Sweet Potato Chips

The potatoes, sliced and ready to bake
The end result before I ate them up. All of them. :)

Yes, this is the recipe. The recipe I was attempting a couple of weeks ago when I sliced my thumb on the mandolin I was trying for the first time.

And while I was upset I was hurt, I was even more upset that I had to throw out the sweet potato slices I had cut.

I wanted these chips.

I REALLY wanted them.

They just appealed to all of my senses.

The funny thing is I didn't give sweet potatoes the time of day until the past few years.

And even now, I love sweet potato fries or chips. But I don't want anything sweet with them. I want them salty.

So this recipe (found on Pinterest) was PERFECT for me.

But first I had to buy myself a little safety net.
I started with just one sweet potato to make sure I liked them.

I did.

I now have about three more to cut and cook this week.

EASY recipe and yummy. Well, if you like salty sweet potatoes. :)

Ingredients:
Sweet potatoes, thinly sliced (I used my mandolin)
salt
peppercorn (freshly ground)
olive oil (I just used an oil mister)

Directions:
Slice the sweet potatoes

Spread out on a cookie sheet. I think the original recipe suggested a silicone baking mat. I didn't have that. AND I was out of parchment paper which would have been my next choice. So I used aluminum foil.

Spritz with olive oil.

Season liberally with sea salt (freshly ground) and peppercorn (freshly ground).

Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

Take out and flip. Spritz and season the other side of the chips.

Then bake for another 13 minutes.

Turn off the oven and leave to crisp up.

I didn't follow the time exactly...I got nervous that they would burn. So I turned the oven off a few minutes early.

Mine didn't completely crisp up.

But that didn't stop me from eating all of them.

Yum.

Oh, a friend suggested sprinkling with Parmesan cheese...I imagine that would be pretty tasty too!

Reba

Filet Mignon, Restaurant Style

If you are a vegetarian, you may want to skip this post.

It is about meat.

Delicious meat.

Melt in your mouth meat.

Tender and seasoned meat.

I saw a recipe on Pinterest not long ago for a restaurant style Filet Mignon.

My mouth was watering just looking at the picture.

But as much as we love steak, it isn't something we eat very often. Kinda costly you know.

But this week was Child 2's week to choose a meal.

And guess what she wanted?

Steak!

So this seemed like a perfect opportunity to try this recipe out.

I even went out and bought my first ever iron cast skillet! Just for this recipe. (I think I will use it for others too...)

I won't type up the recipe because I would feel like a copycat. I mean, I followed the recipe on the website below VERY closely. The only differences? We cooked five filets AND I probably cooked ours a couple minutes too long. Next time I will follow the time guidelines on this site.

I will just say it was amazing.

And we will eat this again.

Except next time we will do it for a date night so we only have to buy two. :)

Here is the recipe.

Oh, we had this with potatoes in white sauce, black eye peas, and cheese stuffed breadsticks.

Did I say how much I loved this meal?

Oh, and the best part...quick.

Quick and yummy.

What could be better than that?

Reba

The Week's Menu

Here is our menu for the week. It is kind of a strange week. Lots of kids' activities and almost spring break, so I didn't have as much to plan. I am happy to report I have already been to the store and everything. So we are ready for the week...though I somehow forgot a loaf of bread and my husband's favorite Peace Tea. (Grocery IQ didn't fail me, I did. :)

Sunday: Steak (new recipe!), Potatoes in White Sauce (not my first choice with steaks but oldest daughter is helping with this meal :), Black Eye Peas, and Cheese Stuffed Breadsticks
Monday: Ham and Cheese Sandwiches, POSSIBLY sweet potato chips if I get them made...wearing my new cut resistant glove that is. :)
Tuesday: On Your Own
Wednesday: Crock Pot Ranch Pork Chops, Parmesan Mashed Potatoes, bread, salad
Thursday: Chick Fil A Night to support our school
Friday: Parmesan Encrusted Swai fish, wild rice (Yes, we just had it but this is actually JUST for me this time :)
Saturday: Undecided

So...what is for dinner at your house this week?

Reba

Lasagna Rolls

It seems like lately I have "seen" lasagna rolls mentioned everywhere. In a book. On a friend's blog. On Pinterest.

I LOVE lasagna, but I just don't make it often. It isn't usually as loved by my family as me. It can be a lot of work. And we usually prefer mostaccioli which is easier and just as tasty.

But when I kept seeing these recipes, I was intrigued. And hungry.

So I decided to make some, using a combination of recipes.

And they were good. I wanted several. But I only ate one (stupid calories).

They were fairly well received by the family. The boys ate them right up, the girls weren't as enthusiastic.

It really wasn't any less work than making lasagna itself.

What I did like though was that I could "customize" them.

Since I am watching calories, I put two in a separate dish (picture two) and just topped with a little spaghetti sauce. For the rest of the family, I baked them in a bigger dish with beef and spaghetti sauce. (picture one)

And I like the idea of making them ahead of time, like on Pillsbury's site. That way on days I need a quick lunch or dinner for me, I could just take them out of the freezer/fridge, pop them in the microwave, and enjoy.

Anyway, here is my version:
Ingredients
8 lasagna noodles
1 12 oz. container ricotta cheese (I am sure the cottage cheese Pillsbury uses is lower fat but I did use the light ricotta...I just like ricotta)
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan (using my little rotary grater, love that thing)
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/4 cup parsley (I am sure fresh is good but I only had dried)
1/2 tsp dried basil leaves
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 pound (or less) ground beef, browned

Directions
Cook lasagna noodles according to directions. Drain and let cool slightly.

Mix together cheeses, egg, parsley, and basil.

Spoon mixture down the center of lasagna noodles. Start at end and "roll" the lasagna noodle.

