Steak Fries

Recipe challenge, week ten.

Have you ever had the bacon and cheese fries at Outback Steakhouse?  That was my dining out option of choice during the last year of college and they probably had something to do with those 5-10 pounds I gained during my student teaching semester. Especially because they would give you this ranch sauce to dip them in.  Unbelievably good and listed as one of the worst foods in America.
After Scott and I started dating, we would occasionally go there just for fries and drinks.  We were so poor that we had no idea how poor we were, but we never seemed to lack the funds to go out.  Being 22 is funny like that.

We went to Outback in Anchorage once, after we got married, and it wasn’t very good.  The food just didn’t taste the same.  Chain restaurants in Alaska were like that; it never quite tasted right.  That’s why we eventually ended up sticking to local places when eating out.  Even now, we stay away from chains because of this.

So, I haven’t actually had those fries from Outback since, maybe, 2009.  But that’s okay.  Because you can make these fries at home and they taste just as good.  I originally used this seasoning combination in Parmesan Potatoes a few years ago.  This time, I found a tip on Pinterest that said you should pre-bake your potatoes, let them cool, slice them into sticks, and bake again.  I really liked what it did to the potatoes, creating a crispy skin. My seasoning of choice is steak seasoning.  That might sound weird, but it has this perfect combination of salty and sweet spices and gives so much flavor.  I have a bottle of Weber Chicago Steak Seasoning but I have no idea where it came from.  Check out your spice aisle to see what they offer.  After they bake coated in the olive oil and seasoning, sprinkle some cheese on top, and broil for a few minutes.  I used a 4 cheese blend, replicating that Outback version.  You can definitely add bacon if you’re so inclined.
And if you know the recipe for that Outback ranch sauce, let me know.

Steak Fries
serves 4 as a side dish (or two as a main dish)

6-8 red potatoes or yellow Yukon gold potatoes
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
steak seasoning, about 1 tablespoon
shredded cheese (any kind you'd like)
diced bacon (optional)


Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.  
Scrub, rinse, and dry the potatoes.  Put them on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes.  Set aside and let them cool.
Slice into french-fry-sized pieces.  The smaller the pieces, the faster they'll cook.  Place them back on the cookie sheet and coat with a drizzle of olive oil.  Sprinkle with the seasonings and toss to coat.
Place back in the oven and bake for 20-30 more minutes, until brown and crispy.  Top with cheese and/or bacon and put back in the oven for a few minutes until the cheese is melted.
Serve while warm.

I added the cheese after I took the picture (why I'm not a food blogger)..and I had no bacon, but next time I will.

30 Minute Potato Leek Soup

Recipe challenge, week three.

A few years ago, I made a leek and potato soup and it was surprisingly tasty.  I knew the recipe I used came from this crockpot blog, but I distinctly remember making it on the stove, not in the crockpot.  I started googling new leek soup recipes a few months ago because leeks are incredibly healthy and are often used in weight loss plans.  Much like cabbage. 

I wanted to experiment with leeks again because Scott is on a health kick.  He wanted to try pescatarianism for a bit (spellcheck is telling me that’s not a word; it has to be a word). Since I don’t really like fish, it’s been a compromise to say the least.  However, I also can get by on a mostly vegetarian diet.  I’ve been focusing on vegetable or whole-grain or quinoa-based meals, and then throwing in some kind of seafood for him.  Tilapia, salmon, etc.  I think I’ve made chicken once in the last month and a steak stir-fry one other time. 

The French have used leeks as a natural diet food for centuries.  While sipping leek broth might not be your cup of tea, this soup combines the creaminess of potatoes, the benefit of leeks, and the flavor of a few different seasonings.  If I were you, I would also add some ham or bacon.  It kind of has a smoky taste already and that would make it feel like a complete meal.

Don’t be scared of leeks.  Even if you’re picky about vegetables, give it one try.  The potatoes will help in that case.  In looking online for a leek soup recipe, I didn’t like any of the ones I came across.  They seemed too precise, too involved, too…something.  I mean, it’s soup.  Not molecular biology.  This is the version I came up with and it’s quick enough for a weeknight dinner.  With grilled cheese for Scott and a quesadilla for me.

