Corn and Fingerling Potato Chowder with Bacon

The moment the weather starts to get cooler, I am all about breaking out the soups, stews, and total comfort foods.  This chowder is one that I will likely be making quite often through the winter.  This soup definitely can stand on its own as a meal!  The bacon flavoring nicely complements the richness of the fingerling potatoes and the corn gives it a texture that can't be beat.  I served it with some fresh bread, garnished with additional crumbled bacon and shredded cheddar. 

Corn and Fingerling Potato Chowder with Bacon

3 slices lean bacon
1 3/4 cups diced onion
4 cups fresh corn kernels (due to seasonal availability, I used frozen)
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk
1 cup half-and-half
16 ounces fingerling potatoes, diced
Sea salt, to taste
Freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Cook the bacon in a large dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan and crumble. Add onion to drippings in pan; cook 8 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add corn, chopped thyme, and garlic to pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in broth, milk, half-and-half, and potatoes; bring to a simmer. Cover and cook 20-30 minutes or until potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally.

Transfer 2 cups of the potato mixture to a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth; return pureed mixture to pan. Stir in salt and black pepper; sprinkle with crumbled bacon.

Source: For the Love of Cooking

Hasselback Potatoes

Without knowing it, my sister and I both picked this recipe off of Pam's blog and made it on the exact same night!  Scary, isn't it?  When I saw that she posted hers this morning, I figured I had better post mine as well to keep on the same track! :)  I'm sure this isn't the first, or the last time, that this has happened.  These potatoes had such a wonderful flavor and were really fun to eat.  I find that I am always making potatoes in the same way, and this gave me a great new option to throw in the mix.  A couple of notes for making this one: 1.) Like my sister, I found that these took quite a bit longer than I had planned to get tender.  Make sure you keep an eye on them, but do not remove them from the oven until the slices are tender enough for your taste.  A few of my larger potatoes ended up a bit crunchy.  2.) A lot of times I will use minced garlic as a time saver.  I had just purchased the new Pampered Chef garlic slicer so I decided to use that instead.  I'm so glad I did!  I don't think this is a recipe you can use the minced garlic shortcut with... it's well worth the added time to place fresh garlic in between the slices.  If you are making the recipe for little ones, I would suggest just placing a few pieces of garlic in random slices instead of in between each as the recipe calls for.  I LOVED it with the full amount of garlic, but I'm not sure my son would have eaten it with so much.  3.) Pam suggests placing a large serving spoon under your potato to keep from accidentally slicing all the way through the potato.  This worked really well and saved quite a few potatoes for me!

Hasselback Potatoes

3 Russet potatoes

Olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Dried basil, to taste

Fresh garlic, sliced very thin

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Wash all potatoes thoroughly.  Place each potato on a large serving spoon before slicing.  You don't want your cuts to go all the way through the bottom of the potato and the spoon catches your knife from doing so.  Season each potato with the basil, salt and pepper.  Place a thin slice of garlic in between each of your slices.  Place your potatoes in a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil.  Bake for 1 hour or until the potatoes are  tender.  (I found that mine needed closer to 1.5 hours.)  As Pam suggested, I served mine with butter and sour cream. 

Source: For the Love of Cooking

Top Sirloin with Onions and Carrots

This is another meal from my new Sam's Club cookbook that I wrote about earlier this month. This was the third thing I have tried from it, and I liked it just as much as the others! My only regret with this one was that it really is a meal that is better for fall or winter weather. The picture in the cookbook looked so good that I just couldn't hold off on at least trying it, though! It has all the makings of comfort food and the flavors really blended together nicely. There was a nice sweetness to the vegetables that complemented the beef perfectly. I'll definitely be making it again, but will hold off until cooler temperatures. I say that now but just looking at the picture, I'm craving it again! :)

Top Sirloin with Onions and Carrots
4 slices bacon
4 small onions, peeled and cut into 1-inch slices
8 small carrots, halved lengthwise
4 small red potatoes, cut up (about 1 pound total)
1/2 cup beef broth
1/4 cup beer
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1 1/4 pounds boneless beef top sirloin steak, cut 1.5-2 inches thick
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Fresh thyme (optional)

In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove it from the skillet and drain it on paper towels. Drain the skillet, reserving about 1 tablespoon of the drippings. In the same skillet, cook the onions over medium heat for about 3 minutes per side or until browned. Remove the onions and set aside. Add the carrots, cooking for about 5 minutes, turning occasionally. Remove the skillet from the heat. Carefully add the potatoes, broth, beer, brown sugar, and half of the dried thyme. Return the onions to the skillet. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat. Simmer, covered, for 30-35 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Meanwhile, season the beef wtih remaining dried thyme, salt, and pepper. Place on the unheated rack of a broiler pan. Broil 4-5 inches from the heat for 16-22 minutes for medium-rare or 22-28 minutes for medium, turning once halfway through broiling. Cut into 4 pieces.

