-off)
  
• However many and whatever kind of vegetables you want (I chose broccoli, halved cherry tomatoes, diced onions, yellow squash, and zucchini)
• Enough teriyaki sauce to coat it all

Directions:

1. Preheat oven (I did to 400)
   
2. Dice up your vegetables as you see fit
3. Poke holes in salmon with fork
4. Marinade salmon and vegetables in teriyaki sauce for about 10 minutes or more (I poured all of the above into a ziplock bag, turned around a few times to coat, and then let sit)
5. Pour mixture into a baking pan
6. Cover baking pan (I used tin foil...you may or may not)
7. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, checking and basting occasionally as you see fit

Voila! You have a beautiful meal (and pretty fantastic, too).

Marshmallow Swirl Dark Chocolate Brownies

So today, I suddenly got a strong urge for marshmallow swirl brownies. In my head, I had seen/had them before and could envision them on a box of brownies. Naturally, I drove myself over to the grocery store to find them. Fail. No such box existed, at least at this place. Plan B: I decided to buy some fluff and hope for the best.

The result? Epic success. Here's how:

Ingredients:

• Your favorite box of brownie mix (mine was a box of dark chocolate brownie mix that just happened to be the only non-low-fat box in my house)

• Whatever additional ingredients that box calls for

• Slightly more oil than it says will make them more gooey and awesome

• Fluff

• Chocolate Syrup (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix brownie mix and other called for ingredients (except for the fluff and syrup) as call for on the box
2. Pour mixture into baking pan as directed on box (including any greasing of pan as necessary)
3. Drop a few spoonfuls of fluff on top of the brownie mixture in pan
4. Take a knife and swirl fluff around pan
5. (Optional: Squeeze syrup in swirl pattern around pan, then using a knife, swirl in opposite direction to create a marble chocolate swirl)
6. Bake as directed

These are pretty awesome. Check it out. Next time, I might crumble some graham crackers into the mixture to make a s'mores effect.

Guacamole

I don't know what took me so long to make guacamole since it's so fantastic. Also, making it is WAY cheaper than buying it (as it true with most things it seems).

The other day I decided to buy an avocado for the first time. I used some of it for the salsa/scrambled egg combo I previously posted on, and saved the rest. They're also REALLY fun to disassemble. More proof that I should work at Qdoba again.

Anyway, this is not really a recipe, and probably isn't the best guac ever, but it was quick, easy, and still good.

Ingredients:

• About 3/4ths of an avocado
• About 3/4ths a cup of Furmano's petite diced tomatoes with cilantro and lime (or some other brand, or include these ingredients separately)
• About 1/8th to 1/4th of a chopped white onion
• Tabasco sauce to taste

Directions:

• Mix it all up
• Eat

Pretty simple. It would've been more green if I had used the avocado right away; it browns pretty quickly, but is still good. Also, some of the recipes for salsa I looked up included tabasco, some included various hot peppers. I had tabasco sauce on hand, so that's the route I went. Next time I'll probably try some peppers in it, in which case you're supposed to let the salsa hang out in the fridge for a few hours to marinade before serving.

I'll have mine now, thank you very much.

Garlic Rosemary Parmesan Biscuits

Believe it or not, these are quick AND easy.

Ingredients:

• About 1/3^rd a cup dried rosemary leaves
• About 1 T olive oil
• About 1 tsp minced garlic (or garlic paste)
• ½ cup water
• 1 packet bisquick complete buttermilk biscuits
• 1 T butter or margarine
• 3 T parmesan cheese

Directions:

• Follow directions on bisquick packet (stir mix with water until soft dough forms)
• Mix in olive oil, garlic, 2 T parmesan cheese, and most of the rosemary in a small bowl, then mix into dough
• Drop small balls of dough with spoon onto a greased baking pan
• Bake for about 7 minutes
• Melt butter, mix in 1 T parmesan cheese and rest of rosemary
• Pull biscuits out of oven
• Brush butter mix over surface of biscuits
• Put biscuits back into over for 1 minute
• Allow to cool for about 1 minute then serve

*Makes about 10-12 biscuits

Better Than a Bottle Marinara

Might be making some of this tonight. Also, if you have any leftovers, I would freeze the sauce separately from the pasta.