30 Minute Leek and Potato Soup

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15-20 minutes

Keywords: Quick Cooking soup/stew low-carb vegetarian fall winter

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 5 cups chicken broth
• 2 leeks, washed and thinly sliced
• 2 potatoes, washed and diced into very small pieces
• ½ tsp. Creole seasoning (you can add more to taste)
• ½ tsp. thyme
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• Diced ham, bacon, and/or cheese for toppings

Instructions

In a medium pot (you don’t need a BIG pot), bring the broth to a boil. Add in the leeks and potatoes. Cover and turn it down to low heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Check the potatoes for doneness with a fork (the smaller they are, the faster they’ll cook). Add in the seasonings and stir to combine well.

I poured half the soup into a mixing bowl and pulsed it with the immersion blender, and then stirred it back into the pot. You don’t have to do that, but it probably did lend to the creaminess.

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Oven-Roasted Sweet Potatoes

We eat sweet potatoes (and yeah, I know they're yams) at least twice a week.  This is truly the only way I ever make them.  They make a great side dish for any meal: quesadillas, baked fish, steak or chicken salads, etc.  Scott and I will finish off the entire pan.  I've been known to make a meal out of just these potatoes.  They are that good!

These are the spices I use.  Regular paprika is fine too, and I always top it with a sprinkle of garlic salt.  I think that garlic salt and sweet potatoes is the perfect combination.  A twist of sea salt and a squirt of lime is tasty too!

Sprinkle on a teaspoon of each…be generous!  Drizzle on some olive oil.  About 3 tablespoons.  Toss it all together.

Bake at 475 degrees for about 40 minutes.  Halfway through, take the pan out and stir the potatoes around.  You want them slightly browned and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.  

Leftovers heat up really well, but I doubt you'll have any!

Sweet Potato Casserole

Blogging advice appreciated! 

Oh, and there's a new giveaway too!
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For 3 1/2 years, I worked at a restaurant.  That restaurant had a Thanksgiving buffet.  Therefore, for 3 years, I worked on Thanksgiving.

They served this sweet potato casserole on the buffet one particular year.  The cook to whom the recipe belongs no long works there, so I'm pretty sure they don't serve it anymore. 

A group of customers liked this casserole so much that they begged me to give them the recipe.  I didn't know the recipe to begin with.  However, they persisted and promised to send me real Vermont maple syrup in exchange for the recipe.  That's right, they had traveled to Pennsylvania, to visit friends, from Vermont for Thanksgiving.

I managed to get the recipe.  My mom got such a kick out of the whole story that she made a copy of the recipe for herself and has since been making this casserole for every Thanksgiving and Christmas since 2006.

I mailed them the recipe.  They mailed me maple syrup, along with a cute little cream/syrup pitcher that now sits in my kitchen.

Sweet Potato Casserole
makes a 9x13 pan

4 sweet potatoes (yams), cubed and cooked
1/4 cup butter (half a stick)
2 eggs
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. salt
1/2 cup milk

1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter (half a stick), softened
1/2 cup flour

In a large bowl, combine the cooked sweet potato cubes, butter, milk and seasonings.  Mix well with an electric mixer.  Add the eggs and combine well.  Spread into a 9x13 pan.

In another bowl, mix the coconut, nuts, and flour.  Crumble in the softened butter.  It's like making a crisp or crumble.

Top the sweet potatoes with the crumble mixture and spread evenly.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes until brown on top.

*I'm well-aware that these are yams, as yams are orange.  "Yam Casserole" doesn't sound nearly as appealing though.

Being Shared At:
Sweet Indulgences Sunday
Savory Sunday
Melt in Your Mouth Monday

EASY Homemade Gnocchi

Gnocchi is Italian.  I'm not Italian.  Not even a little bit.

I'm Russian/Welsch.

I know.  What an exotic combination.

Scott's heritage is German though, and that's kind of close to Italy...they were on the same side in the war after all.  So yeah, maybe I'm almost Italian by marriage.  Makes sense.  

My mother's family, being from Russia, made a lot of halupki and halushki.  The restaurant I used to work at, being in an originally very Polish/Russian town, served a lot of halupki and halushki.

I also learned how to do the polka in elementary school.  But that's beside the point...

How cool is this...

It's Creed and Kate (a.k.a. Meredith) singing the Pennsylvania Polka at "The Office" Convention in Scranton.  I wonder if that was the same Convention I was at in 2007...

 OOPS.  How did that ^ get in there...