Remove the vegetables from the pan with a slotted spoon. Gently boil the juices, uncovered, for 1-2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Divide the steak, vegetables, and bacon among 4 plates. Spoon juices over and sprinkle with fresh thyme, if desired. Serves 4.

Source: Favorite Family Dinners

Mom's Potato Salad

This potato salad is the one that my mom has been making for as far back as I can remember. Notice a theme to my sister's and my posts lately? I guess that tends to be the case after any holiday... we all gravitate towards those traditional family meals that we grew up loving. This potato salad is, by far, one of my favorite things that she makes. . . though I don't believe it's one of her favorites to make. I guess I owe her extra big for when she does it! ;) One thing I will warn about is that I have inherited my mother's "make too much for every meal" trait and I really don't measure when making this side dish. I've done my best to estimate. I'm really not exhaggerating when I say that I typically use almost a 10 pound bag of potatoes to make it. Like I said, it's a sickness.

Mom's Potato Salad
5 pounds Russett potatoes
1 bunch green onions (or 1 medium leek)
6-8 hard boiled eggs
1 jar mayonnaise
White pepper to taste
Garlic salt to taste

Thoroughly wash the potatoes and place in a large pot with the skins still on. Cover with water and boil until just fork tender. DO NOT overboil as your potatoes will fall apart when cut. Remove from the water and peel the skin off. Dice the cooked potatoes into bite-sized pieces. Chop the hard boiled eggs and the green onions (white and green parts). Combine with the jar of mayonnaise and season to taste.

Sausage Skillet Supper

This is a great recipe for those days when you have to throw together a quick meal. The cookbook I found it in says to allow 5 minutes for prep and 15 minutes total cooking time. A lot of times when a recipe says that, it isn't necessarily an accurate estimate. I was thrilled to find that this one truly was! It had a really good, comfort food kind of feel to it and consisted of ingredients that I normally would have in the house at all times. Even better, the whole meal is made in one skillet making clean up a breeze!

Sausage Skillet Supper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 bag (24 ounces) frozen diced potatoes with onions and peppers
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano or basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups broccoli flowerets
1 ring (about 3/4 pound) smoked sausage, cut into 6 pieces
4 slices American cheese, cut diagonally in half

Heat oil in a 10 inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add potatoes, oregano, salt and pepper. Cover and cook for 6-8 minutes. Stir occasionally, until potatoes are light brown. Stir in the broccoli and sausage. Cover and cook for about 8 minutes, or until the sausage is heated through. Top with the cheese. Cover and heat until the cheese is melted.

Source: Adapted from Betty Crocker - Quick and Easy Cookbook

Roast Chicken Thighs with Potatoes, Artichokes, and Lemon

I only recently found the blog "For the Love of Cooking," and I am so happy that I did. Just glancing through it quickly, I found so many recipes that I knew I would be making in the very near future. This particular recipe had me so excited because it incorporates a lot of my favorite flavors all into one dish. I'm always seeing these great recipes using Fingerling Potatoes, but unfortunately do not see them often at our grocery stores. When doing my grocery shopping last week, I found a little bag of different Fingerling varieties. The colors were so amazing that I couldn't leave them on the shelf-- and thought they would be perfect in this dish.

I have to say that this might be one of my new favorite comfort foods. It came together much more easily than I would have imagined and was actually a pretty quick meal to prepare. Even if the chicken didn't taste as amazing as it did, I would be making it again just to make my house smell as wonderful as it did. I was practically drooling while waiting for it to come out of the oven.

