Roasted Potato Logs

 

You Will Need:

• 3 Medium Russet Potatoes (washed, scrubbed and sliced into wedges lengthwise)
• 2-3 tsp. or so of Olive oil or Canola oil
• Seasoning (Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Mrs. Dash Original)

Preheat Oven to 425 Degrees. Grease large baking pan with about 1 tsp. of oil, until nicely coated, (I use a spray bottle that I have filled with canola or olive oil), then lay potato wedges single layer on the pan. Use a spray bottle of oil and spray the tops of the potato wedges and then season by sprinkling on the desired seasonings. (If you don't have a spray bottle to spray the oil, you can place the potato wedges in a bowl, add the oil and use your  hands to coat them with oil). Bake for 10 minutes, then turn them with a spatula, and bake another 10 minutes, turn them and bake an additional 10 minutes or until tender and golden brown. Cooking times can vary with ovens so adjust the cooking time if needed. 

Note: Below is the type of spray bottle that I use for spraying my pan and potatoes with oil, it works great and I can be sure that nothing has been added to my potatoes but the oil that I have put in my bottle. (You can find cooking spray bottles at various places, mine came from Temu).

And here is what the potatoes look like spread out on my baking pan, after they are done. I make sure that there is plenty of room for the potatoes and that they are single layer, and are spread out so they won't be on top of each other, giving them room to cook.

Serves 3-4 

Enjoy! 

Healthy Meatless Garbanzo Spaghetti with a Side of Roasted Zucchini

 

For The Garbanzo Spaghetti You Will Need:

• 2 tsp. Olive Oil or Canola Oil
• 1/2 Yellow Onion (chopped)
• 1/4 Green Bell Pepper (chopped)
• 2 Garlic Cloves (chopped fine)
• 1 Can Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas) 15 oz. drained
•  2  (8 oz.) Cans Tomato Sauce No Salt Added
• 1/2 tsp. Dried Oregano
• 1/4 tsp. Dried Basil
• 1/4 tsp. Black Pepper
• 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
• 1 tsp. Sugar
• Thin Spaghetti Noodles pkg.
• 1/4 Cup Cheddar Cheese reduced fat (for topping)
• Sprinkle of Powdered Parmesan Cheese (for topping)

Add oil to a large skillet, add onion and bell pepper cook on medium until tender, add garlic and cook for a couple of minutes, add drained beans, tomato sauce, oregano, basil, sugar, salt, and black pepper, bring to a boil stirring occasionally. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Cook spaghetti noodles according to package directions. Season the sauce to taste with salt and more black pepper before serving. Serve over spaghetti noodles and top with reduced cheddar cheese and sprinkle of parmesan cheese. 

Makes 2 Servings

Serve with Garlic Bread, a Salad or a side dish of Roasted Zucchini (below)

RECIPE FOR SIDE DISH OF ROASTED ZUCCHINI

You Will Need:

• 2 Fresh Zucchini (sliced)
• 1/2 Yellow Onion (sliced a little bit thicker than you slice the zucchini)
• 2 Garlic Cloves (peeled and sliced into pieces)
• Olive Oil or Canola Oil
• Salt Free Dash Seasoning (Original Flavor)
• Sea Salt 
• Black Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Spray large sheet pan with generous amount of olive oil or canola oil, place the zucchini and onions in a medium bowl and coat with a small amount of oil about 1 tsp. In a separate small bowl coat the garlic with some oil and set aside. Next, place the slices of zucchini as flat and evenly on the pan as possible, laying the onions over the zucchini. They roast better is they are not piled up onto the pan. Season with a generous sprinkling of  Salt Free Dash Seasoning. I like to add a little sprinkle of sea salt too, (but you if you are on a salt restricted diet you can leave out the sea salt), I also add a light sprinkle of black pepper, onion powder and garlic powder for more flavor. 

Roast in oven for 10 minutes, then turn the vegetables with a wide spatula and cook for another 10 minutes, then turn vegetables again, and roast, do this every 10 minutes until desired tenderness. Ovens will vary, but mine usually takes about 30-40 minutes to cook, we like them very tender. During the last 10 minutes of cooking, add in the cut up garlic pieces. Cooking time will vary depending on your oven and also depending on how thick you slice the zucchini. 

Tip: I like to slice the onions a little thicker than the zucchini because it tends to cook faster, also for softer garlic, you can add your garlic to the pan during the last 10 minutes of cooking. I sometimes add all the veggies at the same time, and I sometimes add the garlic last 10 minutes or so. I like it both ways, but it just tends to get over done if not careful on the garlic.  

