Cheesy Tater Tots Recipe

Oh no, I didn’t! LOL, yes I did   Snack time on a Friday night!  In addition to french fries and mozzarella, tater tots are another one of my guilty pleasures. But do you know how hard it is to find a decent plate of tots? Cheesy tater tots are the food single-handedly responsible for the Freshman 15 I put on in college because the dining hall sold them all the time. Now that I know how to make them on my own, I’m in serious trouble.

Ingredients

* 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled , chopped
* 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
* 2 green onions, chopped
* 1 teaspoon seasoning salt
* 1 egg, beaten
* 1/3 cup flour
* oil for frying

Directions

1. Preheat 1 inch of oil in a pot.

2. Place chopped potatoes in a food processor and pulse about 8-10 times or until potatoes are roughly chopped but not mush. Do not over process, you don’t want mashed potatoes.

3. Transfer processed potatoes to a bowl. Add in cheddar cheese, green onions, seasoning salt, egg and flour. The mixture will be thick. Place some of the mixture on a spoon, if you can gently push it off with you finger and it falls in one piece it is ready to go. Add more flour if needed.

4. Once oil reaches 375 degrees. Carefully spoon rounded teaspoonfuls of mixture into oil. Fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes.

5. Sprinkle with more seasoning salt. Serve hot with creamy ranch dip.

Serves 2-4

Notes:

* I had had a couple of disasters making homemade tater tots before. I had originally tried using parboiled potatoes thinking that if I started with raw potatoes I would have raw potatoes inside the tater tot. Well, the result of that first round was a glop of fried potato in the bottom of the frying pan. Not so good. This time around, I decided to start with raw potatoes and it seemed to work perfectly. The potatoes were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

* Another thing I learned while making these is to not make them a head. The first time that I made them, I prepared the mixture about an hour before dinner, put them in the refrigerator and thought nothing of it. When I went to begin frying, the potatoes had released a lot of water and my mixture was total mush. To avoid this prepare the mixture just before you are about to fry them.

Southern Pecan Sticky Buns

These are REALLY good! I love tugging pieces off the roll. So feathery and airy. If you’re going to go through all the trouble to make these, it’s probably best to make the whole recipe. You can freeze or give away the extras to friends and family and they’ll love you for it!

Ingredients

Sticky Buns with Pecans, recipe for a 9 x 13 pan

Dough

3 eggs, room temp
3/4 C buttermilk, room temp
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
Package of instant yeast, 2 ¼ tsp
4 to 4 ¼ C AP flour
6 Tbsp melted butter

Caramel Glaze

5 Tbsp butter
1/2 C brown sugar
3 Tbsp honey
1.5 Tbsp milk
Pinch salt

Cinnamon Sugar Filling

1/2 C brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
Pinch salt
1 Tbsp butter, melted

Pecan Topping

3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp brown sugar
3 Tbsp honey
1 pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 C pecans, toasted and chopped

Directions

1. Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, sugar, salt, and yeast.

2. Add half of the flour and melted butter and stir into a loose batter. Using the dough hook of a stand mixer, add all but 1/4 C of the flour, and knead on low speed for 5 minutes then check the status of the dough. Dough should be moist but not sticky. The dough should be sticking to the bottom of the bowl (the little round divot at the bottom of the bowl) but should not stick to the sides. If it sticks to the sides of the bowl, add more flour. Knead for another 5 minutes. Then turn the dough out to a lightly floured board and knead another minute by hand and bring the dough into a ball. Dough should be smooth and a tiny bit tacky. If you do not have a stand mixer, you can knead by hand but knead twice as long, for 20 minutes.

3. Transfer the dough to a bowl lightly sprayed with nonstick spray. Then spray the top of the dough so it doesn’t dry out. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and put in a warm, draft-free place until doubled, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. I use my huge 2 quart pyrex measuring cup to measure dough rise. The markings on the side are perfect for telling me when my dough has doubled.

4. For the glaze, combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan and whisk together over medium low heat until the butter has melted. Pour into your baking pan and spread the mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan and set aside.

5. Combine all the ingredients for the cinnamon sugar filling and set aside.

6. When the dough has doubled, gently turn it out to a lightly floured surface. Roll it out to a rectangle. If using a 9 x 13 pan, roll out into a 16 x 12 rectangle. If using a 9 x 9 pan, roll out into a 12 x 12 rectangle. Melt a tablespoon of butter and brush the dough, leaving a 1/2 in border on the top edge. Using the remaining butter to butter the sides of the baking pan.

7. Spread the cinnamon sugar evenly over the dough, leaving a 1/2 in border along the top edge. Smooth and gently press the filling on the dough. With the edge closest to you, start rolling the dough into a cylinder; keep the roll very taut and tight. Pinch the seam shut. The log may be thick in the middle and taper out to the sides. Press the ends in and gently roll and stretch out the log until you have a log of uniform thickness, 18 inches if using a 9 x 13 pan or 13 inches if using a 9 x 9 pan. Using a serrated knife, gently saw through the log to cut even rolls, 12 for 9 x 13 or 9 for 9 x 9.

8. Place each bun, cut/pretty-side down on the filling in the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let the rolls rise until they are puffy and pressed against each other, about 1 1/2 hours. At this point you can put them in the fridge overnight and bake them the next morning (overnight instructions are at the end).

Note: The original recipe specified to bake these on a pizza stone, but since I was using a Pyrex pan I was a bit wary of putting Pyrex on a hot stone so I didn’t use one. If using a pizza stone, adjust your oven rack to the lowest position and preheat the oven to 350°F while the dough rises. The pizza stone takes a while to warm up. If not using a stone, adjust your oven rack to second lowest position and preheat the oven to 350°F but you don’t need to preheat as early.

