Ranch Roasted Red Potatoes

So good, and so easy! Thanks to Sylvia for this yummy one!

1 pkg. ranch dressing powder
2 lbs. red potatoes, washed and quartered
1/4 c. olive or vegetable oil.

Toss quartered potatoes and oil in a ziploc bag to coat. Add dressing powder and toss to coat. Place in ungreased baking dish in single layer.

Bake at 450 for 45 minutes, or until golden brown.

Sprite Potatoes by Guest Chef Kariann

These potatoes are awesome as a side dish...or they're good enough to eat alone!

1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 lb. bacon, chopped
Cook in big pot/skillet until onion is translucent and bacon is starting to crisp.
Then add:(I usually use my food processor to slice the potatoes and carrots)
5-6 potatoes, peeled and sliced thin (more or less depending on how much you want)
9-10 baby carrots sliced thin
Stir and season to taste with the following:
seasoned salt
onion salt
garlic salt
salt
pepper
Add:
1-2 cans sprite, enough to just cover the potatoes.
Cover and bring to a boil, simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until potatoes and carrots are tender and most of the liquid has reduced.
Cover generously with grated colby jack cheese or cheddar cheese and let melt (about 3-5 more minutes).
Sometimes we add a little more sprite to keep them from drying out before the potatoes and carrots are all the way done. We also leave a little liquid in the bottom when we put the cheese on so it's not to dry) YUMMY!!

Maple Glazed Baby Carrots by Guest Chef Jamie

2 lb. baby carrots
1/4 C. Kraft Light Done Right! Catalina Reduced Fat dressing
1/4 C. maple-flavored or pancake syrup
1 T. butter
1/2 C. Planters Pecan Pieces, toasted

Cook carrots in saucepan, in enough boiling water to cover, 12-14 minutes or until tender. Drain; set aside.

Mix dressing and syrup in saucepan; cook on medium heat until mixture is bubbly, stirring occasionally. Add coarrots; cook until glaze is thickened to desired consistency, stirring frequently. Add butter, stir until melted. Stir int he pecans.

Potato Vegetable Au Gratin from Cooking Light by Guest Chef Krista

This is a great spin on regular mashed potatoes. I also like that if you are counting calories you can keep it light, or you can add more cheese if you don’t care!

5 cups cubed red potatoes (1 ½ pounds)
2 cups broccoli florets
2 cups sliced carrots
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup skim milk
3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar, divided
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Boil potatoes for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and partially mash. Steam broccoli, carrots, and onions for 10 minutes. Combine potatoes and steamed vegetables, milk, ½ cup cheese, salt and pepper. Top with ¼ cup cheese. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. (I probably use twice as much cheese – because you can never have too much cheese!)

Navratan Korma - the easy way

We are big fans of Indian food at our house. This one was no exception. There is nothing quite like a tasty korma!

1 TBS. vegetable oil
1/3 c. cashews
1 medium onion, grated
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. ginger paste
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cans mixed vegetables, drained and patted dry
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
2 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. garam masala
1 c. water
1/4 c. golden raisins and 1/4 c. shredded coconut
1 c. premade frozen paneer cubes (optional)
1/2 c. heavy cream (or milk, for less fat and runnier consistency)
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Place cashews in skillet, cook and stir until golden brown, set aside. Stir onion into skillet, cook until tender and clear. Mix in garlic and ginger paste, cook 1 minute. Stir in tomato sauce and all of spices. Pour in water, raisins, coconut, and canned tomatoes and mixed vegetables. Bring to a boil. Add paneer cubes. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes until paneer is heated through. Stir in cream, bring to a boil. Continue cooking for 4-5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with naan and basmati rice.

The Cure to Sweet Potato-itis

I usually hate sweet potatoes, but my awesome cook sister-in-law, Bryndy, has an awesome solution to sweetpotatoitis.

1 large sweet potato - cut into thin strips
Place strips in bowl, add 1/8 c. olive oil.
Add:
1/2 tsp. season salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
sprinkle or two of all purpose, salt free seasoning
Mix well. Place strips on large greased cookie sheet.
Chop 1/4 of an onion into long strips and place on top of sweet potatoes.

Bake at 475F for 30-40 minutes, or until crispy. Turn once or twice during baking.

Those One Potatoes

Oh my gosh. Greasy goodness!

8-9 baking potatoes - thinly sliced (about 1/4 in. or so)
1/2 c. melted butter
1/2 c. oil
salt/pepper to taste - use generously. Maybe a tsp. or so of each?
1-2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese.

Preheat oven to 400. Arrange thinly sliced potatoes in 9x13 pan. In bowl, mix butter, oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and parmesan cheese. Pour generously and evenly over potatoes. Bake for 45 minutes, or until potatoes are tender, and parmesan is browned on potatoes. DELICIOUS!

Oven Roasted Golden Potatoes

4-5 medium sized golden potatoes
4 cloves garlic
1 1/2 tsp. season salt
2-3 TBS. olive oil
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. black pepper
1 bell pepper finely diced (optional)

Preheat oven to 475. Cut potatoes into 1 1/2 inch cubes. Toss with remaining ingredients. Spread out on cookie dish with sides. Bakes for 30-35 minutes, making sure to toss the potatoes occasionally.

Baked Mashed Potatoes with Parmesan & Bread Crumbs

1 tbsp butter
4 pounds russet potatoes (about 10 medium), peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup whole milk
1.5 cups grated mozzarella
1 cup freshly grated parmesan
salt and pepper
2 tbsps plain dry bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 400, coat a 13x9x2 inch baking dish with 1 tbsp butter and set asideCook potatoes in large pot of salted water until they are very tender, about 15 min. Drain, return potatoes to same pot and mash well. Mix in milk and melted butter. Mix in the mozzarella and 3/4 cup of parmesan and season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer potatoes to prepared baking dish. Stir the bread crumbs and remaining 1/4 cup of parmesan in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the potatoes and bake, uncovered until the topping is golden brown, about 20 minutes!

Spinach & Corn Salad

1/4 cup lime juice (fresh)
1 Tbsp. honey
1 jalapeno chile pepper, seeded and finely chopped
3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 tsp. salt
3 cups frozen whole kernel corn thawed, or 6 ears of fresh corn
1 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
3/4 cup seeded, chopped cucumber

In a large bowl whish together lime juice and honey until well combined. Stir in jalapeno pepper, cilantro, and salt. Add corn or carefully cut corn kernels off cobs. Add to lime juice mixture. Stir in spinach, tomato, and cucumber. Serve immediately.
Makes 9 - 2/3 cup servings.

Review - I made this for a BBQ, it is a refreshing side salad, that has quite the kick to it! I used picked jalapeno peppers, since I didn't have a fresh one, and I think I would use less next time. Let the frozen corn sit out for a couple minutes so it's not crunchy. A nice summer salad.

Corn Casserole

2 lbs whole frozen corn
1 pint whipping cream
1 tsp salt
1 TBLS sugar
1 tsp Accent (can make w/o, just enhances flavor)
3 TBLS butter
3 TBLS flour
¼ c. Parmesan Cheese (fresh & shredded)
Separate 2 TBLS Parmesan Cheese (fresh & shredded)

Boil cream and corn – simmer 5 minutes.

Add salt, sugar, accent.

In separate pan, melt butter, add flour. Mix well.

Add flour mixture to corn. Stir well. Add ¼ c. parmesan cheese. Mix well.

Simmer 2 minutes. Pour into casserole dish.

Sprinkle with parmesan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.