Roasted Potato Wedges

All you need to make some bitchin' potato wedges are potatoes (I hope that was obvious), salt/pepper/seasoning/herb of your choice, olive oil, and an apple corer. Oh, and about 45 minutes of your time. This recipe makes about 2-3 large servings (or 36 small wedges). Enjoy!

Vegan Shepherd's Pie

It was a dark & stormy night and I was craving comfort food. I found a great shepherd's pie recipe from Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen and went to work. This recipe makes about three ramekins worth of this hearty and filling dish. The original recipe called for mushrooms - which I was totally out of - so I omitted them, but I do think they'd be an amazing addition. Whatever you do with it, I'm sure it'll be delicious.

Slow Cooker Scalloped Potatoes

It's Thanksgiving time again, which means wanting to make all the food, but really not having enough time to do so. If you remember, last year I made cheddar and cranberry cream cheese biscuits and a leftover Thanksgiving pizza. This year, I'll be making my (in)famous hash brown casserole, a holiday couscous salad, homemade stuffing, and these incredibly decadent slow cooker scalloped potatoes. I adapted this recipe from An Oregon Cottage and it makes an entire 4-quart crockpot full of cheesy potatoey goodness. Enjoy!

Potato Fajitas

This is one of those 'I have too many CSA items and don't know what to do with it all' posts. Not to mention, my sister, who lives in Kansas, just told me that she is hosting a Mexican food party this weekend & I am super-jealous so, that is how this dinner was born. Luckily, fajitas are one of the easiest - and most delicious - ways to use up a ton of produce (if you have zucchini, squash, or any other hearty produce, toss those in too!). The recipe below was used to feed two hungry folks. Enjoy!

Guest Post: Sweet Potato & Bean Fritters

This week, welcome my friend Sam, a health & wellness blogger, who made these amazing sweet potato & bean fritters. She is also currently running an awesome indiegogo campaign to bring whole food nutrition to cancer survivors, so be sure to check it out & pledge if you can!
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You have probably seen this awesome Sweet Potato Veggie Burger recipe by Kathy over at Happy.Healthy.Life pinned all over Pinterest.  I've basically taken that recipe and made a few modifications to that to better fit my preferences. This recipe is crispy on the outside, creamy, sweet & tangy on the inside. The coconut oil really adds to the depth of flavor, something you wouldn't find when using other cooking oils. This recipe makes 6-8 medium-sized fritters.

 

St. Paddy's Day: Cheddar Ale Potato Soup

To follow up the delicious Irish soda bread recipe I posted earlier today, here is an amazing cheddar ale potato soup to pair along with it (and trust me, I did). I hope that you all had a happy St. Paddy's Day & enjoy the soup! This recipe is an altered version of this one and makes about six servings.

Guest Post: Corn & Potato Chowder

MV Banks made us an amazing Kale, Mushroom & Sage Risotto a couple months ago and now she's back with delicious Corn & Potato Chowder!
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The Ravens won, and life is grand.  However, I'm not sure I could eat one more bite of anything spiced with Old Bay, one more seven-layer-dip, or guacamole.  I love avocados more than life itself, but after a prolonged football season, I need a break.  With the cold weather that's swung back in town, what you need is a good, hearty soup that'll stick to your ribs and take extra miles on the treadmill to burn off.  Enjoy the warmth of standing over a toasty stove while there's more snow forecast for the week.

Sometimes my recipe inspiration comes from Tastespotting, a dangerous but wonderful food porn site.  Other days, I turn to Google and just type in what's going bad soon in my kitchen, allowing the handy "recipe" search to find my dinner for me.  Today, it brought me here, and I edited it ever-so-slightly.  I love soup, because it really can so easily become a haven for all things looking questionable.

 

Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole

It's both finals week and holiday party season. Casseroles are, in general, perfect dishes for busy weeks because cooking them doesn't require constant attention, they're filling, and you'll have tons of leftovers! Since they're also great for holiday parties, I figured I'd bring this one to share at work. This hash brown casserole tastes just like the dish at Cracker Barrel (meaning that it is both amazingly delicious & probably not-so-healthy). I actually made this the night before the party & heated it up in the morning.

Thanksgiving Pizza

Grab all of your Thanksgiving leftovers and read on. This pizza was born last year post-holiday, and the tradition continues this year.  Also, I was in a land of no WiFi over Thanksgiving and was unable to get a bunch of recipes out to you, so keep an eye out all week for new ones! Hope your holiday was filled with good company and delicious food.