Serve this easy flavorful side veggie with Garbanzo Spaghetti.  It always makes a great side dish veggie with any meal as well. Great for a snack too!

Enjoy! 

Simple Healthy Salad

 

You Will Need: 

• organic spring mix salad greens
• desired amount of grated carrots or other veggies you'd like
• sprinkle of salt, garlic powder, dried oregano leaves, dried dill weed, dried chives, dried basil leaves, dried thyme leaves, experiment with the amounts based on your taste, (if you have fresh herbs, you can certainly use them too)
• a side of low fat cottage cheese (I use 1% milk fat) 
• drizzled avocado oil (desired amount)

Place greens in a bowl, top with grated carrots and any other veggies you'd like, sprinkle with salt, garlic powder and desired herbs, put cottage cheese on the side and top with desired drizzled amount of avocado oil, top with bread crumbs. (for a homemade recipe of bread crumbs, see the post below this one, or look in the recipe index on the side bar of this website. You may have to click view web version of this website at the bottom of the page to find it, if you are viewing this website from a phone). 

A couple of months ago, I decided to stop using store bought salad dressing on my salad, and now I prefer my salad with the avocado oil and herbs mixture now. It's very fresh and tasty, and I feel I've cut down on some of the preservatives in my diet eating it this way. 

Enjoy!

Quick Sweet Carrots

 

You will need: 

• 1 can carrots (undrained) 
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar (more or less to taste)
• sprinkle of sea salt
• sprinkle of cinnamon

In a small pot, place undrained carrots, brown sugar and sea salt and cinnamon, add more water if needed to just cover the carrots, bring to a boil, then simmer on low for about 30 minutes or until ready to serve. 

Enjoy!

Cucumber Salad with Parmesan Cheese

You Will Need: 

• 3 cucumbers (peeled, sliced, and seeded
• 1-2 roma tomatoes (sliced and diced)
• 1/4 of a small red onion (diced) or 1-2 green onions chopped
• 1/4 cup oil (canola)
• 1/2 tsp. salt and more to taste
• pepper to taste
• dash of sugar or more to taste
• parmesan cheese (to sprinkle on top)

Mix the ingredients together, the longer it sits the better it tastes, refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve with Ritz cracker or Captain Wafer crackers. Will keep up to 5 days refrigerated. 

Enjoy! 

Oven Roasted Potatoes

You will need:

• 4 medium potatoes (peeled and cut into cubes, I used russet potatoes) 
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp. dried chives
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. canola oil (or other oil of your choice) 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, grease a 13" x 9" sheet pan, mix all of the above ingredients together in a large bowl, spread it evenly on the pan, turn the potatoes with a spatula every 15 minutes or so, cook until golden brown and tender about 40-45 minutes or so. For softer potatoes cook less time, for crisper ones cook a little longer. After they are cooked sprinkle with more salt, pepper and chives or other favorite seasonings to taste, if desired. Serves 4.

Enjoy! 

Red Potatoes with White Sauce and Chives...

You will need:

• New (Red) Potatoes Unpeeled, I used 6 medium size potatoes to feed 4 to 5 people (use the amount of potatoes you think you'd need for the number of people you will be serving and adjust the white sauce measurements accordingly) 
• 5 Heaping Tbsp. of  Flour
• Stick of Butter
• 1/2 Cup of Milk (plus a little more)
• Chives (dried or fresh) 
• 1 tsp salt
• Pepper (to taste) and More Salt (to taste)

Wash and scrub potatoes, cut them into 1 inch pieces or so, add 1 tsp.of salt to a medium sized pot, add potatoes, cover potatoes with water. Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender about 12-15 minutes. Drain and set aside. 

In the same pot you used for cooking potatoes, melt a stick of butter over med-high heat, add 5 heaping Tbsp. of flour and whisk, add 1/2 cup of milk, keep stirring, until smooth, as it thickens you can add more milk or a little bit of water as necessary until it is the desired consistency and thickness. Add salt and pepper to taste, and desired amount of chives (I just sprinkle it in until it looks about like the amount in the above photo)

Return potatoes to the pot of sauce and stir. Add more salt pepper and chives if needed. 

Enjoy!

Sweet Green Beans with Green Onion and Garlic

This is a two step cooking process

First You will need:
Fresh Cut Green Beans about 2 to 2 1/2 lbs. (washed and ends trimmed).  
Water with tsp.salt (enough water to cover beans in pot) 

Place beans in pot of salted boiling water and boil about 8 minutes until slightly softened.

