The best mashed potatoes you will ever taste

When I'm sick there is nothing that I want more than ginger ale, mashed potatoes, and the remote.  I'd say that I want my husband to take care of me, but let's face it, men don't take care of women.  And if they're sick, they turn into whiny, snot filled babies.  Anyway... These mashed potatoes are just what I want when I'm sick.  And I'm talking about those boxed freeze dried potato flakes either.

When I find a good deal on something I buy them out.  Meijer had a great sale on potatoes ($2.00 for 10 pounds), so I bought a bunch.  I decided that I was going to prep all these potatoes so that I could freeze them and use them when I wanted.  If you freeze stuff right it will last a LONG time in that frigid air box above your chill chest.

I diced most of the potatoes and par-boiled them.  You have to partially cook them or they will turn black when you freeze them.  Plus it makes this faster when you pull them out.  By the time they get thawed out their practically cooked!  I also shredded some of them so I could pull them out and put them on the waffle iron (more on that later).

To make these velvety mashed potatoes you will need:

potatoes
half and half
evaporated milk
butter
sour cream or cream cheese
garlic
salt
pepper

Dice potatoes and put in a pot with cold water and salt.  Potatoes cook the most even when they start in cold water.  Cook till fork tender and then drain.  In a separate pan mix half and half, evaporated milk, and butter.  Bring up to a simmer.  Use a masher to break up the potatoes and slowly add some of the dairy mixture. Use the masher to mix everything together, and add sour cream, salt, pepper, and garlic.  Add dairy mixture as needed until desired consistency is reached.

The whole point of this post, besides giving you the recipe was to explain that I freeze these mashed potatoes, so I can pull them out whenever I want them.  I cooked shredded potatoes (hash browns) with a waffle iron because it cooks them at a high temperature and makes them super crispy.

Give 'em a try.  Let me know what you think.

Ashley

Chicken parm sandwiches

There are few things I love more than a good chicken parm.  I guess my husband is one of those things, but chicken parm is a close second.  I have this obsession with tomato sauces.  I love pizza sauce, marinara sauce, and spaghetti sauce.  It's all divine and delicious and I want it all!  A good sauce can make or break a dish.  Would you eat spaghetti topped with a mediocre sauce? I think not.

These sandwiches were just the thing to heat us up on a cold Ohio night.  Here's how to make em':

Sub or hoagie rolls
diced chicken
marinara sauce (homemade is best!)
parmesan cheese
mozzarella cheese

I found a really good deal on chicken breasts this week, so I bought them up.  I had just regular chicken breasts, skin on, with ribs attached.  I know what you're thinking.  Oh my gosh, skin on, are you trying to have a heart attack?  No, I'm trying to have a flavor explosion  I roasted my breasts with some italian dressing, salt, and pepper.  Then I removed the skin, and stripped the meat from the bone.  The chicken was so tender and juicy from leaving it on the bone with skin on! My husband was like, "what did you do to this chicken? It's awesome!"

I keep the bones to make stock with, and portioned the chicken into containers to freeze or use for the rest of the week. Then I skimmed the fat off of the liquids and saved that too! So much good stuff from just a good ol' chicken breast.

I toasted the rolls in the oven, then added the chicken, sauce, and cheese, and baked for 20 minutes.  The rolls were super crunchy and the inside was melty and satisfying.  Give it a try. Let me know what you think!

Oh and by the way, being a chicken parm aficionado;I hate when you get a chicken parm anything, and there's no parm! What the hell? It's part of the name! Don't try to just cover it with mozzarella cheese and serve it to me.  There better be plenty of salty, nutty parm on that chicken (other cheese is ok as well, as long as it is used in conjunction with the parm).

Ashley

Cheesy Quinoa

I don't know about you, but I get tired of boxed mac and cheese.  I wanted something new and exciting.  And since we didn't have any meat in the house this is the perfect solution.  Quinoa is a really interesting grain (well really it's a seed) because it has a ton of fiber and protein.  Here's how to make this creamy goodness:

evaporated milk
ground mustard
cheddar cheese
chicken stock
nutmeg
butter
flour
eggs
quinoa

Bring chicken stock to a boil (you can use good ol' water, but this give it more flavor). Add quinoa and cook until all the water is gone.  As far as I know, it's really hard to over cook quinoa.  In a separate pan, melt the butter.  Once melted add flour and stir.  Let this cook on medium heat until it is a light gold color (this is usually a good way to know that the flour taste has cooked out of your roux).