Anyway, my grandmother (as well as a couple of my teachers) used to sing this Pennsylvania polka song.

I'm assuming she sang it to herself as she made halushki.  The best part of halushki?  The little balls of dough cooked in butter.  They taste a lot like gnocchi.  So I gave gnocchi a try.

Oh, and in case you need a little background music while you make gnocchi, the Steelers also have a polka.

 EASY Homemade Gnocchi
adapted from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen

1 two-serving package of garlic-flavored instant potatoes
1 cup boiling water
1 egg
about 1 cup of flour
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Add the boiling water to the potatoes and mix well.  Let it cool for a minute or two before stirring in the egg (no need for scrambled eggs in this dish, my friends).  Add enough flour to make it into a dough that's easy to work with (it took me about a 1/2 cup).

Flour a cutting board and roll the dough into a thin strip.  Cut into 1/2 inch pieces.

Toss into a pot of boiling water (I did this in 3 batches).  When they float, they're done.  Strain with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet.  Toss in the gnocchi (once again, 3 batches), and brown lightly on each side.  Place on a serving plate and season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Shared at:
Cast Party Wednesday
This Chick Cooks


Linking up to Happy-Go-Lucky Mingle

Perfect Crispy Hashbrowns

1.  Is it odd that the smell of brand-new American Eagle jeans makes me homesick and nostalgic for school shopping all at the same time?

I didn't think so.

2.  We've got a bit of a True Blood obsession going on 'round here.  I had Netflixed the first couple of episodes of Season 1.  The mail wasn't fast enough for Scott.  We bought Seasons 1 and 2 at Wal-Mart the other night.  I love it.  (yes, "Netflixed" is a verb)

3.  When I was 13, I had ripped off the majority of my big toenail playing soccer.  It hasn't been right since.  Lately, I've been plagued by an ingrown toenail.  Seriously impacting my running.  Not.  More like giving me another reason to sit on the couch with True Blood.

Too much information?

Sorry.

4.  I went through a phase in 2008 where I loved baked potatoes with all of the fixings.  Especially the ones that came with The Wallaby Darned from The Outback. So I used to eat a lot of baked potatoes at home.  Dining at The Outback is not good for a college student's budget or waistline, as I learned in both cases.  But better than baked potatoes?  Crispy hashbrowns.  Here's a recipe for perfect hashbrowns.  The steps themselves are more important than the ingredients, so it really doesn't matter what kind of potatoes you use. 

Perfect Crispy Hashbrowns


4 medium-sized potatoes*, washed and poked with a fork to allow steam to escape
olive oil
1/2 cup thinly sliced onion
2 T. butter
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. onion powder
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper

Shredded cheese, sour cream, green onions, etc.

*I used small red potatoes.

Cook the potatoes in the microwave until they look like this.  For me, this took about 7 minutes on high.

           Put them into a frying pan, in about 2 T. of olive oil, over medium heat.  Stir in the spices.  

Put 1 T. of butter on top of the potatoes so it melts down over them.  Cover the pan. 

 Meanwhile, take your onion and 1 T. of butter and put it in a pan.  The lowest heat possible is ideal.  Cover it and stir every few minutes.

 After about 20 minutes, your potatoes will look like this.

  You can turn off the heat, but cover to keep warm.

 It might take about 30 minutes but, on the lowest heat possible, your onions will caramelize nicely.

 Mix the onions in with the potatoes.

Top with cheddar cheese and sour cream.

Shared at
Lady Behind the Curtain
This Chick Cooks

Parmesan Potatoes

I promise I'll teach you how to make fabulous, delicious, and easy Parmesan Potatoes.  But, it's a train of thought that's going to get us there...so stick with me.  

Close your eyes and imagine a world in which every child under the age of 12 does not own a cell phone, computer, and T.V.  I know.  Go way back.

So that's me you're picturing.  During summer vacation, my brothers and I had to share a T.V.
It was pretty awful and unjust, I know.

Because we had to fight over share a T.V., I sometimes ended up watching something I didn't like.  Like Family Feud.  I can't stand that show.  All that clapping drives me up a wall.

But one of the questions on Family Feud was "What is one thing we have on earth that you hope is in heaven?"

The number one answer was chocolate.  I'm assuming because people thought they couldn't live any kind of existence without it.

So imagine, if you will, a world without your very favorite snack food... 

Welcome to Alaska my world!