Drain in colander

Now you will need:

• 1  Tbsp. Oil
• 1/4 Cup Green Onion Chopped
• 1 Garlic Clove Chopped
• 1 tsp. Oyster Sauce
• 1 tsp. Soy Sauce
• 4 Tbsp. Water 
• 1 Tbsp. Sugar 

Place oil in a skillet on medium high for about 1 minute, add green onions and garlic clove, cook on med-high heat about 1-2 minutes stirring frequently. Add green beans and stir, then add oyster sauce, soy sauce, water and sugar cook covered on med-high heat about 10 minutes or until desired tenderness, (I like my beans tender with a slight crispness). Be sure to stir frequently. Add salt to taste.  
Enjoy!

Tip: More or less sugar, garlic or green onion can be adjusted to suit your taste. 

Serving Size: Serves about 4-5 people

Easy Sweet Carrots

• 2 lbs. Carrots Chopped
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• Enough water to cover carrots in pot

Put carrots in a pot,cover with water add the brown sugar and salt, bring to a rolling boil on high heat, then reduce the heat to med-high heat, cook until tender about 30 minutes to an hour. (I like mine tender, not crisp). Once carrots are the desired tenderness turn temp to low and simmer until ready to eat. Check and stir occasionally, some of the water will cook out, add more water as needed while cooking. Strain with a slotted spoon to serve.

Tip: The longer these simmer the better, they will become sweeter as they sit, and taste more flavorful and sweet the next day. More or less sugar can be added according to your taste.  

Serving Size: Serves about 6

P.S. You can add cinnamon to taste if desired

Black-eyed Peas Seasoned with Bacon

This was cooked in a slow cooker crock-pot

For this recipe you will need:

• A bag of dry black-eyed peas (I used a 12 oz bag)
• 4 slices of smoked bacon
• 1 cube knorr chicken bouillon plus a cup of water  
• enough water to cover peas
• 1/2 chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon shortening or bacon fat

Wash and soak dry peas in a bowl overnight. The next day, rinse peas and place in the crockpot. Now in a skillet cook bacon on medium heat until there is some grease in the pan but not until it is crispy. Pour this over the peas. In a glass measuring cup add a cup of water and the chicken bouillon cube, microwave for 1 1/2 minutes....now stir this until chicken bouillon cube is dissolved, pour this in the crockpot, add salt, shortening or bacon fat and chopped onion. Cover with water and cook in crockpot on high for around 4-6 hours or on low for around 6-8 hours. 
Serve with Cornbread (See recipe archives in sidebar for my cornbread recipe)
Enjoy!

Potato Salad

You will need:

• 6 Potatoes... peeled, washed and diced  into small cubes and cooked until tender. (I use 1 potato for each person that I'll be serving, then I usually add one more just for good measure) To cook the potatoes, I put the diced potatoes in a large saucepan, cover them with water, and add 1 tsp. Salt, bring them to a boil, on medium-high heat, and boil them uncovered for 12 minutes or until fork tender.

• 3 Boiled Eggs..... cooked, peeled and diced (To cook the eggs, I put eggs in a medium saucepan, cover them with cold water, bring the eggs to a boil on medium-high heat and then boil them on medium high heat, timing them for 12 minutes. After they are done, I put the pan in the sink and run cold water over them for a couple of minutes. I immediately peel the eggs while they are still a little warm, so that the peeling doesn't stick to the eggs. NOTE: To save time....If you have a big enough saucepan, you can cook the boiled eggs together with the diced potatoes, just make sure to put the potatoes and water in the saucepan first, then carefully add the eggs so you don't crack the eggs, and be sure you have enough water to cover it all.

• 2 Tablespoons Sweet Pickle Relish

• 1/4 of a yellow onion, chopped into tiny pieces

• 1/4 tsp. yellow mustard, you can add a little more to taste

• Sprinkled Black Pepper to Taste

• Seasoned Salt to Taste

• Mayonnaise, you'll use about 3-5 Heaping Tablespoons of mayo, just add the mayo until it is the desired consistency and creaminess that you like.

Mix all of the ingredients above in a large bowl, adding black pepper and seasoned salt to taste.

Serve with Barbecue and Baked Beans 

Enjoy!

This post is dedicated to my sweet Grandma C. I used to love to get in the kitchen with her as a teenager, she made everything so easy. She would let me help her and taught me so much about cooking. She's the one who taught me to make this potato salad,when I was 18 years old. 