Place in a greased baking dish.

Mix together spaghetti sauce and ground beef.

Pour over lasagna rolls.

Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.

The one thing I didn't do that I would do differently is cover the dish with aluminum foil to help the noodles not covered by sauce not dry out.

The last few minutes, I topped with a little added Mozzarella cheese.

I served them with the rosemary rolls I mentioned in the last post.

Pretty tasty!
(According to Pillsbury's site, you can make them ahead, sans sauce, and refrigerate or freeze them. When ready to eat, place roll seam side down in a bowl and cover with wax paper. Heat in the microwave on high 1-2 minutes, then spoon about 1/4 cup sauce over roll and cook for about 30 more seconds. If frozen, cook on low for 1-2 minutes to thaw then follow the same procedure)

Happy cooking!
Reba

Rosemary Rolls

Not long ago I was browsing on Pinterest (surprise, surprise...not really) and stumbled upon a recipe for Buttered Rosemary Rolls on the Pioneer Woman's blog.

I thought, "I need to try those."

Well today I starting thinking about what kind of bread to have at dinner. I was making Lasagna Rolls (recipe soon) which just screams "garlic bread" to me. Unfortunately, I had no garlic bread waiting for me in the freezer.

But I did have some frozen Rhodes roll dough (white dinner rolls).

So when I was at home for lunch, I pulled about 7 out and placed them on a dish (actually a skillet) sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

By the time we got home, the rolls had thawed and risen. They looked beautiful.

Except at that point I realized that I wasn't sure the skillet (I don't have an iron skilled) could go into the oven. I do have some that will but wasn't so sure on this one.

So I ended up transferring them to a round pie dish. In the process, they lost some of their "fluff". :(

Live and learn.

Anyway, I used Pioneer Woman's recipe as a guideline but I was determined to have a little taste of garlic...

Ingredients:
Rhodes White Dinner Rolls (thawed and "risen")...I used 7.

4 tbsp melted butter (I used Blue Bonnet Light Margarine due to calories sake)

Garlic powder or salt

Sea Salt

Rosemary (fresh, chopped)

Directions:
Brush the rolls with melted butter.

Sprinkle liberally with garlic powder/salt and rosemary.

Brush one more time with butter.

Sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes (or at least that works for the Rhodes rolls).

Enjoy.

I really wasn't sure what Rosemary tasted like but now I know.

And I have to say, I LIKE it!

Reba

Panko Encrusted Swai

The other day, a parent of a former student posted about her new food blog. The first blog post focused on a fish named Swai.

Ironically, I had seen this fish in a display at our grocery store earlier that week. I had wondered about it but didn't buy it without knowing anything.

After reading my friend's blog post, I decided to grab some the nest time I was at the store.

Today I needed a quick meal due to some other commitments. The fish seemed like a good fit for our dinner.

So early this morning, I took six fillets out of their packages and put them in a pan of cold water on the counter. (This can be done and put in the fridge 24 hours ahead of time also)

Then I started googling.

I didn't have the sauce my friend Karen had mentioned using.

So I checked out other possibilities.

Then I combined those sources to make my own...

By the way, Swai (rhymes with Why?) is a catfish from Vietnam though it doesn't really look like our usual catfish. It is very reasonably priced, is low cal (200 calories with the ingredients I used), and is one of the "least fishy" types of fish I have ever eaten.

I couldn't WAIT to eat some more tomorrow for lunch. Yum, leftovers.

What I didn't count on was the fact that both my boys would race to eat every last morsel.

And they did.

Sigh.

I guess I should just be happy they liked it.

I sure did!

I will make this again.

Panko Encrusted Swai

Ingedients:
6-8 Swai fillets thawed (I put it out this morning in a dish of cold water)
olive oil
1/2 cup Panko crumbs (I just use plain)
Italian Seasoning
Parmesan (shredded...I HIGHLY recommend freshly shredded)
sea salt and freshly ground peppercorns

Directions:
Line a cookie sheet with Parchment Paper.

Brush both sides of each fillet with olive oil.

Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. I did a good job with this. I was SOOO thirsty by the end of the evening. I also added Italian seasoning. Just a few good sprinkles here and there.

Shred Parmesan and sprinkle over one side of chicken.

Spread Panko crumbs over the top.

I also "misted" them with olive oil to help the fish brown.

Bake at 425 degrees for 10-20 minutes.

Like I said, they were a huge hit.

I will be making them again.

Next time, hubby wants to sear them first for a little crispness, then bake them.

Enjoy!

Reba
PS About 200 calories a serving. :)

Weekly Menu, Minus a Thumb

I could not WAIT to share a recipe (had I liked it) for sweet potato chips. Except when I tried to make it this past week, I had a tussle with the mandolin while making the chips, and I lost. Really. I have a nicely bandaged thumb. I have done little cooking since (more due to our schedule than anything). I had one night of self-pity (mainly due to the throbbing pain), but now I am adjusting. Like using my left thumb to type on the space bar...

Anyway, I am thinking ahead. Here is my menu (proposed) for the week:

Saturday- Panko Encrusted Swai, wild rice, carrots and Ranch, and Rosemary rolls
Sunday- Baked Potato Soup, French bread
Monday- On Your Own night (school performance)
Tuesday- Lasagna Roll Ups (new recipe I keep trying to make and get interrupted), garlic bread, possibly a salad
Wednesday- On Your Own night
Thursday-Chuck Roast BarBQ sandwiches, sweet potato fries or chips...if I attempt them again :)
Friday-Bubble Up Enchiladas
Saturday-Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken, Fried Rice

We are also having a dessert, courtesy of Child 1. Not sure what yet...

What are you having this week?

And my new motto for the kitchen: Be safe in there. (Protect your hands...)

Reba