Homemade Marina Sauce with Vegetables Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 28 oz can of Italian whole (peeled) plum tomatoes
• 1 6 oz can of tomato paste
• Pinch of sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• Dash of ground black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic paste or minced garlic
• 2 T chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/4th C olive oil
• Chopped small white onion
• 1 chopped zucchini
• 1 chopped yellow squash
• 1/2 tsp garlic paste

Directions:

1. Hand crush tomatoes
2. Simmer garlic, onions, and 1/4th C of olive oil in large saucepan for about 2 mintues
3. Mix in tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, salt, pepper, and basil
4. Bring to a boil then immediately reduce to a simmer for about 30 minutes to an hour (bring close to desired thickness)
   
5. In a separate frying pan, saute zucchini, yellow squash, pinch of salt and pepper, and 1/2 tsp garlic paste or minced garlic for about 5-7 mintues
6. After the marinara sauce has reached close to desired thickness, stir in vegetables and simmer for about 5-10 mintues
   

Tomato Parmesan Cream Sauce Recipe

• Follow above recipe bud add in about 3 T butter or margarine, 1 C light cream (or heavy cream or half and half), and 1 C parmesan cheese
  

Green Eggs and Ham

*Minus the green, ham, and plus a few other ingredients.

One of my friends recently suggested making eggs with avocado. I didn't know how she prepared this or if she added in anything else, but she said it was good so I decided to give it a whirl.

Ingredients:

• 1 egg (would've used egg beaters but didn't have any...cage free will do)

• Splash of milk

• A few heaping tablespoons of diced tomatoes/onions/cilantro with lime (canned variety, and excellent I might add)

• Shredded mexican cheese (about a handful)

• 1/4th an avocado

Directions:

• Spray pan with pam or use some oil or butter
  
• Mix in egg, milk, and diced tomatoes/onion/cilantro/lime
• Put on medium/low heat for about 5-7 minutes
• Toss in cheese, mix and let cook for about 1 more minute
• Put in a bowl with the avocado and mix
• Don't open the cabinet and break a bottle of soy sauce all over the floor like I did
  

Added bonus: Put in either a burrito wrap and then on a grill for a few minutes to create another great version of a breakfast burrito or, as I did because I didn't have any on hand, into small flour tortillas

...pretty fantastic, try it! The only other addition I might add next time is a spash of hot sauce.

PS-Sorry, I ate it before I could take a picture.

Veggies, Shrimp, and Parmesan Cream Pasta...Oh My?

Oh my indeed. And, if any of you know me well, you'll understand that putting "veggies" at the beginning of my title is a pretty big deal.

Warning: the recipe that follows is not exact and does not always entail "proper" ingredients. Cans and things that provide convenience are welcome in these parts of cyberspace. Most of the time, I also think that brands are silly, so don't include the names. Substitute as you will.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb bag of tri-colored rotini

• Light Cream

• Butter/Margarine/Whatever version of this you feel like using

• A few tablespoons of olive oil

• Half a cup or so of grated parmesan cheese

• About a tablespoon of minced garlic (I used a garlic paste)

• Veggies: I used yellow squash, zucchini, diced plum tomatoes, onion, shredded carrots, and a few leaves of fresh basil

• Half a bag of frozen tail off pre-cooked shrimp

Recipe Drumroll...................yea okay okay enough.

I didn't plan ahead too well for this, just sort of threw it together after making similar things a few times, so here goes:

1. Make the pasta

• (nuff said)

2. Make the Veggies/Shrimp

• Put a couple tablespoons of olive oil into a large frying pan with the garlic and onion, let heat up for a bit

• Cut up a zucchini, yellow squash, plum tomato (usually use canned diced, but was out), about 3 basil leaves from my plant, a handful or two of shredded carrots and throw in the pan

• Toss in the shrimp after dethawing (just run some water over them in a strainer for a bit)

• Cook all that up until you feel they are just about the right consistency

3. Make sauce

• Put about a tablespoon of olive oil and a bit of garlic paste into the bottom of a saucepan and heat for a bit

• Pour in light cream (I used about half of a small container, but probably could've used the whole thing to definitely have enough for all the pasta...also, heavy cream works too but you might puke or have a heart attack)

• Put a few tablespoons of butter/margarine/whatever in

• Add about half a cup of parmesan or more

• Salt/black pepper/white pepper to taste

• Bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat until desired consistency is reached

*Hint: Here's the thing. As long as you're including cream, butter, and parmesan cheese in a sauce, the exact proportions really don't matter, it's bound to be good. Just test it out as you go if you want to add more or less of something.

4. Combining Part 1

• Pour the sauce over the vegetables/shrimp and mix

• Put on about medium heat for a few minutes, until vegetables are at desired firmness

• Toss in some basil when you're done and mix

5. Plate that Business

• Combine however much pasta and however much sauce you want into a bowl

*Hint: I usually keep the pasta and sauce separate as I create each plate, that way if there is more pasta than sauce left over, it's not a big deal

6. Enjoy!

• Check
  

Starting Up

So, I decided I would create a blog. Very original, wouldn't you say? This blog will primarily focus on food, because that's as good a topic as any. Besides, if I wrote about my other significant hobby, sleep, that probably wouldn't be as interesting. Maybe I should create a rival blog and find out.

Anyway, if you've magically found your way, or by magically you mean I told you about it: welcome, and enjoy!