January 28, 2012: Skinny Mashed Potatoes Recipe

For yummy mashed potatoes that don’t pack a lot of calories, this recipe fits the bill perfectly! These potatoes are flavorful and creamy enough to make you think they’re loaded with fat.

Skinny Smashed Potatoes served with Buttermilk Chicken with Mushroom Sauce and Sugar Snap Peas

Skinny Mashed Potatoes

4 large red potatoes (or combination of red and Russet potatoes)

¼ cup low fat buttermilk, warmed through

2 T. plain yogurt

1 T. margarine

1 t. dried parsley

1 T. chopped chives (or substitute green part of green onions, minced)

½ t. dehydrated garlic

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

If using Russet potatoes, peel them. Cut all potatoes into fourths. Place in a pot and add water to cover. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and cover. Boil gently for 30 minutes, or until soft. Drain and return to pot. Place on warm stove burner to evaporate any remaining water.

Add remaining ingredients. With a manual masher, coarsely mash potatoes.

Serves 4

January 12, 2012: Low Cal Potato Cheese Soup Recipe

Although cheese isn’t the most diet-friendly food, it is packed with protein and you can’t deny yourself (myself) all the time. This recipe is very filling; a little cheese goes a long way.

Low Cal Potato Cheese Soup

1 t. butter

¼ cup chopped white onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 green onions, chopped

1 stalk celery, thinly sliced

1 small Roma tomato, peeled and diced

1 roasted green chile, peeled and diced

3 red potatoes, cut into 1 ½” chunks

1 cup water

1 t. chicken bouillon

2 ounces Velveeta cheese, cubed

½ t. garlic salt

½ t. black pepper

1 cup 1% milk

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add white onion, garlic, white parts of green onions, and celery. Sauté for five minutes, until vegetables begin to soften. Stir in tomato, green chile, and potatoes. Add water and chicken bouillon; bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium low, gently boiling potatoes for about 15 minutes or until soft.

Add cubes of cheese, salt, pepper and milk. Reduce heat to low and stir together just until cheese melts. To serve, top bowls of soup with green onions.

Serves 2 – 4 (two as a main dish, four as a side dish or appetizer) with calories of approximately 265 in a one-cup serving.

Tip: For a thicker soup, let it cool, then reheat slowly over low heat.

January 10, 2012: Slow Cooked Potatoes and Mushrooms Recipe

Most slow cooker recipes combine meat and vegetables but this can muddy the flavors and be detrimental to texture. Next time you’re in a time pinch, consider putting the night’s dinner veggies in a crock pot before you leave for work and then simply broil or sauté a protein to go with it when you get home. This recipe is also great to make a nutritious side dish for a party or buffet.

Slow Cooked Potatoes and Mushrooms

3 medium-sized red potatoes, cut into eights

4 large brown mushrooms, quartered

1 small white onion, cut into lengthwise chunks

4 cloves garlic, minced

½ t. Seasoned salt

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 t. lemon juice

1 t. olive oil

Place potatoes in bottom of crock pot; sprinkle with seasoned salt and kosher salt and black pepper to taste. Layer vegetables on top. Sprinkle lemon juice and olive oil over the top. Turn slow cooker to low and cook for 4 to 6 hours, until potatoes are soft.

Serves 2 with 272 calories per serving

January 4, 2012: Shrimp, Potato and Pea Salad Recipe

I know I’ve talked about the need to lose weight on and off over the past year but now it’s time to get serious about it. I attended a Weight Watchers meeting last night as the guest of my friend Kathy. I was NOT impressed by the organization – I wasn’t allowed to use the scale (really? I snuck up there anyway) and at the end of the regular part of the meeting I wanted more information but was told by the gals manning the tables in back that they were “closed”. They gave me a flyer advertising a special deal and sent me on my way. This was not the way to get me to sign up and spend my money with Weight Watchers!

So…when I got on the scale I wasn’t too surprised to see that my weight was even worse than I’d thought. So my goal is to lose 36 pounds over the upcoming year. I did some sleuthing online and found out that to lose one pound with light activity (I walk about 3 – 4 miles in the park as often as possible but I guess walking isn’t considered even moderate exercise) I can only take in 1,214 calories per day. Okay, that’s difficult but not impossible. My usual breakfast of yogurt, string cheese and a few crackers along with two cups of coffee and creamer came out to 433 calories. That leaves me roughly 800 calories for the rest of the day. I’m doing my best to stick to that.

Here’s a recipe my Aunt Jean wrote out for me some years ago. She found it in a book from the library but I have no idea which one so I can’t give credit where it’s due. Anyway, by changing the regular mayonnaise to low fat or non fat or even substituting Greek yogurt, this recipe is very healthy and a great lunch or brunch dish.

Shrimp, Potato and Pea Salad

1 ½ lbs. cooked shrimp

5 medium-sized red potatoes, cooked, cooled and diced

1 10-ounce package frozen peas, cooked and cooled

3 medium dill pickles, chopped

4 green onions, chopped

Dressing:

1 cup mayonnaise (low fat or non fat or substitute Greek yogurt)

3 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 T. minced fresh dill weed

¼ t. black pepper

In a large bowl, combine shrimp, potatoes, peas, pickles and onions. Cover and refrigerate.

In a small bowl mix dressing ingredients. Add to salad and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate a couple hours or overnight to allow flavors to blend.

Serving suggestions: serve with fresh sliced tomatoes and cucumber sticks along with a bread thin spritzed with spray margarine and garlic powder. Or serve with bran muffin and fresh fruit.

July 8, 2011: Grilled Potato Salad

Wow! What happened to Blogger? New changes caused me to miss a couple days of posting so I'm sorry if you were looking forward to a new one that didn't appear! Why fix what isn't broken? Oh well, I've got to get used to the new format, I reckon. So... getting back on track...

