Harvest Hash

Last weekend for Sunday dinner I made what I would call a fall harvest dinner, it was so delish and easy. It had all of the great flavors and smell of fall throughout the house, my husband who is not a big fan of sweet potato or yams admitted to me that he really liked this dish. I served it up with a big slice of BBQ ham steak and it was simply amazing, defiantly a must do again.

2 - Garnet Yams or Sweet Potato (peeled & cut into cubes)
6 - Thick Cut Bacon Slices (cut into pieces)
1 - Medium Red Onion (diced)
2 - Honey Crisp Apples (cut into chunks)
EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
Kosher Salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl add the yams then drizzle with oil and sprinkle with some salt. Toss to coat then arrange on a baking sheet. Roast the yams until tender but not mushy, 10-15 minutes. Take out of the oven and set aside. Coat a large frying pan with olive oil; add the bacon and cook over medium heat just until it starts to get crisp then add in the onion. Sauté until the onions are soft and tender, add the apples and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Stir in the yams and cook just until they start to get a little crisp around the edges about 6-8 minutes. Serve along with the ham steak and enjoy all the flavors of fall!

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Mom's Macaroni Salad

Happy Memorial Weekend.... If you are looking for just the perfect side dish for your Memorial Day BBQ with friends and family, I have what you are looking for. My Mom has been making this dish as long as I can recall, we have it all the time. It doesn't even need to be warm and sunny outside to enjoy this dish, when we go to Mom's house for a visit and she asks what we would like for dinner we always tell her that we don't care what she makes as long as we have this side dish to go with it. Thank you Mom for this recipe, as far as I am concerned it is the best I have ever had.

1 Lbs. - Salad Pasta (cooked)
8 - Hard Boiled Eggs (chopped)
3 Cans - Albacore Tuna (drained)
1 C. - Sweet Chip Pickles (chopped)
1 Tbs. - Celery Salt
1 1/2 C. - Mayo
1/2 C. - Pickle Juice
Salt & Pepper

In a large bowl add the pasta, tuna, eggs and pickles. In a small bowl stir together the mayo, pickle juice and celery salt, stir well to combine. Toss the pasta mixture with the mayo mixture until well coated, season with salt & pepper. For the best flavor refrigerate overnight then watch your family and friends gobble up the entire bowl at your BBQ.

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Layered Cranberry Sauce

This week's post is going to be a side dish that I found in my Thanksgiving issue of the Food Network Magazine. I was so happy to see a cranberry relish dish that called for the jellied version instead of the whole berry version, this recipe comes from one of my favorite people in the world Paula Deen. We did change her version just a little since neither of us care for pecans. As Paula said “This simple side dish looks beautiful on the table. The best part is that it's delicious too!"

1 - 8oz. - Cream Cheese (soft)
2 Tbs. - Mayo
1/2 C. - Dry Roasted Peanuts (chopped)
1 - 16oz. - Can Jellied Cranberry Sauce

Beat the cream cheese and mayo in a bowl with a hand mixer until creamy and spreadable, and then mix in the peanuts. Put the cranberry sauce in a bowl and mash with a fork. Spread about half of the mashed cranberry sauce in the bottom of bowl or parfait dish. Spread the cream cheese mixture on top of the cranberry sauce, and then gently cover with the remaining cranberry sauce. Top with more peanuts, and then chill for a couple hours before serving.

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Mashed Potatoes Supreme

My husband and I were playing around with new ideas for Thanksgiving mashed potatoes, we love all kinds of mashed potatoes but at the same time we really wanted to try something different. I think we really hit the spot with this combo and they were real winners at the Dunkin table. If you are looking to change up your plain old mashed potatoes for Christmas I really think you should consider giving these a try. My husband really does not like sweet taters and I truly love them so we compromised on mixing them in with our regular mashed taters and WOW did they really turn out fantastic.

8 Large - Red Potatoes (cubed)
1 Large - Sweet Potato (peeled & cubed)
1 - Stick of Unsalted Butter
½ C. - Half & Half
1 Tbs. - Garlic Powder
½ Tbs. - Nutmeg
Salt & Pepper

Boil the potatoes until fork tender, drain and return to the hot pot. Add in the butter along with the half & half and use a potato masher to get the desired consistency you would like. Stir in the spices then salt & pepper to taste.

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Hummus … 3 Ways

The last 2 weeks of postings was filled with some deep fried fun, but the next 3 weeks will be concentrating on Greek Food. Thanks to my friend Whisper, I have to come to love Hummus, I know this being said by the girl who proclaims to hate veggies. My love for her homemade hummus made me want to branch out and try it myself and in turn I found many other Greek items I wanted to try and share with all of you. I will keep you all on the edge of your seat wondering just what we will be creating for this fun affair. I can tell you that today's posting is homemade hummus, but not just 1, Oh No, we have made 3 kinds of hummus for you to enjoy.

