White Bean Gravy (From Everyday Happy Herbivore)

This is a healthy alternative to regular gravy. I tried it on mashed potatoes and we really liked it. You can also use it for biscuits and gravy. The author likes it so well she says she often eats it as a soup. If you don't have all the seasoning ingredients, just jazz it up the way you like.

1 15-oz can navy beans, (or any other kind of white bean) drained and rinsed
1/4 c vegetable broth
2 T nutritional yeast
1/2  t. onion powder
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/4 t Cajun Seasoning
1/8 t. black pepper

Combine everything in blender and puree until silky smooth, adding more broth as necessary to achieve the desired consistency. You don't want to thin it out too much: it should be creamy and gravy-thick. Warm over low heat. (I always cook up a big batch of white beans from scratch, then freeze them in portions. Much better than canned beans, and much cheaper too!)

Here's a similar recipe from "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian" by Mark Bitman

CHICKPEA FONDU

3 cups cooked chickpeas with 3-4 cups of their liquid
2 cloves garlic
3 T extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
3 T lemon juice

Puree all ingredients in blender until very smooth. Add more cooking liquid, broth, or water until the consistency is like a smooth dip or thick soup. Heat mixture over medium heat. Use for dipping such foods as cherry tomatoes, broccoli or cauliflower florets, slices of cucumber, bell pepper, cubes of cooked potato, etc. This fondu won't harden like cheese fondu. Hummus is also a nutritious dip for veggies.

Creamy Potato Recipe

I have no idea what these are really called. They serve them a restaurant in Utah. I can't remember the name of the place. Anyhoo...Mary gave me this recipe and we made it for Christmas dinner and they were awesome. I'm not sure how many lbs of potatoes I actually used and the recipe is kind of vague about it, but I think I used 5 or so large potatoes. Just enough to fill an 11 x 14 glass pan. Helpful I know, but so worth figuring it out. :)

11 x 14" glass pan
10 lbs Uncooked Potatoes (you won't use them all)
1.5 qt. Heavy Whipping Cream (Marigolds Cream)
1 Tbsp Salt
1 1/2 tsp White Pepper (1 Tbsp for spicy)
1/2 Cups Corn Starch (1/3 for creamier mix)

Peel potatoes and cut into thin slices like Au Gratin style and fill medium sized pot until 3/4 full. Fill pot with enough water to cover potatoes. Bring to a boil. Cook until they are almost thoroughly cooked (cooked but firm). Preheat oven to 380 degrees. When potatoes are put into the water to boil pour chilled Whipping Cream in a different pot and then blend in corn starch with a whisk as you pour in the corn starch. Add Salt and white pepper to whipping cream. Cook whipping cream mixture on medium to low heat until it is the consistency of gravy (it is a dairy product so it can burn easily so keep low and stir continually). Do not over cook potatoes. When potatoes are done put in pan and when whipping cream is done pour over potatoes (best if potatoes are still hot) so they are completely covered and slightly mix in. Cover with foil and cook for 1 hour.

Baked Chicken Taquitos

Hey guys! It's Marlee :) I tried this recipe a couple of days ago and I LOVED it!! This recipe is so good!

Baked Chicken Taquitos
(Makes 10-12 Taquitos)

Ingredients:
- 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 c. green salsa
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, which is about half a lrg. lime (this is key!! FRESH! it's way better!)
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 2 c. shredded cheese
- 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
- Small yellow/white corn tortillas (I would recommend really fresh, moist ones... the ones I used cracked a lot!)
- cooking spray

*Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and coat with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese, green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic powder. Stir to combine and then add cilantro. Add chicken and cheese.

Working with a few tortillas at a time, place 2-3 torillas between damp paper towels and microwave for about 30 seconds or until tortillas are soft enough that the wont crack. Place 1 tablespoon of chicken mixture on lower third of soft tortilla. keeping it 1/2" from the edges, the roll tightly. Place them seam down on baking sheet (be quick or tortillas will crack on the baking sheet). Spray with cooking spray and coat lightly with salt.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp. Serve imediatly with dips of your choice (we just used sour cream and some of the left over green salsa! it was so good!)

So there ya go! :) If you try it I hope you like it! :)

From,
Mars

Glazed Carrots--I don't really know what they are called.

Two 16 oz bags of baby carrots
Two 1 oz packets of ranch seasoning
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar

Boil carrots for 8-10 minutes or until soft. Drain carrots and set aside. In a sauce pan, melt butter and add the brown sugar and ranch seasoning, stir until blended well. Add carrots and cook for 5 minutes.