Although my favorite type of potato salad is the traditional, mayo-sauced version with that yellow tinge, every now and then I break out of the mold and convince my family to try something new. This is one of those recipes.

I happened to have some of the corn salad recipe leftover from the previous night’s meal, so I simply used that in place of the corn.

Grilled Potato Salad

2 pounds red potatoes, cleaned and quartered
3 T. olive oil
½ t. kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 can corn or 3 ears of fresh corn, shucked
2 T. jarred, diced pimiento
2 T. minced yellow or orange bell pepper
¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup Greek yogurt
1 t. garlic salt
½ t. paprika
1 T. fresh or freeze dried cilantro, minced

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Toss together potatoes, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a 13 x 9” baking dish. Roast for 45 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Remove from the oven and cool slightly. Cut into 1 ½” chunks.

Mix together remaining ingredients. Add cut potatoes.

Serve warm.

May 13, 2011: Chicken Pot Pies Recipe

Are you wondering what to do with that leftover chicken in your fridge and you’re tired of chicken salad sandwiches? How about making quick and easy individual chicken pot pies for dinner?

The other day at my women’s Bible study meeting, our hostess, Phyllis, was giving away several old cooking magazine she no longer wanted. Being the foodie that I am, I jumped at the chance to take them home. As I was thumbing through a Southern cooking issue from last Thanksgiving, I found several recipes for pot pies. Although I usually think of this dish as a comfort food for cooler weather, I had some leftover chicken and it sounded good right now (besides, it’s been staying rather cool here and doesn’t feel at all like spring).

I took a conglomeration of those pot pie recipes and turned them into this one, simple dish that was perfect for using up all the leftovers in my fridge. Don’t feel compelled to use the same vegetables I did; nearly anything you’ve got on hand will work nicely.

Individual Chicken Pot Pies

4 T. butter
1 cup chopped onion
1 can cream of chicken soup
2/3 cup half and half
¼ cup chicken stock (if necessary to thin sauce)
1 cup frozen peas and carrots
1 cup cooked cauliflower florets
2 red potatoes, cooked, peeled, and chopped
2 cups chicken, shredded
1 sheet puff pastry

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 4 individual baking dishes, including the rims. Take the puff pastry sheet from the freezer and thaw at room temperature while preparing the pot pie filling.

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the chopped onion and cook for a couple minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add the soup, half and half, and chicken stock and heat through. Add remaining ingredients, up until puff pastry, and stir until combined. Divide mixture between the four prepared dishes.

The dough on these was a little too thick - next time I will roll it out thinner so it completely covers the top of the bowls.

Place the puff pastry sheets onto a floured surface and cut into fourths. Lightly roll out the sheets so they fit your baking dishes (the thinner the better it will cook) and place over the top of the chicken filling in each dish. Press down lightly so it covers the filling. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the filling is bubbly and the crust is cooked through.

April 22, 2011: Potato Salad Recipe

It seems everyone has their own recipe for making potato salad and they’re all pretty different. My recipe is a combination of my mother’s and my mother-in-law’s. It’s very similar to my macaroni salad recipe so if you like that one, you’re sure to like this!

Potato Salad

4 rather large red potatoes
1 cup mayonnaise
2 T lemon juice
1 1/2 t. sugar
1 t. prepared yellow mustard
1 t. dried dill weed (or twice as much fresh dill)
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup sliced, pimiento-stuffed green olives
¼ cup minced white or yellow onion
2 eggs, hard boiled, peeled and coarsely chopped

Boil the potatoes with skins on for about 20 minutes, or until tender. Cool slightly and peel. Let cool completely (you can place them in the refrigerator to speed the cooling process) before chopping into large chunks.

Meanwhile, combine the rest of the ingredients (up to the eggs) in a large mixing bowl. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary (some people like the sauce a bit sweeter, some like it more tart). Fold in the potato chunks and chopped eggs. Refrigerate and serve cold.

Of course, potato salad is always a great dish for picnics and if your Easter celebration is going to be outside, this is a good side dish. And if you wait to prepare until after the Easter egg hunt, you’ve already got the hard boiled eggs ready!

April 10, 2011: Honey Mustard Chicken and Potatoes Recipe

I really love the combination of spicy mustard with thick, sweet honey. It’s my favorite kind of salad dressing, chicken strip dipping sauce – and it makes a great sauce for baking chicken, too.

This recipe is an easy one to prepare on a weeknight. It takes just a few minutes to put it together, then you can pop it in the oven and let it bake for an hour while you do something else. Serve this meal with a salad or a simple vegetable and you’ve got a complete homemade dinner in no time.

Honey Mustard Chicken and Roasted Potatoes

4 skinless chicken thighs (or 1 large breast and 2 thighs)
Salt and pepper
4 T. Dijon mustard
2 T. honey
2 T. olive oil, divided
1 lb. red potatoes, quartered (cut into pieces about 1” wide)
Garlic salt
Dried parsley

In a 13 x 9” baking pan, add one tablespoon of the olive oil. Place the cut up potatoes in the pan, sprinkle with garlic salt, parsley, and a few turns of freshly ground black pepper. Mix together and push potatoes to both sides of the pan.

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Combine the mustard, honey, and olive oil. Place the chicken pieces in the center of the pan, between the potatoes. Spread the honey mustard mixture over the top.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for about one hour, or until potatoes are tender and chicken is cooked through. Spoon sauce from the pan over the chicken and vegetables before serving. Serves 2 - 4 (depending on the size of the chicken pieces).

Note: You can also use boneless, skinless chicken pieces for this recipe; just reduce the baking time about 10 minutes. Do not use skin-on chicken because it makes the dish way too greasy.