9. Bake the buns for about 25 to 30 minutes, the tops should be golden brown and the center should read 180°F. If you’re using a glass pan, you can sneak a peek at the bottoms to make sure they’re done before you take them out of the oven.

10. Cool the tray on a wire rack for 10 minutes. While the buns cool, you can toast your pecans in the oven if you haven’t toasted them earlier. Then invert the pan onto a platter or cutting board. Scrape any goo in the pan onto the buns.

11. Prepare the topping as the buns cool. Heat butter, brown sugar, honey, and salt in a small sauce pan over medium heat whisking occasionally until bubbly. Then off heat, stir in vanilla and toasted chopped pecans. Spoon a dollop over each bun and serve.

Enjoy!

Hasselback Potatoes Recipe

Here’s a cool and unique way to serve potatoes next time you make your favorite roast or want to impress your in-laws. These potatoes are most wonderful potatoes I’ve ever had This Swedish dish takes its name from Hasselbacken, the Stockholm restaurant where it was first served. The seasoned potatoes turn out crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.

Ingredients

6 Medium Size Potatoes
2 – 3 Cloves Garlic, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
30 g Butter
Maldon Sea Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 220?C (425?F). Put the potato on a chopping board, flat side down. Start from one end of the potato, cut almost all the way through, at about 3 to 4 mm intervals.

Arrange the potatoes in a baking tray and insert the garlic in between the slits. Scatter some butter on top of each potato. Then drizzle the olive oil and sprinkle some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Bake the potatoes for about 40 minutes or until the potatoes turn crispy and the flesh is soft.

Enjoy!

Recipe created by Nigella Lawson
adapted by Angie at http://www.seasaltwithfood.com/

My Recipe Blog

http://www.grouprecipes.com/people/lillyann

Inspiration Cafe

Restaurant-style meals for the homeless served with dignity and respect. One of my favorite places to volunteer in Chicago! Located in Uptown on Chicago’s north side, Inspiration Cafe provides restaurant-style meals, case management, support groups, life-skills training, financial assistance and other services to homeless men and women in a therapeutic community that promotes dignity and respect.

Guests of the Cafe have access to the full range of Inspiration Corporation’s programs, including employment training and career services, voice mail, and subsidized housing. Inspiration Cafe’s goal is to help men and women overcome the causes of their homelessness and find stability by securing income and affordable housing.

Inspiration Cafe was founded in 1989 by Lisa Nigro, a Chicago police officer who began searching for a personal response to the homelessness she encountered in Uptown. She began by loading up a red wagon with sandwiches and coffee to distribute to homeless individuals on the streets.

http://inspirationcorp.org/

Southern Georgia Peach Cobbler

Since my neighbor brought us over so many peaches today, I figured I needed to make a dessert with them! Tasty cobbler southern style. Crispy butter-fried dough puffs up and bakes all around the juicy-sweet peach slices. Again, the hint of cinnamon (barely a whiff) really brings out the depth of that golden peach flavor. THIS Mama isn’t kidding when she says “fresh” peach cobbler!

Ingredients

2 T cornstarch
1 1/2 cups raw sugar
6 peaches, cut into 1/2″ slices
3 cups flour
1 T baking powder
1 tsp salt
6 rounded T raw sugar
1 cup light vegan margarine or butter
9 oz vanilla soymilk (or whole milk)
2 T raw sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Coat a 13X9″ GLASS baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Whisk the cornstarch (cinnamon and nutmeg if desired) into the 1 1/2 cups sugar, then fold in the peaches.

3. Pour the peaches into the baking dish, and bake for 15 minutes – just until bubbling.

4.Meanwhile, toss together the flour, baking powder, salt, and 6 rounded T sugar.

5.Cut the vegan marg or butter into the flour mixture, using your hands or the food processor, until the flour resembles course meal.

6. Add the milk to the flour mixture, and stir just until a soft dough forms.

7.Scoop the dough in 1/3 cup piles onto the hot fruit mixture. Sprinkle the dough with the remaining 2 T sugar.

6. Bake until golden brown – approx. 25 to 35 minutes. Serve warm, with vanilla ice cream or vegan ice cream!

Enjoy!

My Recipe Blog
http://www.grouprecipes.com/people/lillyann

Slow Cooker Chicken And Dumplings

Chicken and dumplings – the ultimate comfort food. This recipe is incredibly easy, and it delivers a hearty meal perfect for a Sunday afternoon.

Ingredients

* 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 2 (10.75 oz.) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
* 1 diced onion
* 1 or 2 potatoes, cubed
* 2 or 3 carrots, cut up
* 1 (16 oz.) package refrigerated biscuit dough, torn into pieces

Directions

1. Place the chicken, butter, soup, onion, potatoes, and carrots in a slow cooker and fill with enough water to cover. (I have also started to use chicken broth instead of water here.)

2. Cover and cook on high for 5 to 6 hours.

3. About 45 minutes before serving, place the torn biscuit dough in the slow cooker. Cook until the dough is no longer raw in the center.

You can view this recipe HERE or browse my entire recipe blog

Tres Leches Coconut Macaroons

Chef Keem’s Chocolate-dipped Tres Leches Coconut Macaroons. These rich macaroons are great without chocolate, too. But why bother, right? Given the choice – wouldn’t you vote for chocolate-dipped macaroons?