Homemade Potato Latkes

So, while lying in bed being a bum on this wonderful day 3 of my 3-day weekend (thanks, Dr. King!), I had the ridiculous craving for some eggs and potato latkes from Honey's, one of our go-to place for breakfast here in Philly.  Then, I thought, man, I need to wash my hair, finish the laundry, etc etc. and I just didn't feel like starting my day at that exact moment and time. So, you know what I did, right? I hopped on google and started looking for a recipe.  Actually, I looked on Pinterest first (feel free to follow me at KeshaB623 - I know, shameless plug, right?) So anyway, I found a couple of recipes to try.  This is the one I really wanted to try for Oven-Fried Potato Latkes, but I was already hungry and didn't feel like waiting for anything to bake in the oven. I'll probably try that method next time...

Y'all know me, I look for any kind of shortcut that I can find.  Instead of actually rinsing, peeling, and grating 3 large russet potatoes, I looked in the freezer, saw that I had some shredded hash browns, defrosted those puppies, and we were ready to rock and roll.  I didn't take pictures of the actual steps (again, did I mention how hungry I was???) so you'll have to make due with the after pictures.  I'll do better next time.
Hubby just informed me that latkes are a Jewish holiday dish, so hey, I made my first Jewish dish motivated by sheer laziness.  They came out good, so how they started doesn't really bother me all that much as long as they taste great.  Here's the recipe, let me know if you try it and what you think!

INGREDIENTS
Approx 1/2 bag of shredded hash browns - thawed
1 cup onions - chopped
2 large eggs - lightly beaten
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt (optional)
1 tsp black pepper (optional)
cooking oil (approx 1 cup)

DIRECTIONS
1.  If needed, defrost frozen hash browns in microwave until thawed.
2.  Add onions and eggs to hash browns, stir well to incorporate.
3.  Add flour, salt, and pepper.  Stir again.
4.  In large skillet, heat cooking oil until it is about 360 degrees.
5.  Measure out 1/4 cup of potato mixture and place carefully in skillet.  Flatten with back of spoon.
6.  Repeat until there are 4-5 patties in the pan being sure to not crowd the skillet.

7.  Fry the patties for about 4-5 minutes on each side until they are nicely browned.
8.  Remove from skillet and place on paper towels to drain.
9.  Serve and enjoy!

We like ours with sour cream and ketchup but a lot of people eat their potato latkes with apple sauce. 

Either way, enjoy!

 

Breakfast is served! Yumm...

Playing catch up and Fast & Easy Turkey Joes

I know, I know, I have been truly M.I.A. for the past couple of months. Don't think that the kitchen closed down or anything.  The hubby and I have been starting a new endeavor to raise money for our adoption.  We are now making and selling cake pops and cake ball truffles and no I'm not posting any recipes on here. Why give away my secrets so then y'all won't buy any and help us to bring our baby home?
;-)

Mmmm, now don't those look good? Too bad you guys don't have smell-o-vision because they smell & taste as good as they look! [LOL!] Seriously, though if you guys would like to take a look over at our new site, we've got a lot of goodies, homemade crafts, and jewelry for sale. We've come a long way since our beaded bracelet sale although we do still have those on there too.  The new site is available at www.BringingHomeBabyBurns.org.  Check us out and let me know if you'd like to order something.  You'd get some delicious treats to eat and we'd be a few steps closer to bringing our baby home.

Now, on to today's recipe...
I came home from work on Thursday with no clue what I wanted to eat for dinner. Thursdays are my late nights at work so I knew whatever it was it would have to be quick and easy and something involving ground turkey since that's what I had thawed in the refrigerator.  I went to Monique's blog DivasCanCook and found an easy recipe for Sloppy Joes. We had almost all the ingredients in the refrigerator, so that's what we made. Threw some sweet potato tater tots in the oven and dinner was served, quick and easy, just like I like it...

