Oven Roasted Potatoes

The Recipe: My own concoction

What You Need:
Potatoes, redskinned or another type
Carrots
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
Rosemary
Thyme
Garlic powder or minced garlic

Your Turn:
Scrub and chop the potatoes. Smaller will make them crispier and more flavorful since the herbs will coat more surface area. But larger is quicker and makes for a softer texture.

Place in a large bowl.

Add some baby carrots, or chopped whole carrots.

Toss in a few tablespoons of olive oil.

Shake in salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, and a dash of garlic.

Stir with a large wooden spoon.

Spread on a cookie sheet. You can cover it with aluminum foil for easier cleanup.

Bake at 475 for about 20 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking time.

Serve with grilled chicken, fried pork chops or burgers.

Mexican Rice

The Recipe: Paula Deen recipe from foodnetwork.com.

What You Need:

2 T butter

1&1/2 C rice

1/2 C chopped onion

1/2 C chopped green bell pepper

2 C water

1 can Mexican diced tomatoes (with green chiles)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese

Your Turn:
In a large saucepan, melt 2 T butter over medium heat.

Add

· 1 & 1/2 C rice

· 1/2 C chopped onion

· 1/2 C chopped green pepper

Cook until rice is browned and vegetables are tender.

Stir in

· 2 C water

· 1 can tomatoes with green chiles

· 1 tsp salt

· 1 tsp chili powder (Don't skimp on this. I did that the first time, and it did not have enough flavor.)

Bring to a boil. Then, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until rice is tender, about 15-17 minutes.

Stir in 1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese. (Feel free to add a little more. Original recipe called for 1 C, but I thought that was too much)

Serve hot with quesadillas or tortilla soup.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

The Occasion: I just wanted to make something special to add some flair to a Monday night dinner. This is also awesome for any occasion you can think of. Pot lucks, picnics, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, birthday dinners… I’d even have served this at my wedding if I’d known about it then.

The Recipe: From Taste of Home’s 2011 Annual Recipes book

How it Went: Great! I put in too much nutmeg by accident, but it was still fine.

What You Need:

4 C spiral pasta (cavatappi)

1/4 C butter

1/4 C flour

4 C milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp ground mustard

1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Dash nutmeg

2 C shredded cheddar cheese

1 C cubed Velveeta cheese product

Your Turn:
Cook pasta according to box’s directions.

In a large saucepan, melt 1/4 C butter. 

Stir in 1/4 C flour until smooth.

Gradually add 4 C milk, stirring. Then stir in

· 1/2 tsp salt

· 1/4 tsp pepper

· 1/4 tsp ground mustard

· 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

· Dash nutmeg

Bring to a boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened.

Stir in

· 2 C shredded cheddar cheese

· 1 C cubed Velveeta

Drain pasta. Stir cheese mixture and pasta together. Transfer to an ungreased 2-qt. baking dish.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until bubbly.