Slowly add evaporated milk.  Keep stirring as you add the milk.  Once you have added all the milk and the mixture is smooth, beat 1 egg in a cup.  Add a little of the mixture and stir, do this 3 times.  Slowly pour the egg mixture into the milk mixture and stir.  Add the mustard and nutmeg.

Now it's time to add the cheese.  Add a handful at a time and don't add more until the previous handful has melted.  Mix the cooked quinoa and cheese sauce together. Now enjoy!

Ashley

Creamy tomato capalini with a lemon arugula salad

This pasta dish was so easy, scrumptious, and light.  It took about 20 minutes to throw together, and I made it with  items I already had on hand.  Let me show you the way.

capalini pasta
basil
crushed tomatoes
parmesean cheese
half and half
white wine
butter
onion
mushrooms
garlic
arugula
lemon
olive oil

Bring a pot of water to boil.  Season with salt.  The water should taste like the sea, that's how you know it's seasoned correctly.  Cook the pasta al dente.  Drain.  Melt butter in pan, add mushrooms and onions. Season with salt, mushrooms are like sponges so add plenty of salt.  Add crushed tomatoes and wine.  Lower to a simmer and reduce by half.  Add a splash of half and half, lemon juice, basil, and garlic.  Add capalini pasta, and combine.  Mix arugula with a drizzle of olive oil, add lemon zest, basil, and parmesean cheese. Serve with small salad on top of pasta.

This dish is gorgeous.  I love the play of color, and the brightness of the flavors.  Let me know what you think.

Ashley

Asian pork lettuce wraps

These little beauties are sooo easy, it's ridiculous   First off, if you're looking for some PF Chang's style lettuce wraps, you're in the right place.  I love going to restaurants  finding dishes I really like, and recreating them at home for so much less money.  This is what you'll need:

butter lettuce
ground pork
chopped garlic
water chestnuts (diced)
rice wine vinegar
secret ingredient

Brown the ground pork in a skillet.  Once it is cooked through, add garlic and water chestnuts.  When those are heated through add a splash of rice wine vinegar and the secret ingredient.  Put in a leaf butter lettuce and enjoy.  It is truly delicious.  If you would like to know the secret ingredient sign up for a following via email, and drop me a comment.  You won't regret it!

Ashley

Ham Gravy

There's this magical stuff called ham gravy.  I look forward to the holidays because of ham gravy. I don't care about presents, or seeing family until I've had my ham gravy.  I know, I know, it sounds really weird and or gross. But it is soooo good.  And once you try it, you'll be a believer too!

My dad makes a ham for Thanksgiving and for Christmas, so we get it twice a year.  There's a secret ingredient, and I swear if I was allowed to tell you I would, just so you could experience the magic yourself.  But I can't, it's a family secret, just like his awesome potato salad.

I told everyone at work about wondrous properties of ham gravy, and they didn't believe me.  Fast-forward to my co-worker, Sommer coming to my parents house for Thanksgiving last year.  I told her to trust me, try it, and let me know what she thought.  I swear that gravy boat wasn't more than an arms-length away from her the whole night!  She put it on everything!  I made her a believer, and I can make you one too.  Leave a comment, and maybe I'll tell you the secret ingredient.

Ashley

Chicken tortilla soup

So I put sour cream and crunchy tortilla strips on top, and called for my husband to come take a picture.  And... it all melted before he got there.  So this isn't the best looking picture, but the taste is there.  It's a simple recipe.

I used a rotisserie chicken of course.  I stripped the meat and then simmered the bones and such for a couple hours.  Then I drained off the stock and put it in another sauce pan.  I'll explain that later.  I rough chopped some onions and added some olive oil to my dutch oven.  I let those cook down and then added some chipotle peppers.  Chipotle peppers are just smoked jalapenos  but they add a nice smoky depth and heat to the soup.  Let those cook for a few more minutes.  Add a ladle of stock from the sauce pan.  I used my immersion blender to smooth everything out.

At this point I added about 5 small corn tortillas that I cut into strips.  Let these soak up the chicken stock, and slowly break down.  Add more stock as needed to keep everything smooth.  Once all the tortilla strips have dissolved, add the rest of the stock.  Throw in the chicken meat that you striped earlier. And ta-da! A delightful chicken tortilla soup that is super creamy and flavorful.

Ashley