Now Monique's original recipe for her Fast & Easy Sloppy Joes can be found on the link, but you know I had to modify it. Why? Because that's what I do...  Hubby says that I have problems following directions, but I think I'm just creative and like to put my own spin on things. Besides, who knows better than I do what my taste buds like? Right??? LOL!
So here's the recipe, hope you like it. Let me know if you try it!

INGREDIENTS
1/2 pound ground beef - extra lean
1/2 pound ground turkey - extra lean
1/2 cup onions - chopped
1/2 cup bell peppers - chopped
1 clove garlic - minced
1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup your favorite BBQ sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tsp Liquid Smoke
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
8 oz. can tomato sauce

DIRECTIONS
1.  Spray large skillet with cooking spray. Brown ground meat and drain, set aside.
2.  Saute onions & bell peppers in skillet until tender.
3.  Add garlic and saute, stirring frequently until fragrant (approximately 1 minute).
4.  Add meat back to skillet and stir well.
5.  Add all remaining ingredients and stir well to incorporate.
6.  Reduce heat and let simmer for 3-5 more minutes.
7.  Enjoy!

Pineapple Iced Tea Punch

This recipe is so ridiculously easy. You will be amazed at how easy it was to put together and how great it tastes.  Let me know if you try it, I promise you will love this amazing punch.



INGREDIENTS
46 oz. unsweetened pineapple juice
1 cup sugar
3-4 bags of black tea
3 quarts of water
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice


DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare the tea and water. (I just threw it in my tea maker and let it work but feel free to boil the tea in the water to your desired tea strength.)
2. Add in cup of sugar and stir until dissolved.
3. Pour pineapple juice in pitcher and add lemon juice. Stir until well blended.
4. Refrigerate overnight so flavors can blend together and enjoy!

Thanksgiving Dinner Party

I'm so happy right now. My first dinner party was a great success.  Hubby finished cleaning the house and getting everything in order for our guests while I finished cooking the food.  This year I wanted to have a dinner party to celebrate Thanksgiving before the big date since all of the Philly family will be scattered this year.

On the menu was a smoked turkey breast and a mini ham from the wonderful Honeybaked Ham store.
We had Pineapple Iced Tea Punch to drink and I made all the sides starting with the dressing and ending with two desserts.  The sides included the cornbread dressing, southern baked macaroni & cheese, turnip greens with chopped turnips, baked candied butternut squash, Sister Shubert yeast rolls, homemade onion gravy, and a delicious orange cranberry sauce.  For dessert, we had a lemon cake with cream cheese icing and my new revised sweet potato pie recipe that I think I'm going to keep top secret.

Recipes will follow soon!

If I don't get a chance to say so before then, I wish everyone a blessed and happy holiday season.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti

So Thursday nights are my late nights at work.  I don't get off until 7pm.  I sent my hubby a text around 5:30 or so asking him if he felt up to making my latest Kitchen Kreation for me or did he want to go get some take out.

He never replied back, so I just thought, oh well, he'll figure it out.

LOL!

So anyway, I came up with this new one and calculated the recipe out on sparkpeople. For 8 small servings, the calorie count came out to 197! For 6 larger servings, the calorie count was 263!  Have I mentioned before how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE figuring out a low calorie meal???  It turned out to be really good, very nutritious and full of vegetables.

INGREDIENTS

6 cups cooked spaghetti squash (1 small-medium sized squash)
3 cloves garlic - minced
1 jar Ragu sauce (I used the Ragu Sauteed Onion & Garlic, but feel free to use your favorite)
2 Tbsp ketchup (optional - more or less to taste)
1 cup onions - chopped
1 cup bell peppers - chopped
1 pound lean ground turkey (93%)
2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt (optional)

 

DIRECTIONS

1. Stab squash several times and put it in the ;microwave on high for 12-15 minutes.
2. While squash is cooking, brown ground turkey.
3. Add onions, bell pepper and garlic. Saute until tender.
4. Drain any excess grease or liquid when done and set aside.
5. When squash is tender, slice the squash open, and scoop out and discard the seeds.
3. Take a fork and start scraping at the "meat" of the squash.
4. Over medium-low heat, place squash and meat in medium sized pot. Add spaghetti sauce to pot. Stir well to combine.
5. Add ketchup, Italian seasoning, salt & pepper to pot. Stir well.
6. (Optional) Top with 1 tsp of Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Hubby said this was his kind of recipe. It was easy and delicious! This is actually only the 2nd time we have tried the spaghetti squash but I believe it's a keeper.