Caramelized Onion Hummus:

1 Large - Sweet Onion Diced
1 Tbs. - Chopped Garlic
1 Tbs. - Oil
1 Tbs. - Butter
1 - 15.5oz. Can - Chickpeas ( drained )
¼ C. - Lemon Juice
1 Tbs. - Soy Sauce
¼ C. - Tahini ( sesame paste )
1 Tbs. - Sesame Oil
1 Tbs. - Johnny's Garlic Season
1/2 Tbs. - Honey
¼ C. - EVOO
1 Tsp. - Ground Cumin
Salt & Pepper

Saute onion and garlic in oil and butter until soft and golden in color, this takes about 15 minutes. Place drained peas into the food processor along with all other ingredients except the EVOO. Put the lid on the machine and turn it on low to break up the beans. Then turn onto high and slowly drizzle in the EVOO. Let the machine run until you have a nice smooth consistency. Serve with pita bread or chips.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus:

1 - 15.5oz. Can - Chickpeas (drained )
¼ C. - Tahini
6 Oz. - Roasted Red Peppers
1 Tbs. - Sesame Oil
1 Tsp. - Cayenne
½ Tbs. - Johnny's Garlic Season
1 Tsp. - Ground Cumin
¼ C. - EVOO

Place all ingredients other than the EVOO into the bowl of a food processor, place the lid on and turn it onto low to break up the peas. Turn the machine onto high and slowly drizzle in the EVOO, let the machine run until smooth and creamy. Serve with pita bread or chips.

Marinated Artichoke Heart Hummus:

1 - 15.5oz. Can - Chickpeas ( drained )
1 - 6.5oz. Jar - Marinated Artichoke Hearts
1 Tsp. - Ground Cumin
½ C. - EVOO

Into the bowl of a food processor place the peas and artichoke hearts ( liquid too ) and put the lid on. Process on low until the peas are broken down. Turn the machine on high and drizzle in the EVOO, let the machine run until smooth and creamy. Serve with chips and pita bread.

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White Asparagus 3 Ways

Just the other day my husband and I walked into our local Fred Meyer, the first thing I saw just inside the produce department was asparagus, but this was not your ordinary green variety. What caught our eye was white asparagus. Neither of us had ever seen anything like it before, I can honestly say I do not like the green asparagus but this white version looked a little different. We purchased one bundle and on the way home we tried to figure out just what we were going to do with it. I had so many ideas that I couldn't pick just one, so instead we did this white asparagus 3 different ways.

1 Bundle White Asparagus (about 30 stalks, trimmed)


Recipe 1: Roasted

10 Stalks - White Asparagus
½ Tsp. - Kosher Salt
1 Tbs. - Chopped Garlic
EVOO

On a baking sheet lined with foil lay out the asparagus. Drizzle with EVOO then toss gently with the garlic and kosher salt. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 13-15 minutes. Serve hot.

Recipe 2 : Deep Fried

10 Stalks - White Asparagus
¼ C. - Flour
¼ C. - Panko Crumbs
1 - Egg
Salt & Pepper

Dip the asparagus in the egg to coat, season the flour with salt & pepper and dredge the asparagus in the seasoned flour. Remove from the flour and coat in the egg again, let the excess egg drip off then coat in the Panko crumbs. Deep fry at 350 degrees for about 1 minute, turning while they cook, serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

Recipe 3 : Sauté

1 Tbs. - Chopped Garlic
½ Tsp. - Kosher Salt
2 Tbs. - Butter
½ Tsp. - Pepper

Cut each stalk into 3 pieces; melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic, asparagus, salt & pepper. Sauté over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes or until tender.

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Garlic Parmesan Orzo

I wanted to make a new side dish for dinner the other night, you know step out of my box and try something new. I had box of Orzo pasta in the pantry so I figured why not use it. Orzo cooks so fast and when united with Garlic and Parmesan Cheese it just makes such a unique and wonderful side dish.

2 C. - Uncooked Orzo Pasta
2 Tbs. - Minced Garlic
½ C. - Butter (cubed)
½ C. - Parmesan Cheese
¼ C. - Milk
2 Tbs. - Parsley
1 Tsp. -Salt
¼ Tsp. - Pepper

Cook the Orzo according to the box directions, meanwhile in a large frying pan sauté the garlic in butter until tender. When the pasta is done drain it and add it to the frying pan, stir in the remaining ingredients then stir and heat through.

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