Sauerkraut with Mashed Potatoes

Here's what you will need below:

• Homemade Mashed Potatoes are used for this recipe, you can use your own favorite recipe or you can get my recipe for Homemade Mashed Potatoes HERE (you'll have t scroll to the bottom of that post to find it)
•  You'll also need,  1 can of sauerkraut (drained, but I don't drain all of the juices off of the sauerkraut, I like to leave a little. I drain the can just by leaving the opened lid of the can on the can and then simply draining the liquid off into the sink)
• 3 Smoked Bacon Strips
•  1/2 teaspoon Salt
• Sprinkled black pepper
• enough water to cover the sauerkraut

Place bacon strips in medium saucepan, cook on med-high heat until there is some grease in the pan, but "not" until the bacon is crispy. Add slightly drained sauerkraut, salt, and sprinkled pepper to the saucepan, then cover with water. Bring to a boil, then cover pan with lid, and reduce heat to low to med-low and cook for an hour or so.

Use a large spoon to spoon saurkraut and juices over homemade mashed pototoes.

Enjoy!

*For a healthier lower saturated fat version, leave out the bacon and use beef broth instead of water. 

Special thanks to my sweet German Mother-In-Law, who has always cooked this during the holidays and she finally got me to try this a few years ago. I'm glad I got brave and decided to give it a try.  I had been missing out on such a delicious combination ....I'd never even wanted to try sauerkraut​ before, and who'd have ever thought that mashed potatoes would be great with sauerkraut? I sure would have never thought that I would like it, but I love it and it is one of my favorite dishes. I cook it all the time. 
I believe she uses a different pork meat in her recipe, but I used bacon (if you've looked much at my recipes....I use bacon to season a lot of my vegetables and foods)  

Green Beans seasoned with Bacon

You will need:

• 1 Can Green Beans (drained and rinsed, use the amount you need for your size family, 1 can feeds 3 people)
• Slice of Bacon
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• Sprinkled Pepper to taste
• teaspoon of white vinegar (optional)
• enough water to cover the beans

In a saucepan, cook the bacon on medium-high heat until there is some grease in the pan, but "not" until the bacon is crispy. Add the green beans, and salt, sprinkled pepper,  white vinegar (optional)  then cover with water. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low and cook for about 30- 45 minutes.
Enjoy!

For a healthier lower saturated fat version, leave out the bacon, and add beef broth to the pot instead of water. You can do this to help give flavor to any vegetable (chicken broth works great too). 

Tender Brussel Sprouts seasoned with bacon

You will need: 

• A family size bag of Frozen Brussel Sprouts
• 2 slices of Smoked Bacon
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• Enough water just to cover them in the pan

In a medium sauce pan, place bacon slices on med-high heat, and cook them a few minutes,  until you have some grease in the pan, but not until bacon is crispy,  then add the brussel sprouts to the pan, add salt and enough water just to cover the brussel sprouts. Stir. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to med-low and cover with a lid. Cook until desired tenderness. I like mine real tender, so I cook them for about 20-30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Cheesy Veg-all Casserole

You will need:

• 3 cans Veg-all Vegetable Medley mixed vegetables, please note: I usually don't recommend a certain brand for my recipes, but for this recipe, I do recommend using the Veg-all brand, because I have tried regular canned mixed vegetables in this recipe and it doesn't taste the same, and to me it isn't as good made with other brands)
• 1 cup Mayonnaise
• 4 oz. Mozarella Cheese (fresh grated)
• 4 oz. Cheddar Cheese (fresh grated)
• 1/2 a stick of Margarine
• 1 roll of Ritz Crackers  (that you have crushed, I put mine in a large zip bag and crush them)

Grease a 13 by 9 inch casserole dish or baking pan. Drain the juices from 2 of the cans of veg-all, you'll need the juice from one of the cans, so don't drain one of the veg-all cans. Put it all in a mixing bowl. Add Mayo, and both grated cheeses. Gently stir it all together, put it in the pan, then  put the crushed Ritz crackers on top. Slice margarine and put it randomly all over the top of the crackers.  
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!  

This recipe is one that my Mama and her Mama always made during the holidays. 
 

