Hasselback Potatoes

I saw pictures of these floating around Pinterest and have had it in my head to make them for a while now.  How pretty are they?!  They'd be perfect for a fancier Thanksgiving potato presentation, or a dinner party, or in my case today- as an incredibly, INCREDIBLY lazy Sunday lunch.  They're easy to make and pretty to look at.  Perfect!

Take some russet potatoes, scrub them well.  Using a sharp, thin knife, cut them almost all the way through (I left probably 1/3 inch at the bottom), making thin slices.  Then take a few tablespoons of butter with your fingers and slather them all over the potato.  Put them on a cookie sheet (I put some parchment paper down), then drizzle the tops with olive oil (to get down in the cracks).  Then sprinkle some salt, pepper and an all-purpose garlic salt-type seasoning on top, being very liberal (potatoes need lots of seasoning!).  Put it in a preheated 400 degree oven for about an hour or so, until it fans out a bit and the outside is crispy.  I used a thin steak knife to poke it in a few places to make sure they were soft inside before I took them out.  Sprinkle with some finely grated parmesan cheese, and viola!  Hasselback potatoes.  (They're called that because they were first served at the Hotel Hasselback in Stockholm, Sweden).

Enjoy!

Summer Peach Greek Yogurt Breakfast

I'm well aware this isn't a novel idea in any way, but it's absolutely delicious and tastes like dessert for breakfast to me.  The key is to use the right Greek yogurt.  If you're trying to get into the habit of eating it, but don't like a lot of brands, try Voskos.  My favorite is the Honey Vanilla Bean flavor.  It's thick and creamy and could practically be used as frosting if you ask me (I do use it in place of whipped cream all the time)!  If you don't like Voskos, you're just not going to like Greek yogurt (and this is really just me saying I love the brand- I'm not saying it for any gain).  I put some in a bowl and diced up one of my late summer peaches on top, then sprinkled some Nature's Path Organic Pumpkin and Flax granola on top.  Again, I know yogurt, fruit and granola is a simple and "non-imaginative" breakfast, but sometimes those simple, common meals can be transformed by trying a different brand as your main ingredient, or maybe I just reminded you of a great way to use up the last of your summer peaches...  Either way, this simple breakfast made me happy, so I thought I'd share it with you.

Enjoy!

"Potsticker" Stuffed Mushrooms

Well hello again.  I just looked at my last blog entry date, and was shocked.  I knew it'd been "quite a while," but I had no idea!  I'm embarrassed... and I've missed this so much!  A lot has changed since my last entry... I got pregnant with Sous Chef Violet's little brother, had ridiculous morning sickness that rendered my appetite dependent on fruit and fried foods, had a gorgeous baby boy, chased around 2 kids under 3.... and well, I guess that last one covers most of what has happened in the last year!

I've had a hard time keeping up with this blog because it does take quite a bit of planning to photograph each step of a meal with tiny bosses... err I mean kids... crawling up your legs every 8 minutes.  Then you have to organize and possibly edit photos, then post an elaborate story about each meal, with directions of how to cook what you've just thrown together (and come up with measurements that you didn't actually "measure" during cooking!).  Don't get me wrong, those are things that I love about doing this blog.  The actual "writing" part of the blog has been my therapy and artistic release in many cases.  It just takes a long time, and that's not been very convenient this last year and a half!  So, to make a long story short, I'm going to change it up just a bit.  I'm going to put less pressure on myself.  If I feel like sharing a meal with you, I'll take pictures of it- on my Camera, or on my phone- depending on how my day's gone!  I'll either post step-by-step photos with great lighting and care for detail, OR I'll post a cool and quick Hipstamatic photo I've taken of my finished plate with a quick blurb about it's inspiration and ingredients, and a quick "how-to" without a formal Recipe.  I may even just write about food- something I've learned or an idea I've thought of- without posting a recipe at all!  Always always feel free to comment if you need any more in depth instructions or have any questions on anything!





That being said, here's what I had for lunch!  Going back to clean eating to get rid of the last couple baby pounds from my one-year-old-and-not-so-new-anymore-so-I-can't-blame-him Sous Chef Archer, I made Stuffed Portabello Mushrooms (the stuffing kind- not the huge kind, but not the baby kind) with 3 1/2 oz. ground turkey breast (BREAST, mind you- if it's not breast meat it's usually not any lower fat than ground beef), a handful of chopped spinach, 2 tbsp. each of diced red onion and red pepper, 1 tbsp. each of chopped chives, minced garlic, and diced celery.  Add a pinch of garlic salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, then mix it altogether with about 1 tbsp. plain non-fat greek yogurt.  Hollow out three mushrooms with a small spoon carefully, then first fill the very bottom of the mushroom and pack it down.  Then keep spooning small amounts in, and pack it down tight.  Top them, if you want, with about 1 tsp. (for all three 'shrooms) of the "parmesan" "cheese" in the can (it's only around 15 cals/tablespoon, and you won't need any more than a tsp!).  Bake in a 425 degree preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes, and serve with soy sauce.  I wasn't planning to need soy sauce, but it did lack some "umami" without any fat, and that was the kicker.  It went from good to fantastic with the soy sauce.  Trust me!  The flavors made me think of pork potstickers, but without the carbs and oil...  I loved them and will be making them again!

Welcome back!  I hope I've found a way to get back in the groove of this...