I have been living without Middleswarth Bar-B-Q Chips for almost two years now.  Somewhat successfully, may I add.  I mean, I'm still here, aren't I?  That has to be some kind of success, anyway. 

Potato chips have comprised approximately 30% of my diet since I-don't-know-when.  Since solid foods were introduced, maybe?  Moving to Alaska meant I could no longer get my favorite kind.  Such a sacrifice I've made for our country.

Occasionally, I'll get a Doritos craving or something, and I have learned to tolerate like some of the local/west coast brands.

But I decided that instead of having Doritos for dinner on a night when the husband is out fishing (Doritos for dinner has been a pretty regular occurrence over the last few years), I would make potato "chips" in the oven.

This has to be a step in the grown-up direction, right?

If you've stuck with me this long, you deserve this simple and yummy recipe.

Parmesan Potatoes
serves 4
4 medium potatoes (red, white, Yukon gold, russet..)
1 T. grill seasoning
1/2 T. onion powder
1/2 T. garlic powder
1/2 T. sea salt
1/2 T. black pepper
olive oil

Slice the potatoes very thinly and spread them onto a baking sheet.  Drizzle the potato slices with olive oil and add seasonings.  Mix everything together with your hands.  (there's no "one" way to do this.  adjust the seasonings as you see fit.  this is just what i did.)

Roast the potatoes at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes.  Flip around with a spatula.  Roast for another 5-10 minutes, until they've reached the desired done-ness you prefer.

Incredibly Easy Pot Roast and Crash Hot Potatoes

I've been meaning to try a pot roast for awhile.  My new slow-cooker provided me with the opportunity.  I didn't put any vegetables in it because I had to go to the airport to pick up Scott in the last two hours of cooking time.  However, the recipe on Mommy's Kitchen explains how to cook the vegetables.  Maybe next time.  I did make Crash Hot Potatoes to go with the pot roast and I highly recommend them.  Everything that the Pioneer Woman cooks looks amazing though, so check out the site.

Pot Roast
One 2-3 pound beef chuck roast
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 packet dry onion soup mix

In a frying pan on the stove, heat 2 T. of olive oil and sear the sides of the roast for 3-5 minutes each.  Place in the slow-cooker and pour the soup and dry soup mix over the roast.  Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.  Stir the gravy at about the 2 hour mark.  It does make its own gravy, which is really convenient.

Sweet Potato Fries

Let me preface this by saying that I DO know the difference between sweet potatoes and yams. 

But when I decided to create Sweet Potato Fries from Our Best Bites, it said "sweet potatoes" on the ingredients list.  Though the picture showed the "sweet potatoes" as orange, I mentally bypassed that.  I wrote sweet potatoes on my shopping list and then made a beeline for the sign that said Sweet Potatoes in the produce section.

When I decided to make the fries a few days later, I cut into one of the potatoes I bought.  It was white.  I actually set down the knife and thought, "Shoot!  What have I done?" (...like a white potato isn't edible or something).  Trust me when I say that I actually went so far as to lick to the inside of the potato, just to make sure of its origins.  It was sweet.  Much sweeter than a yam (ahhh, yes, I now realized my mistake!). 

So I made Sweet Potato Fries with actual sweet potatoes!  No, they don't look like what you get in a restaurant and they aren't necessarily as pretty, but they TASTE BETTER.  Try it.  They look like regular french fries but the sweetness combined with the spices and the salt is amazing.

A few days later, I tried the same recipe with yams.  They were prettier, but weren't quite as good.  I recommend actual sweet potatoes.

Sweet Potato Fries
2 large sweet potatoes
3-4 T olive oil
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. onion powder
1/2 t. oregano
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. parsley
Salt, for after baking

Cut the sweet potatoes into matchsticks/julienne them.  They all need to be the same size.  In a small mixing bowling, combine the oil and the spices.  Toss in the pieces of potato and make sure each is coated with the mixture.  Spread the pieces onto a cookie sheet.  Be sure they aren't touching.  If the pieces are touching, they'll steam instead of oven-fry and will end up being mushy.   Bake at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes.  Flip them with a spatula and bake for another 5 minutes or so.  Adjust the time depending on how thick your slices are.  Thicker or bigger slices will need to bake longer.  Sprinkle with salt as soon as they come out and eat immediately!  They are crunchy, salty, and sweet at the same time (as well as good for you!).