Balsamic-Roasted Red Potatoes

I went to the Baltimore Farmers' Market today and it was awesome, as always. The farms are producing so many great fruits and veggies right now, not to mention all of the bread, cheeses, hummus, etc. If you live in Maryland, I highly urge you to check out the closest Farmers' Market to you using this website. If you're outside of Maryland, you can look up your own local markets here. Even highly urban areas usually have markets that showcase the surrounding agricultural areas. The markets are great for picking up old favorites (like the potatoes that I use in the recipe below) or buying new fruits and veggies for an experience. If you've recently picked up awesome new produce and want to request that I make a recipe using it, leave me a message in the comment section.

This recipe was originally found at The Baking Beauties website, and can serve about two people.

Pair with: red wine

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients
Two (2) tablespoons of olive oil

One (1) pound of red potatoes, quartered
One (1) tablespoon of green onion, finely chopped
Four (4) garlic cloves, minced
One (1) teaspoon of dried rosemary, crushed
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat your rosemary, oil, and garlic
before tossing in the veggies

Directions
Preheat oven 400F degrees.
Heat oil, garlic, and rosemary in a pan on medium-high heat.
Toss in potatoes and green onions for two to three minutes, until potatoes are heated.
Transfer food from heated pan to casserole dish.

Bake potatoes in oven for 25 minutes, or until potatoes are golden.
Add balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper and toss.
Bake 5 minutes longer.
Let cool and enjoy.

Zucchini-Potato Frittata

Again, I'm trying to make recipes with foods that I have on hand. My coworker gave me a beautiful zucchini from her garden, I picked up gorgeous onions from the farmer's market this weekend, and I had some red potatoes in my pantry. This frittata was meant to be. The original recipe was posted here, but I made some changes to fit my preferences. This will make enough for dinner and then breakfast the next day. I hope you enjoy!

Pair with: a hard cider like my favorite, JK Scrumpy's.

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 30-40 minutes (some cook & prep time will overlap)

Ingredients

Potatoes & onions ready to be cooked

One (1) medium zucchini, sliced
One (1) teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
Three (3) tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
One (1) pound of red potatoes, sliced
One (1) large onion, halved and sliced

Zucchini ready to be cooked

One (1) cup of sharp cheddar, shredded
1/2 cup of  sun-dried tomatoes

Seven (7) eggs, beaten
Garlic to flavor and taste



Directions
Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

Sprinkle salt over zucchini slices and set aside in a colander. After about 20 minutes, pat dry with a paper towel.
Heat oil in a skillet and toss in the potatoes and onion, over medium-low heat.
Cook potatoes for about 20 minutes, or until soft.
Increase the heat and saute the potatoes and onion for another five minutes.
Remove the potatoes and add the zucchini and sun-dried tomatoes to the skillet, and cook for five minutes.
Add beaten eggs and pepper to a greased casserole dish.
Stir in potatoes, zucchini, onion and then add cheese to the mixture.
Bake in oven for about 30 minutes.
Let cool, slice, and devour.

Potato Skin Pizzas

I am always up for trying new ways to make pizza. Cauliflower dough, zucchini boats (recipe coming soon!), and now pizza inside of potato skins. My love for potatoes is endless, and the pairing of the two was just divine.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 55-65 minutes

Ingredients
Four (4) large red potatoes
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup pizza sauce
Two (2) cloves of garlic, minced
Salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste 
1/4 cup of baby portobellas
Cooking spray

Directions
Preheat oven to 400F degrees.
Poke holes in potatoes and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until baked through.
Remove from oven, let cool.
Slice in half and hollow out (you want to leave about 1/4"), so you're left with just the skins. -- It should look like two potato boats.
Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt.
Bake skins for 10 minutes so they crisp just a bit.
Spoon in sauce, sprinkle with cheese and top with any additional toppings (I used mushrooms).
Bake for another 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
Let cool and enjoy!

Tips
Keep the inside of each potato for mashed potatoes! I used garlic, cream cheese, butter and a bit of almond milk to make creamy, delicious mashed potatoes.
You can use any toppings on the pizza that you want; mushrooms, spinach, roasted red peppers, or artichoke are all good choices.