Roast Chicken Thighs with Potatoes, Artichokes, and Lemon

3 tbsp olive oil (divided)
5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of any fat
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
Dried basil, to taste
15 frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
15 fingerling potatoes, sliced in half lengthwise
1-2 cloves of garlic, sliced into thin slivers
Zest of one lemon and the juice
1 lemon sliced into thin slices
2 tbsp chicken broth
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (garnish)

Heat a pot of water over high heat until it's boiling. Slice the fingerling potatoes down the center lengthwise then add them to the boiling water to par cook for 6-7 minutes. Remove from heat and drain water. Add the garlic slivers, lemon zest, lemon slices, artichoke hearts and 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the potatoes. Season with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste, set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Season the trimmed chicken thighs with sea salt, fresh cracked pepper and dried basil to taste. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in an OVEN PROOF SKILLET (I used my dutch oven as I wasn't sure whether or not my skillets were oven proof) over medium high heat. Once VERY HOT add the chicken thighs and cook for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. Turn the chicken over and remove from heat. Add the potato and artichoke heart mixture to the pan. Place the skillet in the oven and roast for 15 minutes.

Mix 1 tablespoon of olive oil, juice of one lemon and 2 tablespoons of chicken broth in a bowl. Season with dried basil, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste. Remove skillet from the oven and pour the lemon juice mixture over the top of everthing. Let the chicken rest for 3-4 minutes before cutting.

Source: For the Love of Cooking

Garlic Red Potatoes

As I mentioned on my last post, my mom's meatloaf really requires some good, homemade mashed potatoes served alongside it. My littlest one has been feeling sick and has required a bit of extra attention, so I unfortunately was unable to dedicate the time to peeling, cutting, boiling, mashing, etc. I did have some red new potatoes in the pantry, and after a quick web search, came up with this option. It was a simple recipe that called for everyday things I already had on hand. It was just what I was looking for!

One problem that I did have with this recipe was that the cooking time was way off, resulting in my meatloaf being finished well before my potatoes were. I would suggest either cutting your potatoes into smaller pieces or allowing for a longer cooking time. The flavor of these potatoes was perfect but they required a significant amount more time in order to be finished. I've listed the recipe as I found it.

Garlic Red Potatoes

2 pounds red potatoes, quartered
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place potatoes in an 8x8 inch baking dish. In a small bowl combine melted butter, garlic, salt and lemon juice; pour over potatoes and stir to coat. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over potatoes. Bake, covered, in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Source: Allrecipes.com

Balsamic-Glazed Pork Chops with Rosemary Garlic Potatoes

If you are ever in need of a 30 minute meal that tastes like day-long, traditional home cooking, this is certainly a great choice! I first found this recipe for Balsamic-Rosemary Vinaigrette in the newest issue of Everyday Food magazine and knew it was one that would be great on a crisp salad. As I continued to browse, I found the pork chops marinated in the vinaigrette and the perfect pairing of rosemary potatoes. I was a bit weary of the potato recipe as it is cooked in the microwave, but I was very pleasantly surprised by the finished product. The entire meal was easy to prep and cooked within 20 minutes. It is definitely one I will hold onto as a quick, weekday meal.



Balsamic-Glazed Pork Chops

4 bone-in pork rib chops (I used a simple thick cut chop)
course salt and ground pepper
1/2 cup Balsamic-Rosemary Vinaigrette (recipe to follow)

Place pork in a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper. Pour vinaigrette over pork, and turn to coat. Cover, and refrigerate at least 1 hour (or up to a day). Heat broiler, with rack set 4 inches from heat. Remove pork from marinate (letting excess drip off); place on a foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet. Broil, without turning, until opaque throughout, 8-10 minutes. (If chops are browning too quickly, turn them.) Let rest 5 minutes before serving.



**I had to turn mine to keep the browning even and too cook evenly.



Balsamic-Rosemary Vinaigrette


1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 small garlic clove
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil



Combine first 7 ingredients in a blender, blending until smooth. With machine running, add olive oil in a thin stream, blend until creamy. (To store, refrigerate up to 2 weeks.) Makes 3/4 cup.





Rosemary Garlic Potatoes

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced
2 sprigs fresh rosemary (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)
1.5 pounds red new potatoes, scrubbed and thinly sliced
coarse salt and ground pepper

Combine oil, garlic, and rosemary in a 2 quart microwave safe baking dish with a lid. Cover, and microwave on high until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in potatoes. Cover and microwave on high until potatoes are tender, 13-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Source: Everyday Food Magazine (March 2009)