Hope you enjoy!

Flaky Homemade Pie Crust

Don't you just love the fall?  I can't seem to help myself, but the crispier air, beautiful autumn colors, and cooler temperatures puts me in the mood to bake bake bake!

I bought more than a few sweet potatoes at the store and tried to figure out what I wanted to do with them. I decided to make a couple of sweet potato pies for the hubby, my brother and sister-in-law.  I sat there and tried to find my recipe on the computer and decided that I had everything to make it.  I was not in the mood to go to the store to get any pie crusts, so I decided to try my hand at making my own.
Back to the internet I went to search for an easy to make, yet flaky and delicious pie crust. 
Keep in mind that I've never made my own pie crust before, but luckily I have family who don't mind being my guinea pigs.  The test kitchen is back open!
bwa ha ha ha ha (in my evil laugh while rubbing my hands together)
Ok, I just had a whole Bram Stoker/Mary Shelley moment there, complete with the flickering lights and the thunder in the background.
LOL!



Yeah, something like that. LOL!!!

So anyway, I found this fabulous recipe from Monique at DivasCanCook titled the Best Homemade Pie Crust and let me tell you it was delicious! For a newby with regards to making an actual pie crust that has to be refrigerated and rolled out with a rolling pin and flour and all that, I have to say it was pretty easy to make.  I was actually quite proud of myself.

Of course, it didn't come out all that pretty and I need to work on getting the thickness more uniform, but the taste and the texture were amazing!
Here is the recipe. The only thing I changed at a suggestion of one of her other blog followers was to switch the water to half & half.  Delicious!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick of cold butter, chopped in pieces
• 1/2 cup cold butter-flavored shortening
• 1/2 cup cold half & half (add more by the tablespoon if the dough is too dry)

DIRECTIONS
1.  In medium-sized bowl, add flour. Be sure to carefully measure!
2.  Add in sugar and salt.  Whisk to combine.
3.  Add in chopped, cold butter.
4.  Use your hands, a pastry cutter, or 2 knives to cut the butter into the flour. (I used my new KitchenAid mixer for this step.)
5.  Add in cold butter-flavored shortening.  Cut in the shortening.
6.  Can finish it up with a fork to break up the larger chunks of butter.  Mixture should be nice & crumbly.
7.  Add in the half & half.
8.  Use a spatula to fold in the liquid until just combined.  Add a little more if the dough is too dry.
9.  When slightly moistened, gently shape dough into a flattened disc and wrap securely in plastic wrap.
10. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
11. Lightly flour a flat surface and your rolling pin.
12. Pinch the dough into two equal halves (makes 2 pie crusts).
13. Gently flatten the dough with your hands and then proceed to roll the dough flat using rolling pin to desired thickness.
14. Gently roll the dough onto the rolling pin and place over pie pan.
15. Using fingers, press dough into pie pan. Gently shape out if needed and remove excess crust from edge.
16.  Fill with pie filling of your choice and enjoy!

P.S.  Both the pie and my 1st homemade pie crust got good reviews from all test kitchen lab rats.  On to the next experiment!

The Liebster Blog Award

Oh my goodness! I just won my very first blog award! Holy crap! That's awesome!!! [LOL]

This award is called the Liebster Blog Award.  I found out from Lisa at I Heard Its Yummy that in German, Liebster means, "beloved, dear, dearest and it is so very special to me."  Lisa, thank you so much for passing the award along to me and my blog.  You are so sweet and you have no clue how much you totally made my day.  Thank you so much for the award, for reading and liking my blog, and for sending other folks my way.  I would also like to thank every single one of my readers who take the time to listen to my rambling, to look at the food pictures, and those who take a chance to try a recipe that I created. You too will never know just how much I appreciate you.  I thank you again. 