Zesty Sweet Potato Sticks

Yes, another sweet potato recipe. This one was a big hit. Lizzie couldn't get enough of them.

I found this recipe on the 3 fat chicks on a diet website. I altered I added a little olive oil to it just so the stuff would stick. The original recipe does not call for oil.

2 large sweet potatoes, cute lengthwise into 1/2 inch stick.
1 tbsp or so of olive oil
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp black pepper
salt to taste

directions:
Preheat oven to 450*F. Coat a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Place sweet potato sticks in a large bowl and drizzle with just enough olive oil to lightly coat. Add chili powder, Parmesan cheese, and pepper and toss to coat well. Arrange potato sticks on a baking sheet in single layer. Bake 20 minutes, turn and bake another 10 minutes until golden. Season with salt to taste.

We have some friends who just put olive oil and chili powder on them, so if you're looking for a lower fat alternative, you could leave off the cheese.

Mixed Grilled Taters

Since grilling weather is just around the corner I decided to post one of our favorite grilling recipes.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Grill Time: 8 minutes

Ingredients:
2 medium-size baking potatoes (about 10 oz. each)
2 medium-size sweet potatoes (about 10 oz. each)
3 to 4 Tbsp. lemon juice (1 large lemon)
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. lemon pepper with garlic
Cooking spray
Salt to taste (optional)
Lemon pepper with garlic to taste (optional)
Fresh lemon wedges (optional)

Pierce potatoes; microwave at HIGH 10 minutes or just until tender. Let potatoes stand at room temperature until slightly cool. Cut into 1/2 inch-thick-slices.Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, and lemon pepper in a small bowl until blended. Brush both sides of potato slices evenly with lemon juice mixture; reserve remaining lemon juice mixture.

Coat cold grill food grate with cooking spray; place on grill over medium-high heat (350º to 400º). Arrange potato slices on food grate.Grill, covered with grill lid, 4 minutes on each side or until slightly crisp and grill marks appear. Brush both sides of grilled slices with reserved lemon juice mixture. If desired, sprinkle with salt and additional lemon pepper. Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.

Twice Baked Potato Casserole

After I had this I decided that all funeral potatoes shoud be thrown out the window and we should all go with these. (I am starting to be of the opinion that cream of chicken soup should be banned.) I make this recipe different then the directions say though. I do the usual boil, peel, shred, to the potatoes. The baking and then scooping out of the peels sounded a little silly. I also just used whatever cheeses that I had in my fridge. I happened to have some Fontina when I made this and it was TASTY. But I think a combination of mild and sharp cheddars would be perfect. White cheddar is sometimes hard to find in good ol' Richfield, it's kinda expensive and tastes, for the most part, like sharp cheddar. Honestly the kind of cheese really doesn't matter. Cameron teases me all of the time because I have become a "sucker for a good cheese" so whenever I get off on a cheese tangent.... ignore me.



Ingredients
10 large russet baking potatoes (about 7 pounds total)
8 tablespoons (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3/4 pound bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled
1/2 pound sharp white Cheddar, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3/4 pound mild Cheddar, grated (3 cups)
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
3 eggs, lightly beaten
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Scrub the potatoes well and rinse under cool running water. Pat dry with paper towels and prick the potatoes in several places with a fork. Place the potatoes in the oven and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until tender. Remove from the oven and set aside on a wire rack until cool enough to handle.
When the potatoes have cooled, cut each potato in half and, using a spoon or a melon baller, scoop the flesh out of the skins, leaving as little flesh as possible. Place the potato flesh in a large bowl and add 1 stick of the butter, the sour cream, heavy cream, salt, and pepper and mash until chunky-smooth. Add the bacon, cubed white Cheddar, half of the grated Cheddar, the green onions, and eggs and mix thoroughly.
Butter a 9 by 13-inch casserole with the remaining tablespoon of butter and reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F.
Place the seasoned potato mixture in the prepared casserole and top with the remaining grated Cheddar. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until bubbly around the edges and heated through and the cheese on top is melted and lightly golden. Serve hot


I like to stick a ham in the oven and make it a meal. Actually on that note I really like this ham glaze. It's in the mormon calebrations cookbook.

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup apricot jam (I used some of my homemade peach)
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

I spoon some over the ham to cook it in and then save some for individual servings.