Sweet Potato Casserole

Grease a 13 by 9 inch casserole dish or baking pan this recipe will be a two step...a filling and a topping

For the filling you will need:

• 4 cups Cooked mashed sweet potatoes....I used 6 medium sized sweet potatoes, I washed and dried them, then greased them with cooking oil, then I baked them in the oven, on a foil lined cookie sheet at 400 degrees for an hour, then let them cool. Then I pulled the skins off and placed them in a medium mixing bowl and mashed them with a pototoe masher)

• 1/2 cup to 1 cup SugarStart with 1/2 cup, then just taste it and judge the amount you want to add by how sweet you would like to make this dish

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup milk

• 2 eggs (beaten)

Mix ingredients together in a bowl until mixture is smooth, put it in the greased baking dish and make the topping now

For the topping you will need:

• 1/2 cup melted butter or margarine plus a tablespoon more

• 1/3 cup flour

• 2/3 cup brown sugar

• 1 cup chopped pecans

Mix ingredients and spread over and top the casserole...

*Important Note:

•  You will also need a Bag of Miniature Marshmallows for this recipe, you will not need the whole bag though, and remember not to top the casserole with the marshmallows until it's almost done cooking.

Bake in preheated oven  350 degrees for 30 min. then take it out of the oven and top with miniature marshmallows, then cook an additional 5 minutes or so until the marshmallows are  golden brown. You'll need to keep an eye on it, you know how fast marshmallows can burn.

Enjoy!

Special thanks to my friend Ann for sharing this recipe with me in 2004..... I've been fixing this during the holidays, every year since then and my family and I love it.

Dried Lima Beans

For this recipe I used:

• 24 oz. bag of China Doll Large Dried Beans
• 2 Knorr chicken bouillon cubes
• Garlic Glove Chopped
• 1/2 Onion Chopped
• 9 Cups Water
• 2 Tablespoons Bacon Grease
• 1 teaspoons Salt
• Sprinled Black Pepper
• 4 Slices of Bacon

First Soak beans in a bowl of water overnight, then rinse them the next day and put them in a crock pot along with all of the ingredients above. Cook on High all day about 6-8 hours.

 I serve them with cornbread (my fried cornbread recipe can be found in my sidebar)  Ham steak with pineapples and Baked Sweet Potatoe.

Enjoy!

Cucumber, Tomato and Green Onion Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

You will need:

• Small pickling cucumbers washed,  peeled and sliced
• Tomatoes washed, peeled and sliced
• Green Onion washed, and sliced
• Balsamic Vinaigrette  (I used Traditional Blends brands purchased at The Dollar Tree Store)
• Salt and Pepper sprinked to taste

Purchase the amount of vegetables you think you will need for your party size or family size.

Mix all of the ingredients and refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve in indivual pretty bowls,  delicious served with vegetable crackers.

This is easy and so refreshing on those hot summer days. Perfect for a side dish or appetizer or just a snack.

Enjoy~ 

*A Special Thanks to my Mama for sharing this delicious treat  :)

Southern Style Stewed Cabbage with Bacon

What you will need:

• Head of Cabbage
• 4 Slices of Bacon
• 1 Tablespoon of vegetable oil
• 1 Cup of Water
• 2 Teaspoons Sea Salt

Slice the head of cabbage, wash cabbage, and set aside. In a large dutch oven pot add bacon and oil and cook for a little while about 5-10 minutes on medium high heat until it starts to cook, but not get crispy. Add the salt, cabbage and water to the pot and cover, let it come to a boil, stirring often for a couple of minutes, reduce heat to med-low and cook covered until tender. (I like my cabbage very tender, so I cook it about an hour or so). Stirring ocassionally. After it has cooked season to taste with more salt if desired. This cabbage is tender and tasty, it tastes even more flavorful, after it has been removed from the heat and been allowed to sit uncovered for a while, after it is done. It seems that the longer it sits the more tasty it is, because it soaks up the bacon juices.

Enjoy~

For a healthier lower fat version, leave out the bacon, add beef or chicken broth instead of the water, this will add  extra flavor, when cooking any vegetable. 

Cream Corn Casserole Old-Fashioned Southern Style

 This will feed a crowd and the ingredients will fill a 13 by 9 Casserole Dish, (sorry for the picture showing just half of a casserole dish...I forgot to take the picture, until we'd eaten half of it).

You will need:

• 2 Cans Cream Style Corn
• 1 Can Whole Corn (do not drain)
• Jiffy Cornbread Mix
• 8 oz Sour Cream
• 1 Stick of butter or margarine melted

Grease 13 by 9 inch casserole dish, mix all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl , pour in the baking dish, cook uncovered for 45 min. to 1 hour, at 350 degrees until light golden brown around the edges.
That's it. This is so easy and fast, tastes sweet creamy and delicious...I've been told that this tastes similar to the fresh cream corn grandma used to fix in the iron skillet.
Enjoy!