Mexican Rice

ingredients:

• 1 cup of long grain white rice
• 2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 1/4 cup of tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• Salt to taste

 what you do:

1. In a medium-sized pot, add rice and chicken broth. Bring to a boil over high heat. Stir. Cover the pot, lower the heat to low and simmer until done. 
2. While the rice is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook the onions in the hot oil until translucent and starting to brown. 
3. Add the garlic to the skillet and cook for one minute, stirring constantly. 
4. Stir in the tomato paste and cumin and cook for another minute or two. 
5. Mix in hot, cooked rice until well combined. Season to taste with salt. Serve immediately.

Hasselback Baked Potatoes

 Mark loved these. He said it was the best thing he's ever eaten. Needless to say, these will be made again! Recipe from here.

INGREDIENTS

4 medium Potatoes, cleaned & leave skins on
4 cloves of Garlic, sliced thin
3 tablespoons of Olive Oil
pinch of Salt
pinch of Black Pepper
pinch of Smoked Paprika
1 ounce shaved Parmesan Cheese (have some additional for sprinkling as a garnish)
sour cream for garnish

METHOD

Pre heat oven to 425˚F (220 C) with rack in the middle of the oven. Lay potatoes flat on cutting board and starting from one end of the potato, make slits about 3-4mm apart. Cut to about 1/4 inch from the base of the potato. Be careful not to slice all the way through. The potato will fan out a bit as it bakes.

Combine olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, smoked paprika and parmesan cheese in a small bowl. Carefully insert pinches of this mixture in between the slits of the potatoes. Rub the outsides of the potatoes with residual oil. Arrange potatoes on baking sheet and bake for about 40-45 minutes. The inside should be cooked through and the outside of the potato should be a bit crispy. Garnish with additional salt, smoked paprika, pepper, parmesan and sour cream.

Cajun Fries

Oh man, these were so good! I served them as a side to sloppy joes and corn on the cob.  I used sweet potatoes and regular potatoes.  The regular potatoes were way better than the sweet potatoes, but the sweet potatoes were still good enough to include next time. 

Ingredients:

•  2 tsp Paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• a few shakes of cayenne 
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 Tbs olive oil
• 2 regular potatoes 
• 2 sweet potatoes

What you do: 

1. Preheat oven to 230 C (450 F)
2. Slice potatoes into thirds and then slice each portion into 3 or 4 wedges.  
3. Mix the spices and olive oil together in a bowl, add the potatoes and coat thoroughly.
4. Spread out into a single layer onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
5. Bake for 30 minutes or until done! ENJOY!

Scalloped Potatoes

 I got this recipe from here.  to die for! 

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme (or use dried thyme)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 kg russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices
• 1 cup shredded cheddar & parmesan cheese (about 4 ounces)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F (180 c). Meanwhile, melt butter in large Dutch oven (or large, heavy-bottomed saucepan) over medium-high heat until foaming subsides, about 1 minute. Add onion and saute until it turns soft and begins to brown, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add cream, milk, thyme, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and potatoes and bring to a simmer. Cover, adjusting heat as necessary to maintain a light simmer, and cook until potatoes are almost tender (paring knife can be slipped into and out of center of potato slice with some resistance), about 15 minutes.
2. Remove and discard thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Transfer potato mixture to a 3-quart gratin dish and sprinkle with cheese. Bake until the cream has thickened and is bubbling around sides and the top is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Portuguese Chicken on the BBQ

 

We recently bought a BBQ and wow, it has changed my life!  This has expanded my recipe repertoire immensely!  Tonight we had portuguese chicken.  This recipe is incredibly easy and surprisingly tasty:

Ingredients:

• Lots of crushed garlic
• Olive oil (a lot of it)
• a few squirts of lemon juice
• A lot of Portuguese chicken rub (in the spice aisle)

What you do: 
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and brush onto chicken liberally.  Let marinate for a few hours (at least 1 hour).  Cook on a hot BBQ until juices run clear.

Serve with...

Mexican Rice

• olive oil
• 1/2 chopped onion
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 cup brown rice
• low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes with juice
• water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, depending on the saltiness of the broth
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• frozen peas

In a pot, saute the olive oil, onion, and garlic.  Add rice, canned tomatoes, spices, chicken stock, and water (I never measure anything out, so you will just have to experiment.  Just keep adding water if it gets all absorbed and it's not done yet).  Adjust the spices to taste as you cook.   About half way through, add the peas. 

Corn on the cob

Shuck the corn. Put corn on a square of tin foil. Top with freshly ground salt and pepper and a large square of butter. Wrap the corn in the tin foil (1 corn per foil square). Grill for about 15-20 min or until done. 

Potato Salad

Mark and his parents have been painting our new house each weekend, and since I can't help (someone's gotta look after baby Henry!), I bring them lunch! Today I brought them potato salad (along with some other things).  It's super yummy and the recipe is from my mom!

Ingredients:

• ~3 lbs potatoes
• 6 hard boiled eggs
• 1-2 celery stalks finely chopped
• 1/2 brown onion finely chopped
• 2 cups mayo (Hellman's is a MUST! Thank god they have it in Australia!)
  
• salt, pepper
• paprika

What you do:

1. Cube the potatoes and boil the potatoes and eggs (together or separately, it's up to you).  Chop up the eggs.
   
2.   Chop up the celery and onion.
3. Mix everything together, refrigerate, and enjoy whenever it is cold!
   

Honey Mustard Sauce

Tonight we had some coconut fried chicken for dinner. It was nothing to rave about (although, as usual, Mark thought it was awesome), but the honey mustard sauce that I invented was actually quite tasty! Hubby said it was something spesh! I didn't take a picture, but it just looks like honey, but creamier. This recipe makes wayyyyy more than you need for 2 people.

Ingredients:

• ~2 Tblspns mayonnaise
  
• Honey (I just poured a lot in the bowl... probably nearly double the amount of mayo)
• a big squirt of mustard (maybe a couple of teaspoons)

What you do:

Stir all the ingredients together really well! I think it would probably be good with some shake and bake chicken (will post a recipe in the future).