[Ok, I just totally had a Grammy award acceptance speech going there... LOL]

So, according to the rules, I'm going to pass  this award along to 5 other pages that I have enjoyed reading lately. 

Great Cooking Ideas

The Southern Lady Cooks

Best Southern Recipes From the Deep South

Everyday Mom's Meals

Angie's Big Love of Food

Trust me when I say that it was REALLY REALLY hard to pick 5 out of all the blogs I follow.  There are some amazingly talented folks online who can seriously cook their butts off.  All these new pictures and recipes have given me so much inspiration. I am absolutely loving it.

Here are the rules that come with this
award:

1.) Show your thanks to the blogger that gave you the
award by linking back to them.

2.) Reveal your top 5 picks by leaving a comment on their
blog.

3.) Post the award on your blog.

4.) Enjoy the love of some of the most supportive people
on the internet!

Thanks again, Lisa! You rock!

KITCHEN KREATION: Southern Meatloaf

Who doesn't love a delicious juicy slice of meatloaf? I mean, seriously, it's one of those memories of the ultimate comfort food to me. I don't know about you guys, but as a child, we didn't have meatloaf that often, so when we did it was kind of a treat. The leftovers the next day were always even better than the 1st night. I'm sitting here thinking about how good our meatloaf is going to be tomorrow after it's sat overnight in the fridge! Mmm mmm...

So anyway, for tonight's Sunday dinner, I made a Southern-style meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and peas and carrots. It was so good, I think I surprised myself with this one.  I'm pretty sure it's not all that healthy since I didn't really try to adapt any recipes or anything. I had to rely on my imagination and my childhood memories of watching my mama make her delicious meatloaf.  I have to admit, I think my version has her's beat.
Progress indeed...

INGREDIENTS
1 pound meatloaf mix (beef, veal, and pork - next time I will get 2 packages for 2 pounds)
1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used Progresso's Garlic & Herb - for 2 pounds of meat, use 1 cup)
1 egg - beaten (again, for 2 pounds, use 2 eggs)
1/2 cup onions - chopped
1/2 cup onion/bell pepper mix (found in the frozen vegetable section)- chopped
2 cloves garlic - minced
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp Italian seasoning

Meatloaf Glaze
1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

DIRECTIONS

1.  I used the meatloaf mix found at my local grocer. It consists of ground beef, veal, and pork. It was a little shy of a pound of meat so next time I will use 2 packages and adjust my seasonings accordingly.

 

2.  Beat 1 egg in small bowl.

3.  Measure 1/2 cup bread crumbs.

4.  In medium-sized bowl, place meat, beaten egg, and bread crumbs.

5.  Add 1 Tbsp minced garlic (approximately 3 cloves).

6.  Add 1/2 cup chopped onion.

7.  Add 1/2 cup chopped onion/bell pepper mix.

8.  Add 1/2 tsp salt.

 

9.  Add 1 tsp black pepper.

 

10.  Add 1 tsp smoked paprika.

11.  Add 2 tsp Italian seasoning.



12. Add 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce.

13.  Mix well. Works best to use hands but I have issues with having raw meat under my nails (hence the use of gloves)...

14.  I lined my baking dish with foil (I think the size is a 9x5 loaf pan). 

This makes clean up a lot easier!

Pack the meat in the baking dish forming it into a loaf.

Now to make the glaze!

1.  Add 1/2 cup ketchup to small bowl. (Feel free to use tomato sauce, I just prefer my meatloaf glaze sweeter.)

2.  Add 2 Tbsp brown sugar.

3.  Add 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar. Mix well.

4.  Add half of glaze mixture to top of meat (approximately 3 Tbsp).

5.  Smooth over entire loaf, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.

6.  After 30 minutes, remove foil cover, place remaining amount of glaze and bake uncovered for an additional 30 minutes.

7.  Let sit for 10 minutes, cut and enjoy!